clownfish question

ok, tank is a 45 gallon, and the water paras are:

temp - 78.8 F
pH - 8.3
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - less than 5
KH - 8 degrees
calcium - 440 ppm

i have one rose bubble tip anemone and 6 tank bred clownfish, four fancy Ocellaris and two black and white Ocellaris, im not sure how old they are, but they all get along, so well that two fancys and two black and whites are hosting the one anemone at the same time with no fights, chases or disregards to each other while all four are in the RBTA...has anyone else ever seen anything like this? at any point in time do i have to worry about waking up to a bunch of dead clowns?

Had the tank for 9 months, i totally cycled the tank for 2 months before even adding any living organism, and i never had anything die on me at all and really would feel bad if something did cause it would be my fault seeing they cant change their surroundings only i can... all the fish are exceptionally healthy right now i just would never want to see a living organism suffer for no reason...

oh yea, tank doesnt have a sump, but has a HOB reef octopus skimmer (up to 75 gallons it says), a fluval 406 canister filter (i disconnect and clean the mechanical filters every four days) with a 200 watt in-line heater, a 10 watt in-line uv steriliver,47 pounds live rock, a 4 inch deep live sand substrate.

any help or suggestions would definitely be appreciated. Thank You

 

oh yea forgot, sg - 1.023 and do weekly 10 percent water changes every sunday making sure the temp and sg are almost exact to the tanks parameters (temp always within 0.5 degrees)

if it helps when i started the tank, i also got a 10 gallon a power filter and heater and that has been running non stop as well as my quaruntine tank, its definitely cycled with the 5 pound live rock in it and test that water once a week...

 

For a second I thought you said you had twelve clowns. But still, 6 clowns in one tank for an extended period of time doesn't sound too safe. Especially only in 45g. 9 months makes your tank a baby still, things can change over night, but it sounds like you run a tight ship. I don't know if them all being tank bred (Thanks for that, by the way )will make a difference, but I would pick your favorite pair, and offload the others. I'd love to see a picture of this tank, and all it's stock if at all possible.

 

Don't be surprised as they get bigger, they will get more aggressive towards each other. That's A LOT of clowns in that tank.

Ditch the canister (they are meant for fresh) and do it right with a sump

 

I have to agree that many clowns in a 45g tank may not be the best idea.

You said that the tank is running for 9 months, but how long have the clowns been in the tank??

When they are all juvs they are all males and will live in "harmony" (well sorta) easier. Once some of them start to show a dominance and start to convert to female then that is when you will have an issue. The females have a very high probibility of fighting and will do till the death. Now there has been people with multiple pairs in a tank, but in a 45g IMO I would not do it.

 

thanks for all the advice, yea i do need to get a sump but soon i am probably going to buy a 150 gallon and that stand has the room for a sump, so thinking about getting that setup and getting that started on the cycling process as soon as i can.

The four fancys were purchased at the same time and same tank (they were about an inch, three are already doing the pairing quiver to the larger one (which is almost twice the size as the other three, crazy how fast it grew, the black and white ones were introduced four days later after lights out (they didnt eat the first day in quaruntine so had to watch them a bit longer) and right away the b&ws already gave up the dominacy.

they have been in the tank for about 7 months, i think the cycling didnt take the full 2 months but i waited after the bloom and when the coraline aglae shown up than i started to stock a two weeks later.

any advice about if i just get rid of two of the fancys to a good home, if the other four could have a chance to be nice? i dont work at all so they will be pretty much watched all the time, tho i dont wanna see one get hurt

 

Well, If I was closer, I'd take a pair, but You're a ways away. Find another local reefer, or the LFs near you. The prior is preferred.

 

oh and even before i bought any supply i did about 3 - 6 hours of researching a day for pretty much almost two months. but one of my friends maintained a 55 gal tank with 4 tank bred clowns from the same tank at the store for over 1 1/2 years, until we got deployed and he had to sell his setup.

at my lfs there is a really nice reef ready 220 gal tank with overflow plumbing and stand included for 1388.00 is that a decent deal? i would like to start getting into reef keeping and ive done a bunch of research and proved to myself i can keep a constant water quality for at least 9 months so far.. and for a tank that size im guessing i would have to go with metal halide with t5 HO?

 

You may get lucky and have a true harem of clowns like in the wild, a few people have done it. There is a female, dominant male and some other males/genderless clowns, the dominant pair will be replaced with the others.

 

I agree with the first part of the post, and completely disagree for the second one.