Which clown (clarkii vs. ocellari)?

[bmlerner]

Well, my last clown died a couple of days ago

. Had a pair of ocellari, which adopted the overflow box in my tank. This led to frequent trips through the plumbing, and, eventually, to their demise.

I'd like to try again, but I'd hate to have another pair go through the same thing. I understand that ocellari are notorious for staying near the surface of the tank, and adopting powerheads, etc. as their host rather than something sensible down below. I had a pair of clarkii years ago, and found them to be glorified damsels, rather then the much more serene ocellari.

Any advice on which to go with? I have a 20gal softies tank - no anemones, but xenia, GSPs, tree coral, etc. to serve as surrogate hosts, if the fishies are willing. Only other inhabitant is a bicolor blenny, who will probably be moved to a friend's tank, if I can catch him.

If anyone has a trick to getting the ocell. to stay lower down in the tank and/or adopt a softie as a host, I'd love to hear it!!

Thanks!

Brian

 

[scooterr]

I'd go with the f. percs. I wouldn't put 2 clarkiis and a blennie in a 20 gallon. I wouldn't even put 2 clarkii in a 20 but that's just me. Or 1 clarkii and the blennie if that floats your boat.
HTH

 

[jmeader]

A twenty gal tank is a bit small for any full grown clown. So I'd advise the perk since it doesn't get as big and grows slowly.