Clownfish - alone or in pairs?
- Thread starter rosealeedawn
- Start date
Well he may not be a goon if he says that. He is right to some peoples expirience, and wrong to others. People keep them in pairs, but they usually arent the only fish in the tank, and if they are they are introduced simultaniously. If there is enough room to set up territories there will be less of a problem I think. Though I dont care for clowns, they should be fine alone. I dont see why not. The science behind getting more is so that they alternate which one gets picked on, so its not always the same fish.
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I ended up swiftly returning the Percula Clown to the lfs and came home with a much larger, beautifully coloured Maroon Clown!! 
Such a wise decision. *crazysmil I'm sure he's not a usual tank cycling fish, but the tank is so large that I'm sure he'll do fine. 5 Green Chromis coming Friday.
79 Temp
8.1 pH
1.024 Spec Grav
Such a wise decision. *crazysmil I'm sure he's not a usual tank cycling fish, but the tank is so large that I'm sure he'll do fine. 5 Green Chromis coming Friday.79 Temp
8.1 pH
1.024 Spec Grav
Single or pairs. Your lfs guy is a goon.
I would also warn you saltwater aquariums for dummies is generally regarded as being pretty rubbish.
Maroon clowns are very nice and tough, but generally very aggressive. As you're asking in other threads about aggression, and I assume you're coming form fresh, I'd rate a maroon as being about as aggressive as a single convict cichlid . It is also hit or miss whether or not your chromis will school or just reduce their numbers one by one till only 2 or three are left.
I would also warn you saltwater aquariums for dummies is generally regarded as being pretty rubbish.
Maroon clowns are very nice and tough, but generally very aggressive. As you're asking in other threads about aggression, and I assume you're coming form fresh, I'd rate a maroon as being about as aggressive as a single convict cichlid . It is also hit or miss whether or not your chromis will school or just reduce their numbers one by one till only 2 or three are left.
I read that chromis were better kept in odd numbers (I have 5 coming)....that they easily school...and that they encourage shyer fish out of hiding. Thats a little concerning about the maroons possible aggression. Will have to see how he reacts to the chromis. I think I would like a slightly more aggressive tank but do not understand how you go about sizing up the balance. I assume by matching aggressively even fish
I personally like aggressive tanks thats what i started out with but i quickly found out that if you don't do your homework some of your fish become lunch i had 5 chromis put them in the tank with a small lionfish needless to say he ate one of them so fast i didn't even see it happen my daughter did which was quickly followed by tears........ mine for spending so much money on feeder fish i now have gone to the medium aggressive side after my lion died
i personally like tangs i know they get big but you do have a 90 gallon right they are very active and entertaining fish in my opinion they can be territorial and aggressive towards other species that look like them but if you do a little homework on which ones will live together they can be fun to watch
Ah yes, but if you had a better book you would be asking even less questions and have a better idea of what's going on, and practical in the long run. Look for a book by Mike Paletta - I've forgottenthe name though.
If you like to stick your hands in the tank a lot do yourself a favour and forget lions as you will inevitably get stuck. I tihnk the maroon clowns, chromis, engineer gobies, a tang and a foxface and a dwarf angel would make a nice tank, and I wouldn't add any more, but some of those almost 'need' and most will appreciate live rock to improve food foraging potential
If you like to stick your hands in the tank a lot do yourself a favour and forget lions as you will inevitably get stuck. I tihnk the maroon clowns, chromis, engineer gobies, a tang and a foxface and a dwarf angel would make a nice tank, and I wouldn't add any more, but some of those almost 'need' and most will appreciate live rock to improve food foraging potential
I dont know that the biodiversity is the most important thing I was looking for. My theory (whether it be "correct" or not) is based on A) finding pieces of LR that fit in my tank and stack well to get the effect I want and B) PRICE. If you do it solely based on price you will probably find that the heavier rock that isn't as porus and interesting is the cheapest (base rock)...and that the "cooler" rock is more expensive per pound but easier to decorate with. When I start stocking my big tank with LR I'll be starting out by trying to find some good solid base LR, possibly from the newspaper or classifieds...and then start looking for cool pieces to start building my tank. I did notice looking through the handful of stores in my area that sell LR, they all have VERY different looks to them, different stages of having things growing on them and of course a lot of that is because of where it was collected from in the first place. Just some stuff to think about
If you do it solely based on price you will probably find that the heavier rock that isn't as porus and interesting is the cheapest (base rock)...and that the "cooler" rock is more expensive per pound but easier to decorate with. When I start stocking my big tank with LR I'll be starting out by trying to find some good solid base LR, possibly from the newspaper or classifieds...and then start looking for cool pieces to start building my tank. I did notice looking through the handful of stores in my area that sell LR, they all have VERY different looks to them, different stages of having things growing on them and of course a lot of that is because of where it was collected from in the first place. Just some stuff to think about My main bit of advice is to buy big pieces. Buy one 5 pounds piece in stead of 5 1 pounders. it is much easier to aquascape big pieves, and in a big tank the small pieces tend to looks illy to some extent.
I would also think quality re liverock, and where it's from. This has an effect on how it looks and what comes along as life and how well it filters. The extremes are Tampa Bay Aquacultured limestone, where you will need 2 pounds per gallon for filtration to ultra high quality Vanuatu or Fiji where some epople now recommnd 1/2 lb per gallon though it's much pricier.
I would also think quality re liverock, and where it's from. This has an effect on how it looks and what comes along as life and how well it filters. The extremes are Tampa Bay Aquacultured limestone, where you will need 2 pounds per gallon for filtration to ultra high quality Vanuatu or Fiji where some epople now recommnd 1/2 lb per gallon though it's much pricier.
Most stores around here "claim" that their live rock is in fact Figi. Some do have the purple figi look, and so I am a little more inclined to believe those stores.
Does it take a long time to seed dead coral from live rock? Most of my aquascaping is dead coral, and so if seeding were practical, it would be good to buy the smaller pieces of live rock, and place them in pockets of the dead coral and let it spread. I am assuming it's a long, unpractical process.
As far as buying large quantities of live rock go, purchasing from online and mail order seems to be considerably cheaper than the prices at the lfs's.
Does it take a long time to seed dead coral from live rock? Most of my aquascaping is dead coral, and so if seeding were practical, it would be good to buy the smaller pieces of live rock, and place them in pockets of the dead coral and let it spread. I am assuming it's a long, unpractical process.
As far as buying large quantities of live rock go, purchasing from online and mail order seems to be considerably cheaper than the prices at the lfs's.