Maroon Clown?

[Matty]

Hey guys.. I have had a SW tank for over 5 years. For that time I had a false percula.. Murphy.. he died though last month. I kept with him some yellow tail damsels... and before that green chromis.

With Murphy gone.. I wanted to try something new.
I made that bad mistake of trying blue damsels.. they are going back to the store lol.. for free they can have them.

I did buy a Lawnmower Blenny.. he seems very shy.. and hides when I come into the room in the LR. He has not bothered the damsels... and they ignore him.

Okay so .. I have a 30g. Maroon Clowns have always caught my eye.. but I hear that they are very aggresive. If I buy one.. will it get along with the Blenny.. and what else can I keep with it.. like a small group of green chromis' again.. ? I am turning my tank over to a reef to.. so I would have to pick reef safe fish as well.

Could any of the smaller angels get along with such a fish.. provided I find one that does not attack corals.. what about cardinals?

Up for any suggetions... Just looking to have some interest in my tank. Starting from scratch with the Blenny staying for sure.

If maroons are too aggresive I may opt for another false percula.

Hope you guys have some suggestions for me.. I appreciate your insight in advance!

[fmelindy]

i'd recommend a perc. I had a maroon that I cursed on every day. For one thing, a somewhat to very aggressive fish, depending on tankmates. For two, your tank is no longer yours, it's hers. She decides what goes where and whether or not you're allowed to rearrange things and if you make changes she doesn't like, you get a duststorm in response as she freaks out in the sand bed. Seriously.... I'm only slightly exaggerating. My maroon irritated me so much, I'd almost rather put damsels back in my tank!

[Pescador]

Yeah pretty much everything fmelindy said besides attacking my hand or tongs when ever I'm working on the tank. She was always fanning a nest in the sand for the first couple years. No coral allowed too near to her anemones and she can move some fair sized rocks.

They can get big, up to 7", mine has grown 4"-5" in about 4 years.
I don't think they are really the best choice for a smaller reef.

[seashells]

I have a Gold strip Maroon ( about 3"), living in a LARGE anemone ( takes up 1/2 the tank) 29 gal Bio Cube. Also houses a coral beauty, green clown gobie, a Dart Fish, and a Bi-color blennie. They all interact well.

[DanG]

I have a 3 inch maroon, no problems with other tank mates, but as mentioned, it's not your tank anymore.
They are agressive, very agressive towards anything foreign in the tank. Mine never has a problem when the fox face or chromis are hanging out near any of the BTA's in the tank, but as soon as my hand is in there, be careful.
The maroon is also the reason I've gone barebottom in my new tank, too many sand storms. They're also fairly hard to pair, if you had planned on keeping 2 of them.

That being said, they are gorgeous fish and will naturally host in BTA's, so if you want to have the whole symbiotic relationship thing happening, they're an easy pair.

[andresont]

i just got a maroon clown yesterday and surprisingly he is not fighting ! not even with my percula clown. Thay may start tomorrow though you never know.
maybe the reason is that maroon is tank raised ORA type.

[Matty]

If I was to purhase one.. I would only keep the one clown that much I know. I had a rough experience with my first clownfish when I bought two youngsters together. The one quickly attacked the other.. to death I might add... I followed the rule of thumb and bought to juvinelle fish. Perhaps it was a territory thing... the one that was left became a really great pet for the next 5 years though!

I did not realize that Maroons were into making dust storms. My "sand" bed is similar to a gravel size in grade. Every so often I give it a stir to losen up any food or stuff so that it can be filtered out. A fish that would do that for me would rock lol!

Reading above I would hate for a fish to move things around in my tank.. so if I add in some mushrooms and zoos.. would a Maroon be tempted to move them where it thinks they should go? Well it stilll be comfortable without something to host in.. I do have plenty of LR..


Seashells.. is your coral beauty an angel then..? If so how does it do with your coral if you have any? I am looking into getting one.. but I want to keep mushrooms and zoos.. not sure if an Angel would eat them.. I hear they can be touchy about being in reef tanks.. though I hear Lamarcks are reef safe as well as a few others.

Thanks guys!

[seashells]

I have a Coral beauty in one tank & a cherub angel in another. I have not seen them touch any of the coral. The coral beauty is in with a large bubble, elegance as well as zoos& shrooms, even some lps.