4 aquacultured perculas

[shr00m]

hello, i have heard so many mixed theorys on these fish... the place i plan on ordering them from says they like to be kept in medium to large groups so long as they are all added at the same time.... but then ive had some people tell me to only get 2 because any more will fight... but i have read in several other places that groups do good together as long as you add at once could someone please let me know if 4 will be ok in a 75 with a flame and falco hawk and possibly a yellow angel eventually.

thanks

shr00m

 

[Anonymous]

If you're starting out with juvies (fish that are all male and haven't changed to female) I see no reason why you can't do this. They'll probably be happier of they have a host, please see the library here at http://www.reefs.org/library as well as checking at http://www.wetwebmedia.com for information on both the fish and their suitable hosts.

 

[clk2609]

i agree with SM, when you put in 4 juves, no dominant one yet, eventually a pair might end up dominating but as long as they are together from the beginning i do not think there will be a problem. IMO
good luck

 

[UnderGrad]

FWIW, I picked up 3 tank reared percs about 4 months back which were about 2 months old. From my observations they tend to really enjoy each others company when they are that little and are much braver. But now 2 of them have paired off and taken up residence in my hammer and the other just stays at the top of the tank all by his lonesome. It does go down and swim with the other two when it gets frightened or occasionally to just say "hi" I guess. I haven't seen the other two pick on it yet, so I guess they still get along.
I'd say go for it and get the 4. They'll be much braver and won't hide out quite so much in the beginning. HTH.

-AM-

 

[Anonymous]

What you're observing is to be expected. If this odd-man-out fish is still small, you might be able to pair him off with another clown.

The only other way I can know of to avoid this is to get a much larger group together, and provide two or three hosts. As I understand it, the dominant female will pair with one male, and the rest will stay together.

 

[Anonymous]

Are they captive-bred, or tank-raised? Either way, kudos for that! Captive-bred is definitely the best way to go if you can get them. SOOOO much healthier, and less impact.

Go for it! Percs and ocellaris are perfect tank residents. As common as they are, you just never get tired of them.

 

[clk2609]

hiddendragonet,
why is captive bred better than tank raised?

 

[Anonymous]

Captive bred means the fry were hatched in captivity- IOW, no collection impact. Tank-raised means the fry were wild caught, but grew to juvie in captivity, IOW some collection impact.

Both are better than simply wild-caught. Most fry don't survive on the reef, so catching fry for tank-rearing doesn't have much of an impact. Captive-breeding has no impact.

HD

 

[clk2609]

thanks!