Clownfish question

[Ubergroover]

I have always been told that if you have a bonded pair of clownfish, they will kill a third if introduced. Is this true? if I have more than one anemone will this still occur, provided the third takes to the anemone? I would like to add more but not if its risky.

Thanks!

 

[Captain Quint]

I have always been told that if you have a bonded pair of clownfish, they will kill a third if introduced. Is this true? if I have more than one anemone will this still occur, provided the third takes to the anemone? I would like to add more but not if its risky.

Thanks!

Great topic and should be an awesome discussion Ubergroover. I've had two mated pairs in a 300g before. No issues. But would not have done so in a smaller tank.

Looking forward to your thread and responses.

 

[mtraylor]

I have had 2 mated pairs of clowns in one aquarium. 255gallon. One mated pair of oscellaris clowns and one pair of skunks. The skunks were more aggressive. I had 5 anemones in the tank. The skunks split up and took over all the anemones. I ended up getting rid of the skunks.

I would think that if you had the same species, it wouldn't be much of a big deal. Will let others that have tried chime in.

 

[77.christy]

When I was new to all of this and would go into a LFS, I’d buy a nem bc I liked it. Nem would come with a clown. Ok. I ended up with 3 ocellaris in a 55. Not knowing there was anything wrong with that until years later. Lol. They lived fine like that for 3 years. All 3 living happily in one LTA. And I had 7 other rainbow nems. I’ve since upgraded to a 140 and wanted to try my luck with more clowns. The 3 OG ocellaris, 2 midnights I had in a 35, and 2 skunks. 7 clowns in a 140! The experiment did not work. Haha. The midnights has to go bc they would not leave the ocellaris alone for the LTA. And I had 5 other nems for them to choose from, but they wanted the LTA. But the skunks and ocellaris all live peacefully. There will be a pecking order to see with one will be the boss bc there can only be one, but yes you can successfully have more than 2 clowns

 

[davocean]

Normally not a good idea, 3 is usually a crowd.
Sometimes it may seem to work until they mature and pair off, then their aggression and territorial behavior usually kicks in, especially when they reach spawning age.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I have always been told that if you have a bonded pair of clownfish, they will kill a third if introduced. Is this true? if I have more than one anemone will this still occur, provided the third takes to the anemone? I would like to add more but not if its risky.

Thanks!

ticking time bomb. i used to breed clowns and when they’re babies you can cram dozens in a single tank. but then they start to mature and get attitudes! even as adults it is possible to keep more than two, but it’s only a matter of time before you have issues. even when you just have two they can fight each until you have to remove one - even if the same species. clowns can be a lot more aggressive than many people believe.

 

[Bransreeftv]

Not true necessarily, I’ve seen it done

 

[davocean]

Not true necessarily, I’ve seen it done

I think a lot of people may see periods of it working out before they mature, which for most clowns is about 2 years before they are ready to spawn, so it can look fine for quite some time sometimes, or aggression can be way before that.

The problem is often people come on saying "they've seen it work out" yet they may not see when it gets ugly, and often people don't like to own up and post about it when it goes wrong.