Adding a 3rd Ocellaris?

Quick question. I have a 55g reef that is about 8 months old. My first fish were a pair of tank-raised Ocellaris. I was offered a free tank-raised BW Ocellaris that is half the size of my pair.

What are the chances my established pair will kill the 3rd smaller one?

Wondering if anyone has had luck with adding a 3rd clown to go with an established pair.

Thanks!

 

should be no problem if he is half the size of your largest one. i generally go by the 3/4 to 1/2 the size and they should be just fine once the dominance is set.

 

Good to hear, have you ever done it? It's def much smaller.

 

yea both me and my father have many clowns in the same tank and they all weren't put in at the same time. I started out with a pair of ocel's then moved onto a naked clown and now moving on to a black and white. Just stick with the much smaller ones and there will be no dominance issues.

 

What size tanks are they?
That can make a big difference.

 

his sig says 55g long so guessing that size. Mine is 55g long also. I have a feeling my pair will def terrorize any new clown, as they are pretty feisty. I'm hoping if I do add the little guy that it will survive the initial period of bullying.

 

You might want to use a breeders net for a few weeks to let them get used to it.
If the pair that you have now are actully an established pair its not going to be just
dominace your going to have to deal with becasuse the smaller male will also harrass
it to protect the female.

If you don't it could pretty much be a death penalty for the new one becasue they
they will most likley harass it so much. Even though Ocellaris are usually the least
agressive of the clowns they can and do kill others, Good luck.

 

Got it, thanks for the info. I am not 100% I will take it, just getting advice on good ole 3reef to see if anyone has successfully done it or the likelehood of it working.

 

Well I did it, I ended up getting the 3rd BW Ocellaris.

Right after putting him in, he hilariously swam right up to my established pair and joined them hosting their hairy mushroom. Initially my pair seemed confused and allowed it to hang with them. Over the next few hours, they began to aggresively chase the new guy up top and wouldn't let him swim down below near their mushroom. They were pretty mean the first few days but now they haven't chased as much, moreso gave him a "nudge" back to his place. No fin damage or bites, he's eating well too, just stays away from the pair.

I'm hoping they will eventually accept him into their gang. How crazy would I be for adding another similar sized BW Ocellaris to pair up with this new little guy. Is it better to have 2 pairs than 3? Maybe they'll host my RBTA, thoughs?

Thanks!

 

From what I know about clowns they wont let him in there gang. He might try to kick the existing male out and take his place, but the female will only take 1 male at any givin time. the other will have to wait in the outskirts for his chance with her.