How many ocellaris? Mixing black O. with Orange O.

smp · 12/11/2006, 02:49 PM

I have a 29 gallon tank. I just lost one of my orange ocellaris and am down to one. I lost him to my overflow and then subsequently, my skimmer pump

I am still pretty upset about it actually, I loved that fish. I have kept fish of some sort most of my life and I have never felt as badly about losing one

I have always liked to see groups of Ocellaris and I was wondering if I could get two BLACK ones to introduce to my remaining one?
I'm not sure what sex the remaining ocellaris is, but I think it would have been the female had it grown to full maturity. I had the pair for a little over a year since they were very small and the one that remains has always been the more aggressive of the two, if that means much.

I have a 29 gallon tank, 20 gallon sump, 20 gallon frag tank which will be plumbed in soon and a ten gallon refugium being plumbed in soon.
Big skimmer, ER RS135.

Thank you.

GSMguy · 12/11/2006, 03:00 PM

no thats too many clowns two if a pair is max

how do you know the one you have is a female?

the female is the larger one 99% of the time is the one left the larger one ?

you could add one black ocellaris if it was a match for your fish

smp · 12/11/2006, 03:03 PM

I know I"ve seen groups of Ocellaris. As far as i can remember from the clownfish book you can have as many as your aquarium will hold as long as there is only one female, one male .. the rest have to be unsexed adolescents.

Also, if I get only one black one, what are the chances it will pair up with my orange?!!!

And I don't know if my remaining clown is a female, the two I had were the same size they didn't mature fully. The remaining clown was the more aggressive of the two, that is what I'm basing my guess on.

scoutmaniak · 12/11/2006, 10:30 PM

well the black ocellaris are the same as the orange ones, just a different color. So pair them up just like you would a pair of orange ones. Yours is probably a female right?? if so just get a really small black one and they will work it out right away. Good luck,

Michael

AquaReeferMan · 12/11/2006, 11:59 PM

I used to have 2 Black ocellaris clowns and 1 Orange one. They did great together. I would still have them if my carpet nem didnt eat them. This guy I know has a display tank at his store/house that has 3 Perculas. It is possible to add clowns in a group just at a young age. Its not done a lot and I wouldnt recommend you doing it in your system since its only a 29g. I would go with one black ocellaris, just make sure its smaller then the orange one you currently have. It will pair up eventually. Good luck.

Baalz · 12/12/2006, 09:37 AM

I would only add one more clown, a small one to insure it was male. If you add two you will more then likely end up with just one pair after all is said and done. There are exceptions to be found but its not the norm.

GSMguy · 12/12/2006, 09:52 AM

29 is two small for a group of clowns

12/11/2006, 02:49 PM	#1
smp Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 574	How many ocellaris? Mixing black O. with Orange O. I have a 29 gallon tank. I just lost one of my orange ocellaris and am down to one. I lost him to my overflow and then subsequently, my skimmer pump I am still pretty upset about it actually, I loved that fish. I have kept fish of some sort most of my life and I have never felt as badly about losing one I have always liked to see groups of Ocellaris and I was wondering if I could get two BLACK ones to introduce to my remaining one? I'm not sure what sex the remaining ocellaris is, but I think it would have been the female had it grown to full maturity. I had the pair for a little over a year since they were very small and the one that remains has always been the more aggressive of the two, if that means much. I have a 29 gallon tank, 20 gallon sump, 20 gallon frag tank which will be plumbed in soon and a ten gallon refugium being plumbed in soon. Big skimmer, ER RS135. Thank you.

12/11/2006, 03:00 PM	#2
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	no thats too many clowns two if a pair is max how do you know the one you have is a female? the female is the larger one 99% of the time is the one left the larger one ? you could add one black ocellaris if it was a match for your fish __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

12/11/2006, 03:03 PM	#3
smp Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 574	I know I"ve seen groups of Ocellaris. As far as i can remember from the clownfish book you can have as many as your aquarium will hold as long as there is only one female, one male .. the rest have to be unsexed adolescents. Also, if I get only one black one, what are the chances it will pair up with my orange?!!! And I don't know if my remaining clown is a female, the two I had were the same size they didn't mature fully. The remaining clown was the more aggressive of the two, that is what I'm basing my guess on. __________________ K.I.S.S Current Tank Info: 90 Gallon reef, 2 x 250 Pheonix 14k on icecaps, 2 x Aquascience 17.5 on workhorse, ER RS-135, Tunze ATO Kalk bucket, 30 Gallon sump, MRC CR1 reactor, 2 x phosban reactor (Rowa, Carbon), 2 x MJ Mod, mixed reef

12/11/2006, 10:30 PM	#4
scoutmaniak Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Mexico Down In The Desert!! Posts: 500	well the black ocellaris are the same as the orange ones, just a different color. So pair them up just like you would a pair of orange ones. Yours is probably a female right?? if so just get a really small black one and they will work it out right away. Good luck, Michael __________________ 15 Gallon Nano 100 Gallon Tek 6 Bulb T-5 Fixture Current Tank Info: 55 gallon FW, 100 gallon Reef and 15 gallon nano

12/11/2006, 11:59 PM	#5
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	I used to have 2 Black ocellaris clowns and 1 Orange one. They did great together. I would still have them if my carpet nem didnt eat them. This guy I know has a display tank at his store/house that has 3 Perculas. It is possible to add clowns in a group just at a young age. Its not done a lot and I wouldnt recommend you doing it in your system since its only a 29g. I would go with one black ocellaris, just make sure its smaller then the orange one you currently have. It will pair up eventually. Good luck. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

12/12/2006, 09:37 AM	#6
Baalz Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Havre de Grace, MD. Posts: 1,673	I would only add one more clown, a small one to insure it was male. If you add two you will more then likely end up with just one pair after all is said and done. There are exceptions to be found but its not the norm.

12/12/2006, 09:52 AM	#7
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	29 is two small for a group of clowns __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.