1 Clown vs. 2

[Bredfan]

Where do you all come down on keeping 1 clown vs. 2?

I added 2 Ocellaris Clowns to my tank (29) a couple weeks ago - the first 2 fish in the tank. On their third day, both died. Water chemistry was great.

The pair I added were not together in the store. One was much bigger than the other. Also - the big one seemed very lethargic in the tank compared to the little one, and the big one wouldn't eat (tried flakes, pellets, and frozen brine shrimp). Since the water tested good before and after they died, I am assuming the off'd each other. My theory is that the big one was not well from the beginning and the little one got him, them succumbed to some sickness from the big one. Who knows.

Since I'm gun shy about pairs, I added 1 new Ocellaris Clown. I'm thinking he'll do fine by himself. At least no one will kill him. :-)

So the question is: 1 Ocellaris Clown or 2?

 

[BL1]

I'm a huge fan of pairs/groups of fish, doesn't matter the type of fish. They'll show much more natural behaviors, and IMHO will be much happier with a mate. If you do decide to add a second one, make sure the one you add is smaller then your current one.

 

[yote]

It's possible that you got 2 sick clowns to begin with.It happens.And you can't see whats going on INSIDE the fish at the LFS.
But yeah.It's always better to add the clowns in pairs if your wanting a pair.The trick is to find clowns that are already paired up.Anytime you add clowns one at a time,then you run the risk of them never getting along.

 

[NanoReefer]

the two percs i have now are sick juvies, both came in with ick and are tail misbars so ive been feeding carlic gaurd and mysis

 

[Smitty]

They're best if paired...

 

[Bredfan]

Best in pairs seems to be consensus. "Best," of course, is a subjective term. I would like a pair eventually. So maybe I made a mistake by getting the one by itself...

The question then becomes, since I already have just one, am I better off adding another clown next (fish #2) or am I better off getting some others in their first before the second clown? Or, with only 5-6 fish total for this small tank, should I just keep him as a single and start in with some other fish?

 

[NanoReefer]

id add the second clown now, it might be stressed by the other clown, and if you add more fish first it could be stressed by the clown and the other fish

 

[Wes888]

When the first one getting more comfortable with the tab, she'll become more territorial. Not saying he is not already. I would try to introduce another clown asap if that's what you want eventually.

 

[Bredfan]

Any advice on introducing the second clown to minimize the chances for stress? I have heard rearranging the tank....

 

[NanoReefer]

i would just give it a good two hour drip acclimation and add it and see what happens

 

[Wes888]

Any advice on introducing the second clown to minimize the chances for stress? I have heard rearranging the tank....

I would somehow isolate the first clown and let the second clown into the tank and get comfortable with it first. If space is allowed, I would let the 2nd clown there without the 1st clown for at least a day.

 

[Bredfan]

INteresting idea. I like it.

I wonder what the best way to do this is?

I could remove the 1st clown entirely - put him in a bucket or something, while acclimating the new clown. Then after a couple hours, put the first clown back in.

Or...

Just watch them really close after a good 1-2 hr acclimation as suggested before.

Problem is... I can't watch them all the time. As was the case with the first 2 - aside from one being active and the other being lethargic, there was no sign of aggression and bothe ended up dead after day 3. it had occurred to me that the the behavior I describe as "active" was the aggression, and I just missed it. Still, I never saw any actual picking or biting or chasing.

Maybe I'm over thinking this.....

 

[NanoReefer]

you can get a pasta strainer and put one clown in there and float it in your tank

 

[Bredfan]

Just got home with a second CLown. He's smaller - about 25% smaller, I would say. I acclimated him in the hanging bag, did 4 water swaps. While he was hanging I moved a couple rocks around and the plant where Clown #1 spent lots of time.

I released #2 and watched for about 30 minutes. No picking or poking that I could see. They're following each other around. Doing what CLown fish do.

30 minutes is certainly not enough time, but I am hopeful that these two pair up nicely. So far so good...just make it through a few days....

 

[NanoReefer]

great to hear man