1 clown or 2 in a 10 gal?

[eferna]

Anyone had any experience with perculas? Keeping two in a 10 gal?

I really like clowfish and would love to have two of them..

[SLOreefer]

thats fine...i have one right now but wish i had 2....go ahead and do it...they will be fine

[eferna]

thanks I probaby will go to my lfs and see the ones that they have.  I'll probably pick it up sometime during the weekend. I usually like getting my fish over the weekend that way I can keep an eye on them for at least the first two days.

[The Unit]

how do u have a 55w pc lamp over a ten gal tank....?20" tank......23"light....any pics....

[BustytheSnowMaam]

Be sure to get tank-raised- you may have to pay more but it's worth it!  Also make sure they're both males, one will turn into a female eventually and you'll have a pair.  

Tasha

[eferna]

The Unit:

Light is 24inches- 2 inches off on each side. I do have a pic. I think its in the members nano reef forums somewhere on the first page.

 

Tashayar:

I will ask my LFS if they have tank raised percs. How do u determine if they are males? I though that clowns change sex. The bigger one becoming the male and the smaller one becoming the female.

[HuBu]

eferna has the same set up as quik's. if you search, quik had a thread here showing the way he set up the 55s.

[Nishant3789]

you could put he light diagnally right? it should fit sincethere would be more room. but i duno how good this owuld be if u weanted to ad another light onto it. as fo the clowns, do some reaserch on how to get clowns to become a mated pair. Ive heard that its better to get one clwon wait 3 months then get another that way one would become female and the other would become male. if u need more info just ask others or me.

nishant

[JROC]

Just curious, do you have any other fish in the tank?

[reef hugger]

all clowns start off as male. when 2 pair up the dominant one will become the female.

 

nishant, about adding one then the other a month later IMO wouldn't be a good idea. the first 1 would have established his territory, then adding the second later would be intruding in his territory. there would be alot more aggression that way. adding them at the same time they have no area to defend, less aggresion. and what little fighting that they do, will be establish dominance. 1 becomes female and grows larger, the other stays male and smaller.

 

hth

[MKramer]

I think it's better described as all clowns start out as sexless.  Since there's no such thing as sex-determining genetics in a clownfish (like X & Y chromosomes in humans), sex is entirely determined by hormones.  

 

And only the top two clowns in a family unit produce these sex-determining hormones.

[eferna]

JROC:

No other fish in here. I went to my LFS and saw some beautiful black perculas that were tank raised. However the price was a bit too steep. It was like CAD$49.99 each.

[Nishant3789]

But if u put both in at one time they will fight over who is dominant. Plus if on is smaller it will get beat up anyways but it will become male. i also agree taht clowns when young are not male. they are considered Juvies, they have no sex. well hth

nishant

[MKramer]

eferna:

 

Are they ocellaris or percula?  Most stores will sell black ocellaris as "black percula," incorrectly.  But most tank-raised black clowns are ocellaris.

 

There is no problem keeping two ocellaris clowns in 10g.  I'd be a little hesitant about placing two true percs in that size tank, though.  

 

Ocellaris should be kept in pairs, it'll keep them happy.  No one wants to see a depressed fishy.  I personally like getting them both as juvies and putting them in at the same time.  Yes, there will be some dominance play, and for a week or two, the less dominant one will be harassed quite a bit by the more dominant one.  But this is natural for them, it will subside, the most dominant will become a female, and a few weeks later, the less dominante will become the male.

 

Enjoy.

[reef hugger]

mkramer, this is kind of off topic, i have a 3" ocellaris (2+ years old) in my 50gal would it be to late to put a juvi in with it? there is also a zebra moray and 2 yellow tail damsels in there now. the clown is the dominant fish in the tank. would the clown and damsels terrorize the juvi clown?

[MKramer]

As far as the existing clown goes, I would expect a new one would be accepted before too long, especially it is a truely young tank-raised.  They seem to most readily submit to dominate "partners."  The existing one will give it some hell for a week or so, probably most often chasing it into a small cave or something where it can hide safely.  After which, the new/small clown will finally be acepted into the "family," and the sexual changes will take place.

 

Ocellaris are probably the most willing of the clowns when it comes to accepting partners.

 

That said, I don't know the first thing about eels.  I've no idea how that interaction would work.

 

As for the yellow-tails, they'll pick on the new juvie at first, but once existing clown starts her dominance games, they'll more than likely stay out of it.  Mostly because when the big one isn't picking on the juvie, it'll be hiding.  It's sad to watch, but rather amusing at the same time.

 

Once the juvie's accepted, the damsels won't mess with the dominant clown's family.  Especially once she completes her change to a full female.  Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, they say.

 

The new pair certainly won't breed in such a tank, though, but that may or may not bother you.

 

I'd say as long as the eel won't aggressively chase the new fish, it'd be fine.

 

But I'm no expert.  Even if I try to sound like one sometimes.

[Sahin]

Wow, I wasnt even aware that clowns sex is determined by hormones...WOW, thats simply amazing.

 

I do think that two in a 10 is too much?

Whats the adult size of these fishes?

[reef hugger]

the eel is rather large about 26" (i know we need a bigger tank for him, its in the works) but is the most peaceful fish in the tank. has never chased any of the others unlike the stupid snowflake. which was moved to a 55gal with a trigger. even the trigger is afraid of him.

 

the clowns, if they did pair up would be moved to their own tank.

[MKramer]

Sahin:

 

Clowns are incredibly cool fish.  I can't imagine having a SW tank without a pair.

 

The only species I would ever think is acceptable to pair in a 10g are ocellaris.  Tank-raised varieties won't exceed 3" in such a setting, and seem quite acustomed to tight quarters.  In the wild, thesec lowns, as well as most others, rarely stray more than a foot from their host anemone.  They're lousy swimmers, and don't really require the space.

 

However, a pair in a 10g will get a little territorial.  I wouldn't suggest adding a third fish, even if you thought your bioload could handle it.

 

joshnemily:

 

If the zerba is the peaceful, I'd say the only concern is the damsels.  I'd personally go ahead with adding a juvie.  The first couple weeks will be action-packed, but it'll settle down, get an ego, and put the damsels in their place.

[reef hugger]

im not sure if the existing clown was tank raised or not. would that matter?

 

about the putting more than 2 fish in a ten. IMO that would be the most for any kind of fish that i would put in.

[Sahin]

MKramer: thanks for the info.

I guess I could keep a pair in my 24G with little problem.

[MKramer]

While it might make the acceptance process go a little slower of the existing clown isn't tank-raised, it shouldn't really matter.  The important thing is the behavior of the new clown when tossed into a tank of dominate fish.  If it insists on putting up a fight, it's bound to get hurt.  But if it submits readily, it'll save itself a lot of grief.  And the tank-raised seem to catch on much quicker to when they're outmatched, at least according to what I've read.  I've never seen wild-caught ones to compare the process with, so I can only relay what I've seen elsewhere.

[reef hugger]

i was thinking of getting a black ocellaris. tank raised of course. that would look pretty cool, having an orange and a black. i wonder what the babies would look like, if they do actually spawn.

[eferna]

I went out and got 1 ocellaris tank raised clown. I think I will only keep one. He does look lonely though. I will have pics up soon.

Alos picked up another 4 lbs of Live Rock..for a total of about 15 lbs now.

[MKramer]

They'll probably never spawn with the damsels around.

 

But I've been wanting a black ocellaris for the same reason.  I love the idea of breeding for odd traits.  My female ocellaris has a saddle instead of a middle stripe.  Combine that with a black body...  could get really unique.  But I've no idea if her markings will be hereditary.

 

eferna:

Enjoy the new fish.  I do think ocellaris are really best kept in pairs, but it'll probably do alright.  You'll just miss out on al the crazy pair antics.