clownfish hosting question

nightfire

New member
soooo i have 2 clowns (tank bread) so they have no idea bout being able to host things and i know many host things other then anemones.....saw where a guy used food placed into his frogspawn to get the clowns into it and well now host in it....now i know ya cant really force the matter, they will host whatever they want when they wish it....my clowns problem is that they dont know they can....the female gets scared getting too close to the frogspawn even when i place food in there......ya guys have any othr hints i might can use?
 
my maroon host a patch of blue and purple mushrooms that about 6 inches away from a frogspawn, it never goes near the frogspawn. you just never no what they will take. i'm not sure of a way too get them over the fear your talking about.
 
I was wondering the same thing as I have a couple of tank bred clowns as well. I hear sometimes they will host and sometimes they won't. mine are still young yet so you never know! I'm hoping they'll like my new frogspawn I put on their side :)
 
That's not how instincts work. They still know how to be hosted even if they've never seen it. Patience, young Jedi.
 
If you like that new frogspawn I would hope they don't get hosted by it. Because of the rough way clowns enter the coral it actually ends up killing the coral. I would just look into getting a rbta. You can usually find a good deal at local clubs from people's anemones splitting.
 
If you like that new frogspawn I would hope they don't get hosted by it. Because of the rough way clowns enter the coral it actually ends up killing the coral. I would just look into getting a rbta. You can usually find a good deal at local clubs from people's anemones splitting.

I think that statement is too categorical. People have clowns hosted by frogspawn with some regularity. Clowns CAN damage corals.
 
Pretty much all clowns will take on the instinct of being hosted as alien mentioned, just takes time, and some a good bit longer than others.
I think frogspawn or hammer is a great substitute as long as it's at least 3-4x bigger than the clowns, and it doesn't wander like many nems do.
I personally wouldn't do a BTA in a mixed reef again, been there, done that.
BTA's are rock dwellars, so when they roam, they sting corals along the way.
 
Indeed. I have one on the move right now. God only knows where I'll find it in the morning. I had one that split. But I love them. Beautiful animal. I like nems more than corals generally.
 
I still prefer LTA's. They are not as pretty as BTA's but once they setup, buried in the substrate, they don't ever move, IME. Most clowns will accept LTA's readily.
 
Indeed. I have one on the move right now. God only knows where I'll find it in the morning. I had one that split. But I love them. Beautiful animal. I like nems more than corals generally.

I'm right there w/ you on that one, I've had nems since I started this hobby some 25 years ago, can't even guess how many I've had over the years.
I would have kept my BTA nem specific tank if my picasso's didn't begin to lose black color from being hosted by them.
 
I still prefer LTA's. They are not as pretty as BTA's but once they setup, buried in the substrate, they don't ever move, IME. Most clowns will accept LTA's readily.

Yeah I'm a big fan of LTA's too.
They don't seem to wander if happy, and if for some reason they do, it's only going to move across sand bed pretty much, so easier to control/keep from stinging corals.
 
good to know they will probably host in the future. The reason I hope it's the frogspawn is the fact that my tank isn't mature enough for an anemone. you need to wait at least 6 months correct? I do love the RBTA but I do hear they can be a pain.
 
That's correct, best to wait at least 6mo for tank to establish.
There are many beautiful BTA's out there for those set up for them, but a frogspawn is a great alternative, that's what my picasso's and onyx pair were hosted by while I was seeking nems for them.
Never had any issues.
 
My clowns host a clam. It just depends what they will take to. It does require some time, as all have mentioned. Be careful what you ask for though. If they ever host it, keep an eye on the frogspawn.
 
soooo i have 2 clowns (tank bread) so they have no idea bout being able to host things...
Actually they do. It's hardwired. In other words, it's instinctive. It's not a learned trait.

Clownfish in the wild are not taught to look for a suitable host anemone, they just do it when they are ready to leave the planktonic stage. After the eggs hatch, usually just after dusk, the baby clownfish swim towards the surface where they remain drifting with the plankton for 8-12 days until they are ready to come down to the bottom to complete metamorphosis and begin the search for a suitable host. There are no parent clownfish to show them how to do this, they already know.

Think about maroon clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) for example. They have only one host anemone in the wild: Entacmaea quadricolor (BTA). Since they have only one possible host, they have to be born with a strong attraction for that one particular anemone species. It's probably a chemical attraction since they were too undeveloped when they hatched to remember what one looked like (and it was dark).

Most clownfish have at least two or three potential host anemones and Amphiprion clarkii accepts all ten clownfish-hosting anemones. I guess that means a Clark's clownfish's attraction to any one particular host anemone doesn't have to be all that strong since any one will do.

No one knows for sure how baby clownfish locate exactly the right anemone species, all we know is that they are born with that ability and it never leaves them. If you place a juvenile (or adult) clownfish that you purchased at the store that you know is tank-bred in your aquarium, it will still know which host anemone it's supposed to hook up with. It will usually take its time becoming acquainted first but some, especially maroons, just dive right in if the right host is present.

If the right host anemone is not present, they will often adopt something else as a surrogate host. In fact, even if the right host anemone is present, some of them will sometimes prefer a coral, especially Goniopora or Alveopora species, instead of their natural host anemone. And these two corals are the most likely to be damaged by the constant rubbing of a clownfish.

So it's all a big mystery as to exactly how a baby clownfish can find the correct host anemone without parents to teach it but we just know that they usually do. And if they don't do it quickly enough, they will be eaten by something.

:)
 
What Ninong said. And by the way, the clowns don't "host" an anemone, they associate with it; the anemone "hosts" the clownfish. Best to learn to use the terminology correctly despite many people doing it wrong.
 
When I first introduced my rbta I fed that same night. From my experience if they know that spot is where they're gonna get the most food they usually don't move. I feed it quite often to keep it happy and stop it from roaming. Also don't know if it's my luck but I have had several nems in tanks only 2-3 months old and have flourished. But that's just IME.
 
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