should I try to get a 'mate' for a maroon clown?

[Marilyn]

Newbie Question! I have recently acquired a maroon clown. I had heard that clownfish are better if kept in pairs and quite honestly there are only two other fish in my tank (both damsels). I feel a bit sorry for him/her and am thinking about getting him a friend. My local fish guy doesn't inspire confidence so I am seeking feedback here.

Great forum by the way. Have learned so much!

Thanks in advance - Marilyn

 

[born2chill]

The general consensus around here is if you are considering a pair of clowns, buy them at the same time. You don't really need to adhere to this policy with the gentler occeleris or percula clowns, but maroon clowns are mean fish. They are very aggressive and are known to fight one another to the death. They are also very territorial. I wouldn't chance adding another maroon unless you have a rather large tank, 90 gallon or larger.

 

[Fluff]

I have to agree, everything I've read says if you want a pair of maroons to buy them as a bonded pair due to aggression. I wouldn't chance it. :?

 

[Jason]

the maroon that is in your tank currently will kill the one you try to put in there.

no maybe, will

maroons are mean, mine jumps up and hits the glass top of the tank, rearranges corals like he likes them, bites me and has ripped both of the pinchers off of my CBS at different times.

So I would probably say leave him solo.

 

[austinsdad]

Welcome to AA!

 

[zacdl]

Wow Maroons are COOL.
Sounds like quite a personality. Can I add a Marron later on down the road after I have added a couple of "regular" clowns?

 

[Fluff]

Can I add a Marron later on down the road after I have added a couple of "regular" clowns?

I think you figure since the other clowns have set territories they should be ok, but I don't think that works with maroon clowns.

 

[Phyl]

I had a true perc when I added my very large maroon (5") and she never bothered it at all (of course it was there first). She acted like it didn't exist and always pals around with my Yellow and Purple tangs. Those three are always together now and inseperable.

If you put the old maroon in QT with the new maroon at the very same time you may have better luck getting them to mate and not be territorial. I would get a relatively small second to try for one that is still a male. Get one with a good return policy though as it may not work. At least you'd be able to it out relatively easily should things go south. You may need to rearrange your rock in the main before putting them back though.

 

[Marilyn]

Thanks All! I might have to talk to my local fish guy. I am only starting to put in fish (75 gal tank) and other than two damsels this clown is the first fish. I had told my fish guy I was looking for a peaceful community fish to add to the tank. Guess I got the wrong fish... I may try to take it back and get something a bit nicer...

 

[klam]

I don't have experiance with Maroons but they are territorial and probably the meanest of anemone fishs. Maroons can be paired up when bought seperatly but's a very intense for you and the maroons.

Basically you will want to seperate the male from the female while in the same tank. You can put the male inside a critter keeper so the female will be able to see, smell the male but can't harm him or use a tank divider to seperate the two maroons. What you are trying to achieve is to calm the female down and have her get use to the idea of the male being around. After the female calms down you can release the male, the amount of time varies per situation, hours to days. If the female continues her relentless attack seperate the the two again and try again later. Sometimes they wont pair up and one of them needs to be returned. If you do get a male make sure it's a lot smaller than the female.

 

[Marilyn]

Well - the situation progresses. I got home from work today and my friend (the one who picked out the first maroon) had gone to another fish store and purchased a sizeable anemone and a smaller maroon (about 1/2 size). He 'floated' both bags and let the first maroon nose about the bags until she calmed down. Then he let the anemone out and waited until she got used to that - though she wasn't really sure what to do with it. Then he let the smaller maroon out. She immediately came over for a look but wasn't mean at all. Now they are swimming around the tank together and both inspecting the anemone....

Happy ending to a scary story.

 

[Fluff]

Congrats!

 

[Marilyn]

Thanks! And another small update.. they have 'rearranged' the anemone to sort of sit between two live rocks, one with a bit of a cave and now the male seems to be digging at the sand... I got lucky!

 

[afilter]

Marilyn,

It sounds like you may be on your way to establishing pair or at least two that may co-habitat. I would caution you to keep a close eye on them as things can still turn south as they mature.

If they are both still small(juvenal) and similar in size, I say you have a pretty good chance of establishing a pair. A Maroon clown's sex is not determined until the are older, so if this has not happened yet getting a pair is more likely. As they grow one will start to grow larger and that will be the female. She could get up to twice as big as the male. Maroon clowns are one of my favorite fish and I was lucky enough to get a pair from a couple of juveniles.

I am assuming you are new to the hobby based on previous posts. If this is a new tank the fact that you have an anenome concerns me. Conventional wisdom is that a tank should be at least a year old before you try anenome as they do require very good water conditions and specific lighting.


What kind of anenome do you have?

If you describe your set-up I know there are plenty here who will help.

Here is an article on acclimation:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=18

This article came from the home page under "Articles" and there are plenty more.


I wish you the best of luck and just remember with this hobby be patient and do your research. You are in the right place to start. Keep us posted on your clowns.

 

[Phyl]

they have 'rearranged' the anemone

For the record the Anemone will "rearrange" itself traveling until it finds the perfect flow, light and height for its liking. There's no pinning those down. If it doesn't settle in then it is not happy in the tank and you should try to find out why. Moving it back to a location that you like won't help because it will move to where it wants to be anyway (Mine has been in the back of my tank since I got it a week and a half ago).

If you have any powerheads in your tank that do not have a sponge on them now is the time to fix that. They frequently end up wandering into the power heads and getting killed that way. Such an event will devastate your entire tank.

It will expand and contract. Just make sure that you watch it for a pattern to make sure that you know if it starts failing.

Glad to hear that your clown pairing worked out so far. Good luck with them!

 

[Marilyn]

I am new to this... and rapidly losing faith in the guy at the fish store! I told him I was new and was hoping for sound advice.

My set up (it was gifted to me so I don't know all the details...) is a 75 gal tank with two big "Nemo" filters (you know the kind that spin around on the inside - the main difference being these both have like mesh baskets over the intake.) I have a bubble stone, base rock, live sand and several large live rocks. I have three other not so live rocks as well. My crew includes 7 hermit crabs, 12 snails, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 chocolate chip starfish, one blue damsel, one domino damsel and now two maroon clownfish and an anemone...

The anemone has sort of put his foot through a gap in a couple of the stones and is over twice the size it was when it came home. The fish have taken right to it (yes, all the fish) and it really takes over one end of the tank. I wish I would have known about waitng. All my tests were perfect for a couple of months after adding live rock and before adding fish. And to be perfectly honest with you it is still perfect. I know that is probably because there are 4 fish in a 75 gal tank...

I would LOVE advice!!! I have switched fish stores and then new guy was the one who recommended the anemone so I am worried that perhaps I am not getting the right direction. I would love to add more live rock, some additional little critters and maybe another fish. What do you all recommend???

Thanks in advance!
Marilyn

 

[copi]

What do you all recommend???

I'll tell you what helped me...

1) The Conscientius Marine Aquarist: A Comonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists by Robert M. Fenner

2) Read the articles section on this site. Then read every post you have time to read! There is sooooo much information here. Do searches on everything that you can think of -- if you have an anenome, do a search on anenome, etc etc. You'll learn a ton.

3) Ask ask ask! The folks here at AA are a-w-e-s-o-m-e!!! Stick around & you'll learn everything you need to know!

 

[MT79]

chocolate chip starfish

That is definitely something you don't want to keep in a reef. They will eat corals and just about anything else they can catch. I'm not sure if a CC star will eat an anemone, but i wouldn't be surprised if they do. Hopefully someone else can tell you for sure. Good luck.

 

[MT79]

Also keep in mind anemones are photosynthetic and therefore require proper lighting. You will need atleast 4-5watts of light per gallon of aquarium water, maybe more depending on what type of anemone you have.

 

[afilter]

The chocolate chip star should go. Before I knew better I had one and it did attack my anenome. You said you inherited the setup, how old is it then?

I concur on the lighting depending on the type of anenome you have. I maintain rock flower and condalactis anenome with less than 2 wpg, but they do not require much lighting and fish are not prone to form a relationship with them. Any anenome that the clowns will take to such a a bubble tip will require 3-5 wpg ideally.

The filtration you described might be a concern. Do you have a protein skimmer? If not I would recomend one. If you are going the reef route you will probably need to revise your filtration.

As previously stated this is AA is a great place to get info. Ask questions and do your research.

This site may also help with some identification and basic information on future purchases:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/

I would be curious to know what kind of anenome you have.

Good luck,