Too many fish?

[Leetch]

I guess this is a set up question but is really directly related to the health of my tank. I have a 5 month old 29gal reef tank currently stocked with 1 false clown, 2 firefish, 1 blennie and Bob the sea anemone. There is about 30lbs of live rock and I have 2 jets keeping flow decent in the tank. I unfortunately have a hooded unit which has the normal flourescent lighting and mechanical filtration as one big unit. I'm eventually switching it to a T5 2 bulb lighting system with a different mechanical filter but that could be a month or so.

My question is, can I add one more fish and if I can, can I mix a black false clown with my existing normal (orange) false perc or do I need to keep the species exactly the same? My current clown does not host the anemone so if I do (or even can) introduce a new clown, will there be a battle royale in my tank?

Thanks in advance.

P.S (on a side note, I don't have a protein skimmer yet as I still had some questions I posted under a seperate thread)

[twisted]

I guess this is a set up question but is really directly related to the health of my tank. I have a 5 month old 29gal reef tank currently stocked with 1 false clown, 2 firefish, 1 blennie and Bob the sea anemone. There is about 30lbs of live rock and I have 2 jets keeping flow decent in the tank. I unfortunately have a hooded unit which has the normal flourescent lighting and mechanical filtration as one big unit. I'm eventually switching it to a T5 2 bulb lighting system with a different mechanical filter but that could be a month or so.

My question is, can I add one more fish and if I can, can I mix a black false clown with my existing normal (orange) false perc or do I need to keep the species exactly the same? My current clown does not host the anemone so if I do (or even can) introduce a new clown, will there be a battle royale in my tank?

Thanks in advance.

P.S (on a side note, I don't have a protein skimmer yet as I still had some questions I posted under a seperate thread)

hi, i wouldnt add another clown to the tank in hopes of it hosting your nem. to be honest, your tank is a little small for a nem to thrive, and the lighting is way too little for it. t-5s are great as is a protien skimmer which should have been added "yesterday"...it plays a very important role in the cleanliness and water quality. for the age of your tank, it woould prolly be a good idea to not add anything else for a while and get the important things first...skimmer, lighting, sump/fuge, good test kits....
Good luck

[Leetch]

hi, i wouldnt add another clown to the tank in hopes of it hosting your nem. to be honest, your tank is a little small for a nem to thrive, and the lighting is way too little for it. t-5s are great as is a protien skimmer which should have been added "yesterday"...it plays a very important role in the cleanliness and water quality. for the age of your tank, it woould prolly be a good idea to not add anything else for a while and get the important things first...skimmer, lighting, sump/fuge, good test kits....
Good luck

Thanks T - it's hard being a noob since you get so much different advice from different people and it's hard to filter out the good from the bad. I guess it's best to stay conservative and get the skimmer and light first, then go from there.

[twisted]

Thanks T - it's hard being a noob since you get so much different advice from different people and it's hard to filter out the good from the bad. I guess it's best to stay conservative and get the skimmer and light first, then go from there.

there is alot of bad advice out there for sure. try not to believe to much of what the lfs says unless you know them personally. glad you are going the conservative way, your tank will thank you in the long run
feel free to hit me up anytime with questions. i dont have alot of answers but will always be happy to help you find one. there are alot of good ppl here that will always be willing to chime in also.....Welcome to Reefland

[Ninong]

I have a 5 month old 29gal reef tank currently stocked with 1 false clown, 2 firefish, 1 blennie and Bob the sea anemone. There is about 30lbs of live rock and I have 2 jets keeping flow decent in the tank. I unfortunately have a hooded unit which has the normal flourescent lighting and mechanical filtration as one big unit. I'm eventually switching it to a T5 2 bulb lighting system with a different mechanical filter but that could be a month or so.

Bob the Sea Anemone requires more lighting than what you have at present. Two 24w HO T5 fluorescent tubes would be an improvement over what you have now but certainly not adequate for Bob or any hard corals. You can't keep any of the host sea anemones under just two 24w tubes. You are going to need at least four 24w T5 tubes. I strongly recommend that you read this article: Be a Host to Your Anemone, by Dr. Ron Shimek.

My question is, can I add one more fish and if I can, can I mix a black false clown with my existing normal (orange) false perc or do I need to keep the species exactly the same?

A "black false clown" and a "normal (orange) false perc" are the same species, Amphiprion ocellaris, so no worries. Personally I like to see clownfish kept in pairs. If you do decide to add another A. ocellaris to your tank, I think it would be better to add one that is noticeably smaller than the one your have now. That way the newcomer should recognize the dominance of the resident clown and begin displaying submissive behavior before the larger clown starts beating up on him. The larger clown will mature to be female and the smaller one will be male. You will end up with a mated pair.

My current clown does not host the anemone so if I do (or even can) introduce a new clown, will there be a battle royale in my tank?

There should not be a "battle royale" if you follow my advice in the previous post. However, it is really important that you figure out the species of Bob the Sea Anemone for two reasons: (1) So that you will know what your chances are that your A. ocellaris anemonefish will accept Bob as their host, and (2) So that you will know if your 29-gallon tank is adequate for Bob in the first place.

Good luck!

P.S. -- Your most important priority right now is to get better lighting for Bob and two 24w T5 fluorescent tubes won't cut it.

[Ninong]

Leetch,

I see in another thread that Bob the Sea Anemone is a bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). While E-quads are not a natural host for A. ocellaris anemonefish, they will usually accept it as a surrogate host in captivity. They may accept it in a few days or it could take a few weeks. There is also the possibility that they won't accept it but your chances are pretty good that they will. Be sure to read Dr. Ron's article because it was written specifically about BTAs.

I would also like you to read this recent thread.

Good luck!

[Leetch]

Leetch,

I see in another thread that Bob the Sea Anemone is a bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). While E-quads are not a natural host for A. ocellaris anemonefish, they will usually accept it as a surrogate host in captivity. They may accept it in a few days or it could take a few weeks. There is also the possibility that they won't accept it but your chances are pretty good that they will. Be sure to read Dr. Ron's article because it was written specifically about BTAs.

I would also like you to read this recent thread.

Good luck!

Thanks Nin - I will definately read that article(s) and thanks for all the info, I really appreciate and I'm sure Bob will also. On a side note: I'll bite the bullet and spend more for the 4 light system, Bob will just have to live on Top Ramen for a while ... lol

[Leetch]

Bob the Sea Anemone requires more lighting than what you have at present. Two 24w HO T5 fluorescent tubes would be an improvement over what you have now but certainly not adequate for Bob or any hard corals. You can't keep any of the host sea anemones under just two 24w tubes. You are going to need at least four 24w T5 tubes. I strongly recommend that you read this article: Be a Host to Your Anemone, by Dr. Ron Shimek.


A "black false clown" and a "normal (orange) false perc" are the same species, Amphiprion ocellaris, so no worries. Personally I like to see clownfish kept in pairs. If you do decide to add another A. ocellaris to your tank, I think it would be better to add one that is noticeably smaller than the one your have now. That way the newcomer should recognize the dominance of the resident clown and begin displaying submissive behavior before the larger clown starts beating up on him. The larger clown will mature to be female and the smaller one will be male. You will end up with a mated pair.


There should not be a "battle royale" if you follow my advice in the previous post. However, it is really important that you figure out the species of Bob the Sea Anemone for two reasons: (1) So that you will know what your chances are that your A. ocellaris anemonefish will accept Bob as their host, and (2) So that you will know if your 29-gallon tank is adequate for Bob in the first place.

Good luck!

P.S. -- Your most important priority right now is to get better lighting for Bob and two 24w T5 fluorescent tubes won't cut it.

"The larger clown will mature to be female and the smaller one will be male. You will end up with a mated pair."

By the way I found this to be funny and disturbing at the same time. I never realized they could do that. Boy do I need to do more research. Poor little Nemo may need to change his name to Shirley.

[Ninong]

"The larger clown will mature to be female and the smaller one will be male. You will end up with a mated pair."

By the way I found this to be funny and disturbing at the same time. I never realized they could do that. Boy do I need to do more research. Poor little Nemo may need to change his name to Shirley.

All anemonefishes are protandrous hermaphrodites, unlike the majority of reef fishes that are protogynous hermaphrodites. Protandrous just means "male first" and protogynous means "female first." In protandrous hermaphrodites the terminal phase is female. In protogynous hermaphrodites male is the terminal phase.

With anemonefishes, once female, always female. They cannot revert back to male, unlike some protogynous hermaphrodites (e.g., anthias), which are capable to changing back from male to female under the right circumstances.

Gender in anemonefishes is determined by social dominance. Social dominance is reinforced by aggression when necessary. In their natural environment, postlarval A. ocellaris baby fish will look for a suitable anemone that contains the fewest number of other ocellaris anemonefish. That way they won't have quite as long to wait in line for a vacancy to come open so that they can move up in rank. In each host anemone, there will usually be only one sexually mature female fish and one sexually mature male fish. All of the other fish in that host anemone will be sexually immature fish waiting for a chance to mature.

If anything happens to the mature female, the male will become female within a couple of weeks. Then the highest ranking sexually immature fish will become male. It's possible that some anemonefishes may live their entire lives without ever maturing sexually.

In their natural environment, A. ocellaris anemonefish are found in association with: Heteractis magnifica; Stichodactyla gigantea; S. mertensii. All of those sea anemones are difficult to maintain by the average new reefkeeper and all of them get really big. They should only be attempted by experienced reefkeepers with large tanks (at least 180 gallons).

A very good book for beginners who are interested in keeping clownfishes and their host sea anemones is Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson.