Replacing a clown..

[DracoKat]

So on friday, my female clown of 4 years disappeared. I could not find a body anywhere but a lose piece of fin floating. I had a glimmer of hope she was just hiding really well after a battle.. but today, I determined her officially gone

I want to replace her, find another clown for my existing male.

1. I'll need to find a smaller juvie clown, right?
2. Can I get a designer clown, or do I have to stick with false percula (which is what the male is)
3. Can I get 2, or do I have to get 1?
4. any advice? I don't want the male to go on a killing spree with the new guy

 

[helen ann]

Sorry about your clown!

Let me give you a bump and hopefully someone can help you with your questions.

I believe number 1 is a YES though.

 

[Ebone]

bad luck weekend, same thing happened to me on friday/sat sad day

 

[Duke4Life]

@eatbreakfast

 

[eatbreakfast]

So on friday, my female clown of 4 years disappeared. I could not find a body anywhere but a lose piece of fin floating. I had a glimmer of hope she was just hiding really well after a battle.. but today, I determined her officially gone

I want to replace her, find another clown for my existing male.

1. I'll need to find a smaller juvie clown, right?
2. Can I get a designer clown, or do I have to stick with false percula (which is what the male is)
3. Can I get 2, or do I have to get 1?
4. any advice? I don't want the male to go on a killing spree with the new guy

1. Yes, you'll need to get smaller juvies.

2. As long as it's in the same complex, perc/ocellaris, or any of their fancy variants, you'll be fine.

3. As long as they're juveniles you can get a few.

4. As long as they're juveniles they will be readily accepted.

 

[DracoKat]

bad luck weekend, same thing happened to me on friday/sat sad day

I am so sorry

@eatbreakfast - thank you!

 

[tomtom2245]

Yes you can get another as long as it is smaller than the male and preferably from a batch of other small ones, i.e. don't get a small one if it has been on its own for awhile. As long as the new one is the same species, perc or ocellaris, it doesn't matter what its markings are. I kept a snowflake and a b&w pair for the longest time. That's how all of the crazy patterns come about. Depending on the tank size, I would only get one. If you get two, a pair will establish and most likely "shun" the third. The only other advice I really have is to keep them well fed during the pairing. A full clown is a happy clown.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Yes you can get another as long as it is smaller than the male and preferably from a batch of other small ones, i.e. don't get a small one if it has been on its own for awhile. As long as the new one is the same species, perc or ocellaris, it doesn't matter what its markings are. I kept a snowflake and a b&w pair for the longest time. That's how all of the crazy patterns come about. Depending on the tank size, I would only get one. If you get two, a pair will establish and most likely "shun" the third. The only other advice I really have is to keep them well fed during the pairing. A full clown is a happy clown.

I agree with most of this, but clowns are colonial by nature. As long as they are juveniles they will be accepted. In 3'+ tanks if there are two extra juveniles they may form a second pr and not be colonial, but a third clown almost always stays part of the colony rather than being chased away.

 

[tomtom2245]

I agree with most of this, but clowns are colonial by nature. As long as they are juveniles they will be accepted. In 3'+ tanks if there are two extra juveniles they may form a second pr and not be colonial, but a third clown almost always stays part of the colony rather than being chased away.

I will agree with you which is why I stipulated depending on the tank size. I tried it in my 20gal and there just wasn't enough room for more than a pair.

 

[DracoKat]

thansk! I have a 75g tank. It'd be OK if I get 3 more, to have 2 pairs?

 

[germs101]

I had the same thing happen- the female died. I've actually just gone through most of your options and I'll share MY experience (may be different than others, but I know what did and did NOT WORK for me).

My original pair was an Ocellaris and a black and white Ocellaris. They survived velvet together, but 4 months later the female died of something different altogether.

I added him to my 265 gallon that had two Cinnamon clownfish. They got along for months until I decided to qt them when I got new live rock to let the display go fallow. They went into a 39 gallon. After a few weeks, the Cinnamon clownfish started hating on BOTH males. I added a large crossbreed of clown ( half Ocellaris half Maroon "Chocolate", Ocellaris personality). She held her own, but even after the female Cinnamon was in a timeout box for a month, she went crazy on everyone when she got out. I decided she was better off as a permanent single girl, and I banished her to a Dwarf Lionfish tank ( she's big enough).

This left me with my dilemma about what to do with the male Cinnamon. The new female "Chocolate" clown kept him in check, so I decided this trio may work. Those three are now all in my 265 gallon. The two Ocellaris varieties are always together, and only occasionally does the Cinnamon male come around. The large female keeps him a male.

So, my LONG story hopefully gives you some insight as to what you may deal with. If I was doing this over again, I'd only ever keep two clowns in the same tank of the same sub-breed no matter what size tank- too many personality problems otherwise. I was also very successful adding a large female with a small male. I think it helped because they already had their gender roles worked out [emoji6]

Good luck!

 

[DracoKat]

thank you for sharing your experience! It does help give me some food for thought

 

[eatbreakfast]

I had the same thing happen- the female died. I've actually just gone through most of your options and I'll share MY experience (may be different than others, but I know what did and did NOT WORK for me).

My original pair was an Ocellaris and a black and white Ocellaris. They survived velvet together, but 4 months later the female died of something different altogether.

I added him to my 265 gallon that had two Cinnamon clownfish. They got along for months until I decided to qt them when I got new live rock to let the display go fallow. They went into a 39 gallon. After a few weeks, the Cinnamon clownfish started hating on BOTH males. I added a large crossbreed of clown ( half Ocellaris half Maroon "Chocolate", Ocellaris personality). She held her own, but even after the female Cinnamon was in a timeout box for a month, she went crazy on everyone when she got out. I decided she was better off as a permanent single girl, and I banished her to a Dwarf Lionfish tank ( she's big enough).

This left me with my dilemma about what to do with the male Cinnamon. The new female "Chocolate" clown kept him in check, so I decided this trio may work. Those three are now all in my 265 gallon. The two Ocellaris varieties are always together, and only occasionally does the Cinnamon male come around. The large female keeps him a male.

So, my LONG story hopefully gives you some insight as to what you may deal with. If I was doing this over again, I'd only ever keep two clowns in the same tank of the same sub-breed no matter what size tank- too many personality problems otherwise. I was also very successful adding a large female with a small male. I think it helped because they already had their gender roles worked out [emoji6]

Good luck!

This doesn't surprise me with cinnamon clowns, they are in a very aggressive complex, the tomato and maroon complexes are the two most aggressive. The perc/ocellaris complex is much more peaceful

 

[germs101]

This doesn't surprise me with cinnamon clowns, they are in a very aggressive complex, the tomato and maroon complexes are the two most aggressive. The perc/ocellaris complex is much more peaceful

Yes, never again for me. However, I saw one that was 11 years old and the size of my hand [emoji30], so I'm stuck with them awhile.

 

[DracoKat]

ha, yea I hear cinnamon and tomatoes are aggressive.

I found someone local that breeds designer clowns. I may check out to see what they have an get 3, to have 2 pairs in my 75g