what would i need for a clownfish

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Fishy_Fun

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Jan 4, 2008
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ok i was thinking of getting a little mini reef but i would really like to keep a couple of clownfish.how many gallons would i need?would i need some live rock?i pretty sure i would but am just wondering.please tell me everything they need...or something that can give me the satisfaction of the ocean without breaking the bank:grinyes:
 

oscar83

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May 21, 2004
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depending on the type of clown the minimum is really around 30 gal or so. with sw tanks the smaller they are the harder they are to maintain. in a small tank and slight changes chemically are multiplied exponentially as compared to a large tank. LR and LS are definitely a must if ur going for a reef
 

Grins

Girl Reefer...we do exist
May 1, 2007
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Although 30g would be a great tank for 2 clowns you could do a smaller one for 2 ocellaris in my opinion. My experience is that they don't make use of the tank that much and a 15g would be OK for a pair. Fishy, if you click on the advice to newbies link my my signature there is a shopping list there to consider.
 

TropicalNorth

Bligh..The Demander Of Attention..
Jun 9, 2006
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North Queensland, Australia
Bigger is better but I agree with Grins, 15g minimum for a pair of the smaller species. I'm currently setting up my second nano reef, 20g, which will have a pair of tank-bred black ocellaris/percula as the feature. I already had the tank and stand so my basic shopping list was live rock, substrate, skimmer, heater, powerhead and a light (2 x 24w T5 tubes with parabolic reflectors). The skimmer was secondhand and I got the rock off a fellow marine aquarium club member so its a fairly cheap set-up really. The light is strong enough so I can keep some low light corals hopefully one of which will host the clowns, I wanted the effect of clowns in an anemone without all the hassles of keeping an anemone.

Just cause :), here's my tank. I have no idea how much live rock is in there, I just go with what looks good.

Aquarium 3.jpg
 
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Amphiprion

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Feb 14, 2007
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Love the antler fern! Then again, there in Queensland, you have climate for them. Ah, and nice tank, too :D. There is a special place in my heart for rimless tanks.
 

TropicalNorth

Bligh..The Demander Of Attention..
Jun 9, 2006
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North Queensland, Australia
Thanks :).
I only have rimless tanks, for me they're the best looking, cheapest and simplest option. I don't see many americans with them for some reason, very common in Aus though. I think the clowns will like the view, although a nice view is probably not essential to keep them ;).
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
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They are also the most common in Europe, Japan, most of Asia, etc. Just not here in the US (can't speak for Canada, but I think they are in a similar situation). I'd like to see them being offered even at most LFSs--I do think, however, many will move to offering them in the future as they gain popularity.
 

salty420

this fish was coming on to me
Mar 8, 2007
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Sugar Grove, IL
ok i was thinking of getting a little mini reef but i would really like to keep a couple of clownfish.how many gallons would i need?would i need some live rock?i pretty sure i would but am just wondering.please tell me everything they need...or something that can give me the satisfaction of the ocean without breaking the bank:grinyes:
a small tank with a pair of clowns is a great start for a sw tank! i'd agree that about 15-20g should be fine for a pair of ocellaris clowns. you want to have about 1-2# of live rock and live sand per gallon of water in the tank. like grins said all the info that you need to set up can be found on this site with a little searching :) just make sure to take things very slow and cycle the tank before adding the fish!

oh and tropicalnorth - that tanks looks great! the "background" is fantastic!
 
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