Trying To Create A Trio Of True Percs. My Observations So Fare

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

hey all.

after buying a new pair a while ago i wanted to try and see if i could add my old one who had a m8 who jumped ship back when i started my tank. just wondering if anyone has tried befor and succeded with adding a 3rd perc to a pair. i know they dont get along when individuals but was hoping to spark a trio but maybe not.

there has been 2 attempts at this so fare. both times there is about a 3 minute dance but then the old one i add in begins to get picked on a bit. the pair tend to either bite or suck to the side of my old one by which time i tend to pull it out. ive done this twice so fare and seems to be wierd they get along then turn on him after a quick swim around each other or is this just them susing out that its anouther true perc or possibly a gender difference?

cheers. as i said just a lil experiment of mine to try and get him out of my desk tank but he's happy i just thought itd be cool to create an in house trio.

there is an anemone magnifica in the tank the clowns use.

 

[Truck]

well IMO i dont think it will be successful the third will be picked on and bullied.

you can try groups but you need a large tank and they need to be introduced as juveniles

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

as ive mensioned so far i dont expect a success ive been putting him back in his rectangle tank once they start bullying him. just wondering will persistance pay off or will this be the case every time? ive given him a 3 week rest period between try 1 and try 2 so fare

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

what sparked this idea initialy was that my lfs had a display with a breeding trio of partly to fully black clowns 3 in the tank with bout 6 large anemone's and a big nfs sign on them hehe so figured it had to be possible and wanted to try. or does this partnership only happen in nature?

 

[TigerIssey]

Have spoken to them about how they set up the trio, it is highly possible that the three were raised from juveniles. May be worth speaking to them aswell.

 

[ben1987]

IMo it would be best off to add a group of clowns the same size then there would be a dominant pair and the rest would share any agro between them. Not guarenteed to work.

 

[kj23502]

I doubt it will work in our tanks.

There is a thread on reefcentral that someone kept 27 clownfish in the tank for 27 months and last I looked it was still going. Keep in mind it's a HUGE 210 gallon tank and one side of tank is covered in anemonies.

http/www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1259398


But anyway, I doubt it will work long term in ours and it will only mean death for the 3rd clown.

 

[shibby]

i found 3 a better number then 4, had 4 clowns in the display at work then 3 went off together and bullied the 4th, though it is a big tank and i cant really give you a long term basis on how things went because they all got sold.

 

[ben1987]

odd numbers is always better with fish than evens for some reason

 

[SkiFletch]

Don't have much time but I'll try and explain this again. When clownfish are born, they are all sexually immature and have not chosen a sex yet. When the litter grows, the largest fish will become a sexually mature female. The second largest will become a sexually mature male and any smaller fish will still be sexually immature and unidentified. In a tank all by itself, the clown will be the largest (by default) so it will develop into a mature female. In a tank with a pair, obviously biggest one is female, smaller is the male. Now if you take the single female and put her in with the paired female, the two will fight, and if the tank is small enough, will fight to the death.

Your LFS had success because all 3 were added as juveniles, therefore developed their sexual dominance properly and did not have it forced on them. In a medium sized tank (40-90g) with 4 clowns, you can get two mature pairs develop and that can be trouble as the tank is just big enough to allow for development of all 4 fish, but just small enough for them to get territorial and fight. In a tank less than 40g however, having 4 immature clowns can work cause two will mature and two will remain immature.

Hope that helps.

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

yeap im already aware of all that! sry to make u write it all out lol. but it cant hurt to try as their all still juvi's and as said b4 ive got the single in a seperate tank to the side so im just giving him time in the main tank from time to time to see if anything amounts. i dont expect it to but u never kno.

 

[Straydum]

how big are the clowns in there? i've seen set-up with around 7-10 clowns and most of the time its the biggest of the lot that's causing trouble. though removing the big guy won't help either cause the second biggest would more or less take its place. the best chance you've got is to get them in together when they're still small and of the same sizes, like what everyone said.

another thing is instead of adding the clown, and then removing it. you can try using a breeder net or a small tank in the main set-up. much like how betta breeding goes; keep the female in a safe place within sight of the male and let the male get somewhat 'used to' the female and not trash her up that much.

it should allow the getting used to part like you said and you can see how it goes from there. i personally don't think adding and then removing would help

 

[seffieuk]

Hi Straydum

You have got that the wrong way round - it's the female which grows the biggest and becomes bossy, she is the one who mash up the other!

You would need to have three juvie clowns all the same size, so that nature takes it's course

Seffie x

 

[Straydum]

oops wasn't clear enough i was referring to the betta analogy. for the clowns the one going into the breeder's net should be the new comer or the one that's getting tormented

hope that clears things up

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

yeah well ive got a plan i need to action as soon as uni settles down a bit . i wouldnt mind keeping a log and studying from first reactions through to reactions after time spent in the aquarium in a breeding box then the reaction every few weeks of getting some full tank time! see how it goes. and it might give some light on behaviour reactions over time. lets hope the 3 second memory rule doesnt come in to play or ill be screwed HAHA