Adding a harem to an established pair

HiImSean · 05/02/2018, 08:28 AM

My project this summer is to completely re-do my mixed reef 90g to a BTA tank and hopefully a clown harem setup. I've got a temporary tank for my current setup and plan on doing the transfer once I get back from vacation in June.

I want to keep my current fish stock of a 5yo onyx female, 3yo snowflake male, a one-spot foxface and a banggai cardinalfish. The male is quite small still since he was introduced later than the female. They do spawn every so often. Would it be a bad idea to introduce a group of smaller clowns to the tank? Should I put the new clowns in first before putting the original pair back in the tank? I plan on having the tank recycle or new live rock and having the BTA in the tank first to have territories available to them.

pfan151 · 05/02/2018, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiImSean

My project this summer is to completely re-do my mixed reef 90g to a BTA tank and hopefully a clown harem setup. I've got a temporary tank for my current setup and plan on doing the transfer once I get back from vacation in June.

I want to keep my current fish stock of a 5yo onyx female, 3yo snowflake male, a one-spot foxface and a banggai cardinalfish. The male is quite small still since he was introduced later than the female. They do spawn every so often. Would it be a bad idea to introduce a group of smaller clowns to the tank? Should I put the new clowns in first before putting the original pair back in the tank? I plan on having the tank recycle or new live rock and having the BTA in the tank first to have territories available to them.

I don’t see this plan ending well. Better to start with a large group of small clowns all from the same batch.

davocean · 05/03/2018, 04:17 PM

Yep, harems should be all young added from same clutch.

You may have issues just adding a group to your established pair.

05/02/2018, 08:28 AM	#1
HiImSean Registered Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Acworth, GA Posts: 834	Adding a harem to an established pair My project this summer is to completely re-do my mixed reef 90g to a BTA tank and hopefully a clown harem setup. I've got a temporary tank for my current setup and plan on doing the transfer once I get back from vacation in June. I want to keep my current fish stock of a 5yo onyx female, 3yo snowflake male, a one-spot foxface and a banggai cardinalfish. The male is quite small still since he was introduced later than the female. They do spawn every so often. Would it be a bad idea to introduce a group of smaller clowns to the tank? Should I put the new clowns in first before putting the original pair back in the tank? I plan on having the tank recycle or new live rock and having the BTA in the tank first to have territories available to them.

05/03/2018, 04:17 PM	#3
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Yep, harems should be all young added from same clutch. You may have issues just adding a group to your established pair. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD