Minimum Tank Size for Clown Fish?

[Sky Diamond]

I've always loved Clownfish, but never really known anything about them other then they are pretty hard to keep.
Before I go any further into detail of how to look after them, etc, what is the minimum tank size for them? Would two common Clownfish or Maroon Clownfish go okay in a 20 or 38 litre tank? I'm guessing the answer would be no for the Maroon Clownfish as I know they are bigger.

Thanks.

 

[KcMopar]

IMO I would recommend about 30 gallons. The Ocellaris is the best option as its not as aggressive as the Maroon. I have seen them kept in a smaller tank with no issues but it leave no room for them to really get some swimming done.

 

[Sky Diamond]

Do you mean the Maroon kept in smaller tanks or the Ocellaris? Thanks for that. I just seen my pet shop have a display Clownfish tank and it had two Clowns in it and I think it'd be about 40 litres.

 

[KcMopar]

No,No, nothing smaller then 30 Gallons IMO but the Ocellaris being a friendlier fish was the message I was bringing.

 

[strout]

I wouldn't get the Maroon Clown Fish. I bought two for the first tank I had, never had a problem with the male, but dang, the Female was another story. She got really big, which wasn't a problem, but her aggression grew with her, she would dare me to put my hands in the tank. She was forever destroying the sand bed, I guess trying to make a nest or something, the tank always looked like a sand storm had just went thru it.

 

[Sky Diamond]

No,No, nothing smaller then 30 Gallons IMO but the Ocellaris being a friendlier fish was the message I was bringing.

Ah okay, no worries. I was just looking at the smallest in case I can't provide what they need for any reason. I've seen two saltwater tanks setup in a 34/38 litre Aqua One tank, that's why I was asking.

Can you convert a saltwater tank back to a freshwater tank if it doesn't work out?

What temperature do they need?
We seem to get a lot of blackouts here. The longest we've been without power is two days in the middle of a winter storm. Could something like this occurring kill them? Also my tanks can easily get up to 29C+ in summer, what would I be able to do there to keep them cool?

What other kinds of Clownfish are there? I'm only familiar to the two I listed. Is there a difference between the Maroon Clownfish that is red to the one that is black? I just liked the look of them also.

I wouldn't get the Maroon Clown Fish. I bought two for the first tank I had, never had a problem with the male, but dang, the Female was another story. She got really big, which wasn't a problem, but her aggression grew with her, she would dare me to put my hands in the tank. She was forever destroying the sand bed, I guess trying to make a nest or something, the tank always looked like a sand storm had just went thru it.

Oh wow, she sounds like a little terror. You can't put two males in together?

 

[strout]

I got mine when they were small, the one that was a tad bigger became the female, the other the male. It took about a month before the female would let him into the RBTA with her. She would keep running him off everytime he would get near the RBTA, I guess she finally figured out that she needed him at least thats what I told my wife LOL

 

[exhumed07]

i had 2 yellow clowns in a 30 with a blue damsel and they did fine untill something went wrong in my tank and i took it down.

and as for putting 2 males together, clowns possess this realy interesting trait. they can change sex. so you put 2 males or 2 females together. one will end up turning female or male to make a pair.

 

[OrangeCones]

and as for putting 2 males together, clowns possess this realy interesting trait. they can change sex. so you put 2 males or 2 females together. one will end up turning female or male to make a pair.

This is partially correct. The clownfish is a protandrous hermaphrodite, and all are born 'male.' The most dominant in a group will become female, while the rest stay male. If she is removed from the tank, the next in 'rank' of dominance will become the female.

Hermaphroditism

 

[exhumed07]

but an any case putting 2 males in the tank you will end up with a male and female pair eventually.

 

[Sky Diamond]

Oh wow! That's incredible!

 

[OrangeCones]

Two females will often fight and sometimes kill each other if they do not have enough space to claim their own territory.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

2 ocellaris clowns should be fine in a 20g (long is better than high), but only if they were the only fish. The same goes for percula clowns but ocellaris are hardier. Alternatively, you could do one ocellaris / percula clown and another small fish in a 20g. That being said, 30g is easier to keep stable than 20g. Especially if you are prone to power outages... Would be a good idea to have a battery operated air pump at the very least in case power is out for any length of time.

You can also have a black and white and a normal, or any other color variations, as long as they are the same species and there are only 2 per tank. Get tank bred clowns - they are easy to find (a lot of places, easier to find than wild caught).

Getting 2 juvies from the store will get you a pair as they mature, once one turns female she can't turn back so don't get 2 larger clowns or 2 that have been the only clown in a tank for any length of time (and thus may have become a female). Once they pair up, they want to control a small tank like that (even a 30g).

Also as a note - they do not need an anemone and some will not associate with one. However if you do want to get an anemone, you would want to have the tank established for some time (months) first and make sure that the water is going to be stable enough for one (and research what kind, some are more difficult and/or don't host clowns). Clowns will also associate with certain corals, and generally I'd recommend those over an anemone. They will also sometimes host on things like live rock, powerheads, etc. If your location is indeed prone to power outages, it would probably be best to avoid anemones altogether, since if one were to die during a power outage it could make the tank toxic to the clowns. Probably the same for corals, it could be an expensive power outage. Or have a backup power generator or something.

 

[exhumed07]

also some anemone get vary large and can nearly fill a 30 gallon tank. i agree with capslock on avoiding them. and as a starter coral i would suggest something like green star polups. i have seen people grow them out on the back of the tank and it looks realy cool. they have fairly long green tenticals coming out of a purple rubery mat and with a powerhead they wave almost hypnoticly. they also grow pretty fast. i started off with one about the size of a silver dollar and before my tank went south it was about the size of a sheet of notebook paper, that was about 6-8 months of growth. just an idea for you to kick around

 

[Sky Diamond]

Thanks for the information guys. Where would I get a battery powered pump? Do you mean air pump? I do have a generator though it is weak and can cut in and out, would that be good enough? It wouldn't stuff any of the equipment up?

What temp do they usually like? I think I'd do for live rock or corals - is there any difference between the two? I've heard anemones can move around the tank and even eat the fish if the tank isn't big enough for them. I haven't seen any around here anyway.

and as a starter coral i would suggest something like green star polups. i have seen people grow them out on the back of the tank and it looks realy cool. they have fairly long green tenticals coming out of a purple rubery mat and with a powerhead they wave almost hypnoticly. they also grow pretty fast. i started off with one about the size of a silver dollar and before my tank went south it was about the size of a sheet of notebook paper, that was about 6-8 months of growth. just an idea for you to kick around

That does really sound cool! I'll have to see what my pet shop can get in. Thank you for all the info. I'm really looking forward to reading up about them.

 

[exhumed07]

there are all kinds of battery backup systems out there. i've seen inverters that u hook up to a car battery and it will convert the 12 volt dc into 120 volt ac alloing filters and such to run off of them. and with a saltwater tank the most important part about the filtration is the live rock. that is your filter in salt water. u want about 1 pound per gallon minimum. also current is what will help keep everything alive and healthy as well as oxygenate the water as u want surface movement. thats where the oxygen transfer happens and also y u don't want a standard hood on a saltwate tank.

salt tanks are generally kept at the same temp as tropicals, between 70-80 degrees depending on fish and corals but 75 is a happy medium. and anemones can move around in the tanks from what i have heard and they can pry on small fish as well as the amphopods and copopods that live in the live rock and sand.

one thing about salt water that you have to remember is it's not like a freshwater tank. you are pretty much trying to take a slice of a reef out of the ocean and put it in a glass case. you want every tiny little critter in your tank. the small copopods and amphopods, bristle worms, pretty much everything that would naturally be in that reef system. you are creating a complete ecosystem in the tank just without the predation ideally. it's not as simple as freshwater where as long as u have the beneficial bacteria everything will be ok with water quality. and water quality can be a real chore with salt. cause all the corals and inverts and micro organismes are going to need nutrients in the water which they can deplete rather quickly and you will have to replace them without overdoing it. cause some critters and corals need iodine where others will find it toxic and situations like that.

My best advice to you is to just research as much as you possibly can. learn about the corals, where they come from and lighting conditions and current requirements to know where to place them in the tank as well as the powerheads. to much or to little current can kill corals. learn about the fish, some will not eat prepaired foods but will eat your cleanup crew and need a very large tank to support them, as well as other fish will eat the corals. and salt water aggression can be 30X worse then freshwater. so read read and read some more about everything that you plan to do and plan to get for a saltwater tank.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Live rock is basically the backbone of a modern SW aquarium. It is pretty much no effort - just buy some, put it in SW with some water movement, and it is all set. Does not require specific lights, additives, feeding, etc. The "life" in live rock refers to the microorganisms that you generally can't see - bacteria, copepods, other tiny little critters that keep the water clean. It is pretty hard to kill and even a moderate power outage won't hurt it. Also you can start with just a piece or two of live rock, and a bunch of "dry rock" or "base rock," which will eventually become live as the critters migrate over to the dry stuff and start to populate it as well. Same with sand. Kept with live rock, it will eventually become a live sand bed full of those same good critters.

Corals are more demanding, going from requiring a certain strength light, all the way up to requiring specific lights, water flow, feeding, additives, etc. There are a bunch of good starter corals out there that basically just require appropriate lighting, and otherwise no effort on your part (and clean SW of course). Each coral is different, but all are more demanding than live rock or many fish (definitely clown fish, they are pretty hardy and easy fish).

 

[Sky Diamond]

there are all kinds of battery backup systems out there. i've seen inverters that u hook up to a car battery and it will convert the 12 volt dc into 120 volt ac alloing filters and such to run off of them. and with a saltwater tank the most important part about the filtration is the live rock. that is your filter in salt water. u want about 1 pound per gallon minimum. also current is what will help keep everything alive and healthy as well as oxygenate the water as u want surface movement. thats where the oxygen transfer happens and also y u don't want a standard hood on a saltwate tank.

So saltwater tanks don't need filters with live rock? So one pound of live rock per a UK or US gallon? How do you get a current into a saltwater tank? What sort of hood should I look for?

Live rock is basically the backbone of a modern SW aquarium. It is pretty much no effort - just buy some, put it in SW with some water movement, and it is all set. Does not require specific lights, additives, feeding, etc. The "life" in live rock refers to the microorganisms that you generally can't see - bacteria, copepods, other tiny little critters that keep the water clean. It is pretty hard to kill and even a moderate power outage won't hurt it. Also you can start with just a piece or two of live rock, and a bunch of "dry rock" or "base rock," which will eventually become live as the critters migrate over to the dry stuff and start to populate it as well. Same with sand. Kept with live rock, it will eventually become a live sand bed full of those same good critters.

So clownfish don't need especial lights either? Do you actually see the little critters in the water? Just so I don't freak out if I see any haha Yeah I think if I got with a saltwater tank I'll go with live rock. Also, are sea-shrimp any good to the tank with keeping it clean, etc?

 

[exhumed07]

no mechanical filters are needed for a sw tank. as stated the live rock houses a good chunk of an entire eco system, the critters proccess waste products from the fish as well as some eat the dead critters and algea. it realy is remarkable. i even had some jellyfish polups in my tank for a while. they never did become free floating jellies which even scientists have a hard time doing that. but in a nutshell though the live rock hold the critters that act as a filter and u want 1 pound of liverock per US gallon i guess. not sure what the difference is. also water changes and gravel vacing is still needed though.

the current is created from a powerhead. and depending on the corals u plan to get if any will determine how much power as well as placement in the tank. most you can either direct and they will stay in that possission and some have a sweeping motion. i'm not a huge fan of the sweeping ones cause they have tended to jam up on me.

as for a hood you can leave the top of the tank open and suspend the lighting over the water from either a canopy or the ceiling. also some marine lighting come with little stands to raise the light over the tank.

most of the critters are active at night so when the lights are off they will be cleaning the tank. in the mornings if i looked very closely alonge the sand line in the tank or on the rocks i would see some copopods crawling around when the lights came on. look like little white/clear fleas and stuff like that. also you may see some bristleworms in the tank. they pretty much just eat dead things. i've heard they will eat soft corals but i never noticed it. they can get 6 inches long i have heard. largest one i had that i noticed was about an inch and a half 2 inches.

Also with the live rock you will get alot of little hitch hikers. some good some bad. i had some aptacien anemones. they are almost impossible to get rid of without buying some pepermint shrimp or something else that will eat them. like i said there is ALOT of research to do before you ever jump into salt water. i was not prepaired for it and i lost. but my loss is other peoples gain. to this day i still don't know what happened to that tank. i checked chemicals and everything daily and everything was fine then poof it all went to crap. one thing i will suggest is to buy a saltwater tank with an overflow and refugum. i tried to convert a freshwater tank to salt. it worked for a while but yeah. also look at the mega powerful nitrate phosphate remover post in the saltwater section of the forum. realy nifty setup there and it realy does work and is a great natural filtration system to reduce water changes drasticly.