charzar-g

Hey all

Whilst thinking about how to stock my new tank (Not even Filled with water yet, so a long shot off) I thought of a clownfish pair to start off with (I want seahorses later in the game, but i'm gonna start of small with something easiler, naturally)

So yea, Who doesn't like the look of a clownfish wiggling about?? But when i was in the fish shop last time, i noticed there were some black clownfish with the same white stripes as the orange ones
I liked the look of these black ones more than the orange ones for some reason, so if i went with a black pair instead of a orange pair, would they be any different?
And also what causes this black colouration? Or is it a completly differnt type of clown?
And i read somewhere that clowns DON'T always need an anenomie...Is that right??

Any help would be neato

Charlie

sgould

There are many different variety of clowns, the black and white are just one of them, but they are still clowns and have the same general behavior patterns.

You are correct that clowns do not need anemones. In fact, it would be a good idea to not try your hand at an anemone until you have several months (6+) of experience under your belt. This is because anemones are touchy and can be harder to keep than a lot of other livestock. Waiting allows a new tank time to mature and stabalize as well as allowing a new hobbyist time to learn and give them a better chance of success with the harder to keep species.

galvatron3000

I purchased some black and white Oc. a few weeks ago for my wife's 65 gal. display. They are lovely and make you feel like you have something rare (even if you don't) because they are not the ususal or the well known coloration, thanks to Nemo.

They were introduced last night to the main display, got'em when Live Aquaria put them on sale a couple of weeks ago. Great addition. Tank bred as well.

nemo addict

just a point on sea horses ,, they are very hard to keep and do better in a species only tank due to there feeding ,,,and if not spot fed when with more agressive feeders they will starve as they are not agressive feeders ,,,,

Also a point on clownfish ,, dont mix clowns as they dont generally get on so make sure you want the black ones as adding orange ones with black you may have problems

Hypnox

While not necessarily recommended, it apparently can work.



Yes, that is a maroon hosting an anemone with a false percula.

charzar-g

Of course i knew that about seahorses
I've done my hwk on them, and i definatly wasn't thinking about having them in the same tank as the clowns, I would rehome them if i was ever to get seahorses. I have a few friends who do saltwater
And i was only planning on having a pair of black clowns, is this okay?? (from the same species i mean)

charzar-g

Thanks for making me clear on this, that would have been one of the draw backs of having a clown for me until later on

charzar-g

I think that might be the reason i prefer the black ones to the orange ones myself I'm not sure
I'd love to see pictures of yours, do you have any?

charzar-g

Just another question, sorry to like,, quadtriple post or whatever many posts i've done, but i may just be being paranoid about this...
The clowns i saw in the shop were TINYYYY like, the size of a baby finger nail, and putting a pair in a 65 usa gallon tank to themselves...would they get lost? Or be able to find food? I'm probably being rediculous, because there ancestors lived in the sea...which is much bigger than a tank :P
But just imagining those tiny little things in the tank seems.....huge

sgould

I'd be more concerned about larger tankmates that might view a small fish as a snack and skimmer/powerhead intakes than I would be about the clowns getting "lost" in a big tank.

charzar-g

larger tankmates won't be a problem, because they'd be the only fish in there for a long time...maybe even for their whole lives
But with skimmers and powerheads, what should i do about that?
I don't have a skimmer yet, because i was told to wait till all the friendly bacteria and good stuff settles first, otherwise the skimmer will remove the good stuff too!
And if i'm getting live rock, would it be okay with the filter off for a week or two? (on whilst its maturing)
I'm such a nooob