Two Pairs of Clownfish

[ahuynh616]

I currently have a pair of small Ocellaris Clownfish in my RS 525XL (5ft 109 DT). These guys were bought paired up and pretty much stay together in the tank. Purchased while visiting TSM Aquatics and waiting on the order below.

From Marine Collectors. Paired Wild caught Ocellaris Clownfish and they are much bigger then I thought and I currently have them in a Fluval 13.5 gal. The biggest is at least 2-3 times bigger then the clowns in my 525xl. I think the female is 2 inches and THICK.

My options I thought about…

1. Switch each pair, putting the bigger wild pair in my 525xl and the much smaller pair in the 13.5. My 525XL is very peaceful and Inwouldnt want any added possible aggresion.

2. Add the wild pair to the small pair in the 525xl which would mean two set of paired clownfish in the tank. Bad Idea? I would feel terrible if the big pair picked on the small pair. I do not have any anemones at the moment.

3. Keep it the way it is.

 

[blaxsun]

Option #1 is the safest, option #2 entails more risk (although they may end up getting along just fine). If they're that much bigger I'd probably rule option #3 out. If you can catch them (or have a fish trap), you could always try option #2 and watch for signs of aggression/territorial issues - then fallback on option #1.

 

[ahuynh616]

Not the greatest pictures but hopefully you can see the size difference. The two small guys in the 525xl pretty much hang up top when it gets to night time and just swim around the the outskirts of the tank. They don't look to be the greatest swimmers.

I definitely don't feel great having the big clown in the small tank so I'm leaning towards option 2 and see how it goes.

 

[ahuynh616]

May actually put the wild pair in an acclimation box for the night and see how it goes for now. (don't mind the ton of dwarf ceriths that come out at lights out...)

 

[Stevorino]

May actually put the wild pair in an acclimation box for the night and see how it goes for now. (don't mind the ton of dwarf ceriths that come out at lights out...)

How'd it go?

I am considering breaking down my nano tank and moving that mated pair into my main tank that currently houses another mated pair. Interested to hear success rates - seems like it's a coin toss based on my early reading