Clownfish

[Raineforrest]

I'm new to the reefing hobby and am planning on adding a pair of clownfish after i get my 75 gallon tank set up and cycled. I've been reading that clowns are actually damsels and I understand damsels tend to be aggressive as I have have some years ago. Is it a bad idea to add more than two clowns to a tank? I was playing with the idea of maybe adding four. And will they become aggressive towards other fish if they are the first added to the tank?

 

[CO2TLEY]

I’ve seen it done. Theres a guy on YouTube with 3 or 4 pairs of different kinds of clownfish in a 75G. Most will recommend that you only keep a pair per tank, my opinion as well. I think it’s more about the aggression with each other than other fish but there are horror stories on here about them going after other fish too

 

[Sharkbait19]

Clowns beat out most commonly kept damsels for their aggression. They are really territorial, so any fish added after is in their tank.
I wouldn’t do more than a pair - anyone else would have to either submit or die. Usually you only see success with clown harems that have a lot of them so no single clown is picked on too much.
This also does depend on the individual fish. My perc is pretty laid back (for a clown), but my occy pair had to be put in solitary confinement.

 

[Raineforrest]

Clowns beat out most commonly kept damsels for their aggression. They are really territorial, so any fish added after is in their tank.
I wouldn’t do more than a pair - anyone else would have to either submit or die. Usually you only see success with clown harems that have a lot of them so no single clown is picked on too much.
This also does depend on the individual fish. My perc is pretty laid back (for a clown), but my occy pair had to be put in solitary confinement.

Thank you for the info. I never realized they were that aggressive. Do you think I should add less aggressive fish before clowns then? I was thinking clowns and now I believe I need to rethink my plans. What did you or would you start with in a 75 gallon?

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

Thank you for the info. I never realized they were that aggressive. Do you think I should add less aggressive fish before clowns then? I was thinking clowns and now I believe I need to rethink my plans. What did you or would you start with in a 75 gallon?

If kindof depends on the clowns. I'm partial to percs which in my experience are a bit less aggressive than the occellaris. Another factor is how old are they. My pair I got when they were TINY, and they're still pretty small. The female is barely 2 inches now and they squabble a bit amongst themselves but ignore the other fish. On the other hand I used to have a 10 year old spawning pair of occellaris and the female was so aggressive she would try to rip chunks out of my hand when I tried to clean their breeding tank.

Personally I LOVE clowns. No tank of mine is complete without a pair. I would add the clowns later and try and shoot for a smaller pair. For other fish some of my favorites that I have all getting along:

Royal gramma
Purple firefish
Springeri damsel
Blenny (I have a smiths and a yellow stripe in different tanks
Chalk basslet
Shrimp goby (I have a yellow watchman and a yasha in different tanks)
Yellow half barred cave goby
Royal gramma


In a 75 I would also be looking at like a scopas or kole tang for algae control. Maybe some chromis. Personally I like having a bunch of small peaceful fish rather than a few larger fish. I have 8 fish in my 34 gallon. You have lots of options in the 75.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thank you for the info. I never realized they were that aggressive. Do you think I should add less aggressive fish before clowns then? I was thinking clowns and now I believe I need to rethink my plans. What did you or would you start with in a 75 gallon?

If I had a 75 is definitely go for a smaller tang or foxface.
As for what fish to go with them, that depends on how big the clowns are and what you want with it.
Peaceful fish like firefish or royal grammas I would add first, but something tough like a six line wrasse, dottyback, or dwarf angel will do just fine with established clowns.

In my 40B I currently have:
1 percula
1 firefish
1 royal gramma
1 pink spotted watchman goby
1 longnose hawkfish
1 African flameback angelfish
1 orange spotted blenny

Everyone gets along well so far (except the blenny can get nippy with the goby)

My one disclaimer on my occy pair is that they’re some of the worst ones I’ve seen/heard about, but all aren’t going to be like them. Most aren’t nearly as bad, I just see mine as an example of what clowns can become.

 

[littlefoxx]

Thank you for the info. I never realized they were that aggressive. Do you think I should add less aggressive fish before clowns then? I was thinking clowns and now I believe I need to rethink my plans. What did you or would you start with in a 75 gallon?

I always put clowns in first, especially if they are babies! Super cute as babies and not super aggressive… that comes when they get large and start to bite you lol. Get one larger than the other, it will help them pair better