Can i keep a breeding pair of cownfish in a 15 gallon.

[Obsessed with fish]

Hi, I have switched from a 8 gallon to a 15 gallon. I want the clownfish to breed so I'm wandering if I can get away with 1 male and 1 female in a live coral 15 gallon.

 

[itiwhetu]

I know very little about Marine fish. But I would say no. To make these fish happy enough to spawn I would say you would need around 50 gallons.

 

[Attenbruh]

I have a 65L tank (15G is 55L). Whilst I don't know about salt water my 65L is more than enough for 20 nt and 1bn. I have seen some people keep 2 clownfish in tanks even smaller but not for breeding.

 

[Attenbruh]

I agree with itiwhetu when he says it needs to be bigger but 50 gallons. I think is a bit over the top just for 2 animals.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I guess you'll find out if they do spawn - that usually tells you they are comfortable with the environment, but really a 50 gallon or larger would be best, especially if you have a reef or other fish. In fact I believe they lay their eggs on live rock so you need a reef. I'm going to start setting up my first saltwater fish and reef tank - it will be almost a nano sized tank at 32 gallons (it has a sump build into the back of the tank and looks to be perfect for newbies to marine life. I don't plan on my clown fish to breed, in fact my plan is only to have about 5 fish and mostly reef since I'm primarily interested in corals. Fish will breed when the conditions are right. I've only had some gourami breed once. I had to give away all the fish because it was way too many fish to be kept in a 30 gallon tank. I am in the process of cycling a 90 gallon tank for 4 Dojo loaches that have turned out to be HUGE (6 months old and they have grown from 3" to 15" and they are still growing. I love these friendly acrobatic fish. After that is done then I'll continue to work on my 32 gallon reef tank. Some people have said there are too many rocks in there but I do want mostly coral and I have no idea how much rock I need. I only plan to have 5 or so fish and larger invertebrates in there - so maybe my 30 lbs of rocks isn't too much.

So save up a little more and get at least a 50 gallon tank and don't be upset if they still don't breed. If they do - they may lay up to 1000 eggs, once hatched move them to a small tank before they are all eaten. Babies only eat live food so keep that in mind. I guess a lot die but you'll likely still end up with more clown fish than you can possibly manage so you'll either need to sell or give them away. They are born neither male nor female - but if two bond then the tougher of the two (best fighter) will turn female and the smaller fish will turn male. Some fish stores may sell you bonded pairs or you could start with two young fish and let them pair off and change sex naturally. Sounds like a very interesting fish to breed and not that difficult - just make sure you know what you want to do with them.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I guess you'll find out if they do spawn - that usually tells you they are comfortable with the environment, but really a 50 gallon or larger would be best, especially if you have a reef or other fish. In fact I believe they lay their eggs on live rock so you need a reef. I'm going to start setting up my first saltwater fish and reef tank - it will be almost a nano sized tank at 32 gallons (it has a sump build into the back of the tank and looks to be perfect for newbies to marine life. I don't plan on my clown fish to breed, in fact my plan is only to have about 5 fish and mostly reef since I'm primarily interested in corals. Fish will breed when the conditions are right. I've only had some gourami breed once. I had to give away all the fish because it was way too many fish to be kept in a 30 gallon tank. I am in the process of cycling a 90 gallon tank for 4 Dojo loaches that have turned out to be HUGE (6 months old and they have grown from 3" to 15" and they are still growing. I love these friendly acrobatic fish. After that is done then I'll continue to work on my 32 gallon reef tank. Some people have said there are too many rocks in there but I do want mostly coral and I have no idea how much rock I need. I only plan to have 5 or so fish and larger invertebrates in there - so maybe my 30 lbs of rocks isn't too much.

So save up a little more and get at least a 50 gallon tank and don't be upset if they still don't breed. If they do - they may lay up to 1000 eggs, once hatched move them to a small tank before they are all eaten. Babies only eat live food so keep that in mind. I guess a lot die but you'll likely still end up with more clown fish than you can possibly manage so you'll either need to sell or give them away. They are born neither male nor female - but if two bond then the tougher of the two (best fighter) will turn female and the smaller fish will turn male. Some fish stores may sell you bonded pairs or you could start with two young fish and let them pair off and change sex naturally. Sounds like a very interesting fish to breed and not that difficult - just make sure you know what you want to do with them.

i am planning to sell the baby fry.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

i am planning to sell the baby fry.

Honestly this is fairly unrealistic.

Clowns are one of the easier marine fish to breed but that doesn't make them easy. Given the level of experience you have said you have I would expect them to not breed. Successful breeders know these fish inside out and have setups built specifically for breeding with multiple pairs of fish along with grow out tanks, live food cultures, etc, etc.

If they do breed then unless you already have someone who will buy the fry places like fish shops will not be interested. They don't want to buy something that they will have to devote time, resources and space to. They want to buy fish that they can make a quick turn around on.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Honestly this is fairly unrealistic.

Clowns are one of the easier marine fish to breed but that doesn't make them easy. Given the level of experience you have said you have I would expect them to not breed. Successful breeders know these fish inside out and have setups built specifically for breeding with multiple pairs of fish along with grow out tanks, live food cultures, etc, etc.

If they do breed then unless you already have someone who will buy the fry places like fish shops will not be interested. They don't want to buy something that they will have to devote time, resources and space to. They want to buy fish that they can make a quick turn around on.

Ok thankyou, If it's not a good idea thank how can I prevent them from breeding?

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Well you can't, But I've had lots of bonded pairs of fish (not clowns) and the conditions were never right for breeding. I've only had one pair of fish breed in 4 yrs so I think the odd of yours breeding is pretty small. While clown fish are fairly easy to breed it means easier than some other fish. Other than livebearlng fish like guppies I've found breeding rather difficult.

Since they produce a lot of fry and you probably have no way to keep the fry separate, just leave them in the tank. Some will hide really well and grow up but most will get eaten. Sad, but problem solved.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Well you can't, But I've had lots of bonded pairs of fish (not clowns) and the conditions were never right for breeding. I've only had one pair of fish breed in 4 yrs so I think the odd of yours breeding is pretty small. While clown fish are fairly easy to breed it means easier than some other fish. Other than livebearlng fish like guppies I've found breeding rather difficult.

Since they produce a lot of fry and you probably have no way to keep the fry separate, just leave them in the tank. Some will hide really well and grow up but most will get eaten. Sad, but problem solved.

thank you, is it ok to get 1 clownfish, 1 yellow clown goby and 1 cleaner shrimp in a 15 gallon.