Clowns, single or paired?

[Tooch]

Can a clownfish be kept happily by itself? I know they can fight a bit, but isn't that only until they take sexes? Would it be ok to keep only one clown fish by himself, and him be happy?

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, they can be happy alone

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Certainly can. Not all species of Clownfish are aggressive towards each other before they get their sexes. I suspect my clowns have only recently gotten their sex and they have been fine all along. Where you run into problems is when you start keeping the aggressive clowns like Maroons and Tomatoes or when you attempt to keep different species of clown in your tank.

[zackish]

Clownfish can definitely live alone. My clown has a great time with my yellowtail damsel. They have been living happily now for probably 5 months anyways.

[jman]

definetly but just wondering... if you have the space for 2 i would definetly recommend it because they act more natural ecspecially when you have other fish in the tank.

[Tooch]

Well, I only have a 12 gal nano. I really really wanted a maroon, but even though I'll have a larger SW tank after we move, I'm not sure it's the best bet. I heard they are slow growers and if bought small would take a couple years to outgrow the tank, I don't want to bank on that. Anyone have more info on them regarding this?

[cocoa_pleco]

how many/what fish do you have now?

[Tooch]

I only have a 6-line wrasse now, about maybe 2". I have a Sally Lightfoot Crab, and Emerald Crab, a Pink Tile star, 9 hermits and 6 margarita snails.

[cocoa_pleco]

if you get a small one you can get away with a oscellaris

[zackish]

definetly but just wondering... if you have the space for 2 i would definetly recommend it because they act more natural ecspecially when you have other fish in the tank.

I plan on buying a black o.clown the day I move my regular o.clown into my 29 so they are introduced at the same time. Do you think they will both act more natural when they are in there together?

[dgoulston]

surely if u had one clown it would be a female! as by natural selection, the largest clown in a tank becomes the female..

[Tooch]

I heard if you mix different species of clowns, they will get pretty aggressive towards one another, possibly killing one. I'm no expert tho.