When to add new fish?

jordanh

New member
I've got I pink skunk clown that has been living by itself for quite some time in my 10g tank. I'm in the process of upgrading to an 18g tank and I wanted to add an anemone and another pink skunk. Would adding the new clown right when I switched tanks be the best way to do it? Should I anticipate any fighting between the two fish?
 
You might get more specific help by posting in the Anemones & clownfish area. But in general you should give your new tank some time to stabilize - maybe a week or 2, depending on whether you move all your sand & water from the old tank, which I'd recommend, before adding new fish

Pink skunks aren't that aggressive & are a very good choice for a small sized tank, I might add. If it was me - I'd find one that is about 1/2 (or less) the length of the existing fish & add it at the same time as the new anemone (which I assume you have correct lighting for). I would also make sure that the new addition is a juvenile & definitely not a female. All this is assuming your existing fish is a female which it most likely it is if you've had it a while.
 
I'm in the process of moving everything over right now; I've started the tank up with some "old" water and have moved some live sand and rock from the other tank. The tank will be lit with a 150w HQI bulb. Why do you say my fish is most likely female; is there an easy way to tell?
 
Because with clowns the dominant fish is always the female & any clown, whether it starts out as a male or juvenile, will become female unless there is an existing dominant female already in the tank.

Two females will normally fight to the death. The smaller the juvenile you add in with your female, the less likely there will be any disagreement as to who the boss is and the easier it will be for the male/juvenile to "convince" the female that he is no threat.

Pairing maroon clowns in the captive environment can be quite a chore as the female may kill the little male before he is able to work things out. But I don't believe it is that hard with pink skunks

Here are some links to help you get started

Anemone & Clownfish forum

Pairing Clownfish

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215088
 
A mutually new tank can help the territoriality situation: yanking an aggressive into qt with a new fish can sometimes make a problem insertion work.
 
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