Anemone hosting clowns.

[Tankjunkie0481]

I know its kind of a long shot question but here goes. Is it possible to coerce an anemone into hosting clowns or get clowns to associate with an anemone. I know there is no guarantee either way but I was just wondering if any one had tried to "make it happen". Thanks for any info you have.

 

[Tmoriarty]

If you "make it happen" you can lose the clownfish, most everyone here will advise against it. If you want to ensure association then use a natural host for the clownfish species you choose. If you are going with BTA anemone, False/true percula do not naturally associate with them and may never associate with them in captivity (although most people have had success with that combination).

If you do have BTA's and try to "force" your clowns into it, they may get stung or may be fine but swim out of the nem when you leave them alone. I chased a percula into a BTA, it did not harm her but she had no desire to stay in it. When I added my H. Magnifica my clownfish associated within 30 minutes and have not left it since. A natural host clownfish love most.

 

[Ms.Blue]

Ok so what I'm learning from this post is that an h. Magnifica is the best nem for a percula what's the best for an ocelaris ? I have a pair of ocelaris and they were hosting my frogspawn over my sebae nem but my frogspawn died in a heat spike so now they look lost and I no longer have the sebae. That's why I ask I'd like to get them to host a nem in my reef.

 

[Tmoriarty]

Ok so what I'm learning from this post is that an h. Magnifica is the best nem for a percula what's the best for an ocelaris ? I have a pair of ocelaris and they were hosting my frogspawn over my sebae nem but my frogspawn died in a heat spike so now they look lost and I no longer have the sebae. That's why I ask I'd like to get them to host a nem in my reef.

True carpet nem, S. gigantea and the magnificent anemone, H. Magnifica are both natural hosts for false percs, or A. ocellaris. I believe, but don't quote me, that S. Mertensii is a natural host as well.

There is always the chance that your clowns may associate in a BTA, but my clowns never did.

 

[Tankjunkie0481]

Thanks for the info. Looks like a H. Magnifica or a S. Gigantea are in my future plans.

 

[onano]

Lots of good advice. After reading this I guess I got really lucky with my LTA and percs. I just paired up my clowns and brought home a green LTA and just decided not to interfere. The perks paired right up. They saw each other got together and have been side by side since I added the nem a week later and at first they never went near it. 5 days later I'm sitting on the couch watching TV after lights out and looked over at the tank and they were in the nem hosting away. They haven't ventured far from it since. I went with the hands off approach and was willing to accept it if they didn't want the nem I selected. It worked out but again I feel pretty lucky considering my choice was not a natural host for percs according to the reading. Good luck with your selection. I have to say that watching the clowns with the nem is just great and really adds to the tank observing experience.

 

[wnppmy]

I had luck with the Long Hair Mushroom, not the BTA BubbleTip Anemonoe but clown loves it and won't worry about an anemonoe being sucked into circulating systems. Very informative info here, tnx.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflECQ2NO-Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Turns out many have clowns symbiotic w/mushrooms .

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thanks for the info. Looks like a H. Magnifica or a S. Gigantea are in my future plans.

Both of these are difficult to care for. Please do plenty of research before purchasing either one.

 

[elegance coral]

Ocellaris natural hosts are magnifica, gigantea, and mertensii. Percula natural hosts are magnifica, gigantea, and crispa.

 

[elegance coral]

Both of these are difficult to care for. Please do plenty of research before purchasing either one.

Very very very good advice. In fact, you may want to go with an easier anemone, like quadricolor, even though it isn't the clowns natural host.

 

[Channing]

An excellent resource for this thread is a book by Daphnie Fautin. I think the title is Anemonefish and their host sea anemones. Or something like that. It will tell you every natural anemone host for every species imaginable. Good read too. Includes some ecology, too.

 

[gilbert2625]

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