Preferred Clownfish

[mabel_photo6]

So later down the line, I want to add another Black and White Clownfish.
I might want to add a pair of a different type of Clownfish.
I know the Maroon is said to be the most aggressive.

What's the difference between the True Percula and Ocellaris?
Is it just the black outlines?
Which type of Clownfish do you prefer and why?

[Europhyllia]

Ocellaris. Nothing fancy but a wonderful personality. I wouldn't put them up against more aggressive clowns though. I think they are deserving of their own domain :)

[mabel_photo6]

Well who knows how my Black and White Clownfish will be with others but with my Yellow Tang, they're best buddies.

I actually like Ocellaris... they won't be added until my 100 is up and running for a good 6 weeks though.
Unless I'll be running into problems... which is the reason for my post.
I want to find out what other Clownfish I can add with my Black and White.

And for fun, what everyone else's fav. clownfish is.

[kkiel02]

So later down the line, I want to add another Black and White Clownfish.
I might want to add a pair of a different type of Clownfish.
I know the Maroon is said to be the most aggressive.

What's the difference between the True Percula and Ocellaris?
Is it just the black outlines?
Which type of Clownfish do you prefer and why?

The easiest and best differences ive heard to figure it out(black lines can be on both) is facial features and the spines on the dorsal fin(have to take a picture).

Maroons ought to kill your other pair. I think the best temperment are the skunks(I've never had them) and occelaris. Once clownfish start reproducing they can get quite territorial.

[dmweise]

I prefer skunk clowns and pink skunk clowns. They are nice and are not all that aggressive.

[justahobby]

I've had occ., maroon, and PS clowns. PS are my favorite. IMO they have a little more unique color pattern and personality. They haven't spawned so I haven't seen real nest aggression. The most aggression I have seen is when the female pushes the clown goby away from the nem. There's no nipping or chasing. just a nudge. She does push the male clown occasionally too but every article I've read says to expect that from the female. With that said, I do prefer the fancy, "look at me" swimming style from the other types of clowns. As far as mixing diff. types, never tried it. I try and steer clear of possible conflicts in my smallish 58 gallon tank.

[mabel_photo6]

Sooooooo it's not a good idea to mix clowns??
What would you guys do if you had a 100 gallon tank and one black and white Clownfish??

[alton]

I have tried to add two Occerllaris to my 200 with my black and white clownfish. It has not worked so she lives in a bunch all by herself with a Chevron Tang, Juvy Imperator Angel, Flame Angel, small Clown Trigger, and a Copper Band Butterfly.

[corruption]

Multiple clown species is pretty much asking for trouble in all but massive tanks -- do keep in mind, clownfish are very closely related to Damsels, down to the the inevitable aggression :) They'll mix readily with just about any other reef fish (including damsels and chromis), but when you pair them up with conspecifics you're pretty much inviting flat-out territory stomping.

They will happily co-exist with near any other reef fish though, individual personalities allowing :)

-Corruption

[Kristy]

True, clownfish do not mix well with other types of clownfish.

However, the black and white is just a color variation of the oscellaris clownfish (probably... looks like there are black and white perculas too?). There are lots of other orange and black and white varieties that your fish might accept and pair with. The trick is choosing the right kind of fish, right age, right size. There are lots of mixed color pairings all over this board, maybe some can speak up.

You will need to do a lot of reading about pairing clownfish and educate yourself about what kind you have and what kinds it can pair with to make sure you don't introduce one that it will just kill. Chances are that yours has already turned female because it's been alone in there awhile, so you would have to find a small juvenile male in the same family.

Might be able to find you a link for more info...

[Roo&Lis]

Never really cared for the black clowns or never seen any real good ones. they usually look like they swan through an oil spill. black bodies with some orange on their head. i wouldnt mind a picasso but i truly love maroon clowns. their smart. its hilarious when they try to nip at you. i would give mine a piece of krill and it would take it and feed it to the anemone. they are bullies but you will always have one bully in the tank.

[kkiel02]

If your clown is black and white without orange on the body, it might have a tiny bit on he head that will prolly change to black with age, then you have occelaris. So you could easily pair it with others. Now on the other hand perculas and occelaris have been bred together. The craziest pair was the maroon/percula pair that they were breeding before katrina wiped out hay facility. The offspring was kinda ugly but it was a huge step to get them that far. It was a white stripe maroon with a regular percula. I would not recommend trying this though as this was very lucky for these to pair and I'm sure many clowns were injured or killed trying to get a pair.

[mabel_photo6]

Maroon clowns... never really liked them. I mean I do, they look awesome but I know they're meanies.
I wouldn't really consider one. I want to stick to the less aggressive clownfish.

Hmmm well I do have a Black and White Clownfish which I've read and heard the faces go from that orange to totally black.
I love the way it looks. So smooth and it's super nice... doesn't act aggressive towards my hand or any other thing in the tank.
She (because she's pretty thick looking) likes to hang around with my baby Yellow Tang a lot.

Okay, here's what I was thinking of doing:
Either add a black and white clownfish and an occelaris... OR only add the black and white clownfish... OR only add an occelaris.
(Not now of course... after the tank has cycled.)
It'll be a while though... I'm just reaching out for opinions early on.