Re-pairing a lone clownfish worth it?

[Sonatine]

One of my two clowns died unexpectedly. Both fish were young (less than two inches), and I doubt either one of them had begun to transition to female yet. The remaining fish seemed to be the dominant one, but other than some very light, brief chasing, there wasn't much violence between them yet. They weren't really paired yet, as they spent as much time apart as they did together, but they still spent a decent amount of time interacting.

That said, my remaining clown has been more shy since the loss of the other clown. They always lived in the top corner of the tank, but now it leaves there much less and isn't as confident or active in the rest of the tank. The clown still eats well and appears healthy, so I don't think it's sick, just a lot less personable than it used to be (the clown that died was the friendly one).

Personally, I would be fine with having only one clown, as I don't want to deal with violence during spawning, and my tank is only 32.5gal, which puts space at a premium. But my clown seemed to be better off when it had a mate. I'm still in the process of stocking my tank, and I'm hopeful that having other fish present (currently the only other inhabitant is a blenny) will help my clown come out of its shell even if it doesn't have a mate, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough.

What do you think? Would you re-pair the clown in this situation? Is my clown likely to become more sociable as I add some more active fish to the tank even if it remains unpaired?


Sorry for the bad quality picture but here's the "clown tax". The black storm clown is the one surviving clown. I wasn't going to get a designer clown, but it had such pretty markings I couldn't resist.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

It's up to you, but I would probably opt to buy another clown. Since your tank is smaller though, if you'd rather allocate that space to a different fish on your stocking list, that's fine too. Single clowns do just fine.
As far as any "violence during spawning", I've never seen my clowns exhibit this behavior...

 

[Sonatine]

It's up to you, but I would probably opt to buy another clown. Since your tank is smaller though, if you'd rather allocate that space to a different fish on your stocking list, that's fine too. Single clowns do just fine.
As far as any "violence during spawning", I've never seen my clowns exhibit this behavior...

Yeah, I'm leaning towards another clown. It's good to hear that your clowns don't get overly aggressive/violent during spawning, too. I hear horror stories on the internet of how bad it can be, so it's nice to know that not all clowns become aggressive monsters.

Right now I'm thinking I'll continue down my stocking list for a bit and see how my resident clown does, and then add the new clown second to last or last if it still seems lonely. Hopefully since the resident clown is so young I can get away with waiting a couple of weeks to introduce another one.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards another clown. It's good to hear that your clowns don't get overly aggressive/violent during spawning, too. I hear horror stories on the internet of how bad it can be, so it's nice to know that not all clowns become aggressive monsters.

Right now I'm thinking I'll continue down my stocking list for a bit and see how my resident clown does, and then add the new clown second to last or last if it still seems lonely. Hopefully since the resident clown is so young I can get away with waiting a couple of weeks to introduce another one.

My pair were my first fish, and had been in someone else's tank for a couple years. Unfortunately, the male "beached" himself on the glass brace and didn't make it (lesson learned... have had lids on ever since). The remaining clown was relatively large compared to ones I saw in the stores so I didn't buy another for fear she would be aggressive. Then a friend moved and gave me his lone clown, who was still significantly smaller than mine, and to my relief, they became instant friends
(Well, I did put the new one in an acclimation box for a few days, but still, it worked out fine)

 

[Sonatine]

My pair were my first fish, and had been in someone else's tank for a couple years. Unfortunately, the male "beached" himself on the glass brace and didn't make it (lesson learned... have had lids on ever since). The remaining clown was relatively large compared to ones I saw in the stores so I didn't buy another for fear she would be aggressive. Then a friend moved and gave me his lone clown, who was still significantly smaller than mine, and to my relief, they became instant friends
(Well, I did put the new one in an acclimation box for a few days, but still, it worked out fine)

I'm sorry about your clown! I'm glad the female was able to have a new mate. I'd be happy to see my clown back to its old confident self. It was the second one introduced, but was always so brazen in spite of it, and it's been sad to see it shy and hanging out in the corner like it forgot what the rest of the tank is for (except at feeding time; it sure as heck remembers how to act normally when food is involved).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What other fish do you have?

 

[Sonatine]

What other fish do you have?

Currently only a bicolor blenny and the clown. Planning for an orchid dottyback and either a springer's damsel or a cherub angel. I'll probably add my next fish this week.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I take delight in watching my two clowns interact with one another.

 

[Sonatine]

I take delight in watching my two clowns interact with one another.

I really did too, which is why it’s so sad to see the remaining clown seeming so much more withdrawn.

I wasn’t impressed with the clownfish the last time I went to my LFS (overall they have a good selection and I like to buy local when possible), but maybe I’ll see if they have a smaller one I like in a few weeks.

 

[jtf74]

How old was the dead clown?

 

[Cheezle]

Introduce a new clown! I had a clown die on me, introducing the new regular clown in the pic has given my snowflake clown new life. They swim all over the place and live inside the elegance now, they even paired up fairly fast. Life is always better when you've got a friend to experience it with, no different for our clown friends I imagine lol

 

[Sonatine]

How old was the dead clown?

Young. Both were juveniles. I don't know an exact age but they were probably 1-1.5" long.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Just get a clown that is smaller than your current one. You can use a acclamations box or throw them in a bucket together for a bit for a "oh shoot I don’t know what is happening, but we better stick together" bonding process.

 

[jtf74]

Young. Both were juveniles. I don't know an exact age but they were probably 1-1.5" long.

Then I guess my question would be is your tank stable considering the fish died so young?

 

[Sonatine]

Then I guess my question would be is your tank stable considering the fish died so young?

None of my other fish have shown any signs of illness or distress. No water quality issues that my testing was able to detect. Fish was active and eating up until less than 24 hours before its death, and I did not see any external signs of illness on its body.
The tank is stable to the best of my knowledge.

 

[aabjones888]

Yes very worth it. It’s amazing just to watch a pair swimming around in a frogspawn or anemone.

 

[jtf74]

None of my other fish have shown any signs of illness or distress. No water quality issues that my testing was able to detect. Fish was active and eating up until less than 24 hours before its death, and I did not see any external signs of illness on its body.
The tank is stable to the best of my knowledge.

Then for the price/hardiness a pair of clowns is fun, but I understand sometimes two of similar size can have problems. If you want a true male/female seemless pairing let the one you have grow and get another small one in about 4 years. My first clown was about 5 when I got my 2nd and was just fine alone in her nem with a couple other fish.

 

[geckoejon]

I’m going through this myself… Mine is from the “pair“ I purchased never bonding. They eventually fought to the point i removed the smaller…

the fem is hosting nems & is one of my favorite things in the tank! I got another smaller male… hoping they bond!!!

 

[Sonatine]

Then for the price/hardiness a pair of clowns is fun, but I understand sometimes two of similar size can have problems. If you want a true male/female seemless pairing let the one you have grow and get another small one in about 4 years. My first clown was about 5 when I got my 2nd and was just fine alone in her nem with a couple other fish.

The weird thing about that was that the dead clown also showed no signs of injury, or even stress (until less than a day before it died). I never saw any untoward aggression though I guess it’s possible it happened when I wasn’t around.

I personally would be fine with just one clown, but my remaining clown isn’t doing as well since it’s counterpart died. Not sick, it just acts weird… lots more glass surfing and more sulking in its favorite corner. I’m not really worried about its health, but I think it would be more comfortable with a buddy.