Anemonist Clown!!

[Bernie21]

Ive have my Ocellaris Clown for over 7 years now & no matter what Ive done. It has never hosted an anemone. Ive tried it all, all the nems, all the tricks, etc. Every time Ive removed the anemone because theyre not worth the hassle of moving thing out of their way, feeding, etc, w out the clown hosting it. I finally got an RBTA that is sitting in its spot, she's nice and beautiful so I plan on keeping her. My clown is still an anemonist that or allergic. So my question is, what can I get to host her. I dont want other clowns because she's not very tolerant of them. I was thinking some porcelein crabs, but I dont know if they'll host an RBTA...

Please help.

Thanks!

 

[shifty51008]

get an anemone crab from what I have heard they will hang out around the base of the anemone

 

[Bernie21]

THats what I meant, a porcelain anemone crab. DOes any one have this relationship w any anemone in their tank? More specifically w an RBTA?

 

[garygb]

I cannot imagine a healthy magnifica or gigantea would be shunned by an ocellaris. It's common that ocellaris won't go into non-natural hosts like BTAs or sebaes, but it would be odd indeed if it didn't take to a mag or gig. They are hardwired to be attracted to those species.

 

[nano_reefer10]

I have a porcelain anemone crab that hosts my RBTA. It sits a the base and also over the mouth occasionally.

 

[Bernie21]

I have a porcelain anemone crab that hosts my RBTA. It sits a the base and also over the mouth occasionally.

Do you have a picture of it? I just bought a tiny one. Its sitting at the base of it.I'll post a pix later.

 

[horwitzs]

Was your clown tank raised or wild caught? Don't know if that would affect instinct but maybe it just doesn't know what to do with an anem since it was never in one in the ocean??

 

[rssjsb]

What type of anemones have you tried and how long have you waited before giving up? My ocellaris took a year to take up residence in a BTA. Now they won't leave.

(Wild caught or captive bred doesn't really seem to be a determining factor as to whether they'll host.)

 

[Bernie21]

My clown is an Ocellaris, I bought her a long time ago so Im not sure if she's Tank raised or not. Ive had reg bta, an Rbta, A couple Condys (I know they dont host those), a sabae and the RBTA I have now. Prior to this one, I dont believe I had one more than 6 months cuz I got bored of them moving around stinging corals & my clown not hosting. Im keeping this one though. Shes found a spot she likes. Ive had her for a month now.

 

[rssjsb]

As I'm sure yo uknow, BTAs and RBTAs are the same anemone. Sebae is a common name used for a lot of different anemones, mostly of the heteractis genus (usually malu or crispa). None are natural hosts for ocellaris. Like you said, condies don't host clowns at all.

It could be that your clown just isn't likely to associate with an anemone. As Gary said, a mag or gig should be different, but that's quite a challenge.

I've seen pictures of anemone crabs in giganteas, and I've seen lots of photos of condies with commensal shrimp, but I can't recall if I've ever seen either one associated with a BTA. Maybe someone will come along and post a picture.