clarkii and condy

[donald altman]

A few days ago at the LFS i saw a medium sized tank set up with only a few peices of live rock and 2 anemones no rock or anything else and about a dozen or so Clarkii clowns. I was wathcing the clowns from a distance go inside and out and try to run the other fish away from the anemone.

When I got closer Iw as shocked.. almost all of them were actively trying to host one or the other CONDY. I've heard of it happening on rare occasion but literally this many clarkiis all going for the anemones. It was quiet intresting to watch. these condy had the bright orange pinkish base... One was very white on top and the other was more flesh tone to purplish..

I had to have one.. I got the darker (healthier) of the two condys and one of the clarkiis.. I wasn't sure if it would host in a full out reef tank and without the others... and honestly not sure if the person at the lfs could even catch one that was hosting as most but not all were showing interest.

Well.. I am happy to say within a few minutes of getting the condy in it found a spot and put his foot into a hole in my rock and it wans't much longer than that my clarkii found his way over to it. He has been brushing against it here and there when ther fish come around for the last days. I am pretty sure its a hit and it is going to host it.

(even more wierd.. I have a green bubble tip in the tank that he either hasn't noticed or doesn't care for..)

 

[cet98]

wow...would love to see a video of them....please

 

[donald altman]

Sorry for the long reply. I found it hard to get a picture as anytime I got close with the cam the fish would watch me and forget about the anemone. This was taken on an iPhone and this is the first video I've ever shot and uploaded sorry for tr color mutation and the subway commercial in the background. <a href="http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n120/donaltman3/?action=view&current=D6F2BD45-FADB-4D84-9569-9DB6F4ECCA1D-3277-000002DE657F2098_zpsc2a52c1c.mp4" target="_blank"><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n120/donaltman3/D6F2BD45-FADB-4D84-9569-9DB6F4ECCA1D-3277-000002DE657F2098_zpsc2a52c1c.mp4" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[donald altman]

I'm not sure how to link a video directly to the site.... so hopefully that works.. it is my clarkii keeping a purple dottyback at bay and then feeding the condy anemone a floating pellet. the Clarkii actually "feed" the anamone a few times as the pellet would float up when he let go the first few times.. It was fun to see him chase the other fish from the food and then give it away.

 

[GratefulReef]

Clarkii clowns are one of the most accepting clowns for hosting, I am surprised they tried to host a condy I didnt think they were hosting nems. My clarkii loves my bta but never goes near my mini carpet or my condy(when I had one)

 

[Ostara]

Sometimes it happens. One of the local shops keeps a tank with a bunch of condylactis to sell because people like them around here for some reason. Every time he puts ocellaris or percula clowns in the tank they hop right in the condies. I have no idea why... because there are so many of the anemones grouped together, maybe. They don't do it when he only has one or two.

 

[sail33]

I had a Condi. The thing go so big the tentacles were 8 or 9 inches long. Before I could remove it I was given a Clarki and a small Percula. The clarki buzzed around the condi until after a few days was sleeping inside. I got the condi out, as planned, exchanged for a bubble tip and the clarki went right in as if nothing had changed.

My question isn't so much the Clarki hosting but why did the condi permit it ?

 

[Winwood]

I had a Condi. The thing go so big the tentacles were 8 or 9 inches long. Before I could remove it I was given a Clarki and a small Percula. The clarki buzzed around the condi until after a few days was sleeping inside. I got the condi out, as planned, exchanged for a bubble tip and the clarki went right in as if nothing had changed.

My question isn't so much the Clarki hosting but why did the condi permit it ?

It's not really a matter of permitting it, but more over it didn't recognize it as food, and therefore didn't trigger the nematocysts to fire. Clark's clowns are the most universal of all the clown species and are found in all of the host anemones. In fact they are the only species found in such anemones such as Cryptodendrum adhesivum and Heteractis aurora.

If you go to any Petco with a saltwater section there is a good chance you will find a clarki being hosted by a condy. Although pure speculation, I'd be willing to guess if these clowns were allowed to enter the Atlantic in sustainable numbers, they might adapt to these anemones quite well.

 

[donald altman]

It has been quite neat watching the two interact. The Nem doesn't even move when the clarkii comes to "nest" inside it.. or just rub inside it... The clarkii now sleeps right int he middle of it at night and the condy stays inflated out for it all the time now. The clarkii literally will feed it a pellet or two each time I fed the tank and the condi instantly grabs the food and eats it. It has learned the routine very very quickly. It is not bothered by the fish at all... even after only being in the tank a couple of days it didn't bother the nem enough to move to another location like I thought it would.

The tank also has a mini maxi carpet and a green tip bubble... my clarkii doesn't even pay attention to the other nems.

I've gotten really intrested in other sybyiotic relation ships and would like to get a crab/ fish combo a shrimp/ nem combo and soon... an acro crab for one of my corals.