Mixing Clown Fish

[Robert DeWolfe]

Several months ago I purchased 2 lightning maroon clownfish. I made the mistake of buying them at the same size. Eventually one that wasn't doing so well due to fighting I believe, then disappeared( I think he died then was wiped out by cuc) I am now looking for a new clownfish to go with my lightning maroon. Do I have to get a lightning maroon to go along or can I put any maroon clown with him and be fine. Also should my new clown fish be bigger or smaller than the fish that's been in my display tank?

 

[GoReefin]

Maroons are very territorial and you should only get another maroon they will fight if different species. Should be fine with any type of maroon clown. The smallest you can find is best. Good luck!

 

[Azedenkae]

Several months ago I purchased 2 lightning maroon clownfish. I made the mistake of buying them at the same size. Eventually one that wasn't doing so well due to fighting I believe, then disappeared( I think he died then was wiped out by cuc) I am now looking for a new clownfish to go with my lightning maroon. Do I have to get a lightning maroon to go along or can I put any maroon clown with him and be fine. Also should my new clown fish be bigger or smaller than the fish that's been in my display tank?

With clownfish, pretty much it is never guaranteed if introducing a new mate would be fine, no matter the situation.

So I would only say, you will have as much success with any maroon clownfish as a lightning maroon clownfish.

As for size, generally smaller is better. The idea is the less the bigger fish has to work to dominate the smaller fish, the better. Two of similar size are more likely to fight (for dominance).

 

[Gup]

I want to say first, Reef2Reef Discussions really are the best educational tool I could hope for with my new reef. So I would like to put out a question to all. In our LFS, we can see 1 tank that has many Clowns, but of all the same species. I'm very partial to Clowns and love the many varieties. So I would like to have maybe 5 different species as pairs in my tank. What are the chances of my success and their living in harmony?

 

[OzinOz]

I want to say first, Reef2Reef Discussions really are the best educational tool I could hope for with my new reef. So I would like to put out a question to all. In our LFS, we can see 1 tank that has many Clowns, but of all the same species. I'm very partial to Clowns and love the many varieties. So I would like to have maybe 5 different species as pairs in my tank. What are the chances of my success and their living in harmony?

You'd need to be very lucky or have a very large tank to try to mix 5 species. Try 2. I've got breeding, very old Ocellaris and had two 8 month old offspring and everything was fine, even visiting each other's anems. Then and added two small black storms and the balance tilted. One of the Oscellaris got beat up and died and the other offspring started picking on the larger Black Storm. Removed the brute to a friend's tank and now the larger storm beats up on the smaller Storm (they got along fine). If someone has tips how to succeed, please share intel.

 

[Azedenkae]

I want to say first, Reef2Reef Discussions really are the best educational tool I could hope for with my new reef. So I would like to put out a question to all. In our LFS, we can see 1 tank that has many Clowns, but of all the same species. I'm very partial to Clowns and love the many varieties. So I would like to have maybe 5 different species as pairs in my tank. What are the chances of my success and their living in harmony?

I have a cinnamon clownfish (Orange) and an ocellaris clownfish (Nemo) that has 'paired' up. 'Paired' in quotation marks, because while they have exhibited mating behaviors (Orange charging but stopping short of hitting Nemo, Nemo doing the submissive shivering thing) and get along, well who knows if it is actually a real pairing until they actually lay eggs.

So why is that relevant? Since it seems like individuals of different species can at least exhibit mating behavior, I am not sure if five pairs of different species may end up being any different from five pairs of the same species. Maybe it is just because there are no other choices that my two clowns ended up pairing up, maybe when there is a choice of a mate of the same species it would be different. But thought I'd chuck in my two cents.

Honestly, I am tempted to say, go for it. It sounds like it is a bad idea, but hey, so long as you accept the risks and consequences, then it might be something you might not regret seeing played out.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

I want to say first, Reef2Reef Discussions really are the best educational tool I could hope for with my new reef. So I would like to put out a question to all. In our LFS, we can see 1 tank that has many Clowns, but of all the same species. I'm very partial to Clowns and love the many varieties. So I would like to have maybe 5 different species as pairs in my tank. What are the chances of my success and their living in harmony?

Here is my experience so far.....

I currently have a 40b set up as a clown/nem tank. I also wanted to try multiple species of clowns together. I believed the key was providing plenty of habitat for everyone.

The tank as of current has...
1 large mag nem
3 medium gig nems (blue, green, purple)
3 BTAs (which will split to make more homes)
(I tried mixing several different more exotic BTAs with poor results. The stories are true and one for another time)

I decided to go with three different species.
6 ocellaris (4 orange, 2 black)
4 spotcinctus
2 lightning maroon

i thought less of the more aggressive would be best. I bought them all as juveniles from breeders (tank raised) and put them all in at the same time. They have been together a couple months now and so far so good. No serious fighting but squabbles as they figure out whos who.

I have some pics and vids on my build thread.....which needs to be updated

 

[Azedenkae]

I decided to go with three different species.
6 ocellaris (4 orange, 2 black)
4 spotcinctus
2 lightning maroon

i thought less of the more aggressive would be best. I bought them all as juveniles from breeders (tank raised) and put them all in at the same time. They have been together a couple months now and so far so good. No serious fighting but squabbles as they figure out whos who.

Interesting, so they do generally interact and try to sort out the hierarchy. Any particular 'alpha' yet?

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Interesting, so they do generally interact and try to sort out the hierarchy. Any particular 'alpha' yet?

My observations so far is that they interact all day together for the most part. The lightnings are at odds for now and stay on seperate ends of the tank.

One lightning and the spotcinctus will often share a nem together throughout the day. The other lightning still interats with others just not the other lightning

The ocellaris will be together but dont let the others into the mag really. The black ones try to keep a gig as well but the spots sometimes have it to haha.

The squabbling i see is between the clowns within species as they pair up. Ive not witnessed squabbling between species yet, other than the back and forth over the one gig, its entertaining!

At night they all have nems they go to except the one lightning who chooses a fungia plate coral or torch.

So i wouldnt say there is an alpha over the whole group.

 

[Azedenkae]

My observations so far is that they interact all day together for the most part. The lightnings are at odds for now and stay on seperate ends of the tank.

One lightning and the spotcinctus will often share a nem together throughout the day. The other lightning still interats with others just not the other lightning

The ocellaris will be together but dont let the others into the mag really. The black ones try to keep a gig as well but the spots sometimes have it to haha.

The squabbling i see is between the clowns within species as they pair up. Ive not witnessed squabbling between species yet, other than the back and forth over the one gig, its entertaining!

At night they all have nems they go to except the one lightning who chooses a fungia plate coral or torch.

So i wouldnt say there is an alpha over the whole group.

Very interesting. Thank you so much for the report.

And this is in 40 gallons right? Can't believe 12 clowns are getting along in a 40 gallon tank. XD But really cool to know.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Very interesting. Thank you so much for the report.

And this is in 40 gallons right? Can't believe 12 clowns are getting along in a 40 gallon tank. XD But really cool to know.

Your welcome and its my pleasure Its fun to share my experience, especially since i dont think its done often.

Yes it is a 40b peninsula....click on my build thread badge to see some vids.

A few keys that have been helpful thus far i believe...
Alot of habitat space (nems in different areas)
All juveniles from breeders
All added at the same time

Im also under no illusion that as time goes on i may have to make adjustments for the fish but i went into this prepared to do that

 

[Azedenkae]

Your welcome and its my pleasure Its fun to share my experience, especially since i dont think its done often.

Yes it is a 40b peninsula....click on my build thread badge to see some vids.

A few keys that have been helpful thus far i believe...
Alot of habitat space (nems in different areas)
All juveniles from breeders
All added at the same time

Im also under no illusion that as time goes on i may have to make adjustments for the fish but i went into this prepared to do that

Yep, I immediately visited your build thread lol. Add more info!

And dang it, now I am sorely tempted to add more clowns to my 20 gallon. But it is going well right now, so Imma restrain myself and not mess it all up. XD Two clowns is enough for me for now.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Yep, I immediately visited your build thread lol. Add more info!

And dang it, now I am sorely tempted to add more clowns to my 20 gallon. But it is going well right now, so Imma restrain myself and not mess it all up. XD Two clowns is enough for me for now.

Oh shoot! i forgot i didnt post this on my build....oops
This is what i wanted you to see.

Also, adding more clowns after the fact may not be wise, but who knows haha

The Clown Circus has come to town!!

So after a lot of prep, perseverance, and patience the clowns have arrived! :) The circus is here and I’m loving it. So far so good. There are 12 clowns in here... 2 lightning maroon 2 phantom occelaris 2 fancy occelaris (brighter) 2 fancy white occelaris (atypical white markings) 4 spotcintus...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Azedenkae]

Oh shoot! i forgot i didnt post this on my build....oops
This is what i wanted you to see.

Also, adding more clowns after the fact may not be wise, but who knows haha

The Clown Circus has come to town!!

So after a lot of prep, perseverance, and patience the clowns have arrived! :) The circus is here and I’m loving it. So far so good. There are 12 clowns in here... 2 lightning maroon 2 phantom occelaris 2 fancy occelaris (brighter) 2 fancy white occelaris (atypical white markings) 4 spotcintus...

www.reef2reef.com

There we go~! I did not see any clowns in your build thread but was too shy to ask lol. But wowwww. Like seriously, wow. Gosh I love seeing so many different species of clowns co-existing... beautiful.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

There we go~! I did not see any clowns in your build thread but was too shy to ask lol. But wowwww. Like seriously, wow. Gosh I love seeing so many different species of clowns co-existing... beautiful.

Haha my bad! When you mentioned seeing my build thread already it clicked for some reason. I will have to link that in my build or something,

Thanks! i love it too. Its better than i imagined it to be

 

[LegendaryCG]

Several months ago I purchased 2 lightning maroon clownfish. I made the mistake of buying them at the same size. Eventually one that wasn't doing so well due to fighting I believe, then disappeared( I think he died then was wiped out by cuc) I am now looking for a new clownfish to go with my lightning maroon. Do I have to get a lightning maroon to go along or can I put any maroon clown with him and be fine. Also should my new clown fish be bigger or smaller than the fish that's been in my display tank?

I paired my 3 inch lightning maroon with a super tiny gold stripe. She was the only fish in a 20g tank. He was maybe 1/2 inch at the most. Couple thoughts about it, he obviously was still a juvenile while she was female and his small size let him hide from her in the tank in spots she couldn’t get to. It was pretty nerve racking for about 2 hours but after that things went from her being just annoyed to amused by having a friend in her tank.

 

[Ardeus]

I don't advise anyone to get ideas from setups that are just a few months old.

Clowns take a few years to reach maturity and their hierarchies are very volatile.

Chances are experimenting with multiple clown species will end up with deaths at some point.

I have a trio of ocellaris living together for 4 years and I had to use every trick in the book and then some to get them to live in harmony.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

I don't advise anyone to get ideas from setups that are just a few months old.

Clowns take a few years to reach maturity and their hierarchies are very volatile.

Chances are experimenting with multiple clown species will end up with deaths at some point.

I have a trio of ocellaris living together for 4 years and I had to use every trick in the book and then some to get them to live in harmony.

I also wouldnt advise just anyone attempt what i am attempting. Much planning, prep and understanding needed for this endeavor.

Deaths may happen yes, so just dont jump into this sort of thing. Be prepared to give the fish what they need which may mean seperating and monitor closely for sure!

Well a trio is difficult yes, not something i would try......clowns arnt poly haha ;P

Curious what your experience is with clowns? I like to learn from others

 

[Tamberav]

I want to say first, Reef2Reef Discussions really are the best educational tool I could hope for with my new reef. So I would like to put out a question to all. In our LFS, we can see 1 tank that has many Clowns, but of all the same species. I'm very partial to Clowns and love the many varieties. So I would like to have maybe 5 different species as pairs in my tank. What are the chances of my success and their living in harmony?

Very slim chance this will work long term.

It will work when the clowns are young but after a few years... once pairs start spawning, then they can get really aggressive.

Almost anyone could keep a mix of young new clowns together. There is nothing magical, they are not that aggressive at that age.

If the tank is large enough you can probably get away with two pairs.

If I wanted to keep and showcase 5+ pairs, I would have a long tank with dividers. Like a breeding system but instead make each area a reef instead of just clay pots.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Very slim chance this will work long term.

It will work when the clowns are young but after a few years... once pairs start spawning, then they can get really aggressive.

If the tank is large enough you can probably get away with two pairs.

If I wanted to keep and showcase 5+ pairs, I would have a long tank with dividers. Like a breeding system but instead make each area a reef instead of just clay pots.

I promise im not trying to be a turd but was curious if you have any experience to share about this?