[vtec si]

Hello,

I have a 180Gal Reef tank with only two fish one a large Tomato clown (i've had since 1992) and I had a mating pair of clarkiis but, the male died about four or five mo ago. The female is a med' sized clown. Both can be aggressive at times.

1. Can I add another clarkii? If so what size smaller or larger?

2. Can I add any tangs? How many? What about a Shol tang or Powder Blue/Brown.? Maybe a Sail Fin Tang?

Any help would be great!

Heres a pic of my tank

[Reefland]

Goodness, you've got plenty of room for some additions. For a tang, the Sailfins are probably the most hardy of the 3 you mentioned, but the Powder"ed" tangs are very nice. The Powder Blues are very delicate and you'll need to make sure your getting a healthy one to start out with.

As for the clown, sure you can add another. I would add one that was equal to size or smaller than your current Clarkii.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by vtec si

1. Can I add another clarkii? If so what size smaller or larger?

Positively NOT larger. You already have two mature females of two of the most aggressive species of clownfish, so consider yourself fortunate that they are tolerating each other. Adding another female to the mix would be asking for trouble.

I think you could add another Clark's (Amphiprion clarkii) and/or another Tomato (A. frenatus) provided they are juveniles. How easy this will be is anybody's guess. Let's just say that you're lucky you're not trying to pair Maroons (Premnas biaculeatus). If the new additions are no larger than 1.5" long, they should submit rather quickly and the ordeal should be over in short order. Good luck!

2. Can I add any tangs? How many? What about a Shol tang or Powder Blue/Brown.? Maybe a Sail Fin Tang?

Yes, you could add a tang or even two if you wish. A lot depends on your choice of species. If you add a Sohal (Acanthurus sohal), it will almost certainly become the dominant fish in your tank. I wouldn't add any other tangs from that genus (Acanthurus) if you choose to go with a Sohal. The Powder Blue tang (A. leucosternon) is much more difficult to acclimate to captivity than the Sohal tang and it would be highly risky to add one in a 180-gal tank with a Sohal.

Which Powder Brown tang are you thinking of? This is a very confusing common name that is regularly applied to two different species. If you are thinking of A. japonicus, I would say yes but not with a Sohal. If you are thinking of A. nigricans, I would say choose something else.

There are several different species of tangs that are called "sailfin tangs." The two most common are Zebrasoma desjardinii and Z. veliferum. They are very similar but I like the looks of Z. desjardinii better. Either one would be fine in a 180-gal tank.

Your tank is right at the breaking point of what would be considered a minimum size for more than one tang or more than one pair of clownfishes. If you decide you will want only one tang, then go ahead and choose your favorite. If you think you will want two different species, choose wisely and add them both at the same time. Be very careful here because you want to avoid obvious conflicts that are very likely to occur with congeners and even fish of similar coloration and shape.

I don't know if this is the best advice but I believe that if I had two mature female clownfish already -- one tomato and one Clark's -- that were tolerating each other, I would probably add a juvenile tomato and a juvenile Clark's at the same time and keep my fingers crossed. I think it will work and I think the fireworks will be over very quickly.

[vtec si]

Thanks Ninong,

I knew I would get a good reply. May be I will just sit tight untill I get the new 449 gal set up going. I would hate to over do it know. I have had only two to three fish in the tank in the last 4 1/2 years whats 4 to 6 mo's!


Martin

[Biomanjcs72]

Haven't posted in forever -

Remember the Rule for adding fish to tanks -

Do it at night - if you're worried about aggresion - rearrange the tank some (I know that's a difficult proposition at best with an established reef tank)

But in a tank as large as yours - I probably wouldn't even bother rearranging - just do it when the lights are off - the little ones will hide long enough and submit quickly enough - besides - they can probably get into nooks and crannies that the bigger ones can't

Good to see Ninong still Around!

[Reefland]

Holy smokes Bioman, how the heck are ya! Don't be a stranger my friend.

[vtec si]

Nice to see you back bioman, I guess i'm not the only one that has been gone for awhile.

Martn

[Reefland]

Yeah your not the only one that's been gone but we sure are glad you both have come back. Where ya'll been anyway?

[goldfishees]

Your tank is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

[conda]

Yeah, nice tank.

What are those round corals, the dark red, big white one, and the green ones. I really like those.

[vtec si]

Hello all,

conda, thanks for the complement. The green ones are FrogSpawns that used to be one and I fraged it in half. the white one is actualy a bluish CandyCane and I'm not sure which red one you are talking about.

Goldfishees, Thanks, I never think of it as amazing! Some of the tanks I see here on RL are so outstanding that mine just seams ok. But then again rome wasn't built in a day.


Reefland, Life has just been busy! Things are just now getting normal again since the baby was born. She is now 8mo' and a week old. NORMAL

Thank you all,

Martin

[goldfishees]

My tank is very borring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[conda]

I'm not sure which red one you are talking about

The two red looking ones at the bottom left of the pic. They are round also. It's hard to tell what they are from the pic.

Originally Posted by goldfishees

My tank is very borring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My tank is just full of algae. It really blows.

[marxsman]

I just wanted to warn you, I have 2 marron clowns that are in a tank but when I added another fish they ended up killing it, at least I blame them.

They are very, very aggressive and would not tolerate any other fish. I watched them beat up a tang that was added to the tank. After a day or two I thought all was good but I found the tang dead two days ago.

I ended up moving the clowns to a tank of thier very own so I could let my big reef be peaceful again.

I did not think the clowns would be a problem but they were in the tank alone for a year. I added the tang and angel. The tang I found dead. After the clowns were taken out the angel swims all over now.