Sebaes are my favorite, and I have a mated pair. IMO it isn't so much that they are rare, but rather their availability in the hobby is (somewhat) comparatively rare. Despite popular misconception, true Sebae clowns are not in the Clarkii complex, but rather Saddleback; and neither are the clown du jour. Anyway, they will spawn regularly in home aquaria, and the fry are easy enough to rear; but people will breed and sell what is in demand.
Are they vicious murderers like all other clowns or are they relatively nice fish?
Like all damsels, they are aggressive. Nowhere near Maroon or Tomato, but they will attack you. Given their size, they can (and will) draw blood, too. All specimens are individual, so I won't attempt to predict behavior, but I can tell you that mine aren't too bad. They are territorial, and will harass new additions for the first day, but then chill out again. I would reccomend adding a pair of yellow tail blue damsels or green chromis. They will draw and break up the clowns' aggression so they leave your others alone. That was my approach and it has worked perfectly. I will add, as-well, that everyone is still alive.
I'm pretty close to my fish cap so clowns are about all I can get, so if I'm going to get them it's just gonna be praying for the best I guess. No more room for chromises, and they did just come in yesterday with the risk of uronema.
If you are at or near your cap, then I wouldn't add anything aside from the clowns. Also, if they just came in yesterday, I would watch for Brook more so than Uronema. Though, both are a possibility. Do you QT? Can you reserve them with your LFS until they finish treatment?
oh the clowns have been here a while, since last week I'd guess. it's the chromises that are new. I can't qt and the LFS' hold schedule just doesn't work(pick up on the fifth day... I can only go on weekends unless it's a holiday or long weekend), so either I get them now or I wait a few more weeks.
If it were me, I'd get them and give them a FW dip and hydroplex bath. Standard disclaimer: know though, that there are risks associated without QT.
Gonna let my mom take the wheel then, see wherever this goes.
Best of luck, and keep us posted with your progress. Happy reefing!
is it recommended to get two or a single one? I'm quite afraid of having more than one, but breeding them would be fun...
That's up to you. I prefer them in pairs. If you plan on raising fry, you'll need to set up a brood tank and culture rotifers. They will spawn regularly, but the fey will just become food for your system. There are a number of threads that can help you with that here.
Any excuse to set up a new tank is good, maybe I'll even use it for qt after I'm done with it.
