2 Pairs of Clownfish in same tank?

[Harris3005]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for opinions on having two pairs of clownfish in the same tank. It's 6 foot long and currently I have a normal pair of "nemo's" a pair of Mandarin dragonets and a powder blue tang.

My 4 year old really loves the wee "black and white nemos" that my local fish shop currently have in but I'm unsure if I can have two pairs in the same tank without too much trouble between them all?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

If the clowns are already paired then I think you'll have trouble adding others. I have seen mixed input when it comes to multiple clowns, with people saying that you can have a clown pair every 24" in your tank and others saying that they've had clowns hunt down others in an 8 foot long tank. If you want to try it, I'd suggest taking your two clowns out for a while and adding them all at the same time.

 

[Harris3005]

If the clowns are already paired then I think you'll have trouble adding others. I have seen mixed input when it comes to multiple clowns, with people saying that you can have a clown pair every 24" in your tank and others saying that they've had clowns hunt down others in an 8 foot long tank. If you want to try it, I'd suggest taking your two clowns out for a while and adding them all at the same time.

Yeah they are already paired so I did wonder if it wasn't the best idea. Like you though I've seen a few people who have done it so hopefully if I get a few replies on this I'll be able to decide if it's going to be worth the risk!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It varies a lot and most folks report failure, but for years I had a spawning pair of ocellaris clowns in a colt coral just a few inches from a spawning pair of pink skunk clowns in a large anemone. Here's a picture of them from 2008:

 

[eatbreakfast]

I take care of a few things that have multiple prs of clowns. For ocellaris and percula varieties, I have had it work out more often than not.

 

[revhtree]

I had a pair of orange/white and black/white clownsin a 6ft 125g. They ended up switching partners. LOL!

 

[Harris3005]

Thanks very much for the replies everyone. If there's two things I'm not good at saying "No" to they are buying more fish and my son so I'm really tempted to give it a go!

I was think of something along the lines of Tuffys suggestion above, maybe QT the blacks then try and introduce them to each other in the qt tank for a few days to observe them and be able to separate them quickly? Might be pointless doing it that way though as the aggression will probably come further down the line as they become more mature and territorial?

 

[eatbreakfast]

I actually think there will be less fighting by leaving your existing clowns in the tank. They already have their prefered hosting spot. Just put the new ones in as far away as possible from your current clowns.

If you remove tyour clowns only to add all of them simultaneously, then there will be jockeying for dominence and desired hosting locations.

 

[Harris3005]

I actually think there will be less fighting by leaving your existing clowns in the tank. They already have their prefered hosting spot. Just put the new ones in as far away as possible from your current clowns.

If you remove tyour clowns only to add all of them simultaneously, then there will be jockeying for dominence and desired hosting locations.

Yeah that actually makes sense when I think about it! If the two original ones are happy with their wee space in the tank then maybe they'll be less inclined to actively go after the new ones unless they get too close and they can just chase them away.

 

[Amoo]

So there's two general answers to this question:

1. No, don't try it.

2. It can be made work but entirely depends on 2 factors
1. How aggressive both pairs are
2. How many hosting spots you have in your tank

As long as you have enough places to host, you MIGHT get away with it. I was able to pull it off with a pair of black ice and a pair of Picassos in my 6ft 125G, but it also had multiple Nems in the tank.

A little bit of chasing at first is to be expected. If you get into fin nipping it's not going to work and you're going to need a way to separate them. 2 established pairs is definitely better than an odd number though, unless of coarse you have "swinger" clowns like apparently @revhtree

 

[AllanPritchard]

came across this post from 4 yrs ago - What happened, did you get the clowns, did it work? did they fight?. Its like reading a murder mystery and the last chapter has been ripped out

 

[Edelbims]

Yeah, that would be fine to get an answer for this

 

[fiyahfish]

came across this post from 4 yrs ago - What happened, did you get the clowns, did it work? did they fight?. Its like reading a murder mystery and the last chapter has been ripped out

it's 2022 and I'm still waiting too... I just read the original post and all the replies

 

[k2-]

I am consolidating my 2 tanks into a big one and have 2 pairs of clown - Black/White and orange/white

 

[littlefoxx]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for opinions on having two pairs of clownfish in the same tank. It's 6 foot long and currently I have a normal pair of "nemo's" a pair of Mandarin dragonets and a powder blue tang.

My 4 year old really loves the wee "black and white nemos" that my local fish shop currently have in but I'm unsure if I can have two pairs in the same tank without too much trouble between them all?

Maybe if you have nems at the ends of each side of the tank for them? I wanted to do the same in my 6 foot tank but my female is a B! She would kill another clown besides her male