Two + one Picasso?

[dancewithethan]

Question.

I would like to know if I can have 3 small Picasso in a 120 Gs tank.

Currently I have one. It was a pair, but the other one took a leap of faith out of the water. I can get a pair for the price of one.

Thank

Ethan M

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

You can have 3 together til 2 become a pair. The odd man out will become a target of aggression, and will likely end up cowering in a corner all the time or dead.

 

[davocean]

^^ Agree.

 

[nemoboy1]

in a huge tank like that it can be done but with caution...good luck

 

[Toddrtrex]

While a 120 is a decent sized tank, there is no way I would ever call it a "huge" tank. I would never attempt (( again )) to have more then a pair in that sized tank. Tried it with 3 Clarkiis about 15 years ago, it worked for about 2-3 months. At that point a pair formed and killed the 3rd one.

 

[nemoboy1]

That's clarkii and they are by far one of the meanest clowns... Perculas are mean/aggressive but 120 is doable with caution...nothing is impossible.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Never said it was impossible. However, the vast majority of the time it does not work out, why risk it? And honestly, a 120 it still only 4 foot long, and not nearly long enough for this experiment -- IMO.

 

[NirvanaFan]

They'll be fine until they start to mature, then a pair will form. Why not try to sell one of the picasso clowns?

 

[davocean]

Keep in mind sometimes the maturing/pairing up process can happen rather quickly, so while we say it can take a year or longer to see aggression, sometimes it happens right away.
Just from reading experiences here over the years, I'd say it goes south about 98% of the time, so no, not impossible I guess, but I wouldn't risk it.
There are so many choices of fish I'd rather have one awesome pair of clowns that can be as healthy as can be and plenty of other cool fish too, and keep a peaceful happy stress free tank.

 

[zeeter]

If the new ones are a pair then you'll have problems. If they're just two for one then it will work as long as they are around the same size and hopefully smaller than the original clown. You have to be careful, though, and differentiate between violent and simple dominant behavior.

If the new ones are a pair and the original one was a pair then you're going to have three mature clowns in one tank. Not good. If it were me I would probably try to get store credit on the original one and start from scratch with the new pair.