Will my Ocellaris fight new clowns?

[dankreef]

Hi I have a really big Ocellaris black and white clown. I wanted to add a couple more clowns to my tank or possibly 1 to have a pair. What is the deal with the one I have right now will he be accepting to my new clowns? Does species matter? He nips at my chromies and stuff sometimes and likes his little spot on my reef. Just wondering if its gona be WWF if I had another clown or clown's' to the tank? Also have a nice rbta that is new and he doesn't seem to notice it at all kind of a disappointment. :squigglemouth:

 

[Craig Borowski Verified Sponsor]

Adding new clowns can be tricky and there's almost always some aggression, at least at first. How large is your aquarium and how large is the clownfish you have now?

 

[dankreef]

125 and hes pretty much full grown I would say everyone that see's him says hes a monster. So sounds like it would be better to try and remove him.

 

[JasonPG]

125 and hes pretty much full grown I would say everyone that see's him says hes a monster. So sounds like it would be better to try and remove him.

Well first off, he is a she.

You'll be safe with any Occelaris morph but I think sticking with a 2nd black and white juvenile male is your best bet.

The trick is going to be carefully introducing the juvenile male to your female. Use a breeder box. Carefully monitor their interactions and she should eventually accept him.

 

[Craig Borowski Verified Sponsor]

If she is full grown then you're pretty much guaranteed some aggression. Another option to consider is to relocate the clown, like maybe to your sump or to another tank, and allow the new clownfish a few weeks to get settled in. Then when your big clown gets returned to the display, she'll hopefully act a little more humble and less territorial. There are quite a few methods similar to this, and they can all be successful, but they will require a fair amount of supervision on your part.

 

[Kano]

When I paired up my female maroon I caught the female in one of those $5 plastic aquariums from Petco and introduced the much smaller male. There wasn't much aggression and after only a day I felt it would be safe to let the female out. I did this the next day when I could watch the tank all day. Dominance was asserted VERY quickly and after a week or so the male was allowed to freely swim around the aquarium. A lot of fish pairing is luck because if you have an "evil" fish or they might just not like the fish you picked out (blind dates, ew) you might not ever be able to pair her up. Just be ready to save the male if you need to.

 

[dankreef]

How do you know shes a female without even seeing her? And what is a good method to catch the monster net = rocks. ? Sump sounds like a good idea or breeder box ? Also what about QT them both together in my other tank would that make a difference if I had the new one in the other tank first then put the she whale in ?

 

[dankreef]

Also what about size, if the new fish is small will that matter? Or should I try to get another big one.

 

[dankreef]

Oops last post was suppose to be small one. So were saying small male is the best bet? Thanks for the info so far am new to this stuff Any info on the catch method would be awesome.

 

[STL]

I was able to catch both of my Ocellaris clownfish (one large female, and a small male - moved to a bigger tank) by waiting until their sleepy time, putting a large glass beaker in the tank (any container would have worked) and then just herding them into the container with one hand while holding the container with the other. If she's used to being fed by you, she'll probably trust you enough that she'll be easy to shoo into a container.

 

[JasonPG]

How do you know shes a female without even seeing her? And what is a good method to catch the monster net = rocks. ? Sump sounds like a good idea or breeder box ? Also what about QT them both together in my other tank would that make a difference if I had the new one in the other tank first then put the she whale in ?

99% chance it's a female. They all start off as non-sexual males. The largest, most aggresive fish quickly transforms into a male and then a female. The next largest in the group becomes the male. The only way to advance in the social order is if something happens to either the male or female. However, a solitary non-sexual male can swim off on his own and form his own social order. He'll quickly become a female.

Good rule of thumb, if your clownfish is full-sized, solitary and mean... it's a female. That's just they way they regulate themselves in nature.

 

[dankreef]

thats some crazy information thanks for the reply. I currently just caught the she whale and have her in my sump. is the best option to introduce a young male in the DT then after a bit introduce the female?

 

[gar732]

I have a ten year old female occy in my display. I picked up a black ice clown and put him in an acclimation box for a few days. There didn't seem to be much aggression so I let the male out and had no issues. In your case since you already removed the female I would let the male settle in for about a week or so and then re-introduce the female and keep a close eye on them being prepared to remove one of them if need be.

 

[nateroten]

my ocellaris bit me for the first time today lol but it wasn't so bad

 

[dankreef]

Thinking I am going to find a small one and put it in DT then wait a bit to add female as recommened. Sounds about what I was planning on doing just didn't think it would be so easy to get the female out. Thanks for the help!