Clownfish compatability

Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

No. Not even close. Clowns normally attack different species.
Some get along in large groups of their own species (like occelaris).
Others (like maroon clowns) don't even do that, and max out at a mated pair.

For contrast, take a look at the clown tank behind the reception desk at the
Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. They've probably got 100 clowns in a single tank,
of all different species. But (1) that's a HUGE tank; and (2) if you have
enough fish, perhaps no single fish gets picked on enough to cause problems.

But a mix of a handful of clowns of different species in a typical home
aquarium is a recipe for disaster.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
I'd like to see a nature film where an eagle swoops down and pulls a fish out
of a lake, and then maybe he's flying along, low to the ground, and the fish
pulls a worm out of the ground. Now that's a documentary!
-- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

"Don Geddis" wrote in message
...
"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

No. Not even close.

Damn.

Clowns normally attack different species.
Some get along in large groups of their own species (like occelaris).

Occelaris it is.


For contrast, take a look at the clown tank behind the reception desk at
the
Mirage hotel in Las Vegas. They've probably got 100 clowns in a single
tank,
of all different species.


How big would you guess the tank is?

Kate wrote:

How big would you guess the tank is?

Google is your friend.....

"As you check in at the front desk, you'll be greeted by a 20,000-gallon
sal****er aquarium stocked with angelfish, pufferfish, tangs and other exotic
sea creatures - including 3 different kinds of sharks.

Managed by The Mirage's own in-house marine biologists, the aquarium
accommodates more than 1,000 coral-reef species from Australia, Hawaii, Tonga,
Fiji, the Red Sea, the Marshall Islands, the Sea of Cortez and the Caribbean.
These sea animals were all selected for their adaptivity to the environment and
compatibility with other species.

One of the most elaborate and technically advanced aquariums in the world, the
tank is 53 feet long, eight feet from top to bottom, and six feet from front to
back. The interior was carefully created to simulate an intricately detailed,
artificial coral reef. To preserve the living reefs in the ocean, no live coral
is used in the tank."

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.

Kate wrote:
How big would you guess the tank is?

George Patterson wrote on Tue, 28 Mar 2006:
"As you check in at the front desk, you'll be greeted by a 20,000-gallon
sal****er aquarium stocked with angelfish, pufferfish, tangs and other exotic
sea creatures - including 3 different kinds of sharks.
One of the most elaborate and technically advanced aquariums in the world,
the tank is 53 feet long, eight feet from top to bottom, and six feet from
front to back.

If I remember my last visit the to Mirage, the main tank behind reception is
a mixed community tank, which is this 20K gallon thing. But they've
partitioned off one end just for the clownfish. I suppose that one is also
8 feet high and 6 feet front to back. But I don't know how long: maybe just
6 feet long? Anyway, the huge number of clowns are definitely in a much
smaller tank than the giant 20K gallon community tank, and they're isolated
by themselves with no other fish.

The interior was carefully created to simulate an intricately
detailed, artificial coral reef. To preserve the living reefs in the ocean,
no live coral is used in the tank."

Yeah, I suspect that saves them on lighting costs, and probably maintenance
to scrape off the algae that grows so fast on the glass when you have bright
lights.

I like a reef tank (with live corals) better myself, but they've got a pretty
impressive fish tank there.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
If I ever get real rich, I hope I'm not real mean to poor people, like I am
now. -- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

According to:

http://www.mirage.com/attractions/at..._aquarium.aspx

Its 20,000 Gallons. There's more info in that link.

Brandonb


Kate wrote:
How big would you guess the tank is?

"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

I wrote:
No. Not even close.

"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Damn.

You know, maybe I should be a little less dogmatic about this. The easy,
simple answer is "no, that won't work." But if you're willing to do some
research, and you choose carefully, you may be able to set up a multi-species
clownfish tank.

The more specific rules are like this:
1. Probably only a single female (generally much larger), with the rest all
males and/or juveniles.
2. Probably no maroon clown (the worst-tempered species of the bunch).

That said, multiple clownfish species can in principle coexist in a single
aquarium. They can even cross-breed, and apparently produce fertile
mixed-species young.

For example, Perculas and Ocellaris are very close species (there's even some
debate about whether they ARE separate species), and they could form a single
clown family.

So, the general answer to your original question is "no", but if you're
willing to do a lot of work, and watch new additions carefully and remove
fish from the tank if aggression develops ... then it may be possible to
create a mixed-species clown tank.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
In my next life, I wouldn't mind coming back as a buzzard, because to be
honest, I see some dead rabbits on the highway that don't look half bad.
-- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey [1999]

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:24:04 GMT, "Kate" wrote:


"Don Geddis" wrote in message
...
"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

No. Not even close.

Damn.

Clowns normally attack different species.
Some get along in large groups of their own species (like occelaris).

Occelaris it is.

Don,

Do you think that they all may have to be introduced at the same
time ?

Regards, Fishnut.

Uzytkownik napisal w wiadomosci
...
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 23:24:04 GMT, "Kate" wrote:


"Don Geddis" wrote in message
...
"Kate" wrote on Mon, 27 Mar 2006:
Will a variety of clowns(percula,occelaris,tricinctus etc) co-exist
peacefully in a large tank of around 120 gal ?

No. Not even close.

Damn.

Clowns normally attack different species.
Some get along in large groups of their own species (like occelaris).

Occelaris it is.

Don,

Do you think that they all may have to be introduced at the same
time ?

Regards, Fishnut.

"Don Geddis" wrote in message ...
Some get along in large groups of their own species (like occelaris).

"Jacek Jasinski" wrote on Sat, 22 Apr 2006:
Do you think that they all may have to be introduced at the same time ?

Not necessary.

If you have a working school/family of ocellaris clowns, you can introduce
more small juvenile males, and they generally will occupy the low-status
positions in the family.

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
I made dinner. We didn't have any Hamburger, so it's just Helper.
-- "Gabe", Penny Arcade