Problem with my Maroon Clown fish. - 06/08/07 Trigon 350 Live Rock Tunze Protein Skimmer Tunze Wave maker UV Steriliser 15watt Eheim Professionel 2 Filter <I like these units (have two) but don't really like canister filters/filtration on marine systems> Salinity 1.022 <A bit low...> Nitrites 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrate 40+ (I'm trying to get this down) <Dangerously high/toxic by about twice> Temp 75deg (Water change once a week) 10 - 15 % 1 Lipstick Tang <Naso lituratus, actually any genus Naso tang gets too big for this systems volume> 1 Blue Damsel 1 Lionfish <Should eat the Damsels...> 1 Foxface 2 Maroon Clownfish (including Disease fish) 1 Grouper fish <Species?> + few corals and inverts including anemone. I have still got a problem with my Maroon Clownfish, At the start around a 1 1/2 months ago my Maroon Clownfish looked like having a kind of slimy fungus around the base of his/Her tail. <Is this a wild-caught specimen?> This has moved to it's dorsal fin where it seems clamped down and deteriorating. I notice now that the gills and the underneath now have the slimy fungus whereas the tail seems to have cleared up a little. However now it seems to be around his eye and his eye is swollen and looks like it is popping out. I have been giving the tank a dose of Oodinex <Not efficacious here...> ( 70 drops 1st day / 35 drops 2nd day /35 drops 3rd day) with my protein skimmer off and my UV sterilliser off as well, this has done no good also. The fish itself seems to eat normally and swim normally as well except for this disease. It doesn't look like fungus though it looks like a white slimy rash. I don't know what to do here and I don't have any quarantine tank also. Please can you advise me on what to do next.. Thank you very much. Phil. <Yes... to read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/part2.htm  The bottom of the page... Clowns, Premnas... Elsewhere on WWM re the other species... You have too much/incompatible life here... and poor water quality... Bob Fenner>
Re: Problem with my Maroon Clown fish.  6/9/07 Thank you very much for your reply. I purchased this tank from a guy about a 3 months ago who claimed to have had it about 1 year and every thing was mature. With all the equipment I have how do I raise my water quality to a high standard. What do you suggest, do I buy a sump? What do I put in the sump? <What? Please... learn to/use the search tool, indices on WWM> Also the fish that came with the tank all looked perfect, The lionfish isn't big enough to eat the damsel.....yet.. I have replaced the UV lighting bulb and I haven't a clue on how to get down my Nitrates. ? <This is posted...> Please can you advise on what to do to get my water quality up to near perfect.. Thank you.. Phil. <Please... start here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm The linked files... in blue. Bob Fenner>

Small clown?  - 4/28/07 Why is my maroon clown small, and at the store they are way bigger? I have had mine now for 5 MONTHS. <Well, without any information about the environment you are providing, it is impossible to answer that.  The first thing to consider is what you are feeding it, and make sure you are providing a healthy varied diet. The ones at the store could simply be much older. They do grow slowly compared to other fish. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/maroonclnart.htm . Also, in the future, please use sentences, capitalization, and punctuation.  I corrected this question, and hope I figured out what you were asking.  Alex>

TLC and Maroons/Premnas   6/19/06 Bonjour, <And you> Sorry to bother you again. About SeaScope Volume 22 Issue I, 2005  concerning the Maroon Clownfish : page 3 >> "Lots of T.L.C. in quarantine for a few weeks" what do you mean by the abbreviation T.L.C. Thanks for your answer. regards  JJE <Ahh! "Tender Loving Care"... likely an American acronym. Sorry to all for this arcane oversight. Bob Fenner>

Who, what is "number one?" SS, En Francais  - 04/05/2006 Bonjour, About your topic : Premnas biaculeatus in SeaScope (22/Issue 1, 2005) what do you mean by: the "alpha" fish  ?? <"Ichiban", "number one", "the guy with a tie". Please see an English usage dictionary. Merci, BobF> Regards  JJ Thank you very much.  JJ <Welcome my friend. Au revoir. Robare Fenner>

Mean maroons  - 03/12/2006 Hi Everybody! *waves* I'm totally stressed out tonight, hoping you can help. I went through and read pages of the FAQ's and a lot are similar subjects but I feel like I need advice at this point. I had <No longer?> a 55 gallon tank, 40 pounds of live rock, a fire shrimp and hermits and snails. I've had terrible luck with fish and just about gave up. My tank was just about empty for weeks when I decided to suck it up and check out a tropical fish store I hadn't been to yet. There, they had 2 maroon clowns in a tiny little tank (15 gallon maybe!) I watched them for almost an hour looking for signs of ick or otherwise, and I fed them there to see if they were eating well. (They were eating VERY well) The guy taking care of the fish said he had them in the same tank for a little over two weeks. I took them home and acclimated.. and let them out. <No quarantine...> One was slightly bigger, but not by much!!) The Bigger of the two immediately started attacking the smaller maroon (I call the smaller one scrappy.. you don't want to know what I call the 'mean' bigger one). I ran to your website right away and found out that having two maroons together is REALLY hard.. (great). <Unless their tank is large, uncrowded...> So day 1, he had a 2 -3 lil shreds out of his fins.. top and tail, day two he healed almost already, the bigger one stayed in the back, scrappy stayed in front. Day 3 another attack on his fins.. but it didn't even seem to bother the little guy, and it wisent a constant thing. They started rubbing tail fins, and scrappy would twitch and rub against her and they sorta flirted.. I went back to read about these behaviors and I thought well maybe they are figuring out they're sexuality and The big one will stop attacking and be female...   Well, today, all day they've been rubbing fins and scrappy acts more and more submissive, the larger one is already way larger than scrappy but they are both eating really really well. Well an hour or so ago I came in and little scrappy was in a cave. something he hasn't done yet at ALL, even go near the rocks, been resting above the power heads. The fire shrimp was actively pursuing him and when he came out so I could see him he was beaten up bad, his bottom tail fin looks like a beaten feather and his front stripe has cuts or 'bites' in it and he's panicky. I FINALLY put the bigger fish in a plastic strainer and its bobbing around the tank. <Good move!> Its lights out now for them, and little guy scrappy is hanging out in the rocks for the first time ever. So.. now what? Will leaving big fish in the strainer stress her out badly? <Not likely too much> I've had terrible luck with ick and have been treating these 2 fish like eggs. <... please read re... you need to do more to prevent its introduction>   If I leave her in the strainer how long should I do it, and is there a good way to introduce her back in? Another fish there, or moving rocks? <... posted on WWM>   Or are the odds against scrappy ever being able to live peacefully with big mean fish in the tank? <Not good> Did I mess up by taking putting her in the strainer is this some sick mating ritual? *sniff* I feel bad for little guy. Hoping you can give me some advice Thanks so much for your awesome website and helping calm down frantic me forever grateful, Maggie <Read Maggie, read. Bob Fenner>

GSM female died... Gold Striped Maroon Clownfish   2/13/06 HI Bob, I don't know whether this is the right way to send you email for a question on GSM. Please pardon me if not or direct me to the right forum for discussion. I have a paired GSM. Female 3"+   Male 2". 3 months ago, the wife died. I don't know whether the husband is changing to a female by its own. <It will> The husband grows to 2.3". Or does the husband need a smaller GSM in order to simulate himself for the change? <Does help, spur on, yes> Should I buy a smaller one now, or should I buy a bigger one? <For all but a very large system (hundreds of gallons), I would start with a decidedly smaller addition> Or should I wait until I see a significant change or no change on the husband first. <Up to you> thanks a lot. Donald <Bob Fenner>

Yellow stripe maroon harassing BTA   12/28/05 Hello Crew, <Juan> Great informational site. I've searched your site for the following question and found an individual with the same issue; the problem is that I'm not too clear on the answer. I have a yellow stripe maroon clown and recently purchased a Rose BTA. The issue: the moment I placed the BTA in the tank, the clown went for it; I was under the impression that I would have to work to get them together, <Mmm, no. Not always> instead I had to separate them; the Clown was so excited that it almost killed the anemone. <Happens> The anemone is on its way to a great recovery with proper lighting and feeding; the clown has been separated for about 10 days. The anemone appears to have acclimated well and its in the middle of the tank (I wanted to submit a pic but its behind the live rock; it's actually facing the back of the tank. I wanted to rotate the rock but I'm afraid to disturb it during its recovery; <Good> maybe after a couple of more weeks). The tank is a 46G Bowfront with 75lbs of LR (the rocks are in the middle of the tank so the BTA gets enough lighting even back there). My question is, will the anemone ever tolerate the excitement of the clown? <Possibly> I figured the anemone suffered because it was too stressed in the beginning; transfer, new tank, acclimation, new lighting and now a clown that wouldn't leave it alone. I was thinking of releasing the clown after 10 more days, is this advisable? <Mmm, if at all possible, it would be a very good idea to place a screen over the anemone for a period of time past this... like with a plastic colander or strawberry container...> I wanted the clown to have an anemone and I can't part with the clown (I've had her for about 4yrs; she is now ~5" long); I have no one to care for the anemone. Is there a way I can make this work? <Only experience, trial can/will tell> One more question, the clown is messing up the fine grain sand bed, she keeps digging holes; I had to place an egg crate floor 1" below the sand surface; anyway, can I get her a mate; a smaller clown? <Highly unlikely in this small/size system... can be tried... again by initially separating the two... the established female in a floating colander...> It appears that she wants to reproduce based on her behavior. She is aggressive towards "some" fish; there is a yellow tang that she loves; that friendship seems kind of weird, but let me not digress... Is there a great chance that she will kill a smaller maroon clown? <Yes> I "think" she might like a mate only because of how she is behaving; please advise. Thank you for the great site and for any information you may have.     <Thank you for writing, sharing. Bob Fenner>

Moving Maroon Clowns Hi <Good day to you> I have a mated pair of maroon clowns that spawned a few days ago. <Congrats> I hope we can keep the fry living and healthy.  Anyway, my husband and I will be moving to another town which is 5 hours drive away in a couple of months' time and we intend to move our livestock along, although it will be an entirely new setup.  My questions are : 1) Do these maroon clowns have to re-establish their 'relationship' in the new tank? <Shouldn't have to.  Probably best to ship them together.> 2) If so, what is the best way to ensure minimum 'conflict'?  It took us 4 months to pair them up. 3) What precautions should we take to ensure that we do not lose any livestocks due to this move? We have a 2.5" blue tang, a 2" yellow wrasse, an orchid Dottyback, bicolor blenny, black sailfin blenny and an okinawae.  As for corals, we have softies like frogspawns, cauliflower, etc... plus some Zoanthus and mushrooms.  <Read here my friend.   http://www.wetwebmedia.com/movingaq.htm  James (Salty Dog)> Thank you for your time. <You're welcome> Ai Kun

Compliments re IO's "SeaScope" newsletter, Maroon Clown pc. Dear Bob: <Richard> This time no question, but rather a compliment.  I just picked up a copy of IO's "SeaScope" newsletter, and saw your article on maroon clowns.  It was extraordinary--comprehensive, purposefully informative, and erudite.  For what it's worth, it helped steer me off the maroon I was contemplating, to settle instead on a beautiful 2.5" Clarkii [tank raised] that has been with the store for several months. [It is, nevertheless, in QT]. Again, thanks, and best regards, Rick PS  I finally found a store with competent, informed people, who don't just say things like, "Oh, yeah, those flame scallops are great keepers, tough as nails'', and they insist on knowing what else you have in your tank before they will sell you what you think you want. What a breath of fresh air! <Ahh, great find. Thank you for your kind, encouraging words. Bob Fenner>

Terror...Of The Maroon Variety - 04/30/05 Hi, what a great site, it has been immeasurably helpful. < We do try <G>. > I used to work with a system with 12,000 gallons of salt water, and as I try to set up a home aquarium, I am constantly amazed by how much more difficult the smaller variety is. So many problems I never had to deal with at work! < Many of the same problems actually, they just manifest more quickly/become magnified in a smaller volume of water. > I am wondering if there are any fish that I can keep with a maroon clown and be sure that I won't have aggression problems, or am I destined to have a one-fish 65 gallon tank? < Aggressive at any time, if the maroon is settled in as the first/only fish in a tank this size you may well have problems introducing more fish. > Similarly, I am contemplating putting 2-4 damsels (I know they're terrors, but they're so pretty) with said maroon clown and letting the dogs of war, or fish in this case, work things out themselves. I have trouble imagining that 5 inch-and-a-half fish can't coexist in a tank that size. Perhaps you could recommend 4-5 colorful fish of appropriate size who might actually get along? < The problem is not the size of the fish, but rather the species you've chosen. Likely the maroon has laid claim to the entire tank at this point, but that said, damsels may well be your best bet. They should be small, fast, and pugnacious enough in their own right. I would consider adding (all at the same time) no more than three yellow-tail blue damsels (Chromis xanthurus) or three blue-green Chromis (Chromis viridis), and before doing so, rearrange the rockwork in the tank to disorient the maroon clown. > Thanks for your help.--Marianne < Good luck, Eric R. >

Maroon Clown Disease/Injury I have Maroon clown, that I've had for years, with some white fuzz or thick mucus at the bottom of one of it's gill plates. It's acting normal, not having breathing difficulties and eating fine, and none of the other fish (Eiblii angel, Orchid Dottyback, Yellow Watchman Goby) are having any problems. It could be an injury because the Maroon clown gets aggressive with attacking objects in the aquarium like the heater, snails, hermit crabs, and moves little rocks around. <Yes... a good speculation> I also have an Emerald crab that could have pinched the clown and an urchin that could have skewered the clown if it tried to move it. Please let me know what you think. I hope I described the circumstances well enough for you. Thanks. <I'm in agreement with your guesses... and hope that your fish will stay healthy. Bob Fenner> 

Frisky Maroons Hello, I have a question about maroon clown fish reproduction. I have two maroon clown fish, and they have been in my tank for approximately 1 month. One is about twice the size of the other, and much lighter. I realize that this is very early to have my fish mate, but yesterday they were displaying some very odd behavior. First, I noticed a large dip in the sand where they were hanging out. The smaller darker one kept shaking and burrowing into it. I also noticed a few tears on his left fin. Is this normal? Are my fish just mating, or do I have something to worry about? Thanks a lot <Please read on WWM re clownfish reproduction, behavior, Premnas... Bob Fenner> 

Maroon Clown sandstorm Hello crew!  <Hi Jim> I just received a Maroon Clown from a friend. My tank is about 1 month old. The 3 fish in the tank seem happy. Here's my problem. I have a 4-5" DSB. The clown has found a nice little cave, but decided there wasn't enough clearance. He's been blowing sand all over the tank. Since the sand is very fine, I have a dust cloud perpetually in the tank. 1) Is this normal? He's really going nuts with the home decorating. I don't want him destabilizing the rock structure. 2) Will he stop once he's happy with the digs? I don't mind another day or so if he'll stop once he's done. I'm hoping he stops soon, because the other fish are probably annoyed! Plus it's been about 3 days since they've been introduced to the tank, and I'd like to feed them today!  <I've seen this behavior quite often. I had one that did the same thing. Once they rearrange the furniture, he should be fine, though occasionally he will sweep up from time to time. James (Salty Dog)> Thanks as always! ~Jim <You're welcome>

Clown Hunger Strike (4/15/05) Hello,  <Hi. Steve Allen with you tonight.> I have a couple of picky maroon clowns that recently bought, and they are swimming well and they show no signs of disease. The only problem is that it has been three days, and they have hardly eaten.  <It is not uncommon for fish to go on a hunger strike that can last several days to a couple of weeks after purchase. They're under stress.>  So, I did some research,  <good>  and tried garlic to no avail, and then thought about using Mysis shrimp.  <Always a good choice to try.>  I called my LFS, and they recently got a shipment in, so I can buy them quite easily. My question to you is if you could give me some information, or point me in the right direction on how I might be able to house and/or breed these little guys in a spare 10 gal I have. Thanks. Sincerely, Devin O'Dea  <Have you tried frozen Mysis? Were these fish eating in the dealer's tank? They may just need a few more days. It would be very unusual for Maroon Clowns to not start eating eventually. Most will take flakes and pellets in addition to an assortment of frozen foods. As for breeding Mysis and other small crustaceans (amphipods and such), the ideal set up is as an upstream refugium that automatically and continuously feeds them back into the tank. Read more about this on WWM.  A separate breeding tank is the other option. I'd set it up with a heater and a cheap fluorescent light and a hang-on power filter for filtration/circulation. A few pieces of live rock would be nice. A sandy (aragonite) substrate less than an inch in depth might help. These tiny crustaceans will generally thrive in some sort of mesh. Chaetomorpha algae is great, but will require more light. Ulva often works well (check here: http://www.ipsf.com/#anchor45957) . I actually have had great luck with those plastic pot scrubbers from the grocery store. Just be sure to remove any metal ties. Once thriving, you can actually shake scores of them out of one of the pads into a bowl of tank water to pour into your main as food. In the short term, you may need to just put some of the ones you buy into your tank to be eaten right away and use others to establish your breeder tank.> 

Lonely Maroon Clown Hi, <Hi there! Scott F. at your service!> I have a few questions to ask you. <Ask away!> First, I have 1 Maroon Clown about 4cm long, and recently the female Maroon passed away. She was about 10cm (which I believe to be big for Maroons) and was wondering what to do now. I want to get another Maroon for him, but what size ETC clown do I get? <I'd probably opt for two more, and I'd try to get them slightly larger than your male. As these fishes do undergo sex changes, it is possible that your male could become a female if the new fishes are smaller!> Also, is it alright for metal halide to go about 12cm above the tanks bracing's because I have a 5 ft and its got 2 braces which makes it very awkward and costly, so what are my other options or is this ok? <I'd try it over the bracing for a while. If you are getting diminished growth or poor performance, then you may ant to consider repositioning, or possibly even moving up to a higher wattage halide.> Thanks  <My pleasure! Regards, Scott F.>

Maroon clowns Hello crew, I have a 29 gal LR and reef tank that has been cycling for about two months. All my levels are good, and I have 1 star polyp, 3 hermits, and 1 snail. I just recently added two maroon clownfish to the tank, and they have been doing well. ( one much larger than the other) I just found out by reading the faq's that they are aggressive, and should be added last :( I wanted to keep a firefish, a wheelers watchman goby, and a f. Pseudochromis in the tank, but now I don't know if I'll be able to. <Me neither> What can I do to be able to get these fish in the future. Any suggestions would help. Thanks a lot for the great website. <Really? Get a bigger tank... a 29 is going to be too small for just the Clowns. Bob Fenner> Regards, Devin

Anemone Husbandry... Hello  <Hi there! Scott F. with you today!> I have 2 questions. First, I bought a Rose Anemone for my Goldstripe Maroon Clownfish. My Goldstripe is a 2 inch female and I got a 6 inch Rose Anemone. The clown loved it, but then it kept going in and pushing the rose around. The clown killed it. <Hmm...to be honest with you, I think that it is unlikely that the clownfish killed the anemone. Rather, I'd bet that some sort of environmental factor stressed the anemone and led to its untimely demise.> Do I need a bigger anemone? <No. You need to provide optimum conditions for anemones in order for them to thrive. That's really the key.> And I have it in a 10 gallon nano reef. Do I need a bigger tank? <Well, I'll say an unqualified "YES!". You need to provide environmental stability, and enough water volume to dilute metabolic waste and area for the animal to grow. A 10 gallon tank simply will not provide this. Not to mention the fact that you need very intense lighting, which, in a small tank, can create major heat issues. All in all, you need a larger tank to really do the job, IMO.> Is there any way I can keep it in the 10 gallon? <I would advise against it, for the very reasons cited above.> I have a Rena XP3 filter. Thanks from Todd Encino California <Well, Todd- I certainly don't want to discourage you from keeping marine animals, but I do urge restraint and caution when attempting to keep them in tanks of the size you mention. In the long run, it's so much easier-and more beneficial for your animals- to keep them in a larger system. Do your homework, then set up a tank to meet their special needs. You can do it! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>

- Paired Maroon & Percula Clown - If you have a minute, we (my wife and I) would like to get your opinion on a specific fish dilemma... We have a fairly new 110 high tank with 38 sump that has run through its cycles and is stable, has about 100 pounds of live rock with some descent hiding places. We bought, for our first fish in this tank, a 1.5" maroon and a 1.5" percula who got along great at the LFS in a tank together, based on the salesperson who said they'd do just fine (as they were in the LFS tank at the time).  At home in the new tank, the two clowns hang out in the upper left corner of the tank, frequently touching each other's fins/bodies in the close confines of the corner without a hint of animosity to the other.  Once in a while they move about the tank, the maroon frequently more daring than the percula -- but whichever one roams the other usually follows as they seem to prefer roaming together. They've been in the tank for about 2 weeks now, this behavior has been the norm since Day 1.  However, in asking another LFS how to get the clowns out of the top left corner of the tank and swim around more -- the LFS says that I should know that after 2-3 years the maroon will kill the percula when it reaches sexuality. No doubt about it, they said, 100% result. Other fish store still stands on the conclusion the clowns will continue to get along. So the opinions seem to be polarized. (Not a big surprise, huh?)  <No... not a surprise at all.>  To note, I assume trading the Percula right now for a second maroon from a LFS may pose a brand new maroon-maroon conflict (since maroons don't seem to blindly mix with other maroons too easily).  <Agreed.>  We want to end up with 2 clownfish (either 2 maroons or a maroon-percula) that get along in the long-term. What do you think the risks are that the maroon will eventually turn on the Percula and kill it in a few years, despite they get along perfectly right now?  As we wouldn't be writing this unless we held high regard for your opinion, what do you recommend? <Probably about 50/50 - as you already know, Maroon clowns are well documented as being territorial and mean. On the other hand Perculas are docile and cause few problems... that may put it in the good graces of the Maroon clown. That being said, I don't think that the Maroon clown will just one day turn around and kill the Percula... will likely take several days to do so if it even chooses that course of action. I would leave things as they are, there's just no way to guarantee one way of behavior or another and so I'd enjoy this unique pairing while it lasts. Do keep an eye on things as time progresses and if you see any aggression in the pair [and there's almost no chance this would be coming from the Percula] then separate them before it turns tragic.>  Thanks, Steve & Amy <Cheers, J -- > 

Clown aggression Hey fish people. your site is so informative.  My question is I got a 24g nano cube two months ago and I have a purple firefish and a flasher wrasse as the inhabitants. I talked to my LFS and they said it would be ok to add a maroon clownfish to it considering it will be the last addition to the tank. The maroon is just a baby about more than an inch long. It shows no aggression to the other clowns in the divided sections at the pet store. It just seems to be happy in his BTA and does venture out from time to time. I'm sure his aggression will appear later when it gets older. So would it be wise to buy it when so young and should I put a BTA ASAP to calm the aggression? Thanks for all your input. TJ  <I would not put a maroon in a cube tank this size. There will be some aggression as it grows. Adding a BTA will just increase the aggression as the clown will be defending it. You really don't want a BTA in this size tank also, especially if you are going to have corals etc. James (Salty Dog)> 

Adding A Maroon Hi I have a 45g reef corner tank that is about 2 years old. The tank has about 60lb live rock, a scopas tang, flame hawkfish, Scott's fairy wrasse, and a ocellaris clown. I am going to add a rose bulb anemone and a maroon gold stripe clown. My question is, am I going to have to find a new home for my ocellaris or is it possible for these two clowns to coexist? Thanks Roo <Not likely to be peaceful in this small tank. Bob Fenner>

Mysterious bump, growth on a Maroon Clown Hi, I have two Maroon clowns which I acquired within about a month and a half ago. I have a 55 gallon fish only tank with green Chromis, Bar gobies, dragonet, crabs. I noticed that a small bump resembling a white cyst was forming behind the fishes left fin. It has been the same size for weeks and the fish seems to be healthy. Do you have any idea what it might be? <A tumorous growth of some sort... virally mediated...> It doesn't behave like anything I have seen in the books. It doesn't seem to be spreading, it just stays the same. The other fish are fine. See attached picture. I was told a cleaner shrimp might be of use. Thank You Randy <Might be... worth trying for sure. Bob Fenner> 

- Cheering-up an Angry Clown - Hi Crew, Hopefully all is well with you today.  <And you as well.>  We just received several more inches of snow in New England this morning so I am just dreaming of Spring here! Today I need some help with my female maroon clownfish. I have had this mated pair for about two years now and the female is approximately 3.5" in length. Over the past six months I have seen this fish tear polyps out of my Alveopora, rip chunks out of hairy mushrooms, push soft corals around the tank and just be a general "tank bully".  <Pretty standard for maroon clowns when they get to this size.> I thought this might be due to the loss of the BTA that had previously been the home for this pair of fish so I added a new rose BTA. This did appear to solve the problem initially but one morning I noticed the female clown aggressively tearing flesh from the oral cavity of the BTA. I moved the BTA to my refugium and, after about a month it appeared to have nearly recovered. Unfortunately it just died this morning. I have noticed a few fluorescent green Alveopora polyps lying on the substrate so I think this clown might be back to her old tricks as well.  Do you have any suggestions for dealing with this clownfish?  <Like what? Send it to reform school? There's not much you can "do" beyond isolation I'm afraid to say.>  This is really a beautiful pair of fish but the female is wreaking havoc on my reef so I am beginning to wonder if I might not be able to keep her. Of course catching her in a 180g tank, full of LR is another problem! I have read that Ritteri anemones are the preferred anemones of gold stripe maroon clowns. Do you think adding a large Ritteri would solve this problem?  <No... these fish are what they are... the anemone would only make it more territorial.>  I had also thought the female maroon might have been "angry" because the previous anemone was only 2.5" - not quite large enough for both clowns.  <Doubt this... honestly very hard to "know" the motivations of fish, but it is safe to say those motivations rarely mirror our own.>  I want to find a solution to this problem but I do not want to just offer another anemone as a sacrifice either.  Regarding the Ritteri, I have also read that these anemones are difficult to keep and that they tend to wander more than other anemones.  <Usually in search of proper light.>  Since I have several corals in my tank, this would be a problem for me. I have previously prevented coral / anemone contact by keeping the anemone on a separate island of LR from the main reef wall. BTAs (at least mine) do not appear to like to travel across sand, so this kept them on their own, separated rocks. Would this setup likely prevent a Ritteri anemone from wandering onto my corals as well?  <Hard to say, but I will say this: I've a good friend back in San Diego who has a custom 240, which has a divided section on one end of his reef tank. This separate, but connected section houses his two tomato clowns and a large carpet anemone. This accomplished two things - it stopped the anemone from wandering and the clowns from ripping everyone else apart. He can't put his hand in to the tank to clean without getting bitten.> I apologize for the long email but thank you, in advance, for your help. This has been a problem I have been trying to solve for a long time.  --Greg <Cheers, J -- > 

Premnas aggression 2/15/05 Hey guys, I was wondering if someone could help me out with a certain fish? I want to inquire about the gold stripe maroon clown.  <beautiful but VERY aggressive. Not a peaceful community fish> If I purchase a wild caught specimen at about 3.5 inches with it being the second fish I have in my 60g, does bold mean it just holds its own and is aggressive toward other clownfish or does that mean it can be very aggressive toward other fish in general?  <possibly towards every other fish... Premnas are just brutal> I plan on adding a blackcap Basslet and a few clown/citron gobies in my tank along with maybe a longnose butterfly, will the maroon beat these fish up and be aggressive towards them considering I added him first? <they are at serious risk... not recommended. A mean fish as it gets older> Or will they most likely get along and not be a problem? Thanks much < this fish is better suited to life with other grumpy fishes like Domino damsels and triggerfishes. Anthony>

- Clownfish Behavior - Hello again, We have a maroon clownfish and in the past couple of days he is digging around his anemone. Just curious as to were this behavior is coming from.  <It's in their genes... pretty typical, and in truth hard to know the actual motivations of any fish.>  Thanks in advance <Cheers, J -- >

Yellow stripe maroons Hey guys, I have several questions on yellow stripe maroons. 1.) I was told that TR yellows will not show any or very very little yellow in their stripes. Is this true? <What? There is only ONE species of Maroon Clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus... some are more/less yellow striped... and this varies... with nutrition, care...> I had a TR yellow stripe for about 4 months now and I moved him/her to another tank. I have read that if a clown is kept solo for a while it will most likely be a female? <All eventually become females if they live long enough> 2.) How reliable is this info? I have been visiting a LFS several times in the last couple months and they have had 2 yellows in the same tank. 1 of them is a approx. a 1/4 inch bigger than the other ( fish approx. 1" to 1 1/2"). I know the recommendation is to have one much bigger than the other to have a pair. But these two never have shown any aggression against each other. I would watch this fish about 10 to 15 minutes each day. The bigger one was also darker then the other. <Ahh, a good clue that this one is or is becoming a/the female> I know that this is not something to count on but from my reading generally this occurs. I purchased these fish which is why I moved my other maroon to another tank. It is day 2 now and the darker bigger one has chased the other one all around. I noticed today what appears to be 2 sores or nicks on the smaller one. Recommendations:  3.) Should I take one of them out? Or should I by bigger maroon and put him in there and see which he pairs with? <Up to you... I do hope this tank is big enough... sixty or more gallons, uncrowded otherwise...> 4.) If I take one out which should I remove? I know that if a clown is a female it can not turn into a male. So my concern is that the bigger of the two is already a female? 5.) What about the idea of putting several maroons in a tank of assorted sizes and seeing which ones pair up and remove the rest? Thanks, Greg <Not necessary. Please read through our "Clown" materials and consider a good book or two... Joyce Wilkerson's would be my pick for you. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clownfis.htm  and the links above (in blue). Bob Fenner> 

Mystery skin issue on Maroon Clown... Hi Bob,      Thank you SOOOO MUCH for the vast array of knowledge you have made so readily available to us mini-reef geeks in training!!! I've benefited greatly from this site. <Ah, good. Our intent> So here's my situation; I've had my maroon clown (captive bred, supposedly) for about 3 months now, about a month and a half ago I discovered a small white patch at the base of it's tail fin on it's body.  There are some small bumps on it's skin as well.  The tissue seems to be stable in that area, and has not affected any other part of it's body, the worst part (in appearance) is shaped like a line running vertically from top to bottom, but it does not seem to be a lesion, rather a scar (!?)  The fish swims, breathes and eats just fine... I have freshwater dipped it twice (about three weeks ago), after the second dip it's fins frayed (sp?) pretty badly.. At this same time, my newly introduced Eibli Angelfish was also picking on the maroon (just for that day!?).  The maroon found a good escape route through the liverock, and the two now get along fine, the maroon's fins have healed, but this patch of white w/ small bumps is still there on the maroon's skin!? No better, no worse, after a month!?! What could it be? <Likely simply a healing scar as you speculate> None of the other fish (a "brown" tang, bi-color blenny, and an Eibli Angelfish) have shown any signs of infection at all.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated. THANKS! Mariah <If there is room, no objection, I would add a cleaner organism... a Lysmata shrimp, Gobiosoma Goby... this will help in cleaning the wound as well as lowering stress. Bob Fenner>

Maroon clown questions 1/2/05 Hi guys. I just found your site and it seems to have a ton of good information.  I have been reading everything about maroon clownfish and have not found my answer yet, so I thought I'd see if you guys could help.  I recently (about 1 month ago) purchased a pair of maroon clowns which I found for $50 Canadian! (usually they go for about $45 each), these two were rubbing against each other in the store, and they continued to rub each other in my tank... they appear to be a true pair... they even look like they're in love!  I am relieved that I was able to get through the pairing process so easily and cheaply, but a few things have happened and a few questions have come up. <Glad you found the site and have benefited.  If your clowns were not a pair, one of them would be dead, so yup, you've got a pair!> To start with, they immediately started rubbing against  the tips of my Condy anemone (which I have had for about 6 months, has a pinkish/brownish tinge except for the very purple tips and the very neon green disk/mouth) and after about an hour of  increasing contact, they were both diving in like crazy.  They girl at the store assured me that this would not happen, that  I should buy the $70 BTA that I couldn't afford.... but I guess you don't know till you try.  <Most clowns will not adopt a Condylactis anemone, but IME, Maroons are amount the most likely to do so.> Another funny thing with these fish is that 1 (the larger, about 2-21/2" female I suppose) has gold stripes and the other (1"/ 1 1/2" male) has white stripes.  I understand that they are still the same species, but does this say anything about where they have come from?  I am sort of assuming that they are captive bred fish as they took to the Condy, but the girl didn't know. <The gold striped variety are collected in Sumatra.  They don't develop gold stripes until about a year old.  Your male could still be too young, or could be from a different collection area.  They could be captive bred, but their acceptance of the anemone is not an indication one way or the other.> Anyway, these oddities aside, the fish have been looking happy and healthy (and still are!) they love their totally incompatible :) Condy anemone (and rarely venture more than 6" from it except at feeding time, which appears to be the norm).  However, now the larger of the two seems to have stopped eating.  She has no visible marks, looks very vibrant, does not appear emaciated (sp?) and otherwise looks happy, perhaps she is staying in the anemone a little more than before ( and more than the male).  She was accepting all kinds of food, just like the male (Mysis, flakes, "Marine Mix" and brine shrimp) but not only takes a piece of food in, then spits it right out.... then swims to the net piece and does it again.  This all started about two days ago.  I have seen that these fish can safely go for a week without eating... but I was wondering if this could be some type of pre-spawning behaviour. <My female clowns are much more aggressive feeders, except immediately before spawning.  Look for a very plump belly, and a lot of rock cleaning activity as signs of an impending spawn.  More likely, she is just having a bit of a slack appetite.  Nothing to worry about unless it goes on for more than a week.> I am fairly new to the marine hobby (about a year and a half) but this behaviour is very reminiscent of a brooding Mbuna cichlid. ( I realize they are not at all the same). I have read several article about breeding these fish, but none seem to go into any detail about the courtship and pre-spawning details for these beautiful fish and what exactly I should be watching for.  I really want to try my hand at raising some of these little devils and don't want to miss a spawn.  I would really like any info you could give me on the mating rituals and what not that these fish perform, and perhaps some tips on how to find the eggs when they do come.  <Courtship consists of a lot of side by side shimmying, picking at a spot at the rocks (cleaning to lay eggs on) and the female becoming slightly aggressive toward the male (making sure he keeps working!).  You may also notice the females ovipositor extended.  The eggs are hard to miss.  They will be bright red/orange and in a tightly clustered patch within a few inches of the anemone.  Actual spawning behaviour consists of the female making a pass over the rock and depositing eggs, followed by a pass by the male to fertilize them.  Spawning takes anywhere from a half hour to two hours.  Raising the babies takes quite a bit of preparation, planning and dedication. See Joyce Wilkerson's "Clownfishes" for excellent info on the subject.> Here is my system specs. 1 50 gal tank, 1 35 gal tank, 1 20 gal sump, 1 5 gal hex tank These tanks are all plumbed together  and into the sump, making a total system size of about 110 gal. About 75 lbs live rock, about 10-15 pounds lava rock (which I am seeding to use as base rock for a future set-up, this is packed into the 5 gal hex, with some LR rubble, plumbed to sump)   2-3" live sand in 2 show tanks 35, and 50 5" live sand in refugium 5" dead sand in hex, seeded with some live sand, also for future set-up.... I'm a patient man. lighting,  50 gal- 250  watt MH pendant,  1 actinic 3' Florescent 35 gal  1-3'actinic,1 3'powerglo temp 76, Nitrate-0, nitrite- 0, amm-0, phosphates-0, ph 8-1/8.2 Critters and corals 50 gal- 1 black/white stripe damsel (2"),  1 "eel goby"(8"long)P. leucotaenia (I think), 1 red legged hermit crab, 1 huge Brittlestar (that I haven't seen come out from under the rock for at least 9 months, could it be stuck?),  about 20 turbo snails, several Nassarius snails,  a rapidly splitting green Ricordea (sp?)... bought 1 6-7 mo.s ago, now I have 3) some brown green mystery polyps, and a leather coral which I don't know much about, other than that it's brown with green  little stalked food grabbers that stick out all over it (sorry if I'm getting too technical here ;). ) and it seems to grow quite well. There also are (were?) two mystery crabs which I haven't seen for at least 6 mos.  Also many Aiptasia (Grr.....) and some sponges and other little worms, squirts and small branchy corals growing on my rock. 35 gal-  Scooter blenny, purple striped Basslet, banded coral shrimp, peppermint shrimp, spider crab (this is some type of decorator crab, but it is BIG, about 5-6" across), two supposed blue leg hermit crabs (that are not the least bit blue and now quite large, they have brown striped 'sticklike" legs, any idea?), a serpent star, 'Cyano eating conch'.  I think that's it. <Your serpent star is probably not stuck.  They do tend to stay out of sight.  BIG crabs are SCARY!  They will kill and eat just about anything.> I am running only a RedSea prism skimmer, and there is also a canister Eheim filter running, other than that there is are no filters other than my rock and sand bed.  I have been thinking about more skimming but don't know it it's really necessary. Holy cow... what an epic question... sorry guys, but I can't seem to get any good advice....  thanks a lot! <Your system sounds good.  The real test is the health of the animals.  If the animals are healthy, don't fix what ain't broke!.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>

Maroon Clown behavior Hi, I added in another Sebae clownfish in addition to my current one, since they aren't going to be in stock for awhile. When I added them in, both of them began to twitch against each other like anything. Does this symbolize anything? Thanks <Testing, adjustment, aggression... you will see within the first few hours to days whether these two will get along. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clnbehfaqs.htm and the Related FAQs (linked, in blue, at top) Bob Fenner>

More Maroon Clown input Hi guys. I just found your site and it seems to have a ton of good information.  I have been reading everything about maroon clownfish and have not found my answer yet, so I thought I'd see if you guys could help.  I recently (about 1 month ago) purchased a pair of maroon clowns which I found for $50 Canadian! (usually they go for about $45 each), these two were rubbing against each other in the store, and they continued to rub each other in my tank... they appear to be a true pair... <Premnas pairs are very distinctive... the males are relatively tiny, of very different color> they even look like they're in love!  I am relieved that I was able to get through the pairing process so easily and cheaply, but a few things have happened and a few questions have come up.        To start with, they immediately started rubbing against  the tips of my Condy anemone (which I have had for about 6 months, has a pinkish/brownish tinge except for the very purple tips and the very neon green disk/mouth) and after about an hour of  increasing contact, they were both diving in like crazy.  They girl at the store assured me that this would not happen, that  I should buy the $70 BTA that I couldn't afford.... but I guess you don't know till you try. <Clowns can/do take to Condys... may be too vigorously, damaging them> Another funny thing with these fish is that 1 (the larger, about 2-2 1/2" female I suppose) has gold stripes and the other (1"/ 1 1/2" male) has white stripes.  I understand that they are still the same species, but does this say anything about where they have come from? <Mmm, not much> I am sort of assuming that they are captive bred fish as they took to the Condy, but the girl didn't know. <Not likely captive bred... due to the price you state, size of specimens... very likely wild-collected>     Anyway, these oddities aside, the fish have been looking happy and healthy (and still are!) they love their totally incompatible :) Condy anemone (and rarely venture more than 6" from it except at feeding time, which appears to be the norm).  However, now the larger of the two seems to have stopped eating.  She has no visible marks, looks very vibrant, does not appear emaciated (sp?) and otherwise looks happy, perhaps she is staying in the anemone a little more than before (and more than the male).  She was accepting all kinds of food, just like the male (Mysis, flakes, "Marine Mix" and brine shrimp) but not only takes a piece of food in, then spits it right out.... then swims to the net piece and does it again.  This all started about two days ago.  I have seen that these fish can safely go for a week without eating... but I was wondering if this could be some type of pre-spawning behaviour. <Maybe...> I am fairly new to the marine hobby (about a year and a half) but this behaviour is very reminiscent of a brooding Mbuna cichlid. ( I realize they are not at all the same). <Ahh, Amphiprionines and their larger family, the Damsels, family Pomacentridae are indeed very closely related (phylogenetically) with the cichlids...> I have read several articles about breeding these fish, but none seem to go into any detail about the courtship and pre-spawning details for these beautiful fish and what exactly I should be watching for.  I really want to try my hand at raising some of these little devils and don't want to miss a spawn.   <You might look for Joyce Wilkerson's work on the subfamily>     I would really like any info you could give me on the mating rituals and what not that these fish perform, and perhaps some tips on how to find the eggs when they do come. <These will be obvious... attached to the substrate, in an area near the anemone (under its foot if it were big enough)>   here is my system specs. 1 50 gal tank 1 35 gal tank 1 20 gal sump 1 5 gal hex tank These tanks are all plumbed together  and into the sump, making a total system size of about 110 gal. About 75 lbs live rock. about 10-15 pounds lava rock (which I am seeding to use as base rock for a future set-up, this is packed into the 5 gal hex, with some LR rubble, plumbed to sump)   2-3" live sand in 2 show tanks 35, and 50 5" live sand in refugium 5" dead sand in hex, seeded with some live sand, also for future set-up.... I'm a patient man. lighting, 50 gal- 250  watt MH pendant,  1 actinic 3' Florescent 35 gal  1-3'actinic,1 3'powerglo temp 76 Nitrate-0 nitrite- 0 amm-0 phosphates-0 ph 8-1/8.2 Critters and corals 50 gal- 1 black/white stripe damsel (2"),  1 "eel goby"(8"long)P. leucotaenia (I think), 1 red legged hermit crab, 1 huge Brittlestar (that I haven't seen come out from under the rock for at least 9 months, could it be stuck?),  about 20 turbo snails, several Nassarius snails,  a rapidly splitting green Ricordea (sp?)... bought 1 6-7 mo.s ago, now I have 3) some brown green mystery polyps, and a leather coral which I don't know much about, other than that it's brown with green  little stalked foodgrabbers that stick out all over it (sorry if I'm getting too technical here ;). ) <Hee!> and it seems to grow quite well. There also are (were?) two mystery crabs which I haven't seen for at least 6 mos.  Also many Aiptasia (Grr.....) and some sponges and other little worms, squirts and small branchy corals growing on my rock. 35 gal-  Scooter blenny, purple striped Basslet, banded coral shrimp, peppermint shrimp, spider crab (this is some type of decorator crab, but it is BIG, about 5-6" across), two supposed blue leg hermit crabs (that are not the least bit blue and now quite large, they have brown striped 'sticklike" legs, any idea?), <Nope> a serpent star, 'Cyano eating conch'. <Good luck here>   I think that's it. I am running only a Red Sea Prizm skimmer, and there is also a canister Eheim filter running, other than that there is are no filters other than my rock and sand bed.  I have been thinking about more skimming but don't know it it's really necessary. <With your new tank> Holy cow... what an epic question... sorry guys, but I can't seem to get any good advice....  thanks a lot! <Keep good notes. You may well be writing up your experiences. Bob Fenner>
Marooned II wow, two responses... you guys don't mess around! Thanks for your advice,  I am glad to say that my lovely clown has now eaten!  It is very interesting that they ARE related to the cichlids... I had no idea... where could I find out more about that? <And recently both families have been moved to the same sub-order of Perciformes as the wrasses and Parrotfishes!> I didn't think that the eggs would be so close to the anemone, IN it? <Well, under the pedicle/foot> wouldn't the anemone eat them? (well, I guess not).  Anyways, I'm going to go looking for that book by Joyce Wilkerson, hopefully the local library has it.. I'm poor. <In some respects perhaps>     I am very impressed with your site and I can say with certainty that this is my new fish resource.  Thanks a lot guys! Tom P.S.  What did you mean when you said more skimming for my new tank?  Do you foresee some kind of disaster with my current tank? <Was likely my cohort's reference to having a bigger, better skimmer the total gallonage of your systems. Bob Fenner>
Marooned III <You might look for Joyce Wilkerson's work on the subfamily> I checked my library for this book with no luck... but they did have this one: http://ipac.brantford.library.on.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1104786JG518T.1283&profile=main--1&uri=link=3100006~!634321~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab22&menu=search&ri=3&source=~!training&term=Clownfishes+and+sea+anemones+%3A+everything+about+purchase%2C+care%2C+nutrition%2C+maintenance+and+setting+up+an+aquarium+%2F&index=ALTIT     Is it any good? <Worthwhile, but I'd ask your local library to borrow Joyce's work within their system (takes about a week)> I've seen some pretty terrible cichlid books in my time with mis(dis?)-information on every page, don't need to get myself confused with a bad book. thanks. Tom <John (Tullock's) works are well-done, but this ones a bit short on content. Bob Fenner>

Catching a Clown (12/27/04) Hello there.  I have read all I can find on your board as well as on the internet pertaining to maroon clowns and destructive behavior. I have a well established 135 gallon reef with only a few fish, one of them being a small (1.5") gold striped maroon clown. He has been no problem throughout his history in my tank until now. He has claimed a long tentacle plate coral for his home really tries to take good care of it. The coral is doing well, no adverse effects are noted.  However, I recently added a flower pot coral to my tank and the little ba#$%@d has decided to remove polyps from the flower pot to feed the plate. I have relocated the flower pot several times, moved rocks, I even moved the plate but nothing helps. I found a posting on your site that discussed this but my goal is different. I want the fish OUT of my tank. Without tearing the entire tank apart, do you have a good solution to catching the clown?  Thanks for your help. <Bad news indeed. Have you read about the dismal survival rate of flowerpots in captivity? Exceedingly few last more than a few months, even without a fish tearing them up. Even with the clown gone, your flowerpot is unlikely to survive. Do read up on how to maximize its chances. As for getting the clown out, the tear-down is sometimes the only thing that works. There are fish traps (commercial or jury-rigged) that sometimes work. Search "fish trap" or "trapping fish" on WWM or check with your LFS. Good luck, Steve Allen.>

One BAD Maroon named Norman I'm extremely perplexed by the behavior of my maroon clown and I hope some one can give me a good idea of how to fix this. I have a 75 gal bow front tank that has been established now for over 3 years. Residing in the tank are a percula clown, maroon clown, coral beauty angel, a Pseudochromis and a black algae blenny. I also have several emerald Mithrax crabs, a boxer shrimp and an assortment of mushrooms. I recently added an anemone (the pink tipped variety) for the clowns. The percula wants nothing to do with it; however, the maroon has done nothing but push this poor anemone around flipping upside down and dragging it around all day. I have had the anemone now for 2 days and have resorted to building a make shift cage out of PVC grid in order to keep the clown away. Since adding the "cage" over the anemone the clown has done nothing but try to get at this thing. The fish in the tank are all well behaved and get along really well with each other.  I did notice that after adding the anemone to the tank "Norman" the maroon's fins appeared slightly shredded. Still he persists relentlessly after this anemone. What's a girl to do?? I know Maroon clowns have a nasty reputation but has not exhibited any except towards this anemone I spent a pretty penny on. I would like to take this cage out of the tank but am afraid of what Norman will do. Any suggestions? Is this normal behavior? I have read tons of articles and have not come across any of these behavior problems with host anemone and clowns before. Thanks, Jaimee >>>Hello Jaimee, You really should do as much research as you can before purchasing any critter for your tank, ESPECIALLY an anemone. When you say "pink tipped variety", this doesn't give me enough info to be of much help unfortunately. There are pink tipped Sebae anemones, which are difficult to care for, not favored by maroons, and not an appropriate choice for your tank. Then there are pink tipped E. quadricolor (bubble tip) anemones which are a perfect choice. For the moment, given the description, and the behavior of the clown, I'm going to assume it's a Sebae, and advise you to return it to the store. Frankly, I can't imagine the maroon behaving this way towards a healthy bubble tip, but can't rule out some kind of strange anomalous behavior in that regard either. Sometimes fish just do weird things. I would be willing to bet though that if you purchase a rose Bubbletip anemone (assuming you have enough light), or the green variety, you will cease to have problems with your clown. Cheers Jim<<<

Maroon Clownfish and Yellowtail Damselfish Compatibility (11/23/04 Hello, I currently have an all glass 30 gallon tank.  It has about 55 pounds of Premium Fiji Live Rock, and a 1.5" sand bed.  It has been cycling for 1 month (it will be 1 month on Thanksgiving) and I have one Yellow Tailed Damsel that has been in there since the beginning (I know its not the best idea to cycle with a fish).  But my question is,  I really was thinking of getting a pair of Maroon Clown fish but I have heard that they will gang up on my Damsel and kill it eventually.  If they will do this, can you give me some information on what type of clown I should get that would be compatible with my current setup?  <Sure.... for starters your Yellowtail Damsel has a maximum adult size of 8.3 inches and a minimum tank size requirement of 55g. The adults are even more aggressive than the juveniles and should be kept with larger aggressive fish. <Think Leslie has this fish identified as one of the giant damsels... Microspathodon chrysurus... it is likely one of the small Indo-Pacific species though... likely to be beaten up by Maroons. RMF> This is not an appropriate tankmate for clownfish. In your current set up a pair of Amphiprion Ocellaris (False Percula Clownfish) or Amphiprion Percula (Percula Clownfish) would be appropriate. My personal favorites are the captive bred black and whites. In addition you could keep a small algae eating blenny like the bicolor. They are a great little utility fish and will help to algae under control.> Note, that my water parameters are perfect, < That's great, for future reference when referring to water parameters numerical values are much more informative than descriptive words.> I am planning on getting an AquaC Remora HOB skimming in a week or two.  <Excellent plan. > Thanks for all your help! <Your most welcome! > Have a great day. Chess Mizell <Thanks, I am. Best of luck with your new aquarium. Enjoy it! HTH, Leslie

Disgruntled clown! Hi Crew, <Greg> I hope all is well with you.  As for me, I think I need an aggression counselor for my maroon clown fish! <Hee hee! Know what you mean> At least, I could certainly use your advice.  I have a gold-striped maroon clown pair and the female has become overly aggressive with my corals.  She has nipped several polyps out of my Alveopora and she has destroyed a few hairy mushrooms.  She does not appear to be interested in eating corals; she just likes to rip the polyps out and spit them on the sand.  I would almost say she appears angry as she watches the coral for a second, then quickly takes a firm bite out of it. <Happens> A few months ago I moved to a new house and the clown fish's anemone suffered a tear, then died shortly after the move.  Could it be that the female clown is angry that she does not have an anemone? <Of a sort, yes>   I have ordered another rose anemone but it was backordered so I am worried that my corals might not survive the next four days until the anemone is supposed to arrive. What are your thoughts? <I would isolate this fish... at least for a day or three... likely in a floating, plastic colander (spaghetti strainer) in the tank... this often takes "the spit" out of aggressive fishes... and look into ordering the anemone from another supplier> Is this somewhat normal behavior for a maroon clown? <Not atypical> Do you think an anemone might solve this problem? <Yes, likely so> Should I begin an anger management support group for clown fish? :-) --Greg <Be chatting! Bob Fenner>

Maroon clowns...2 females?? ok I have 2 maroon clownfish which have been in my tank for about 1 1/2 months together now, I introduced them at the same time which I later found out isn't the best idea when dealing with maroons, but I had recently added an anemone and the 2 began fighting, the smaller one which I'm hoping is a male took the anemone 1st, a week or so after the bigger one (hopefully the female) decided to beat up the little guy and take the anemone for herself, the little guy looked beaten pretty bad. I was kinda suspicious...should clowns that have been together this long still be fighting, <Happens> I contacted my LFS, sounded like I got a new guy, but he said that it was possible that I have 2 females and he told me they will never pair. BUT I have seen the submission dance, both of them actually, I've seen the quiver and the one where the male ducks to side and kissed the females cheek spines.. well mine kissed more where her fin is. I know that 2 females are notorious for locking jaws and I have yet to see this happen.. well since the hopefully female clown took the anemone I bought I mid sized Condylactis for my poor depressed little man who spent all day hovering a little above the sand by a rock, well the anemone's have stayed on opposite sides of the tank and the 2 clowns haven't interacted in a couple of days...could they both be female or am I rushing them????? thank for the help <What is the size of these fish? Very likely they are still either sexually undifferentiated if under two inches in overall length... (and likely tank bred, reared)... and will sort themselves out in time... IF the system is large enough... Much more to state... Atlantic Anemones are not a good choice to house with Premnas... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/premnasfaqs.htm and on to the related articles and FAQs files (linked, in blue, at top) where they lead you until you understand enough what you are about here. Bob Fenner>

Maroon Clown and Goniopora Hello: My maroon clown recently started to swim in and out of the Goniopora nipping at its tentacles.  This began one week after the addition of a Rose BTA.  The BTA seems to be doing well and the clown spends most of its time in the BTA.  Clearly the Goniopora does not enjoy the clown and retracts its tentacles and swells up when the clown swims through it. Is this common and is there anything I might do to stop this behavior?   Regards, >>>Greetings, It's fairly common, and you can remove either the clown or the Goniopora to stop it. Goniopora have very poor survival rates in captivity anyway (unless you have the red variety) so it's just a matter of time until the Goniopora is history honestly. The red ones seem to do OK for some people. Cheers Jim<<<

Maroon vs. Anemone Hi gang what a site! <How goes it?  I'm standing on the shoulders of giants here, so to speak> Just bought a green BTA for my maroon clown and he took to it with in half an hour, he loves it, <They do, usually too much> too much I think? <Probably :] > He is just all over it and it almost seems to be trying to get away from the clown? <Quite possibly> when I first put the BTA in on a nice bit of flat live rock he seemed very happy swaying to and fro but as soon as the maroon got in him, dashing about he started to move down the back of the rock, he almost looks squished in between the rock and the glass is he ok? <Stressed, twofold.  Introduced to a new environment with a rambunctious harasser (your clown).  I would try to separate the two for the time being if possible.  Is the clownfish larger or smaller than your BTA?  If it's the same size or larger, definitely separate them or you may have a dead BTA in a day or so> thanks Lee McKean <Good luck, M. Maddox> P.S Amazing site and job you are doing!!!! <Thanks, spent quite a few hours reading the archives myself>

Maroon clown fights I bought two maroon clownfish about a month ago and introduced them into the tank at the same time.  <Bad idea unless they were a mated pair when you bought them - pairing maroon clowns requires a very specific process that takes time and patience, and must be adhered to> One was bigger than the other so the pairing up process would go by faster, things WERE looking good but I recently added a LT anemone <Make sure you have the proper lighting and education to care for this anemone.  For more information see the Reefcentral Anemone and Clownfish FAQ @ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282136> , which the little guy seemed to enjoy but the big guy <girl, most likely, or will at least become one> wouldn't touch it.  However, just last night I saw the bigger one flirting with the anemone, just rubbing against it and then swimming off. When I wake up he's in it! I was very happy but when I looked at my little clown, he was ripped up badly, not a fin un-shredded.  <Now that the female or potential female has something to be territorial of and has adjusted to your aquarium, her attentions are going to turn to driving off the male> and the side of his body looks like ich.  <Could be, and it will be exacerbated by the abuse from the female - did you quarantine the fish before placing them in your display aquarium?>  I'm not sure if he has ich or if its just welt marks <Keep an eye on them, and meanwhile read our archives regarding crypto> My main question: should I remove the little one or bring back the big one. I was going to bring the little one to a friends smaller tank and nurse him back to health but when I re-introduce him I'm afraid he'll get torn up even worse. <Definitely move the smaller one to your friend's aquarium as soon as you can, but make sure it doesn't have crypto first.  Isolate it in your aquarium and keep an eye on it until you can be sure.  After you move the small one out of your aquarium, take the next several months it's going to require for your larger one to become female and to familiarize herself with her surroundings to  do a lot of reading about pairing clownfish.  See our archives on maroon clownfish pairing (which is different from any other clownfish species) and definitely read the archives and FAQ pages on the Reefcentral Anemone and Clownfish boards @ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=11536cd0450218af4b8d84bed0446459&forumid=36.  There is a lot of good information there on clownfish and host anemones.  Please take the time to educate yourself on the subject.  Also, when you email us please use proper grammar, sentence construction, and capitalization, because these Q&A's are archived for future reference.  Good luck.  M. Maddox>

Clownfish Aggression Query <Ryan here> I have a 55 gal tank, had it two years now. I have had the same three false clowns and a maroon gold, not to mention a few other fish. Well I just purchased a rose colored bulb anemone and the Maroon loves it. The false are farmed raise so they show no interest. But the maroon is showing signs of agro. It's only been a couple of hours so it may wear off but do you think he will start being nice again to the other tank mates again. They all got along great before. <It's a toss up, to be honest.  Be prepared to remove the false clowns if they're being battered.  Good luck, Ryan> Travis

Maroon Aggression To make a long story short, my Maroon Clownfish became so protective of his anemone (knocking any rock or coral within 12 inches of his home out of the way) that I finally gave up and moved him from my 75 gallon tank into his own 16 gallon bowfront.  He did well in there for about a year, but as I should have realized he out grew that tank so I just upgraded to a 36 gallon bowfront.  It contains a 2-3 inch clownfish and his bubble anemone, a pixie hawkfish which is about the same size of the clownfish, a pistol shrimp, a mushroom coral and about 30 pounds of well-established live rock.   I would love to add a dwarf lionfish to the tank, but: 1) Don't know if the tank is big enough for a dwarf lion? 2) I'm fairly certain the Clown and Hawkfish are big enough that the lionfish couldn't eat them, but since they are so well established in the tank I wonder if they would pester the lionfish to death.  But then, since the tank is new now might be the best time to add additional fish? 3) If I added a lion, should I try and add an additional fish at the same time to take some of the pressure off him?  (See question 1 above) 4) From what I read, it looks like the fuzzy lionfish might be the best candidate, what do you think? Thanks for any help you can provide! Gary >>>Hey Gary, If not for the maroon, then the lion would do fine in a tank that size. However if this maroon clown is attacking everything in sight that gets too close to her anemone (par for the course with this species) then it stands to reason that a dwarf lion will not be exempt from falling victim to this behavior. There is nothing about a lionfish that makes them less likely to attacked. Also, a 36 gallon tank is on the small side to consider adding anymore fish considering the aggressive nature of the maroon - a very well established maroon at that. Consider yourself lucky that the hawk is doing well. :) If you said you had a 55 gallon, I would still have reservations. Maroon clownfish get almost as big as your hand. Regards Jim<<<

Maroon clown not eating 9/23/04 Hi my names is Adam. Big fan of your site. <Hi Adam, Adam here.  Thanks for the kind words!> Well ok its been about a week since I've added 2 maroon clownfish to my 25 gallon tank. All has been well except that the smaller and brighter one of my clownfish has stopped eating its been about 2 days and when it comes time to be fed he doesn't touch a thing. <Maroons are among the most aggressive and difficult to pair of all clowns.  I am guessing that you did not buy these fish as an established pair.  The smaller fish may be so intimidated by the larger that it won't risk any interaction.  If this continues, plan on separating them.  Although it is counter intuitive, the larger the size difference the better.  If one fish is much much smaller than the other, it will quickly and completely submit and be allowed to behave normally.> I'm pretty worried I really like my clownfish and I want them to grow up and be very healthy. I've looked around for these white spots that I've heard so much about but I don't see any of that, he swims good, usually hovering around the biggest rock in my tank. any advice would be good. thanks  <As above, if this continues, you may have to separate them.  These fish are very hardy and disease resistant, so disease is probably not the cause.  However, if the smaller fish is constantly stressed and weakened by starvation, disease may result.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>

Maroon clowns Hello Bob, <Hi Adam, MacL here with you tonight> I recently purchased a large bubble-tip anemone for my pair of gold stripe maroon clowns. Before I introduced it they were very outgoing and active but now they spend all their time lazing around in the anemone. The real concern is that they are not eating near as much as they used to because they only take the bits of food that float right past the Anemone. They greedily take what floats past but they seem too scared to venture out more than a few centimeters. Is this behaviour normal? <Definitely normal behavior, they are content and happy with their new home.> I have kept other clowns with anemones before but they never did this, will they eventually come out? <They could be nesting and possibly preparing to have babies.>  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. <That behavior is typical of bonded pairs.> Yours Sincerely Adam Harbeck

Maroon clowns and? Hello Bob, <Adam> I Have a 6 foot, approximately 75 gallon marine tank which houses a pair of gold-striped maroon clowns. The tank looks a bit empty so I would like to add another pair of clowns. In the past I have kept pairs of Clarkii and rubrocinctus clowns together with out much trouble so would it be ok to put in a pair of either of these with the maroons? <Not likely a good idea... Maroons are on the high end of pugnaciousness when it comes to Clownfishes... and this size, volume tank is full up clown-wise> I would prefer to get clarkii's because I can get some that are tank raised but I know the rubrocinctus grow larger and are much more aggressive. I plan to add anemones, namely bubble tips for the maroons and possibly rubrocinctus and Malu's for the clarkiis. Would the clarkiis be a better option because they host with another species? What would you recommend? Are either of these choices possible? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Adam Harbeck <I would not add any other Clownfishes... maybe another family group member...? Surgeonfishes? Rabbitfishes?... Bob Fenner>

Maroon Clown Pairing Hi Wet Web Peoples… <Hi Brett, MacL here tonight> I have put a small - ? inch, hopefully male - maroon clown with my 1 ? inch female housed in a 75 gallon well furnished reef tank.  She's given him(?) a hard time. On the first day, I thought she was going to kill him, chasing and biting his fins.  Day two and she's a lot better behaved. He's got a few pieces missing from his tail, but is otherwise ok. <That's typical.> She leaves him generally alone, but stays close by with only the occasional chase and doesn't seem to want to kill him. He seems to be petrified of her, but still wants to stay near to her. Does the tempering of aggression mean they are slowly pairing? <Probably.> How long can the process take? <That's up to the individual fish. I wish I could give you a certain time but unfortunately it depends on the fish.> Also regarding anemones… I have one that is a rose pink, with cream tips - sorry but I have no idea what it is, but I guess its locally collected in South East Asia, as a lot of corals are here.  Any ideas what it could be?  The female clown has ignored it from day one. <They don't have to have an anemone to be happy but if you want one that she will breed in its best to get what is natural to her.> Will having a mate change that or should I take it back to the dealer and wait until they can get a green bubble tip in - they seem hard to come by here - but occasionally available. <One of their natural anemones is the bubble tip so if I could I would buy one of the natural hosts.> I heard they are a better match - is that correct? <Yes> Yours Sincerely Brett Bangkok, Thailand

Gold Stripe Maroon Clown Concerns 7/17/04 Hey crew, I am happy to report that the idea to get another male for my female GSM worked out to perfection.  She warmed up to him real quick, and after her fresh water dip, they are all doing great.  Unfortunately not all news is good news, and so I must also report that the anemone died, and I don't know if you've ever had an anemone die on you, but it's not pretty.  I did a thirty percent water change just to be on the safe side, I don't know, maybe it was the light, but I think it was a shipping flaw.  It looked bad from the start. <Anemones suffer very high rates of shipping mortality, and even those that survive shipping most often perish.  Captive propagated Bubble Tip anemones are becoming very easy to come by and much more affordable.  I can't really recommend any wild caught anemone to any but the most experienced and prepared aquarists.> I am running four 65W PC's, two white, and two blue.  I am also thinking of buying a moonlight, what do you suggest.  I have a bubble coral, a couple of mushrooms, and a frogspawn, there are some toadstool leathers, and that' about it, in time, more corals will come, but I want the tank to settle down after the anemone death. <Good idea to be patient.  I can't comment much on your lighting without knowing the dimensions of the tank.  I will say that a total of 260W of PC is a good amount of light for a 50 or so gallon tank, but is on the low side for anything bigger.  Much more light is required for most anemones.  Moonlights have only aesthetic value, IMO.> The circle of life is just that, a circle; and where something ends, something must also begin, and so, I found that the anemone I had before I moved, had split, and now I have three juvenile BTA's growing in my tank.  Can you advise me on how to take good care of them.  I need to know what to feed them and how often.  As of right now, they are eating pieces of brine shrimp about once every couple of days.  If I up the dose, will they grow faster? <Congrats on your success with the BTA's!  I wouldn't up the amount of brine, but rather go to a more "meaty" food like pieces of frozen fish flesh or uncooked cocktail shrimp.> Oh, and one last thing before I go, (I promise I will finish)  What do you think about the product "GARF's Grunge"  LS activator.  I've been thinking about ordering a couple of pounds, but I don't know if it will do more harm than good to my tank.  Please advise, and again, thank you.  Eternally grateful -Frank <Based on the little I do know of this product, I would suggest simply getting a cup full of sand from several local aquarists who maintain healthy live sand beds.  You will get all of the life and added diversity for free.  Best Regards.  Adam>

Maroon clown harem If I introduced 3 juvenile (~2") clownfish, will they form a harem upon maturity?  Would I need to start out with more than 3?  Just wondering, and considering.  Thanks  M. Maddox Not a prayer IMO... and I hesitate to speak so absolutely, but if there are three things you can count on in life: the sun will rise tomorrow George Bush stutters and hesitates during press conferences because he's slow picking up on the answers given to him through his earpiece and 2 or more maroon clowns in the same tank will usually fight to the death I watched a batch of tank raised juveniles beating the hell out of each other during a freshwater bath! They were more concerned with territory than the fact that they were suddenly in desalinated water Anthony

-GS Maroon clown Concerns- Hi guys,   I found your site for the first time today, and I have to say, I am overwhelmed by the amount of great info you put out. <Great!> I have a few concerns I would like help with.  To give you some background on the situation, I have a 75G tank with a 20G sump.  I have a UV sterilizer, a mesh sock <Personally, I wear cotton ones, sometimes w/ the gold toe ;) >, and a Kent Nautilus TE protein skimmer.  There is about 120lbs of live rock, and a couple of corals I have kept for about 6 months now.  First, what do you think of the setup? <Sounds fine, although I'd only run the UV when necessary, which should be never. It would be better used on a quarantine tank.>    Living on an island in Washington, the nearest respectable LFS is about 3 hours away, <Ouch> depending on the ferry backup, up to 5, so getting livestock is a gamble.  Speaking of gamble, I ordered a mated pair of Gold striped maroon clowns online last week, and upon arrival, I found that the male was dead.  You can say I learned my lesson on buying fish without seeing them. Can I add another small clown, or will she kill it? <That's the $20,000 question: how rotten is this female? I suppose you won't know until you try, so make sure that you have somewhere to relocate (likely permanently since you can't get around to any local shops to trade him in) the new male should the female be too aggressive.> I also found a white spot on her lower right fin, and I don't know how concerned I should be, I really don't want her to die. <Just keep an eye on it for now, you could do a preventative fresh water dip if you like.> I know I made the huge mistake of not putting her in a QT before adding her to the reef, and I know ignorance is no excuse. <Yep> She seems healthy otherwise, she spend all her time in the anemone, eats and breathes quite regularly. <Sounds like she's in good shape>  In the tank I have a cardinal fish, and a pair of firefish.  When I got the clown I also received a very large Bubble tip anemone which I found lost all pigments, it only has a very light green residue on the tip of it's tentacles, and I was wondering if there is anything I can do to regrow the pigments on it, or is that's just not possible. <Sounds like it bleached, and what's left are the pigments (the zooxanthellae died off due to lack of proper lighting or other factors).> The clown helped it acclimate quite well, and I feed it silversides for now, because it is just too large for Krill.  Please guide me, I love everything about my reef tank, but I want my livestock to thrive in it, and not just survive in it.  Again, thank you for the great info, and your site is just amazing, you can count on my visit on a regular basis from now on. <Well, it seems that you've forgotten to list what type of lighting you are running on this setup, which is very important since you have an anemone. If it is inadequate, it's likely the source of your BTA problem, which is serious. -Kevin> Respectfully -Frank

Buying two tank raised Gold Bar Maroons, will they form a pair? <Hi Nathan, MacL here> I would really like a pair of Gold Bar Maroons.  <Very nice choice. Very pretty fish.  But they are known to be pretty aggressive so that will make a difference as to the fish you can have with them.> I know that generally speaking, established pairs are wild caught.  <Not always. Some places are offering breeders for sale.  You also might consider checking the boards and local clubs to see if someone has a pair that they would like to sell or trade.> I would like tank bred fish. <Very wise. I do know that ORA and some other places have been selling tank raised for many years.  I believe that while they don't sell retail they could connect you with a place that does sell their fish.> I found on Dr. Fosters & Smith that they have tank bred maroons!  <Great>If I purchase two will they form a pair?  <If you get two young, small ones, one will change its sex more than likely.> Any help would be greatly appreciated. <You are doing wonderfully and very wise to check out what you are doing in advance.> Thank you, Nathan Brown

-Pairing up maroon clowns- Ok, here is my story.. I purchased 2 maroon clown fish, both came from the mail <ah, the USPS now sells fish? ;) >and both were the same size. As expected they fought for 2 days until one became the dominate one. The other sat in the corner, flat, scared and not eating. I was waiting for mating <?!> but the other just kept nipping at it for about 4 days. <That sometimes happens, you probably should have separated them previous to this.> I decided that the scared one needed to be removed. OK, now that the dominate one is all alone, it now hides behind the skimmer box, barely comes out, and shows no interest in eating. Maybe he misses the other? <No emotional attachment here, not clear what's going on though.> Any ideas of what's up. Before I removed the other, the dominate one was fine, eating, swimming around? <Interesting, it may have been the stress of you actually going in the tank to remove the other one that spooked it. There could also be another fish in the tank bullying it.> Should I put the other back, maybe they were about to mate and I ruined it. <Fish are not like horny stray dogs, a pair of clowns only 'mates' (i.e. lays and fertilized eggs) after several weeks or likely months of courtship.> I also have a bubble tip anemone that for 1.5 weeks now, the maroon clown has not even touched it yet? <Although E. quadricolor is the natural host of your clownfish, there's no guarantee that the clown will actually take to it> The clowns were tank raised. <Tank raised or not, same chance.> One more thing. the anemone has moved to a place that is between a feather duster and a button polyp. I found the tentacles laying on the button polyp, is that polyp doomed. <Unlikely, I'd move the polyps. This is also an indication that you could probably use some more flow, since these very light tentacles were just sitting by their previous owner.> I did move the polyp over and it looks like some of the polyps are shrived, will they all die, will the shriveled pieces come back to life. <The shriveled polyps are a bit burnt, but will likely make a full recovery.> It also touched the feather duster, is that doomed too, the tube is getting dark and flimsy looking but the feather still comes in and out ok? <The tube is made of their excrement, so it doesn't matter what it looks like. A good way to judge feather duster health is to look at the crown, which I'm not sure if it can actually be stung... I must roll that one around for a while since I'm not sure what the crown is actually made of.> Can it get stung as well. I am rambling, I let you answer. Thanks, Mark <I hope this helps, -Kevin> 

Maroon clown hosting in an Anthelia <Hi! Ananda here today, helping out...> In response to Robert Heuser's question regarding whether a Maroon clown will host in a soft coral, I offer my own experience. <Oh, cool. Thanks for chiming in!> I have a maroon that believes that a clump of Anthelia is an anemone. He not only takes refuge within the coral but at feeding time brings food to it. Its funny to see him lose his patience when the food just floats off the Anthelia and he has to go back and get it again. Jerry <That does sound amusing. I've heard of clowns hosting in xenia before, and in various soft corals, yellow polyps, star polyps, mushrooms, Caulerpa, the corner of the tank, a chunk of PVC pipe, the skimmer overflow box.... --Ananda> 

Maroon...Tomato....Marato? Hi all! I just love this website. My tank is 6 months old. Its an 18 gallon with some live rock, three crabs, an anemone, and a clownfish. When I bought the clownfish my LFS said he was a maroon, and since he was a baby he looked like a normal maroon with 3 strips. As he's grown he's lost the last 2 stripes and has turned black like a tomato clown. Basically I'm wondering if maroons can lose their strips or if tomato's can be mistaken for maroons? If in fact my "Nemo" fish is a tomato, what is their temperament compared to the maroon. Can I put other fish with him? I've looked around the site a bit, but theirs not a whole lot on tomato clowns that I found. Thanks. Amy <Mmm, no... a Tomato is a... excuse me, Maroon's do change "their stripes" and color quite a bit at times... mostly keyed with change in sex (turning into females)... Yours has the prominent "cheek spine" still I take it? It's a Premnas (biaculeatus). Bob Fenner>

Re: Maroon...Tomato....Marato? No actually it doesn't have the cheek spine...unless its so small I can't actually see it. But he or she is about 2 inches long now. So if he/she doesn't have the cheek spine, did my LFS lie to me? <Mmm, can't say from here. Do take a look on fishbase.org (click on the pix shown after looking up the species by common or scientific name)... the spines are very small when the fish are small. Bob Fenner>

Rule-breaking Maroon Hosting a Condylactis  >Hello folks-  >>Hello.  >I've searched the posts, and can't quite find an answer to this one: Are there any long-term problems associated with a maroon choosing to host/hang out with a Condy?  >>Well, my goodness, if the fish likes it, and the anemone doesn't seem to suffer for it, then the answer would be no!  >I have a mated, tank-raised pair; the female has taken over my newer RBTA, while the male has apparently chosen the older, much larger Condy, rooted in the rock just above the female's roost on tank bottom. the RBTA and maroon pair have been in my 2.5 year old tank about a week.  >>Alright. Rules *are* made to be broken, aren't they? It would seem if any fish is going to break the rules regarding what anemone they will and will not host, it's fitting that it would a maroon.  >Minor nibbling from the female on the Condy so far; it appears to suck in the tentacles as if cleaning them and then spits them out mostly undamaged when it emerges from its roost to check out the male.  >>Sounds like typical caretaking to me.  >The male just hangs out there waiting for a chance to demonstrate the submission dance to the female. It doesn't really appear to host in the Condy so much as swim around in the tentacles; the Condy appears indifferent relative to the female's relationship with the RBTA. I've read scale disease is possible for the maroon, as well as ill effects for the anemone, now nearly at three years in my tank and getting a bit large. So far, so good, though- any thoughts?  >>Yes. Get pictures. This is unusual. If they do appear to be stressing the anemone, then someone's going to have to find a new flat.  >Thanks very much.  >>You're welcome. Marina

Clown Questions (4/20/2004) I've had my 3ft tank for about a year now and was wondering if I could put a pair of maroon clowns in. <Not a problem, if you can find a pair...that's the hard part> I know they are aggressive towards each other but I would really like a pair of these amazing fish! <My favorite clowns, as well> I've currently got a little goby, a Salarias blenny, 2 flagtailed mullets (soon going to go to the local aquariums shoal), 1 purple encrusting sponge, some tube worms, 2 very strange anemones, a few metallic green mushrooms, a few metallic blue mushrooms, 3 starfish and soon a pair of cleaner shrimp and maybe some dancing shrimp, and if my tank allows another small blenny, a Heteractis crispa (If I can find) <Make sure you meet this anemone's lighting requirements> and if I get rid of my goby, a purple Dottyback and maybe a coral goby. Q1: Could I do this with my tank and still keep my stocking levels acceptable? <I assume the tank is around 45 gallons? If so, it shouldn't be a problem> Q2: Could I get my maroon clowns to live in peace? <Only if you purchased them as a pair, most likely wild caught> Q3: My sponge is in light and algae is starting to grow on its surface, I would move it to shade but then I would have to rip a part of the sponge in half, would either piece of the sponge survive? <Try moving the entire rock it's attached to, or screening it> Q4: If my stocking levels are still O.K after all these new additions what would be the best stocking plan? <I wouldn't add any other fish> Q5: If the clowns aren't suitable for my tank could you recommend some species that are and a suitable anemone to go with it. <You might try a pair of Ocellaris or Percula clowns (readily available) and a bubble tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). Always a beautiful display> Thanks for the help! <No problem at all> Cheers <To you as well> Steven <M. Maddox>

Gold Striped Maroon Anemonefish  Good morning this is Joann  <Hi! Ryan with you today>  My question is regarding the behavior of my pair of Goldstripe maroons. <Surely> The two have been in the same tank for about 6-7 months now. The male was a "replacement" because the original suddenly died. The second male and original female went through a rough adjustment period (the male preferred swimming through the divider and staying with the miniatus grouper and the harlequin tusk. About 2 months ago a 30 gal reef was set up for the maroons and other "community" fish. Their BTA wasn't looking good so about 1 month ago was taken out and is being nursed back to health. Two days ago the male seemed to be "sitting" on a rock the has a section of hair algae growing and is located where the BTA use to be. Since he has been continuously "resting" there and fanning the area. Could you give me some advice on what's going on. <In the absence of a hosting anemone/coral, some clowns will adopt a rock as their own. Have you considered a Sarcophyton for him? If you have the lighting to house an anemone (4+ watts/gallon) then a Sarcophyton may be perfect for your system. Much hardier, and doesn't require supplemental feeding.> Could the pair have become a mated pair? <Possibly, but maybe not. By definition, a mated pair has spawned. Are there eggs in your tank?>  Thanks for your time and advice!! <Absolutely. Good luck! Ryan>

-Trouble in maroon clown paradise-  Crew,  We recently lost the second of our two maroon clowns. <Ut oh> We have a 45 gallon reef tank that has been up and running for over 3 months. The first maroon died about two weeks after introduction to the new tank (about 1.5 months ago). The second maroon seemed much happier after introduction of a BTA. About two weeks ago, we introduced a Coral Beauty. The two fish seemed to get a long fine (i.e., left each other alone). We had our water tested in detail last Saturday (pre-death), and everything (pH, alkalinity, nitrates, ammonia, etc.) was in perfect order EXCEPT salinity and iodine. <I wouldn't be very concerned with the exact level of iodine, you'll drive yourself nuts trying to keep it stable.> This was not too surprising as the BTA had been somewhat closed up and was of some concern. We wanted to add another fish to the tank, the store recommended three small fairy wrasses. That night we got the salinity and iodine in check and introduced the three wrasses. The clown had no reaction to the new fish, and the Coral Beauty was thrilled to have playmates.  All seemed to be going well the next morning, but late afternoon the maroon began acting strange (laying in the bottom of the tank below his BTA), and within an hour he had died. All other fish, BTA, mushrooms, coral seem to be doing well. We LOVED the maroon clown, and would really like to think about replacing, perhaps with another type of clown. However, we are still  concerned about the loss of the two fish. <Were they wild caught or tank raised? Tank raised clowns are less susceptible to disease and the vigorous collection/transport/handling of wild caught specimens can lead to all sorts of disease (namely Brooklynella {excuse the spelling, don't feel like looking it up }).> Do you have any thoughts? (1)could it have been the rapid addition of salt/iodine? <There is never a reason to rapidly adjust the salt level. Our glass boxed critters can handle a wide range of salt levels, with the most stressful part being the change. As for the iodine, you'll find that most reefers/fish keepers don't test for it, although many offer weekly additions. A recent article has pointed to the regular introduction of foods (which you do anyway) to contain plenty of iodine for your system. Testing, in my opinion, is just another way to get you stressed out about your tank with little merit.> (2) Could it have been the stress of adding the new fish - This didn't seem to bother him, but you never know. <A beat up fish would have completely different symptoms than these guys, my guess would be some sort of parasitic infection. In the future you should quarantine all new arrivals (do a search on WetWeb!) so any problems can be identified and acted upon in a system that can tolerate medications. I hope this is of some help! -Kevin>

Maroon Clown Pairing? Hi. I was hoping you could help me out. Now I know you probably been ask this question a thousand times but here goes. I purchased 2 Maroon clowns a couple of weeks ago from a LFS that had 3 of them in a tank together. The 2 I purchased seemed to have gotten along cause they were sharing a BTA and were both chasing the other Maroon around. The Maroons are I would say 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. I had them in QT and while in there they stayed on opposite ends of the tank with an occasional chase here and there but with not actual assaults. Now I have introduced them to a 55gal reef. (They are the only fish in it) One of the Clowns seems to be trying to host a Bubble Coral and a Frog Spawn. He's what's going on though. When that clown that's trying to host sees the other clown A chase breaks out and seem to lead to some Jaw locking between the 2. There hasn't been any damage to fins or anything. Just the whole jaw locking thing. I would like to know what you make of this behavior? And what you suggest I should do? If anything? Thanks for your help in Advance..<I would separate these fish, it sounds more like signs of aggression to me, IanB> ~Don~

Maroon clown getting attacked? <Hello> I wrote to you yesterday about my larger maroon clown getting attacked. Today I found that it was the much smaller maroon doing this. Is there a reason this would happen after a month of living in the anemone together with no problem? They still swim everywhere together but sometimes he just goes after the larger one.. Seems to be mostly at night <this is normal. they are not attacking each other but determining who will be what sex. The smaller one will be the male and the larger the female. This usually happens when a mated pair is not purchased and a small and large one are added together. This will pass do not worry. you may also notice some weird movement and shaking this is also normal. MikeH>    Thanks again

Maroon Clown I had a 2-3 inch maroon that was supposedly paired but they beat each other up so I took a chance and got a 4-5 inch one and after several days are doing great and are now both in the anemone. Is that a safe size to pair them so that they haven't become sexed yet? <IMO it is better to get these guys together when they are small since they are one of the most aggressive clowns.>Also I noticed today my larger maroons tail is shredded could it be from my bird wrasse? They seemed OK for the last 3 weeks together but I threw some algae in the tank and the wrasse loved it then when I got home the clown was missing part of it's tail but sill looking good, Could it also have been from the smaller maroon even though they get along great?<I doubt the bird wrasse would of done it although it is a possibility.  The other maroon is a more likely candidate.  Just keep a eye on him and if you see any more constantly ripped fins you will need to separate them.  Cody> Thanks

Painted Sweetlips, maroon clown aggression follow up 3/13/04 Hi Adam, I really appreciate your advise! <Glad to!> I did not realize the maroon clown was so aggressive-- I am finding him almost too aggressive! He is really bullying the Rock Angel. Will look for appropriate food! Nonetheless, I have found a guy who works at a salt water fish store and will be visiting to keep my tank and give advice about the fish--hopefully, this will help. I lost my Sweetlips to aggressive behavior--I think-his fins became frayed and he wouldn't eat! I just hate this!! <Sorry to hear of your losses.  Maroon and tomato clowns can be down right vicious, especially females!> I hate to get rid of the clown---this has been his home for years--I was told at least 6yrs!!! Any thinking on your part about this? Thanks, Kass <It's all about choices.  You could pair the maroon with a much smaller one, and likely form a mated pair.  Other than that, your choices are somewhat limited to fish that would be ignored or are fast/aggressive enough to hold their own.  If you choose to give up the clown, do check with your local aquarium society.  That way you can meet the person who is getting your fish and sleep well at night knowing it is being well cared for.  Best Regards, Adam>

A Nice Compromise <Hello! Ryan with you today> my husband recently got a 30 gallon salt water aquarium. there are no fish in there yet. he is still setting up and deciding exactly what fish to put in. he says that I can pick one fish that goes in there. I fell in love with the yellow striped maroon clown fish. but my husband can't find which fish are compatible. if you could help me out I would be absolutely thrilled. <Yellow Striped Maroon Clownfish are notoriously territorial.  He'll likely torment anything he shares such a small space with.  I would recommend a better beginner's clown: Tomato or Percula.  Tank bred, of course.  In a 30, you could comfortably house a pair of either, but not both.  Good luck! Ryan>