Questions about bennies comparability and clownfish color changing

[brian222]

Hi R2Rers,

I have a 90 gallons reef tank and I have a few questions about fish:

Q1) I am considering getting 1 more benny to my system, currently I have:

Midas benny

and a tailspot benny

also with a shy yellow clown goby and an always hiding high fin goby, they are very peaceful so far the 2 bennies always stay with each other. So the question is that is it okay to add an extra blenny such as a Starry benny?


Q2) I have a pair of ocellaris clownfish and they have been great, until recently the larger one turns dark on his back

this is him

I did some research and it shows that the color changing is a sign of the clownfish getting mature, does it mean it is changing his sex?


Below is a picture of my royal gramma, I post his photo because I just love this little guy LOL

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Can't really comment on adding a blenny but I just wanted to say those are some lovely photos!

 

[mta_morrow]

A starry blenny will not coexist with the tailspot.

I have a tailspot and a flametail blenny.

Like your 2, they don’t compete for the same foods.

About the only thing I could recommend would be a barnacle blenny.

@eatbreakfast

Any other possible fits?

 

[Westoncase]

I have been told a Midas and a tailspot could live together, however I have 0 experience actually owning blennies and I wanna know more

 

[W1ngz]

Clowns do change colour sometimes like that as they get older. One of my juveniles did, and after about 6 weeks she was clearly getting bigger than the other and maturing into a female. Now they're both orange again.
If it's the larger of the two, you're going to have to start referring to 'him' as 'her'.

 

[mta_morrow]

I have been told a Midas and a tailspot could live together, however I have 0 experience actually owning blennies and I wanna know more

These 2 can live together

 

[brian222]

Clowns do change colour sometimes like that as they get older. One of my juveniles did, and after about 6 weeks she was clearly getting bigger than the other and maturing into a female. Now they're both orange again.
If it's the larger of the two, you're going to have to start referring to 'him' as 'her'.

Thanks for the information [emoji16]
And yes it is the larger one turning darker. So if the dominant of two changing to female does it mean they are paired up?

 

[W1ngz]

So if the dominant of two changing to female does it mean they are paired up?

Not yet, but it's likely to happen. There will be a couple of weeks of (hopefully) mild agression where she charges him, and he swims on his side to expose his belly in submission. She should be pulling her charges before hitting him most of the time, so keep an eye that it doesn't get out of hand. If you notice the little one starting to look banged up, hiding or with torn fins you may have to separate them for a couple weeks and re-introduce.

For now it's probably best to not introduce any new fish into the tank.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

here is my blenny list if this helps. As @mta_morrow stated, do not put a starry with a tailspot. 4 tries so far and have to separate them every time, even in a 220 lol.

Tailspot, Midas, 5x striped fang blenny, 9x canary blenny, 7x barnacle blenny. These are all in a 90g mixed reef tank with a Yellow Eye Kole Tang and a pair of Clarkii Clowns. There was a slight "standoff" between the Midas and the canaries, as they have the same shape, to begin with. That lasted a day or 2 and no issues since.

If you were only doing 1 blenny though, I would not suggest canaries. 9 of them that swim together is more intimidating to a midas, as opposed to a single one.

My suggestion would be 2-3 barnacles, if your tank can support the small bioload addition. Those guys are funny as can be . The way they shoot out of their hiddey holes to get food is always a trip to watch.