I hope I didn't make a mistake

Last night we went to get the first fish for our tank and had decided on either a Royal Gramma or a Firefish, they didn't have either but the girl helping us told us another good starter fish was a True Percula. I told her the size of our tank and how I had read they needed at least 30 gallons and she told me definitely not and that she had 3 in a 14gallon and anyway I got talked into it...he was just so cute and I really wanted a fish. I made sure to ask her multiple times if he was aggressive at all and she said no, I specifically said I wanted all nice fish and that I hadn't read about the percula at all because I had already decided against clowns. So after reading about them I'm worried I won't be able to get anymore fish : I'm thinking he'll chase around and be mean to the other fish I wanted. I may be over reacting but I feel like I messed up. Too late now, impulse purchases are so unlike me, I don't know what happened!

Anyway, here's Franklin..he's doing great so far. Already ate this morning.
Also, this should probably go in the Corals forum but why are anemones bad and is there anything else, like other types of coral, I could get him to host with?

 

ive got 2 true percs, and theyve been fine with the other fish. and they were my 1st also. but any fish can have totally different characteristics than what people have experienced. ive seen some say they dislike these guys because of what youre worried about. sp best of luck, i find them to be very entertianing and personable

 

You're probably fine but I personally probably wouldn't put any more fish in there unless you have a good nutrient export system (skimmer, frequent water changes etc) and have good oxygenation, more than one fish in 14 gallons can generate a bit of waste for the amount of filtration you have. Some people like to push the limits but sometimes that ends up with algae problems from excess nutrients etc.

Although there are some other little tiny fish that might be OK. Maybe a neon goby or clown goby, they stay pretty tiny. 3 clowns in a 14 sounds like a lot, at least when they're full grown, you can always get by when they're smaller but they will either grow to full size and require more food which means more nutrients in the water or they'll die from stress from being cramped.

Anemones are tough because they require a good bit of light, very good water parameters, and they can move around and if you have any other corals when they start moving they can sting everything in their path until they settle down. They also have a nasty habit of getting sucked into powerheads or through filters etc.

There's never any guarantee a clown will host even an anemone so coral are hit and miss as well. You could try a frogspawn or other euphyllia although sometimes the clowns are too rough on them and end up killing them. Some clowns will host in patches of mushrooms or zoanthids. Almost anything that's soft and wavy in the current the clown might decide to host in.

That's my take on it anyway, your mileage may vary.

 

True percs and O clowns are really the least agressive clowns you are going to find. The only time I have ever seen them get any kind of aggressive is defending a host.

 

I think you will be fine with your clownfish and u can probably still add either a royal gamma or a firefish

 

This is also another concern in a tank that small if they do decide to host in something they can get a little territorial and become aggressive to anything else in their area, with only 14 gallons they could potentially claim the whole tank. Nothing is for sure though.

 

Every clown Iv ever had has only been aggressive to other clowns. My perc is the cuttest little teddy bear would never hurt a fly. Its those clarkii clowns you gotta watch out for.

 

You will probably be ok if other fish are added while hes still young,mine was old and very territorial when he killed the two blue chromises I added in one day! BAD NEMO!! btw ,that was in a 44 gal. tank.

 

Good call. Shame on me for not taking the tank size into consideration
May wind up being a play-it-by-ear situation.

 

Percs aren't known to be bullies, but there are no absolutes in predicting fish behavior. Maroon clowns are amongst the most aggressive amphiprion. My percula killed two of my cardinals after they were together in the tank for 6 months or more.

I have no explanation for the behavior, but it's not like them to be aggressive. He's not had any anemone to host--but if he commits one more sin like that, it's back to the LFS with him!

Good luck with yours. As long as he's well fed and you watch your water chemistry, I'd hope you shouldn't anticipate any problems.