How many clowns are too many?

[gar732]

I've always read that you shouldn't have more than two clowns in a tank unless it's a large tank. But there seem to be a few tank out there with multiple clowns with good results. Also I was just watching coral reef videos on uverse and there was a scene with a carpet anemone that looked to be 18-24" across with six or more percs living in it. And there was another with countless occys amongst some anemones all in very close proximity. So, how many clowns can you really keep together?

 

[Cubbies]

I think it depends on your tank size. Personally I wouldn't put more than 2 because I would hate for things not to work out and see one killed. If you have a huge tank you might be able to keep more imo. I guess it comes down to your luck as well. Just like you said, there's people out there with multiples and I guess they got lucky. But imo they will eventually start fighting for dominance and start killing off the weakest. I think once a pair is established the problems come. I've heard of people having luck with multiples when when having multiple Nems as each pair sticks to theirs. I'll let the clown experts chime in though as there are some very goods ones around!

 

[Joe S]

It's very tank- and fish- specific. I have seen plenty of tanks with complex arrangements of clowns.The only way to find out is to give it a go!

 

[Paul_N]

11 in this 110 gallon tank.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/23993-marvinsreef-clownfish-anemone-tank-201.html

 

[J&O'sdad]

I started 8years ago with 8 in a 125. They were ORO perc. After they matured I was down two 2 pair and a single clown. I sold one pair and the single because of the fighting. I only had one LTA though.

 

[ignatz]

I've had over 60 clowns in a 10G (for a while) with no aggression and seen aggression with only 4 clowns in a 10G. imo, Clowns should be kept in pairs and allowed time to find a host. The best host is an anemone but any host will do as long as they are actively protecting only a small part of a tank. Once a pair of clowns has claimed a host they don't stray far from it. If more than two young/small clowns are competing for the same host, the middle two (sizewise) will fight for the right to be the 'male'. I've read that two females competing for the same host will fight to the death. The bigger the clown type, the more space they will need. I think a safe estimate is 1 pair per 2' of tank length with an anemone otherwise only one pair per tank. For example, 3 pairs in a 6' tank with 3 nems is more than likely safe. Clowns are aggressive and anxious fish but given an abundance of food and hosts the sky is the limit.

 

[cparka23]

More importantly than "How many?" is "What are the sexes of the clowns?". As some have shared, there is a heirarchy among clownfish. You could have many juveniles in the same tank but may not be able to keep more than 1 female (depending on the tank setup).

The development of sexual characteristics is one way (juvenile -> male ->female) in clownfish, so you can't start with a bunch of females and hope for them to eventually interact non-territorially. (insert joke here) If you can't get juveniles or can't form pairs, it's not worth it IMO.

 

[gar732]

Most of what you guys are saying is in line with what I've read. What really got me thinking about it was all those percs in that single carpet. Now if I could recreate that I think I'd give it a shot. I wonder how much captivity changes their behavior vs living in an actual reef. I wonder if one female can exist with multiple males. If anyone has u-verse its on channel 800 and its called "coral reef" they play it all the time.

 

[VegasRick]

More importantly than "How many?" is "What are the sexes of the clowns?". As some have shared, there is a heirarchy among clownfish. You could have many juveniles in the same tank but may not be able to keep more than 1 female (depending on the tank setup).

The development of sexual characteristics is one way (juvenile -> male ->female) in clownfish, so you can't start with a bunch of females and hope for them to eventually interact non-territorially. (insert joke here) If you can't get juveniles or can't form pairs, it's not worth it IMO.

+1
That is my understanding as well. If you want a school then start with a group of juveniles, eventually the 2 most dominant will become male and female. I suppose if the tank is large enough you might end up with more than one.

 

[Conrad]

The only true way to make sure you can have more than 2 clowns in a tank is to get them all from the same clutch at the same time. Than one will be the dominant female and male. The others remain neutral and never change till one of them go missing/gone.

Other than that I wouldn't ever recommned more than 2 clowns per tank unless in large scale volume of like 180G+ and you still can see some agression if not given enough space with seperate nems

 

[LegoZ81]

I have 7 juvi's all together that were raised from the same batch from eggs:
they are co-existing well for now even after a tank move, not sure for how much longer however!

 

[2bafish]

I've got about 10 clowns in my 200 gallon. They seem to fight my damsels more than each other. They do seem to have their own territory in the tank.

 

[MarvinsReef]

I've been reading up on this on and off for about 5 years. These are some of the things I did to have the most success. Doesn't mean it'll work but I think these will give a fighting chance.

- get juvis that were raised together from birth
- no anemones at all or a lot of anemones
- set up an auto feeder to keep them happy. I like to feed the boys at least 2-4x/day
- have a back up plan just in case some of the clowns are being bullied all day long.. ie: set up back up tank(s)

I'm still learning as I go but so far so good coming up to my 8th week. Clowns are almost 6 months old. I dunno if it helped that I kept an ORA that I've had for almost 2 years. She keeps everyone in check. Then there is the Mob, consisting of a group of 3 Picasso's & 2 Platinums. I believe that they have established their pecking order. I'll have to see as everyone else how they do in the next few months.

 

[Conrad]

That's why I had said only from the same clutch.(meaning same birth time/egg clutch). Its the only true way of keeping some neutral from not changing. :smile:

 

[gar732]

I've been reading up on this on and off for about 5 years. These are some of the things I did to have the most success. Doesn't mean it'll work but I think these will give a fighting chance. <br>
<br>
- get juvis that were raised together from birth<br>
- no anemones at all or a lot of anemones<br>
- set up an auto feeder to keep them happy. I like to feed the boys at least 2-4x/day<br>
- have a back up plan just in case some of the clowns are being bullied all day long.. ie: set up back up tank(s)<br>
<br>
I'm still learning as I go but so far so good coming up to my 8th week. Clowns are almost 6 months old. I dunno if it helped that I kept an ORA that I've had for almost 2 years. She keeps everyone in check. Then there is the Mob, consisting of a group of 3 Picasso's &amp; 2 Platinums. I believe that they have established their pecking order. I'll have to see as everyone else how they do in the next few months.

Your tank is awesome! Love all the different nems. The video is great too. I've got three pairs of clowns and if any of them ever decide to lay I might have to give this a try.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Your tank is awesome! Love all the different nems. The video is great too. I've got three pairs of clowns and if any of them ever decide to lay I might have to give this a try.

sounds awesome! I hope by that time, myself and a few others have had a decent amount of success. or if not, I hope others can learn from our experiences.

 

[strange33w]

Has anyone had success with 2 different genius. Like a pair of percs and maybe allardi of some other type. The tank I am going to have is kinda large and was planning on setting up 2 nems on opposite sides of the tank

 

[MarvinsReef]

From what I've read, that's not really a good idea. But who knows... For most, my tank is not even a good idea. LoL.

 

[H2O]

bump .... i need to hear a success story asap !!! so 4 valentines day i got myself 6 clownfish , naked , nearly naked,2 phantoms,2 ocellaris, all small 1"
my 127g got a pair of platinium clowns female is 2" very aggressive so i had to put them in 30g refugium so my question is how long before they start killing each other ? right now it seem ok

 

[NanaReefer]

1 is to many IMHO. Lol