Creating a trio of true percs: my observations

[finnix25]

hey all,

just thought i'd share an experiment i've been trying with my percs. got a new pair a while back, and my old one was just chillin in a desk tank, so i figured why not see if i can introduce him to the new pair. i know they don't exactly get along as singles, but thought maybe a trio could work.

tried it twice so far, and both times it's been pretty interesting. the three of them do this little dance for about 3 minutes, and for a bit, they seem to get along. but then the old one starts getting picked on - the pair will either bite or suck on his side, and that's when i intervene and pull him out. it's like they're sizing him up at first, but then decide they don't want him around.

wondering if anyone's tried this before and had any success. maybe it's a gender thing or just them figuring out he's another perc. anyway, just thought it'd be cool to create a trio, but my old one's happy in his desk tank, so no biggie.

oh, and just a heads up, there's an anemone magnifica in the tank that the clowns use. cheers.

[route4]

Honestly, I've got my doubts about this working out. The new addition will likely get picked on and bullied by the pair.

If you're dead set on trying groups, just keep in mind you'll need a massive tank and they should be introduced when they're still juveniles.

[finnix25]

yeah i've been putting him back in his own tank once the bullying starts, just wondering if persistence will pay off or if this is how it's gonna go down every time. had a 3 week break between try 1 and 2, so just trying to see if things will change.

[finnix25]

originally got this idea from my lfs, they had a display with a breeding trio of black clowns, 3 of them in one tank with about 6 big anemones, had a nfs sign on them too, was thinkin if they can do it, why cant i. or is this somethin that only happens in the wild?

[rustyfox9]

I've had a chat with the lfs about their breeding trio setup, apparently it's possible they were raised together from juveniles, might be worth having a word with them to see how they went about it.

[rileyon]

Honestly, I think your best bet would be to introduce a group of clowns that are all roughly the same size. That way, a dominant pair would likely form, and the rest would kind of share the aggression between them. Not saying it's a foolproof plan, but it might be worth a shot.

[flame9x]

Honestly, I don't think it's gonna work out in our tanks. I came across a thread on Reef Central where someone had an insane 27 clownfish in a massive 210-gallon tank, and from what I saw, it was still going strong after 27 months. The key thing to note is that the tank was huge and had an entire side covered in anemones.

I'm not convinced it'll work in the long run for us, though. It's just gonna end badly for the third clown.

[flynix]

found that 3 was a better number for me, had a display at work with 4 clowns and they just didn't work out - 3 of them ganged up on the 4th, even in a big tank it was clear the odd one out was gonna get bullied.

[rileyon]

Odd numbers just seem to work better with fish, i've found that in my experience.

[fleeton]

I'll keep this brief. Clownfish are born sexually immature. As they grow, the largest becomes a female, the second largest a male. Smaller ones stay immature.

In a solo tank, the clown becomes a female by default. In a pair, the biggest is female, the smaller one male. Now, if you put a solo female with a paired female, they'll fight. If the tank's small, they'll fight to the death.

Your LFS had success because they added three juveniles. They developed their dominance naturally, no forcing. In a medium tank (40-90g), you can get two mature pairs, but that's trouble. The tank's big enough for development, but small enough for them to get territorial.

In smaller tanks (under 40g), four immature clowns can work. Two will mature, two will stay immature.