skunk clowns

After a trip to the LFS for some hermits for my mantis to eat, i noticed to pink skunk clowns in a tank. The employee that knows my tank as much as i do, said that they would stay small and do fine in my mantis tank because if my frogspawn or shrooms host them. The price? 32$ if i trade in my firefish, other wise he wouldnt sell them to me lol.

So has anyone kept clowns with a mantis? Do you think i should just buy one for now see how it does with the mantis and then buy the other one next week, or buy them both at the same time, or just forget it?

 

I can tell you this ... which do you like more? follow your gut and do whatever. If a fire fish can live in there with a mantis clown fish can.

 

First off, I would be wary of putting other fish in a small tank with a mantis. I personally have never had a mantis so I can't speak from experience. If I were to try a fish though, I would go with a faster moving fish and something that didn't either host a coral or leisurally swim in one location, makes a better target for the mantis. And on the other hand, why won't they sell them to you outright?

 

I know what your saying, if were solely up to that then i would probably get the clowns, but I haven't seen many people with clowns in their mantis tanks. Damsels are pretty common and clowns are damselfish but IDK. Like the guy at the LFS was saying, maybe my frogspawn will accept the clowns, because they are already being hosted by a LTA.

 

I already have a firefish in there.....hes been in there for months and no problems. The mantis is only gonna be 3" long too, so not much bigger then the clowns. Also the mantis hates my frogspawn, he never goes near it after he swam into it once LOL.

They are one of the LFS that aren't in it for the money as others, so he doesn't want me to overstock my tank, even though i was planning on trading the firefish for the clowns anyways.

 

yeah those clown fish can get up to 4 inches. my LFS had a pair of orange ones.

 

While a frogspawn might host the clowns, I honestly wouldn't wish for it. Living in a nem and living in a coral are two totally different things. A lot of times, the clown will try and live in the coral but the coral just won't have it. This leads to the eventual death of it. I had a clown that was intent on living in my torch. The torch gradually kept closing up and eventually I had to move it out of the tank just to keep it alive.

 

And I'm assuming the same thing would happen to the 'shrooms?

The firefish sleeps in the rockwork, and the mantis hasn't done anything so far.

Maybe the clown will take to a powerhead or filterhead thingy.

 

My clownfish host a couple of leathers and the leathers adapt, but hard corals might have a tougher time. They are a lot more sensitive. On the other hand, my trachyphyllia adapted well to having clownfish always on top of it.

 

I would not put any fish in a mantis tank. One of your fish already got killed by it so it would be careless just to add another fish in.