Matt_95 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I'm wanting to start a 4x2x2 with a carpet anemone, some sea grass and a colony of enough percs or occelaris clowns. Any advice on the best way to make it succeed? What would be a good number of clowns to have in there? I'm assuming that the more I have the more the aggression will be spread out? Quote Link to comment
DriftingNemo Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Clownfish like bees live in a large group, the biggest clown becomes the female. Once the female dies or is removed from the group, the second largest fish becomes the dominant female. Just get as many clowns as a 4x2x2 can handle, make sure your filtration is capable of the fish load and provide enough Anemones to further reduce the aggression. Quote Link to comment
tam Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1259398 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=660686 Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks very much. I'll only be having the one haddoni, how many clowns do you think one could host? I would love to add some RBTA but they cost $400-800 in my country so they're a bit cost prohibitive. I've seen huge patches in the wild though. If I can find one in my area I'll collect one if I can. Thanks for those links. From the looks of that I have to start with fish that are from the same spawn? No chance of mixing Darwin occelaris and percs then? Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thanks very much. I'll only be having the one haddoni, how many clowns do you think one could host? I would love to add some RBTA but they cost $400-800 in my country so they're a bit cost prohibitive. I've seen huge patches in the wild though. If I can find one in my area I'll collect one if I can. Thanks for those links. From the looks of that I have to start with fish that are from the same spawn? No chance of mixing Darwin occelaris and percs then? Holy crap.. they cost that much? They are so easy to propagate though! Sounds to me like people should buy one and cut it in half for mad http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/propagating-bubble-tip-anemone/ 1 Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Yep RBTA are really expensive for us over here and exotic BTA are really hard to find. I really like the clown fish colony idea though, be prepaed to possibly lose one to two initialy as they sort our the hierarchy. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 A local reefer here is doing a clown colony and he is going with 16 percula's in a 55g + a few extra's the breeder threw in. If that is of any help. Yep RBTA are really expensive for us over here and exotic BTA are really hard to find. I really like the clown fish colony idea though, be prepaed to possibly lose one to two initialy as they sort our the hierarchy. Seems to me like 2 people or even a group should get together and split the cost. Then propagate it. Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Seems to me like 2 people or even a group should get together and split the cost. Then propagate it. Yeah would make sense, would take a while to flood the market to the degree where specemins would be sub $200 though. I have seen one in person at my favorite LFS, they brought one for their display tank but it only lasted a few weeks before a desperate client made them an offer they couldn't refuse and they sold it. Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 It's ridiculous hey, they aren't all that rare in the wild. They're hard to collect though. I think the high price makes people not want to cut their nems in half. I might go for maybe around 25 clowns. Would it be possible to house other fish in there? I was thinking maybhe some captive bred bangai cardinals. I've seen that they can be hosted by carpet anemones in the wild so I would hope they would be more safe around the anemone? Any other fish I could do? 1 Quote Link to comment
Lazers Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2073492 1 Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I would probably not add Bangai cardinals in with that many clowns. Clowns can be very mean and with the extremely timid bangai's in such close proximity they will probably get bullied. Personally I would be looking at using 4-5 BTA's or long tentacle nems as I know how cheap they are over here and they are not notorious fish eaters like the carpet nems but each to their own, I can only make suggestions . I would consider adding some placid fairy wrasses if you wanted some different fish. They can hold their own against the clowns and if the clowns ever get threatened by them they can run back to the nem. Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 I'll skip on the cardinals then. I'm going for more of a lagoon type environment. I'm definitely set on the carpet, I love their look. I plan on having the anemone, very minimal rock, some sea grass or a sea grass looking macro algae and if possible some driftwood to mimic the environment I see these guys in. I often see BTA in the cracks or driftwood so I might add a few. I'm not sure on the driftwood though. I don't want it to alter my water parameters. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 What will you use for filtration being that there are so many big poopers and little rock? 1 Quote Link to comment
kush. Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 wow... i really like this idea. make sure you have a ton of filtrations as clowns love to eat which means they love to pop! I can't believe rbta's cost you that much! I got a 8 inch rba from my buddy who tore down the tank for $50! It ended up splitting and i now have 2 5" nems for $50 . Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 What will you use for filtration being that there are so many big poopers and little rock? I'll definitely have a sump on the tank, I'm assuming I could fill that with live rock plus a skimmer. Or is there something more efficient than that? wow... i really like this idea. make sure you have a ton of filtrations as clowns love to eat which means they love to pop! I can't believe rbta's cost you that much! I got a 8 inch rba from my buddy who tore down the tank for $50! It ended up splitting and i now have 2 5" nems for $50 . This is the kind of information that keeps me awake at night . 1 Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 I would probably not add Bangai cardinals in with that many clowns. Clowns can be very mean and with the extremely timid bangai's in such close proximity they will probably get bullied. Personally I would be looking at using 4-5 BTA's or long tentacle nems as I know how cheap they are over here and they are not notorious fish eaters like the carpet nems but each to their own, I can only make suggestions . I would consider adding some placid fairy wrasses if you wanted some different fish. They can hold their own against the clowns and if the clowns ever get threatened by them they can run back to the nem. Are you sure that there's no way I could keep the cardinals with them? The reef central thread above has bangai cardinals breeding in with those clowns. I'd love to make it work if I could. Also any chance a mimic tang would be compatible? Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Are you sure that there's no way I could keep the cardinals with them? The reef central thread above has bangai cardinals breeding in with those clowns. I'd love to make it work if I could. Also any chance a mimic tang would be compatible? You did also say that you were going to have minimal rock. Bangaii's are very timid and will require caves etc. to hide in. In nature they are found amongst sea grass however so once your sea grass grows in its worth a try. Not something I would attempt but worth a shot. Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 You did also say that you were going to have minimal rock. Bangaii's are very timid and will require caves etc. to hide in. In nature they are found amongst sea grass however so once your sea grass grows in its worth a try. Not something I would attempt but worth a shot. How much rock work would they need? I could do something like a patch reef down one end of the tank. I wouldn't want to put anything that doesn't have a reasonable chance of success. Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 How much rock work would they need? I could do something like a patch reef down one end of the tank. I wouldn't want to put anything that doesn't have a reasonable chance of success. That's not something I can answer I'm afraid as I have never kept bangaii cardinals before. I do have longspine cardinals at the moment with my single clown and she will chase them from time to time but has never done any damage to them. I have quite a bit of open rock work for them to chill out in though. Quote Link to comment
Matt_95 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 I might either leave it or ensure I have a tank ready to house them in case there's any problems. I'll have to think on it some more. I was talking to the breeder I want to buy my clowns from on the phone tonight. He reckons one carpet anemone may not be able to hold that many clowns. Any thoughts on that? Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I might either leave it or ensure I have a tank ready to house them in case there's any problems. I'll have to think on it some more. I was talking to the breeder I want to buy my clowns from on the phone tonight. He reckons one carpet anemone may not be able to hold that many clowns. Any thoughts on that? Probably not. Propagate a bubble tip.... dooo it! This was once 1 small bubble tip... fast forward 7 years and it had clowned itself enough to cover a 110g tank 1 1 Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 On 6/6/2014 at 11:30 PM, Tamberav said: This was once 1 small bubble tip... fast forward 7 years and it had clowned itself enough to cover a 110g tank Wow...that is a lot of anemones. Even more amazing that they are in a 110 gallon. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.