Mixing Clown Fish

[Tamberav]

I promise im not trying to be a turd but was curious if you have any experience to share about this?

Ya I have clowns spawning and they are down right nasty to fish. Even fish that are not clowns.

Like this is instinct.. this is how they are made to be as adults. It’s natural behavior and how they ensure they pass on their genetics and protect their offspring. Sticking them in a tank all at once as babies isn’t going to change how they evolved. They live 30-40 years. Maroons clowns get large compared to an occy and get huge teeth and very protective of their eggs.

Do you have any clowns spawning?

Maybe clowns in such a environment will be stressed enough to not spawn which would lower aggression and maybe that would be a “success” but I would say it is a failure because the best part of a pair of clowns is watching their natural behaviors and how they clean and tend to the eggs.

 

[Ardeus]

Cutting a long story short, I didn't plan to have a trio of ocellaris, but I had to find a way to make it work.

It all went well when they didn't have their natural host, they just had a bunch of BTA's.

When I gave them a mag, hell broke lose.

The male kicked the female out and tried to kill her and kept the little one with him.

I had to intervene and tried many things: giving him a time out, taking the 3 of them out to a psychological therapy tank without nems to sort their relationship out, I tried so many things.

Nothing worked, when they returned to the main tank, they would stop getting along.

I had to go back to basics: why do they stay in groups in the wild?

Well, the wild reefs are dangerous places, so I decided to become a threat. I would put my hand in the tank near the anemone and when the male came out to attack me I would would fight back, snapping my finger like I was going to hit him on the nose.

He got scared by this and the female would come in the defense of the anemone. He realised he would need her help to keep the anemone.

I only needed to do this for a couple of days and they have been fine since them. 2 or 3 times per year the little once gets kicked out by the male, but he stays near the anemone and is allowed back in affer 2 or 3 days.

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Ya I have clowns spawning and they are down right nasty to fish. Even fish that are not clowns.

Like this is instinct.. this is how they are made to be as adults. It’s natural behavior and how they ensure they pass on their genetics and protect their offspring. Sticking them in a tank all at once as babies isn’t going to change how they evolved. They live 30-40 years. Maroons clowns get large compared to an occy and get huge teeth and very protective of their eggs.

Do you have any clowns spawning?

Maybe clowns in such a environment will be stressed enough to not spawn which would lower aggression and maybe that would be a “success” but I would say it is a failure because the best part of a pair of clowns is watching their natural behaviors and how they clean and tend to the eggs.

Thanks for sharing. I do not have clowns spawning, maybe one day :)

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Cutting a long story short, I didn't plan to have a trio of ocellaris, but I had to find a way to make it work.

It all went well when they didn't have their natural host, they just had a bunch of BTA's.

When I gave them a mag, hell broke lose.

The male kicked the female out and tried to kill her and kept the little one with him.

I had to intervene and tried many things: giving him a time out, taking the 3 of them out to a psychological therapy tank without nems to sort their relationship out, I tried so many things.

Nothing worked, when they returned to the main tank, they would stop getting along.

I had to go back to basics: why do they stay in groups in the wild?

Well, the wild reefs are dangerous places, so I decided to become a threat. I would put my hand in the tank near the anemone and when the male came out to attack me I would would fight back, snapping my finger like I was going to hit him on the nose.

He got scared by this and the female would come in the defense of the anemone. He realised he would need her help to keep the anemone.

I only needed to do this for a couple of days and they have been fine since them. 2 or 3 times per year the little once gets kicked out by the male, but he stays near the anemone and is allowed back in affer 2 or 3 days.

Cool thanks for sharing! :)