Clownfish Circus (harem) Club!

DeniseAndy · Oct 22, 2018

MarinaP said:
Saddlebacks are nasty. They dive into anemone’s mouth, they are aggressive to the point that my male killed the female. And they were together for a long time. They have huge teeth. My least fav species. Allardi is nice. They are beautiful and less temperamental.

Thanks for the feedback. I had only read about them, not had any experience, so thank you. Maybe pink skunks is the way to go then.

I have three pairs of clowns currently, but not bringing in three paired off clowns. Can you say world war III?

Nice Davinchis. I have a baby pair of these guys. Love them!!!

JoshH · Oct 31, 2018

So for those successful harem keepers, I have a new 90 Gallon system on the way and have been tossing around the idea of a clown harem. However I currently have two clowns and have had them for a couple years now. I do realize I will probably have to keep these guys in a separate tank if I go this route,I wish I didn't but I don't see it ending well if I don't. A couple questions, ideally how many clowns could work in a 5 foot long, 2 foot wide 90G? Feel free to presume I have more than adequate filtration, basement sump with lifereef skimmer rated for 150+ heavily stocked tank, will have a very large fuge once it's all up and running. I was thinking 20 would be a decent starting point but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more than that. Also, I would like to keep a pair of mandarins and possibly 1 other fish, just want to be sure this is still okay with a harem.

Thanks

jefra · Oct 31, 2018

JoshH said:
So for those successful harem keepers, I have a new 90 Gallon system on the way and have been tossing around the idea of a clown harem. However I currently have two clowns and have had them for a couple years now. I do realize I will probably have to keep these guys in a separate tank if I go this route,I wish I didn't but I don't see it ending well if I don't. A couple questions, ideally how many clowns could work in a 5 foot long, 2 foot wide 90G? Feel free to presume I have more than adequate filtration, basement sump with lifereef skimmer rated for 150+ heavily stocked tank, will have a very large fuge once it's all up and running. I was thinking 20 would be a decent starting point but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more than that. Also, I would like to keep a pair of mandarins and possibly 1 other fish, just want to be sure this is still okay with a harem.

Thanks

I've been dabbling with the idea of a similarly sized clown harem tank. I think with enough live rock/anemones to break up the tank and allow them to pair off and form territories, you could do 5-10 pairs in a 90. I've heard some people mention that you want to overcrowd, however, similar to African cichlids, to diffuse aggression. I'm not sure clown harems have been success enough long-term for any consensus on the best methods to use other than to feed heavily, and add all the clowns (ideally juvenile siblings) at once.

I would think other fish should be fine in a clown harem tank since the major concern is inter-species aggression.

JoshH · Oct 31, 2018

jefra said:
I've been dabbling with the idea of a similarly sized clown harem tank. I think with enough live rock/anemones to break up the tank and allow them to pair off and form territories, you could do 5-10 pairs in a 90. I've heard some people mention that you want to overcrowd, however, similar to African cichlids, to diffuse aggression. I'm not sure clown harems have been success enough long-term for any consensus on the best methods to use other than to feed heavily, and add all the clowns (ideally juvenile siblings) at once.

I would think other fish should be fine in a clown harem tank since the major concern is inter-species aggression.

It's hard to really know what the future can bring with these tanks, the longest one I know of is the BRS tank at 4.5 years, which to be fair is a pretty decent run and it didn't seem like there was something that wouldn't let it continue on happily. I'm wondering if 25 might be a better number, 30 would put it at 1 fish for every 3 gallons probably less considering rock work

Danh Ngo · Nov 8, 2018

Question to all that have a clown harem with BTA, how long did it take your clown to host the bta?
Thanks

Johnnyg. · Nov 9, 2018

I’ve had some host within two days. I’ve also had clowns take months to find it. I put the bta in a small jar and put it near them.

zagviper71 · Nov 18, 2018

Danh Ngo said:
Question to all that have a clown harem with BTA, how long did it take your clown to host the bta?
Thanks

Instantly when I dropped the clowns in the tank!

zagviper71 · Nov 18, 2018

""

Woot! Made it 1 year in!!

SupraSaltyReefer · Jan 7, 2019

Random shot after feeding time with pumps off. 21 Clowns and a few other tankmates.

Terry DeMott · Jan 7, 2019

This is my Clown Fish Harem w/50 clowns and 12 aneomones

EmdeReef · Jan 7, 2019

kinetic said:
A good way to do it is:

Juvenile clowns from the same clutch

All the same size (any size difference will turn into aggression)

Be prepared to watch closely every day, and be prepared to remove any that are either too aggressive or getting picked on by everyone

Get at least 5, more if your tank can handle the bioload

Establish a natural anemone host at least a few weeks before (multiple anemones would also work). H. magnifica is a beautiful one, hardy (after successful import and treatment).

I didn't get all clowns from the same clutch, and I even got a bonded pair to try to keep hierarchy aggression down for the top two spots (female and alpha male). Not sure if this is the best idea, as I've had to remove two clowns (one was too big and a threat to the female and alpha, the other was hardcore picking on two of the other small males because it was slightly bigger than them). Overall, I think getting 1" or smaller clowns from the same clutch probably would've been easier. I'll probably need to remove one more clown soon =/

Definitely do not:

Mix species (even percula and ocellaris)

Get all different sizes

Get older / larger clowns unless trying the bonded pair hierarchy thing

Get wild clowns, best bet if they're all captive bred

When to know to remove a clown:

If multiple clowns are picking on it hard. Like chasing it into corners, not letting it eat ever, and nipping fins

If one clown is picking on one specific other clown, or a few others enough to start tattering their fins and keeping them from eating. Remove that aggressive clown. That one will most likely be slightly larger than the ones he's picking on. If this aggressive clown, however, gets along with the majority of others, might be best to remove the clowns he's picking on the most

If one clown stays in the corner by itself, never eating, he's given up. Remove him.

When I say "REMOVE," I mean find it a better home. So before you decide to do this, make sure there are enough reefer friends around you who would probably adopt one. Don't expect to make money off of these, and just give them away or for a very very reasonable price. You have to be ready to take quite a hit on your investment. IF that's worth it to you, then go for it.

Have isolation boxes ready. clowns are easy to catch in a net, and just place them in the box. Don't keep them in the box for more than 3 - 4 hours, because they will rub their faces off on the walls of the box trying to get out (they're dumb). Within 3-4 hours, you should have sold / given them away, or let them back out.

Timeouts will NOT WORK. They will go right back to their normal behavior.

Where did you get juveniles from?
I’m considering this in my reefer 350 but struggle to find juveniles for sale. Don’t think I want to invest time into breeding.

SupraSaltyReefer · Jan 7, 2019

EmdeReef said:
Where did you get juveniles from?
I’m considering this in my reefer 350 but struggle to find juveniles for sale. Don’t think I want to invest time into breeding.

Check out Kimmie's Clownfish Factory. They are located in Stockton, CA and will ship within the US. https://www.kimmiesclownfishfactory.com or their FB page. Very responsive through messenger too. That's where I got 18 of my Picosnow clowns from.

EmdeReef · Jan 7, 2019

OceanGlassBox said:
Check out Kimmie's Clownfish Factory. They are located in Stockton, CA and will ship within the US. https://www.kimmiesclownfishfactory.com or their FB page. Very responsive through messenger too. That's where I got 18 of my Picosnow owns from.

Thanks @OceanGlassBox, going to check them out!

Venzzla · Feb 11, 2019

Can you do a clownfish harem tank on the small side with a 40 gallon breeder? Or am I asking for problems?

Whipples · Feb 14, 2019

Venzzla said:
Can you do a clownfish harem tank on the small side with a 40 gallon breeder? Or am I asking for problems?

Can it be done? Maybe. Should it be done? I would say no. That would be a lot of aggression to try and dissipate in a very small environment, but that is my opinion.

wadesims2000 · Feb 15, 2019

OceanGlassBox said:
Check out Kimmie's Clownfish Factory. They are located in Stockton, CA and will ship within the US. https://www.kimmiesclownfishfactory.com or their FB page. Very responsive through messenger too. That's where I got 18 of my Picosnow clowns from.

Any chance you’d message me about what that cost?

KnH · Sep 29, 2019

Any updates, looking at setting up a 150g clown harem tank

Johnnyg. · Sep 29, 2019

My harem just turned 1. Reefer 250 with a dozen snow onyx. One recently got bullied so bad I had to pull him. The 11 seem to be getting along well.

Injoynit · Oct 3, 2019

Injoynit said:
I got myself 6 Amphiprion ocellaris SA Orange nano clowns from the same clutch from "The Coral Reef" ( https://www.coralreeftn.com/shop.php ). Great place to get them.
They are gong on 4 months with no problems. They all seem to get along and none are hosting a coral as I have no anemone's. Just a hammer and torch coral.
I have them in a 750XXL red sea, so even if there was to be a problem should be plenty of room for them to pair up, but they mostly stay together. Picture was 4 months ago.

Update. Going on almost 2 years and I lost one who jumped out of a 1/4 inch slit in my top and the other 5 are still going with 2 paired up on one side of the tank and the other 3 on the other side. Not much of a harem in a 200 gal tank but still fun.