Can 2 clown pairs exist in a 180g?

[Zbreefer]

I've been advised against 2 pairs of ocs in my 180, as there would be a turf war. I've been thinking of a radical approach to try and beat the odds. If I section my tank in half with egg crate, and allow each pair to establish territory on either side over multiple months, do you think they could co-exist? Or would they just start fighting once I remove the egg crate?

If 2 pair can't be done, then they can't be done, but wanted to give it one last thought.

Let me know your thoughts, or if you've had long term success with multiple clowns in a similar sized tank.

Thanks in advance, ZB.

[bnumair]

i have 2 pairs of clown in my 300, 2 orange/white 2 black/white pair, the orange male always managed to kill the black male and after few replacements now i have 4 clowns out f which 3 (2 orange 1 black fem) hang out together while the lonely black male is by himself.

[pyithar]

i wanna have two pairs of clowns too. i've already got a pair of ocellaris and i want to add a pair of pink skunks. but the answers i've got so far are "not gonna work out in 150G". so i gave up. i've seen some people have two pairs in same tank though one pair on each side of the tank with their respective anemones. but their tanks are fairly large.

[thegrun]

Unlikely, the tank just isn't big enough. I wouldn't try it an any tank less than 8' wide, and even then it would be a risk.

[avandss]

Originally Posted by bnumair

i have 2 pairs of clown in my 300, 2 orange/white 2 black/white pair, the orange male always managed to kill the black male and after few replacements now i have 4 clowns out f which 3 (2 orange 1 black fem) hang out together while the lonely black male is by himself.

Polygamist

[SGT_York]

nothing wrong with a bit of Polyandry,

I've seen a few maroon's percs fair well in tanks provided that both groups had natural hosting anems. If you try and mismatch the anems you'll likely have issues, I.E. don't pair both maroons and percs with BTA's or the maroons will scoot the percs away from all anems. Those tanks were 180's or above.

[davocean]

Most likely will not work in the long term, though I have never seen anyone partition a tank in the way you have described for a prolonged amount of time in order to help them adapt.
Hard to say what would come of that.

[ClownsRCoo]

I have a pair of picassos and a pair of ocellaris in my 90 right now. There is definately some territorial activity going on and the bigger more dominant Ocillaris pair chase the picassos out of their particular section of the tank and there is some aggression at feeding time. At night each clown has their own corner that they sleep in and nobody ventures from that space.

I have had this set up for 6 months now. The only other fish in there is a Black Cap Basslet. I am trying to slowlly introduce more fish into the tank to try to distract them from each other. I feel pretty confident that they arent trying to kill each other and they are really just trying to teach the others where their boundaries are. That being said just because I have gone this long doesnt mean I think this is an easy arrangement. I probably will not try 2 pairs again until i get my bigger 225 im planning on.

I think the main factors are obviously the size of your tank, the species of clowns you are considering, how closely they were both introduced to the tank in relation to each other, and then if you have objects like anemones they might want to claim and if so you have enough for each pair to claim their own.

[cubanreef22]

Just set up an anemone on each side and let them have their own territory, make sure you don't feed on only one side though

[davocean]

Even w/ my 180g and bookended nems at each side my pair of clowns would just bounce back and forth to each nem, so I doubt that will do it, and many find that when their clowns reach maturity and spawn the aggression steps up quite a bit.
What looks like they may work it out often ends w/ just all out war when the spawning begins, and at that point it is often too late for the weaker clowns by the time you have noticed the change, it can happen overnight.

[SwampyBill]

^^^ +1 ^^^...

I wish I had a nickel for everytime this question has come up...Please don't do it!! These are animals lives you're trying to push the envelope with. For every posting of longterm success (2 yrs or more) keeping more than 1 pair of clowns per tank, there are at least 15--20 postings about disaster. Once a bonded pair start spawning they'll likely kill any other clowns they perceive as a threat. Sooner or later you'll end up w/ only 1 pair. It can happen in the blink of an eye & won't be pretty...

[Whistl3r]

Keep in mind you can't equate human emotions to them either. They aren't going to beat on each other until they "know their place". The aggression will continue until the weaker one dies, it is simply in their nature to stake a claim and defend it. Being in a confined space only makes it worse because the victim can't simply move to another area of the reef as they would do in the wild.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by ClownsRCoo

I have a pair of picassos and a pair of ocellaris in my 90 right now. There is definately some territorial activity going on and the bigger more dominant Ocillaris pair chase the picassos out of their particular section of the tank and there is some aggression at feeding time. At night each clown has their own corner that they sleep in and nobody ventures from that space.

I have had this set up for 6 months now. The only other fish in there is a Black Cap Basslet. I am trying to slowlly introduce more fish into the tank to try to distract them from each other. I feel pretty confident that they arent trying to kill each other and they are really just trying to teach the others where their boundaries are. That being said just because I have gone this long doesnt mean I think this is an easy arrangement. I probably will not try 2 pairs again until i get my bigger 225 im planning on.

I think the main factors are obviously the size of your tank, the species of clowns you are considering, how closely they were both introduced to the tank in relation to each other, and then if you have objects like anemones they might want to claim and if so you have enough for each pair to claim their own.

This can't be considered a success with such a short time span. See below....

Originally Posted by davocean

Even w/ my 180g and bookended nems at each side my pair of clowns would just bounce back and forth to each nem, so I doubt that will do it, and many find that when their clowns reach maturity and spawn the aggression steps up quite a bit.
What looks like they may work it out often ends w/ just all out war when the spawning begins, and at that point it is often too late for the weaker clowns by the time you have noticed the change, it can happen overnight.

Originally Posted by SwampyBill

^^^ +1 ^^^...

I wish I had a nickel for everytime this question has come up...Please don't do it!! These are animals lives you're trying to push the envelope with. For every posting of longterm success (2 yrs or more) keeping more than 1 pair of clowns per tank, there are at least 15--20 postings about disaster. Once a bonded pair start spawning they'll likely kill any other clowns they perceive as a threat. Sooner or later you'll end up w/ only 1 pair. It can happen in the blink of an eye & won't be pretty...

Both of these experiences tell you why it won't work.

[Zbreefer]

Thanks everyone. I'll limit it to one pair.

[phillrodrigo]

It's not even worth trying since getting them out will be a horrible day. I had a few aggressive fish I wanted to get rid of a tomato clown and a blue damsel. I tried to catch the tomatoe clown but that wasn't happening. So I literally pulled everything out of my tank and emptied partially. I finally caught the clown and put him in my sump. I put the clown up for free and got some one to pick it up within a hour. So I had to pull him out my sump. By the time the clown even went into its new home it died I'm guessing all the stress. I should have waited a few days before giving away. But it was a lot of work in a 75 never mind a 180