SmallFry's first tank.. (27g FOWLR)

[SmallFry]

Originally Posted by Doug

As long as the clown does not see the newly introduced shrimp as food, they will be fine. I have seen large adult clowns eat small shrimp when being put into tank. Just make sure they are larger in size.

Its a crap shoot trying to introduce another clown. Could try a tiny one and see if she will accept it as a mate. Be prepared to remove it though if she beats on it. Most of our attempts at adding a mate for a larger clown, has failed.

Although your tank is on the bottom end of size for a coral beauty, with lots of rock it may be ok. Find one thats eating mysis at least and better yet mysis & spirolina flakes. They are a tough fish and a brute also, so as long as the tomato accepts it, which again is a question mark.

With a smaller tank like that and no corals, perhaps you could remove the clown to a holding tank while adding something else and then put the clown back. Perhaps even a smaller tomato. If you could get a pair of them to live together, that would be a nice and easy to keep pair of fish for your tank. For sure I would not add any other similar sized fish then, like the angel.

Or, you could add smaller tough fish like a royal gramma or some of the other dottybacks or something like a 6-line wrasse. They both are tough and as adults, are ignorant brutes like the clown.

Thanks for the pointers, the clown isn't actually that large - about 1.5 - 2". It isn't always attacking the Mollys - just every now and then it seems to have a hissy fit...

If I could find a clown that was smaller, perhaps remove the current clown to a rubbermaid for a while, add the new one, then return the old one - or would it take longer than you can keep one in a rubbermaid? If I do manage to get the clowns to pair up will they become even more territorial - not an issue if there's just them, but when I get a bigger tank and want more fish (when I get a bigger tank I'd like a yellow tang)? When you say the coral beauty is a brute too, does that mean they're likely to fight to the death or just not take any crap from one another?

I'm beginning to have second thoughts on the angels, as you say my tank is the bottom end of what's OK, and I'm getting the impression they can be a handful. Having said that, I do have nigh on 35lbs of rock in there - and algae is something I'm good at.