# Ocellaris Clownfish Question



## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

I've always wanted to start a saltwater tank with Ocellaris Clownfish in it and I have a 10 gallon tank that I'm not doing anything with and since they only grow to be about 3 inches I was wondering if I could put 2 or maybe 3 of them in. And is there any type of coral or Anemone that they would need?


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

i am not going to give you the final answer on the tank size, i have two in my 29g tank and they only use about 1/3 of the tank so IMO i think it would be ok to have one or two, they dont NEED any type of coral or anemone, though they will host in either with some luck


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

> I've always wanted to start a saltwater tank with Ocellaris Clownfish in it and I have a 10 gallon tank that I'm not doing anything with and since they only grow to be about 3 inches I was wondering if I could put 2 or maybe 3 of them in.


A 10 gallon tank is hard to maintain as it is adding a fish to it while quiet possible is going to make it a bit challenging unless your "on your toes" about it. Its not about "how much room they use". Phil is right they dont do a lot of swimming around the tank like a Tang would. Its more about Bio-Load in the tank more than anything else. One Clown such as you mention should be fairly easy to do through out its life span. Two is pushing the the envelope. It might be possible to pull off, and I am sure a couple of reefers have, but this is quiet a bio-load for a tank this small especially once they are full grown. Three adult False Percs, Im thinking your starting to reach a point where your setting yourself up for a number of issues due to the heavy bio-load in the tank. 



> I was wondering if I could put 2 or maybe 3 of them in


If you do a little research, and I most highly recommend that you do before you make the first equipment purchase and add the first drop of water, you will find that most sources of information in books and on the internet recommend a 20 gallon tank minimum for one of these fish. In fact the "Pocket Expert Guide Marine Fishes" by Scott W. Michael that I am looking at as I type says just that. But dont take my word as writing in stone, verify it and anything else for that matter that you read on the 'net in a forum, blog or hear spouted about in public. First what works for one or what one gets away with might be a lot different than what you will experience if you do the same thing. Each tank is a bit different even if they look identical and use the same componets, there is always more to it than meets the eye. Just cause I did it and got away with it doesnt mean your going to be able to pull off an encore performance too!



> And is there any type of coral or Anemone that they would need?


Anemones. Sorry I got a real bad opinion about this in Nanos. Its based on having Anemones in several tanks over the years not just something I read in a book. First they arent required. I will admit they look too cool though! Second they are difficult to maintain, even the easy ones can be challenging. The fact that you are using a 10 gallon tank which is suspetable to easily over heating from the intense light that will be required, these small tanks dont have to loose much in the way of water through evaporation for the water parameters to seriously change and go from okay to disaster in a heart beat. Water parameters dont have to change much to be come an issue in these small little tanks. This is why larger tanks are so often recommended. Its easier and quicker to catch and correct a issue in these sized tanks before you reach a "Critical Mass" point. The only Anemone (Bubble Tip) that these fish will use as a host thats somewhat easy to keep will easily get 10-12 inches across when fully open. That makes your 10 gallon tank a species only tank as it will sting everything else to death. Anemones will move until they find a spot with the correct light and water flow if there is one. In a small tank this will eventually result in said Anemone finding a power head or filter intake while on its "Walk A Bout". This usually results in what I refer to as "Anemone Puree" as the impeller blade reduces it to fine bits and pieces in your tank. This toxic material being spewed about your tank will seriously degrade your water in minutes and might result in the so called "Tank Crash" killing everything in it. As you might imagine thats not fun!

This doesnt mean you cant enjoy the antics of your clownfish though. There are a number of suitable alternative "Anemone Substitutes" out there that can be used, not that your clown just has to have one. Many are really good options as well. One of my Favorites is Xenia and Anthelias(sp?). These seem to be irritated less by clowns wallowing in them. Others that work well if they are in larger sizes is Toadstool Leathers, Hammer/Torch/Frongspawn corals just to name a few. Just make sure they are considerably larger than your clown so enough of the coral will be unirritated enough to not stress out from the constant "harassment".

False Perc Clown

On another non-related note...please research this hobby very well before you start if this is going to be your first tank. Ask a gazillion questions and make sure you have a rock solid game plan. It will keep you from making a lot of mistakes that the novice and sometimes experienced reefers often make. This will ensure that you not only have the right tank set up but that your exprience in the hobby will likely be an enjoyable one. Many who get in this hobby, arent in the hobby a year later. The bottom line is..."If you aint having fun, you aint doing it right"!

HTH's


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

Ok, maybe I'll pick up a 20 or 30 gallon for the clown fish.
Thanks for both of your help, I appreciate it!


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

One can be done, as I have done so before. A little bit bigger tank for a single False Perc fish would be better though if you are just set in stone on getting this particular species of fish. Its hard to resist having a clownfish in a SW tank though! There are a lot of other Alternative fish though that can do just fine in a 10 gallon tank if they appeal to you.

The key with keeping fish in a 10 gallon tank is going to be keeping the water quality up. Being a bit more stingy with the food is the key. Thats whats going to get you quicker than anything...over feeding. Its a mistake many make. Fish will always eat like they are starving, they are by nature hard wired to do so. In the wild they may not get to eat for a couple of days, so when the oppertunity is there they will scarf up any juicy morsel they can find. They will also miss some of the food too and that will end up in the bottom of the tank to decay. What goes into Nemo will come out as fish pooh eventually.


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## Joey (May 27, 2009)

i had a pair of snowfake clown in a 10g and they were more than fine.The tank is not that bad to take care of.And why just put 2 clowns go get yourself some polyps,mushroomsand GSP thats what i had in mine


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

Really? I'm glad to hear that!
So do you think I could get 2 clownfish in and they willl be healthy(whether it be Ocellaris or Snowflake)?


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Unless your an experienced reefer I got to go on record as saying I dont think this is a good idea. Its definitely possible to push the envelope and be successful at it, but as a novice you might not have as much success at it as a more experienced reefer would. Two 3 inch fish is a lot of bio-load for a 10 gallon tank. But thats just my opinion, in the end, its your tank not mine.


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

well, being that it is my first saltwater tank, I deffinetly wouldn't want to harm any fish. 
Maybe I'll just wait until I get a bigger tank to set up a saltwater. Thanks for you help. =]


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

That would be optimal I think. But you know after your tank is up and running and you have added a few simple easy hardy corals and gotten to mess around with your tank and get comfortable with maintaining it and the water quality then I think after a few months doing a couple of False Perc sized fish shouldnt be too tough to do.

Doing a SW tank aint all that tough, it really isnt. But a new tank, will go through several phases over the course of the first 2-3 months. Its normal for that to happen. These phases arent that tough to deal with and can usually be easily delt with. You will likely see several algae blooms during the cycling of your tank and shortly after wards you might have a couple of other issues such as hair algae bloom or Cyno-Bacteria pop up. These things are far easier to deal with when you dont have fish in the mix and your not having to add food to the tank to feed them which can further agravate the problem. How ever things get a lot more complicated and the stakes get a lot higher once you add a max load of fish to the equation. Add to the fact that we are talking about a small tank where things can very quickly go from good to bad in just a few short hours water quality wise. I think its best to have a little patience and move a little slow and get a good feel for things as opposed to jumping right in feet first at the word go. It will give you some experience, it will give you a chance to learn and a chance to do a little research as you go. I think this will signifacantly up the odds that you wont have any of the issues that many have and if you do they wont be as severe and this will make it easier to deal with. You wont be "learning while you burn".

This is not a hard hobby to get into, but it is one thats very unforgiving if you make a mistake. A lot of people get in this hobby and a year later or less they have thrown in the towel becuase thier fish or corals keep dying, or they become flustrated with constantly battling algae issues in tanks with high nutrient levels that fuel the algae. This also aint the cheapest hobby to get into either, but it can be a lot more expensive than it has to be if you get careless too.

I think your best bet is to do some research and come up with a good game plan. Get some consulation on it by asking a gazillion questions here. Once your comfortable that you have a good workable game plan get that tank started. Let it cycle for about 30-40 days then give it a little while longer to make sure things are stable. Add something really hardy like some mushroom corals or something of a simular nature if you have the proper light for them of course. See how things go for a couple of weeks. If you can keep the mushrooms alive then a couple of small fish should be a sunday afternoon walk in the park and a good indicator that your ready for more increasing challenges. Once you are feeling comfortable and confident then prehaps find a couple of small False Perc Juv. fish and add them to the tank. Adding smaller fish will lessing the impact to the tank and allow it to adjust for the added bio-load. As they grow the tank will continue to adjust a little at a graduale pace. You can add a few more corals from here as your knowledge and experience level grows and your tank begins to mature. In 9-12 months from now you will find that your 10 gallon Nano is quiet the slice of paradise!


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## Joey (May 27, 2009)

if you do decide to go wit just make sure you get a nano tunze skimmer thats the best way to control the bio-load


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Yes good advice indeed. A *good *skimmer will remove lots of DOC's from the water and make keeping the water quality up much easier. Just be careful, there are a lot of skimmers out there but only a few that are really worth the money you spend on them. The Tunzes skimmer is one of two I would suggest, that I have used that are actually worth the money you spend on them. The several others that I have tried have been medocre at best.


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

Thanks for all your help!


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## salth2o (Aug 3, 2009)

Imaexpat2 said:


> Unless your an experienced reefer I got to go on record as saying I dont think this is a good idea. Its definitely possible to push the envelope and be successful at it, but as a novice you might not have as much success at it as a more experienced reefer would. Two 3 inch fish is a lot of bio-load for a 10 gallon tank. But thats just my opinion, in the end, its your tank not mine.


I am going to agree with you here Imaexpat2. Sometimes the question is not if it is possible or not, but more is it a good idea or going to be a good environment for the creatures in it. All the rules aside I always try to look at this way. If these fish were in the ocean, would they be happy living in this space, with this many neighbors, and having this much space to explore? If your answer is no, most likely it is not a good thing to do, even if it may be possible. At least for me the happiness of the livestock is equally, if not more important, then the fun of watching them.


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

yea, this is a really old question, I'm aware of everything now a days. so thanks for all the previous answers.


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## salth2o (Aug 3, 2009)

kris_leonardi said:


> yea, this is a really old question, I'm aware of everything now a days. so thanks for all the previous answers.


LOL, yeah I guess that will teach me to look at the date of the original post huh? Not sure how that happened...

Anyway glad things are on track!


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

haha, thanks!


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Yeah a bit of an old post and while you may already long ago came to a conclusion, the continued replies will still benefit a "new comer" whos out researching and trying to figure out what they can or shouldnt do. So its all good!


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

that is true, one man's trash is another man's treasure!


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

I agree with all that has been said so far. If this is your first saltwater tank, the 29 gallon would be a good bit easier to maintain than a 10 gallon. If you were to get a 29gallon and add a 20 gallon sump, it would be better still. You would also have a place to house a very good skimmer, your heater, a phosban reactor if needed, and a small fuge. Add some good lighting (T5s would be my choice) and 40 lbs of live rock and you would have an excellent system that you could probably add an nice Bubble Tentacle Anemone (BTA) to in 6 to 8 months and have a home for your 2 clown fish and a couple of other smallish fish to boot. That would be my recommendation for success.


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