Better to pair up clowns?

[MarinePaethor]

I have 1 Ocellaris clown in my tank now. He is my first fish, and I've only had him in there for a couple weeks, and he is tank raised, so from what I've found researching, I still should be OK getting a second clown in the tank to try to bond them.

My question is this though: How much more beneficial socially is it for clowns to be paired up? Is it better for them to be paired up so they can interact and play? Is it more detrimental to have a clown by himself in a tank?

I am trying to decide because 1 more clown in the tank equals one less fish of another type I can put in there, but it would absolutely be worth it if it would be more beneficial to have 2 that could potentially bond.

Anybody have any insight of history with 2 clowns vs. 1 clown?

Thanks for any info and advice you can offer.

[thegrun]

There are positives and negatives. First off, there is no guarantee that any two clowns will in fact pair up, it often takes several attempts to get a pair to bond. Best results are to try and match a larger clown (likely female) and a smaller one (male). If the two clowns do not bond, they will fight constantly. I believe they are happier when they have a mate, but then they will become more aggressive towards other fish, especially when they mate and lay eggs. Keeping a single clown in a tank is okay and they will often choose another fish to hang out with. I have a 28 gallon nano and my clown and royal gramma stick together most of the day.

[jeff@zina.com]

Occelaris are easy to pair, especially if this one is still small. Simply get another, preferably larger or smaller, and they'll haggle over who gets to be the female for a while and then pair. They may spawn, but without a lot of work on your part you will never see baby clown fish in your tank. A pair of clowns is a ball to watch though.

Jeff

[Toddrtrex]

Another thing to consider is that once a pair starts to spawn they become very aggressive -- I had to sell my pink skunk pair (( said to be docile )) because of how aggressive they became after they started to spawn, the tank is a lot more peaceful now.

Though, even with that said, I still enjoy watching my other pair of clowns (( different tank, SI percs )).

Until last night (( when I sold it )) I had a solo black saddleback (( A. polymnus )), and it was just fine.

[mgoblue]

Size of your tank will play a role, as well. A spawning pair in a smaller tank may prove to be too aggressive for everyone else in the tank while they would be fine if the tank was large enough that they didn't consider the entire tank their territory.

[Angel*Fish]

I didn't find my ocellaris pair to be especially aggressive. My maroons - well that's another story. Here's my two cents: In my opinion having a clown in a tank without a host anemone appears awkward. It just doesn't look right to me. If you have an anemone, it seems nicer to have a clown pair.

Of course anemones require certain lighting and tank conditions. If you don't have these yet, then of course you mustn't add one. If an anemone is not an option there are certain low light corals that they will often take too, I think.

If you pair your clown be sure that you obtain a juvenile -very, very small. If you accidentally get a female there will be trouble.