I've kept clowns singly and in pairs, but now I'm interested in seeing if I can keep keep a harem of about 15 or 20 ocellaris clowns of various subtypes. The tank is 100g that's been running for 6 months, with about 1o healthy BTAs, 2 LTAs, 1 haddoni carpet, 1 large Elegance, 1 large Goniopora, a couple of long tentacle plate corals, and various other nems and corals less attractive to clowns. Current fish residents are 1 Purple Tang, 1 Coral Beauty, 2 well-behaved Azure Damsels, and a green Clown Goby.
I'm thinking of working with a clown supplier that my LFS likes (high quality, low disease incidence), and having them shipped to the store where I will pick them up immediately on arrival (no mixing with store water or livestock.) 1 larger specimen, the rest all smaller and presumably males.
I have questions though.
First and foremost, will it work? Is it possible to establish a harem, or am I just likely to wind up with 1 pair and a dozen dead fish? If it's possible, any tips?
Then, can this many clowns go through QT together without murdering each other? How large of a QT system would be advisable?
Also, I was thinking of running a UV sterilizer on the DT for a couple of weeks before and after adding the clowns, to hopefully minimize bacterial and protozoan concentrations that these tank-raised fish with presumably rather weak immune systems will encounter. Worthwhile or not?
Finally, will the other fish already in the system be a problem?
Thanks!
I'm thinking of working with a clown supplier that my LFS likes (high quality, low disease incidence), and having them shipped to the store where I will pick them up immediately on arrival (no mixing with store water or livestock.) 1 larger specimen, the rest all smaller and presumably males.
I have questions though.
First and foremost, will it work? Is it possible to establish a harem, or am I just likely to wind up with 1 pair and a dozen dead fish? If it's possible, any tips?
Then, can this many clowns go through QT together without murdering each other? How large of a QT system would be advisable?
Also, I was thinking of running a UV sterilizer on the DT for a couple of weeks before and after adding the clowns, to hopefully minimize bacterial and protozoan concentrations that these tank-raised fish with presumably rather weak immune systems will encounter. Worthwhile or not?
Finally, will the other fish already in the system be a problem?
Thanks!