Clown trio: remove 1 or add 5?

Ardeus · Jul 16, 2017

I recently tried to introduce a group of small clowns to a tank with an established couple but it failed miserably due to a deadly outburst of brooklynella.

Here's the 400 liters tank with the surviving clown trio

The trio has been peaceful for a few months but odds are that that family arrangement won't last.

I am faced with 2 options:

- Let the trio stay while there's peace and find a new home for the smaller clown as soon as I see that he's no longer welcome in the group;

- Accept the offer of 5 young clowns from a friend. In this case, I would remove all the fish from the main tank for a couple of days and reintroduce them all at once.

What are the chances of the last option in the long run?

runzwithscissors · Jul 17, 2017

Personally I'd put up the small one for adoption. If you add the 5, it will reduce the number of fish you can eventually add to the tank. Not to mention the possibility of some nasty friction by having 6 clowns

Ardeus · Jul 17, 2017

I don't want to add any other fish to the tank and I am liking the idea of adding more clowns less and less, precisely because of what you say: more aggression in the tank, even if the group can coexist.

But I just found this video and I decided to let the 3 of them there for now.

The smaller one is not being bullied for now and he is allowed in the anemone during daytime. At night the anemone shrinks and I guess there's not enough room for the 3 of them.