a moment of silence... maroon deceased

[bongobrian]

Well it finally happened. I went on vacation and came back to find my maroon clown has died it's very sad for me since I've had this fish since I started reefing about 8 years ago. At the same time, I knew it was going to happen. The fish had reached the end of it's captive life, and simply stopped eating. I tried everything I knew to get her to start eating again, but lost the battle. The fish has her finaly resting place in my flower bed So now, I really want to carry on the tradition and get another clown fish, so I wanted to get some recommendations from you guys. Right now I have a purple tang and an orange shoulder tank. I also have a bubble tip anemone. What kind of clown do you guys think I should get? another maroon? or perhaps a pair of perculas or something? let me know what you guys think! and thanks for all the help on trying to save my other one cheers.

[Elmo18]

Your premnas will go to heaven. Sorry for your loss Bongo.

-Elmo

[Mikeman]

You'll enjoy every clownfish, you really can't make mistakes when picking what clownfish to get

[mrok12]

Brian,

So sorry to hear about your loss. I would get another maroon and honour her memory that way. It is really like loosing a friend when one of your fish die.



MROK12

[scubadude]

Originally posted by mrok12
Brian,
It is really like loosing a friend when one of your fish die.

MROK12

I totally agree w/you MROK! Especially a Maroon clown, they have SOOO much character, and mine was the first one to eat out of my hand.

8 yrs!?!? Whoa that is a long time, First off im sorry bout your loss Brian, after 8 yrs of taking care of a fish its not just a fish. I think you should get maroon clown if you really enjoyed it so much, but of course a couple of perculas wouldnt get as big. I really got ticked at my maroon clown at first cuz he ALWAYS use to fan the SB but now he doesnt do it anymore, probably cuz I switched him from a 90g to a 220g. Anyway post some pics of your new clowns you decide to get.

[bongobrian]

Thanks scuba, ya know guys I feel like a total wuss because I actually felt deep remorse for this fish... it was almost like losing a family dog or something. You guys are totally right about how you get attached to the fish you've had for a long time. I've owned fish which havn't lasted long at all... all of us have. But you just don't feel the same when those fish die as when a fish you've had for that many years dies. Well, all I can say is that fish was well taken care of and lived a long happy life.

Scuba- my clown used to do the same thing... fan the sand bed and rearrange things in the tank. I think it's because they are so territorial in nature. Whenever I would buy a new coral or lr and put it in the tank, the clown would immediately knock it over. You're right, these fish have a ton of character.

I still don't know what kind of clown I'm going to get. Just out of curiosity, how do you guys think a pair of perculas would get along with the other tangs I have? the tangs would probably be larger than the perculas since I've never really seen perculas any bigger than 2 or 3 inches. My tangs right now are about 3 to 4 inches from mouth to tail. Does anyone know if perculas will take a bt anemone as a host?

A maroon clown would be great, but I'm always a fan of trying new things... so I'm kinda leaning towards a pair of clowns. I was also kinda thinking about a mated pair of maroons!

[mrok12]

If you want a mated pair of maroons that would be cool... I love the Bkue stripe maroons personally. I think the tropicorium sells them in mated pairs. I would just buy two, one larger tham the other and they will become a pair I believe. I know the trop has them but your going to pay through the nose. That is the thing I HATE about that place. The only thing they have over the average JOE is they are so huge. I do not like the majority of the staff and I hate the way the pull prices out of the air. They look at you to see how interested you are in a piece and take advantage of it. I do not frequent them and not only becuase I have a disrtibutors license but I also think they are over priced. If I went there and saw something I liked I would likely still get it if I did not think they were jerks.

Brian, Do not feel like a wuss for being remorseful about the loss of a friend either.


MROK12

[scubadude]

Brian if you want a mated pair of virtually any type of clowns I think I can get you them...and they will be aquacultured too. They would be ORA fish....let me know if you want me to check into that for ya! check out their site dude

ORA's website

Its all preference to your likings but the perculas would probably be the easiest and I dont think they get as large as the Gold maroons

[bongobrian]

Hey Mike.. thanks for the advice/tips and thanks for the warnings about the trop. Hey I thought you were the one that was "all about that place" a while ago. Did you have some bad experiences with them or something? What kind of clown was it that you mentioned? it came through as bkue stripe maroon... which I'm not sure what you were trying to say. Were you referring to gold stripe maroon? let me know. Do you think a pair of perculas would be ok with my tangs? thanks bro.

[mrok12]

I had several terrible experiences with them. I am not braggng here first of all- I would spend a 100.00 easily 2-3 times a month with them. I noticed that the prices for similar items were higher every time I went in. The week before a frag was 20.00 the next week the same type was 5.00 more. It was sometime the same piece. They were killing me with the clams. I was in love with this gorgeous clam, you know the type - green, open, with a great mantle. She was small, omly 1 1/2 inches 80.00. I lost my lunch on that one. So as I was saying I noticed also that the more I looked like I wanyed something the more it would be for me. So I tested this hypothesis by having a mystery shopper go in with me. We looked at the same items and got prices for each. When we compared my prices were higher by atleast 5.00 every time sometimes 10.00. It was based on my level of enthusiasm toward the piece I think and the fact that They knew I would drop[ some cash at there place. So now I do not have to worry about that anymore. Thanks to them I pursued other avenues to aquire my loved friends ( corals and fish ) Scuba gets his fish from ORA and I have a pair of percs myself that are ORA. Mated up at once I tell you. I would do this. I seldom every buy a wild caught animal now esp. since there are alternatives. You are right I meant gold stripe maroon.


MROK12

[bongobrian]

Mike- that really blows about the tropicorium... I still havn't been there, but from what I have a ton of great stuff. On the other hand, if what you say is true then that totally makes me not want to go there. As if this hobby wasn't expensive enough...someone had to go and start making a scam of it sheesh. Well I think I might stop by the fish doctors today after work and check out their clowns. I'll let you know if I get anything (which is probably a dumb thing to say because I always buy something from there). Ya know what man, now that you mention it... I havn't been getting my usual discount at fish doctors. They always used to give me a deal on everything I bought.. but the last couple of times they havn't. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[mrok12]

I would ask them, They sre pretty decent. They have been slowthough I think so maybe not discounting as much.


MROK12

[bongobrian]

Well I got a new maroon a couple days ago I didn't end up getting a pair because a guy at the fish doctors said it is very difficult to get a mated pair. He also said that if you put two maroons in a tank together, they usually end up fighting until one of them dies. I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but even so I didn't really want to put two more fish in my tank. I think it would be getting a little overstocked. So I got a gold stripe maroon.. I got him about a week ago and so far he's doing great. He's pretty small... looks weird cuz he's probably about a 10th of the size of my old one! hehe. But all the fish are getting a long fine. The other tangs didn't care one bit about the new fish. They acted like he's been in there for years!

[jedimaster]

I love my maroon, If I were you I would try to find a mated pair of maroon clowns that would be great. If not maroons, maybe a pair perculas or a clarki

[Elmo18]

Bongo,

I got my mated pair of Gold-Band Maroon clowns from Jeff's exotic fish. Not too shabby for about 49 bux. Make sure if you get mated pairs to get "Adult" pairs, and not just a 'pair' of fish.

- Elmo

[bongobrian]

Thanks guys, but if you read the above post you'll see that I already bought a new clown hehe I decided not to get a pair because I thought it would be getting too close to overstocking the tank. There are still some other small animals I would like to get like shrimp and inverts. I thought 4 fish for a 46 gallon would be pushing it. Everything in the tank is doing so well with 3 fish, I didn't want to jeopordize that. Thanks to you all for the advice and info. As soon as I can borrow one of my friend's cameras, I'll post some pics. Thanks again my friends.