Getting Anemone to Host Clownfish

[BleuFish]

I've had the clowns and the BTA for about 4 months together. The clowns chose to setup shop in the top left corner, mostly out of sight. I've tried tapping pics of clowns in their nems, with no luck. I'm thinking about catching the clowns and putting them into a breeder net. Then moving the breeder net upside down over the BTA for a half hour.

Will that work? Or should I wait, since the BTA is still small at about 2-3 inches.

 

[worm5406]

NO.. Please do not do this.

If the clowns do not have a good protective layer you are basically torturing it.

To help with getting them to host I have turned the tank PH/return OFF and directly feed right at the anemone. This associates FOOD with the anemone. They will in turn get used to feeding it and taking scraps from it as they need.

At 2-3 inches it may have not captured their eye. Sometimes you do NOT want them to 'love' it to death either.

 

[BleuFish]

I'll turn off the flow and try an entice them with food. I don't mind them in the corner too much so I'll take my time with it. Sounds like the fish whisperer though with positive reinforcement lol thanks.

 

[worm5406]

HAHA.. Funny. Sounds like you are doing good so far.

A few questions:

Age of tank
Type of lights
Length of light
Sg
Temp
Ph
Other inhabitants

 

[BleuFish]

Tank history- The 75 has been running for just over a year. Had a bad ich outbreak, wiped out all the fish a few months ago. So now after the fallow period, I've been adding livestock slowly with the ttm in QT plus prazipro.

Age of tank - started cycle December 2013
Lights- Beamworks 3 watt x 72 leds
Length- 48"
Sg- 1.025
Temp- 78
ph- gonna make me take out the old api test kit hah maybe on the weekend.
filtration, flow- reef octopus bh-2000, 2x koralias 1150s
corals- softies, lps

Fish- Flame angel, 2x clownfish
In Qt- Exquisite Fairy Wrasse, Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse, McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
After the wrasses next up- Midas Blenny, Blue Reef Chromis
Then in the distant future- Helfrichi Dartfish

Feels like I only have one fish for the last few months, since the clowns are at the top corner. Right where the automatic food dispenser drops the food, so maybe there's something to that. The tank is coming along nicely after the fallow. Mostly trial and error, my flameangel will nip sps and a few lps like acans. Since I don't dose, I've been keeping to mostly softies and doing WC with reef crystals every 2-3 weeks.

 

[worm5406]

Yes they know that is where food drops into the water. They will love to stay there and eat first.

 

[Scubareefman]

Bta

Bta

Could the bta or clowns not be wanting to host? I've always thought it was not a 100% that the combo would choose to host one another.


Cheers

 

[dbl]

My clowns took nearly 6 months to find the RBTA, and the RBTA was pretty large. My kids tried taping pictures to the glass and even played videos for them. I laughed right along with the clowns! They will pair up in time...if they elect to! That's at least my experience.

 

[pow400]

I tried the picture trick for the longest time trying to get my clowns to host a BTA. As much as you may want them to host it now they may never do it or the might host it within the next hour they are finicky. I have heard of success using a quarantine but you need to leave room for the clowns to get away from the BTA. It takes time for the immunity to build or else the BTA will kill them.

 

[phender]

I am guessing your clowns are either ocellaris or perculas. BTAs are not a natural host for either of these types of clowns. That doesn't mean that they won't use BTAs as a host, it just means that sometimes it takes a little longer for them to form an attachment. I actually had a pair of ocellaris that lived with a BTA that took up about 1/4 of their tank and it took them 4 years to accept it as their host. Once they accepted it, I rarely saw either clown outside the anemone.

 

[captbenjy]

You could get a Maroon clown. Natural Symbiant for BTA.

 

[AdamNC]

You could get a Maroon clown. Natural Symbiant for BTA.

Maroons beat the snot out of their hosts and at 2-3" bta it will probably kill it. My maroon is about 2" and his rbta is an easy 5-6" and imo seems to be the perfect size to grow together. More or less 2-3 times the size of the fish at a min seems good, larger if possible.