Acclimation Box Method for Anemone Hosting

[kingfisherflesh]

Hey guys...I have been talking about this method on several threads...and there has always been discussion, so I figured I would start a whole thread to it.

If more people have success, maybe it can be stickied.

Most people will tell you that this cant be done, but I think that it might be one of the better methods used to get tank raised clowns to host immediately. (Note...this is being used with an BTA in my tank)

Several large marine wholesalers/importers (and reputable ones at that) also use this method. (And have reported to me that the failure rate/anemone eating clowns is incredibly low...to the point where this is how they get most of their fish to host.

Its as simple as this - take your new anemone, and put it into a floating acclimation box, or one that is held in place. It should allow light, and decent flow in for the anemone.

The box should also be big enough for the clowns to swim around in. Mine is 4"x4" (ish)x7"...strawberry containers come in all sorts of sizes, and that is what I used with some very small ID PVC and 4x 90 degree elbows with zip ties to attach the strawberry box.

My ORA extreme misbar clowns had been in my tank for approximately four months before I decided to do this.

Got the anemone, drip acclimated it.

Added it to my container, and I would encourage you all to let it stay there for a day or two to get settled down, and its foot secured.

I added the clowns right away. The male steered clear of it, but the larger female went into it immediately. They have been inside the anemone now for five days without any issues, and I am about to remove the anemone and attempt to place it in the tank.

Once I know that it has put its foot down, I will release the clowns very close to the anemone, and hope that everything lasts.

 

[Toddrtrex]

IMO, this is still a very poor idea, and should never be a sticky as something to do.

The risk of having a clown(s) eaten by said anemone is just way too great, and it completely ignoring how the acclimation process to being hosted works.

I don't understand the need of people to try and speed up the hosting process, the clowns should live 20 years or so, and the anemone should outlive us, so why not just wait??

 

[kingfisherflesh]

IMO, this is still a very poor idea, and should never be a sticky as something to do.

The risk of having a clown(s) eaten by said anemone is just way too great, and it completely ignoring how the acclimation process to being hosted works.

I don't understand the need of people to try and speed up the hosting process, the clowns should live 20 years or so, and the anemone should outlive us, so why not just wait??

I dont get why you think this is dangerous. Have you ever lost a clown doing this?

I assume that your word is better than importers that see more clowns in one day than you will for the rest of your life as well.

A lot of "clown experts" seem to be against this. Havent met one person yet who has lost a clown or had any issues whatsoever.

 

[nemoboy1]

To each his/her own... I tried the box isolation method with my Picasso good news they didn't get eaten by my rbta or crispa but they also didn't host after releasing them into the tank... It can work but there are other methods as well...

 

[Toddrtrex]

I dont get why you think this is dangerous. Have you ever lost a clown doing this?

I assume that your word is better than importers that see more clowns in one day than you will for the rest of your life as well.

A lot of "clown experts" seem to be against this. Havent met one person yet who has lost a clown or had any issues whatsoever.

Honestly, if you have to ask why it is dangerous...

The conventional wisdom is that clown's slime coat and/or mucus is what protects them from the anemone's sting -- the anemone ends up "thinking" that the it is feeling itself and not a prey item. Clowns can/will lose that protection, and if they are in a confined space with an anemone can/will get stung/eaten.

How do you know how many clowns I will see in the rest of my life, and how do you know how many an importer sees in a day?

Would link to see a link of the reputable dealers doing it this way -- I would be shocked that they would take that risk. Plus, why would they do this? It is very rare that a dealer will offer a clown/anemone combo.

I have never lost a clown doing "this" because I will never do it -- it is a poor choice, IMO. I have, however, seen clowns get stung by an anemone while getting "used" to it. I can assure you that if they were in a confined space together my S. Haddoni would have had an expensive meal.

 

[kingfisherflesh]

Quality Marine is one person that does this...and of all the wholesalers and importers, they are known as one of the best.

So there is one example for you.

Healthy fish dont get eaten by anemones.

Sometimes anemones will eat their host fish anyways.

The chance of that happening is just as great no matter where they are.

To each his/her own... I tried the box isolation method with my Picasso good news they didn't get eaten by my rbta or crispa but they also didn't host after releasing them into the tank... It can work but there are other methods as well...

I bet that if we find a single person that has lost a clown using the acclimation method, that the overall percentage will be very close to those we have lost clownfish to anemones in tank.

 

[2Addicted]

Healthy fish dont get eaten by anemones.

I disagree. I have seen a perfectly healthy ocellaris get spooked into a haddoni and it was eaten. Just because you havent seen it doesnt mean it cant happen.

 

[kingfisherflesh]

I disagree. I have seen a perfectly healthy ocellaris get spooked into a haddoni and it was eaten. Just because you havent seen it doesnt mean it cant happen.

I agree with that. But in this hobby you can make an exception to almost every rule.

This method works...and it works well. I havent met a single person that is against it that has ever done it.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Quality Marine is one person that does this...and of all the wholesalers and importers, they are known as one of the best.

So there is one example for you.

Healthy fish dont get eaten by anemones.

Sometimes anemones will eat their host fish anyways.

The chance of that happening is just as great no matter where they are.



I bet that if we find a single person that has lost a clown using the acclimation method, that the overall percentage will be very close to those we have lost clownfish to anemones in tank.

Where is Quality Marine state that they do this? And what would be their purpose of forcing a hosting situation?

Healthy fish don't get eaten by anemones? You are serious? Have you ever had any experience with S. Haddoni?

Sometimes anemones will eat their host fish anyways.

The host is the anemone, and not the fish.

 

[Toddrtrex]

...
Healthy fish dont get eaten by anemones.

Sometimes anemones will eat their host fish anyways.

...

If a healthy fish won't get eaten by an anemone, how can an anemone sometimes eat their host (sic) fish??

 

[davocean]

I've seen a number of posts by people wondering why their nem ate their clowns.
It happens more often than you think.
Confining a nem w/ clowns in a small container is not the safest way, quite often clowns need to build up a tolerance to sting cells, and forcing them together could end badly.

 

[danreefs]

Healthy fish dont get eaten by anemones


Sorry to say not true. Just ask my old Haddoni

 

[1fishkeeper]

I would like to say about 10 years ago when I first started I lost two clowns trying this way. The first one got spooked and went right into the mouth of the anemone and never made it out alive. The second one was with a different pair that I had close to 3 years. They both were very healthy but I still lost one of them to a different anemone trying to do the same thing that your talking about. I will never do it that way again so long as I have tanks and fish. The best way that I have found for the clowns to go the the anemone was just start feeding the tank everyday right next to the anemone. After awhile they will learn that it can be a home to them along with easy food is always comes to them right next to it. But even that is a 50/50 chance of them taking to it. From what I have seen and learned from keeping them is just let them go to it on their own. Yes you will have some that will never take to a nem but most of them will after time. Just let them find it and do what they do.

 

[davocean]

Heck, even Nemo's Dad made sure he "brushed" to to absorb/acclimate to stinging cells!LOL

 

[1fishkeeper]

Heck, even Nemo's Dad made sure he "brushed" to to absorb/acclimate to stinging cells!LOL

To good I forgot all about that. I guess I need to sit down with the kids and watch it again.

 

[phender]

I have had to pull out a tomato clown from H. crispa and a nigripes out of a magnifica because they were being stung and pulled towards the anemone's mouth. I would never ever try this with any of the carpet anemones, especially haddoni. I might consider doing it with a BTA, but I would rather just get a clown that naturally goes into a BTA.(pretty much everything except ocellaris and percula)

I have to admit that I have not been out to Quality Marine in a couple years, but for the 15 years before that, I had never seen them sell clowns and anemones together. They don't even keep them in the same systems. Who from QM told you that they do this, or is it just what you heard?

 

[Toddrtrex]

......

I have to admit that I have not been out to Quality Marine in a couple years, but for the 15 years before that, I had never seen them sell clowns and anemones together. They don't even keep them in the same systems. Who from QM told you that they do this, or is it just what you heard?

If I remember correctly, from reading the OP's other posts, his brother works there, in what capacity isn't clear. However, it seems (( from reading his posts )) that the brother only observed this, but didn't actually do it -- again the details seems a bit sketchy.

 

[davocean]

Well my guess maybe they are in sales, because there advice will certainly benefit in that area as far as clown fish replacements.

 

[bues0022]

While I can certainly appreciate the idea of "bucking the trend" when it comes to exploring new boundaries and pushing the limits, why put fish in danger when there is a known risk to doing so? You tried this with a BTA - which has a relatively weak sting. Even still, I've had a juvi ocellaris get stung really bad and eventually die after a powerhead pushed it into a BTA upon fresh acclimation of the clown. It made it out of the nem, but died that day I'm assuming from the sting. Other anemones can have very power stings. One Haddoni I had ate two percs in my care, and three fully mature B&W O's before I had it. Imagine if I had put my prized picasso's in with this nem in an acclimation box?

 

[elegance coral]

This is a very bad idea IMHO. Here's what can happen to a clownfish when it makes contact with an anemone that's not its natural host, and doesn't have a chance to acclimate to it. This fish would have been eaten if I wasn't there to save it.