Tomato clowns.

[michealprater]

can two tomato clowns be kept together?

 

[Bang Guy]

If you have a mated pair, or they are both very small.

 

[Jacob Morgan]

if u get them at different times.. then rearrange your tank it will set them all off balance adn they will get along nicely or should. I had to do this when i added a clown to my tnak which had a damsel in it (large damsel)


Jacob

 

[GOBY]

tomato clowns

If they are a mated pair then yes but I have seen them be quite
aggressive towards each other.
good luck!

 

[donkeykong]

If not know mated pair then you best bet is to get them small like bang guy said. Also at the same time because sometimes the moving thing around does not always works.

 

[CaliGal]

Reporting in on this one... I would discourage adding a second Clown after having one established in a tank. It is not likely to be a positive situation.

I tried adding a second Clown with NO success. Fortunately, I put the new clown in a plastic bubble (full of holes for water to pass through) and placed the fish-in-bubble a distance from the other Clown.

After some time my original Clown spotted the new guy and all heck broke loose between the two (through the plastic). Allowing a fair amount of time to pass, it was obvious that releasing the second fish would have been a bad decision. I do not believe there would have been a different reaction if the situation has not been controlled. I took the new Clown back to the LFS.

(A side note: My decision to return the Clown to the LFS was made after the store was closed... for two days. I put the little guy into a less turbulent area of my sump until I was able to retrieve and return him.)

Sue

 

[Jacob Morgan]

I had a blue damsel in my 29 gallon tank which was up for a month or two.. when I added teh tomato clown the damsel(which was very large.. ) went nuts he would bomb at teh clown over and over and just get teh clown down in a corner. I was afraid for its life but after talkin to ppl on Val's old forum I got told to rearrange my tank.. So I did and it all worked great. They setup new territorries and never fought again. Or not as bad when I fed them teh damsel was more agressive but I figure that was normal.


Jacob

 

[michealprater]

ive had a tomato and maroon together for over a year. they were put in at different times(tomato first). im buying out my uncles sw tank contents and it has a tomato clown, i was just wondering if it would be pushing it. his tomato clown is a small one but mine is larger. I know with african ciclids alot of the time a bigger fish wont harass a smaller new one because hes not a threat. didnt know if that would apply with tomatoes or not. :?

 

[CaliGal]

Michael,

Before giving up on the idea, it seems the LR re-arrangement has produced good results on this accord. Is it possible for you to make some changes in your aquascape?

My Maroon has a foot-tall rock of very hairy mushrooms he calls home (and almost as wide). Possibly if I were to move his abode, I could add another Clown. (However, to get my hand near those precious mushrooms to move them would upset this Clown immeasurably. Talk about territorial! Though he does not bother any fish who come near, -I- had better not approach them. Interesting.)

Sue

 

[michealprater]

i sold my tomato and spine cheek. i now have a pair of gold bar maroons.

 

[Salty]

I too thought of adding another clown to my 90. I have that Spine Cheek and wanted to add an Orange Skunk (to hopefully take up in the Magnifica). I was going to do what Cali Gal did. I was going to use the plastic egg crates used in fluro lighting to make a box. Place the Skunk in for a week or two to see how the Boss (Spine Cheek) handles it. Haven't tried it yet. Any thoughts???

 

[reefrunner69]

IMO, a 90 is too small for the addition of another clown, since the Maroon is established and female and already owns the tank. The new clown will get....

 

[Salty]

That's cool. You have been around the hobby much longer and your opinion means a lot. I guess I need to get a new tank!!!!

 

[michealprater]

i think if you keep it separated for awhile it may work. if rearranging is possible that might help. just make sure the lfs will tank it back if the aggression is too much while it is separated in the "fish prison" if you will.