# clownfish question



## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Hey there,

I have been reading up on clownfish and have found many conflicting opinions as to whether or not you can mix the regular orange and white species with the black and white in the same tank. First off can this be done successfully? If so, should i have matching pairs or can i actually have a pair consisting of one of each species?

Thanks in advance!


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

The clownfish you are talking about can actually be one of two species:

_Amphiprion percula_ or True percula clownfish

and

_Amphipirion occelaris_ or Occelaris clownfish.

They are extremely similair to each other, however they do have slight differences that are visible.

Both these clownfish species have different color morphs, meaning they can have different coloration and patterning other than the standard orange and white bars. You can mix any of these together without any problems. Just remember as a general rule, different clownfish species (besides the two mentioned above) do not get along together in the small confines of an aquarium.


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## PsychoFishy (Nov 26, 2011)

jamie1985 said:


> Hey there,
> 
> I have been reading up on clownfish and have found many conflicting opinions as to whether or not you can mix the regular orange and white species with the black and white in the same tank. First off can this be done successfully? If so, should i have matching pairs or can i actually have a pair consisting of one of each species?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I have one of each colour in my tank. They do great together. Mine are Occelaris. I think having one of each colour morph provides an interesting contrast in the tank. Here's a pic of mine.


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Hey thanks for the reply...the two i am referring to are the standard occelaris and the black occelaris. so if i were to just get one of each variety they should be fine together?


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Oh great PsychoFishy yea i want the contrast as well. Good to hear tjat it can be done because i was talking to the guys at BigAls and they said its not a good idea but i kind of found it hard to believe because they are the same species just morphs...thanks!


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

yes they would be fine.


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Great thanks for the confirmation!


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

i also have two orange Occelaris and 1 black Occelaris that get along great. all different sizes ofcourse.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

Flexin5 said:


> i also have two orange Occelaris and 1 black Occelaris that get along great. all different sizes ofcourse.


I have seen mentioned in a few articles that you should limit yourself to 2 clowns per tank? Since I have a new addition sitting in quarantine, and looking to get it a buddy (or two) I'd like to hear more about having 3 or more. Never had clowns before so have little practical knowlege.


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

4 in my tank.

Few days of fights but all good now.


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

Tim said:


> I have seen mentioned in a few articles that you should limit yourself to 2 clowns per tank? Since I have a new addition sitting in quarantine, and looking to get it a buddy (or two) I'd like to hear more about having 3 or more. Never had clowns before so have little practical knowlege.


you're right, i've read the same thing on the net; but i find that it's not always black/white (pun intended..lol) when it comes to clowns.

speaking from my experience, the importance is on 1) size and 2) species.

i had what i thought to be two percs at first. one turned out to be a Occelaris and the other was a onyx perc, the onyx being the bigger one always bullied the smaller occ.

then i added the biggest out of them all, the black/white occ, which chased the onyx perc so bad that he jumped. so now i had two occ, one black, orange. then i added a much smaller occ and they have all been getting along great.










i was just reading a thread last night where a guy kept and raised a fry of 27 clowns. it looked really cool imo.


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## nate (Oct 14, 2011)

i have four clowns in my tank with no issues at all. occ clarkii and saddleback. no fighting, no aggression. you can keep the less aggressive clowns together, the problems come when you mix in a clown such as maroon clownfish.. maybe im just lucky tho lol each species has its own anemone. maybe that helps


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Ya, people tend to have the most problems with maroons and tomatoes. I had 3 clowns at one point and had to get rid of one since the other two were constantly picking on the smallest of the bunch. But then again, maybe they would do better in a bigger tank - mine was only 20 gallons.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

sorry double post


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

BTW Kooka, Still love the little guy, It bonded with the other Clown i got from Flavio, And is now living a in a spacious LTA together... Real-estate is a bitch with 4 clowns.


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## J-Miles-21 (Sep 25, 2010)

i have 2 tomato clowns in my 150g tank....would it be a really bad idea to add 2 occelaris?


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

J-Miles-21 said:


> i have 2 tomato clowns in my 150g tank....would it be a really bad idea to add 2 occelaris?


After seeing the condition of my occelaris after being in a tank with a pair of tomatoes or maroons (can't remember which). Yes. Very bad idea.


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## nate (Oct 14, 2011)

Tim said:


> After seeing the condition of my occelaris after being in a tank with a pair of tomatoes or maroons (can't remember which). Yes. Very bad idea.


Agreed. The tomatoes clowns will def pick on the occ. You can always try just make sure you have somewhere to put them / return.


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## J-Miles-21 (Sep 25, 2010)

thats what i thought..just wanted to double check


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

nate said:


> Agreed. The tomatoes clowns will def pick on the occ. You can always try just make sure you have somewhere to put them / return.


Seriously, don't bother even trying. The poor little guy I have has a ripped fin and missing a nice chunk out of it and has obviously been traumatized. It has been hiding in a pipe in his tank for over a week now, afraid to come out of it. It won't even eat unless I put food inside the pipe.


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