What are the chances ?

[CoMMaNdeR]

What are the chances of succes if you have a tomato clown and 2 ocellaris clowns in a 160gallon tank ?

My friend have a tomato and ocellaris in a 70g and they are doing just great. Many people say that they will fight to death, but it seems that there are some hobbists that had success with 2 different clown species in a tank.

Opinions please?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

An actual statistic would be difficult to give, but the easiest answer is "It is possible". Some people have luck with putting more than two species in a tank. But the risk involved with it would be too great in my opinion. It's like having a damsel. It can be done and some live quite peacefully with other tank mates. You would stand a better chance with an A. percula/A. Ocellaris or an A. sandaracinos/A. perideraion combo then let's say a P. biaculeatus/A. frenatus combo. Aggressiveness of territory is most likely the leading factor in the ability to co-exist than the anything else.

 

[tomasga]

Before I moved I had two Ocellaris and one tomato clown in my 65 gallon reef tank for several years with out a problem. I had the Ocellaris first and then added the tomato about 6 months later. I will probably go with the same in my new 150.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=797068

 

[tanker]

Do I recommend it--NO. But I have lots of friends that have 2 or even 3 different kinds of clowns in their tanks (some for years) without any problems. It really depends on the fish and of-course
the bigger the tank the better.

Good Luck

 

[wpar]

I agree with the above answers that its very iffy. When someone asks if dwarf angels such as fire angels and CB's are reef safe, it depends on the fish and seems to be about 50/50 odds. Tomato clowns seem to be generally irascible. A friend of mine cannot keep his tomato with ANY fish close to its size or smaller. Its a big tank, but the odds aren't good.

Bill

 

[CoMMaNdeR]

Thanks