Livestock for 12 gallon nano test tank

Hmmm... interesting. Thanks for the clarification.

 

M2434 has a good point. initially I was thinking damsel, but firefish would be a good idea. you can easily combine them afterwards in the same tank. the clowns will not fare so well when combined.

 

Thank you all very much for the contributions thus far

I have obviously been researching in the wrong places
because I believed all clowns went from sexless to male and then stayed male until paired up or in groups at which time the dominant one would become female

thus I expected 4 males to be the outcome of seperation into singles at juvi stage
and thus when I later put 2 into each large tank, I could end up with 2 pairs

so thanks for the heads up on that one

the Pygmy Hawk is worth considering- but just been searching and find its not a common species , thus availability may be an issue

crabs, snails etc - thats a good suggestion and that should be an easy option

Firefish - I have certainly seen them out here, so thats favourite for me now in terms of fish types

but Ill start with snails and hermits and see how we go from there

Thanks again everyone

Steve

 

Here is everything you probably want to know about clowns and then some:
Time to Quit Clownin' Around: The Subfamily Amphiprioninae by Henry C. Schultz III - Reefkeeping.com

from it:

"All clownfish females are the result of males undergoing a sex change, or protandric hermaphrodites as they are called. In most host anemones a small harem of clownfish are present. Generally, this harem contains a single female, a single male, and several juvenile fish. The female is the most dominant member of the harem, and her constant attention to the harem ensures that the male does not develop into a female. When the female becomes absent from the harem, the male will assume the role of the female. Once a female, the fish cannot revert back to male. Both the male and female inhibit the sex change tendency of the juveniles. This phenomenon is often referred to as "psychophysical castration." When the male undergoes sex change and becomes a female, the juveniles will battle to determine who the most dominant member is. The winner will then grow testicles and become a male. These sex changes will occur in less than one month."

 

The gender issue gets a little confusing with clownfish.

I was taught all clownfish fry are gender neutral , but later I was corrected on numerous occasions, in that they should be consider males with the ability to become female should the niche or right environmental factors occur. Ok, tomato tomoto.. the important part is that a clownfish left alone will become a female, the span of time for which this occurs is said to be completed in about 2 months or less.
There are some documented cases of a female switching back to a male but these cases are rare.
If you put 2 clownfish in each tank you should end up with 4 pairs. If you put one clownfish in each tank you should end up with 4 females.
Pickle is the clownfish guru so he may have more concise numbers on how long they remain considered gender neutral or sexually immature and how long a lone clownfish takes to become a female.

 

You could also consider jawfish Steve they are readily available and do well in groups.;D Good luck!!