A Single Clown?

[jcook54]

At one point I had a few too many clowns that I had been given or bought as part of a package deal. I ended up putting one small O. clown in my coral QT and the colors on my "test" pieces really improved. Here's the problem - the little guy was by himself and I felt kinda bad about it. What do you guys think about keeping a clown by itself? I know that it can be done but should it be done? I recognize that fish psychology might not been all that complex but the little dude just seemed lonely.

What are your thoughts? Should fish be kept solo? A clown in particular?

 

[ActiveAngel]

Thats a hard topic. The logical progression to "should we keep fish solo" is "should we keep fish".

Of course they have needs; food, safety, social, etc... Its a complex subject. For some needs, we can provide better in captivity than in the wild. After all, many fish dont need to worry about being eaten by bigger fish when in captivity.

I dont know if i can answer your question on 'should a clownfish be kept solo'. However, i support getting a second small Ocellaris.

What size is the tank?

 

[ActiveAngel]

Perhaps get a $7-10 small one from AA. Feed the tank the same amount, no change. And see if your corals continue to get better over the next few weeks.

 

[jcook54]

30g standard all glass with hang-on-back filtration.

This notion really does hint at the topic of 'should we keep fish in glass cages'. To that I answer "Yes" but try to provide the best environment for them.

 

[Trizzino]

I have a solo clown and been toying with adding another. But I have noticed the solo clown is far more active and explores the whole tank rather than a section of the tank like my old pair claimed as home in the old tank.

And I haven’t noticed any downsides health wise to her being the only clown.

 

[dball711]

Fish poop is my main coral food!

 

[sharis100]

I have tried to add another O clown to my smaller system and lost him. Really need a bigger single O male clown. Would love to know where I can one that is not tiny….

 

[civics14]

My clown will die alone that evil mean bastard. He’s made his bed killing other clowns.

 

[jcook54]

So it sounds like I do need a single O. clown and I shouldn't anthropomorphize that the thing is overly sad about being alone. It's not an emergency since it's just a coral QT but I do like to keep a few different frags in the system so I know that coral can be sustained when I purchase something new.