How long does it take for clownfish to host in anemone?

dviper150

dviper150

New member
I have a pair of occelaris clown fish and I have had them for about 2 months. Today I added a long tentacle anemone and was wondering how long does it usually take for the clowns to start hosting? I notice my domino damsel hovering over it but as far as the clowns go, I don't see them taking any interest in it.
 
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Instead of making another thread, just thought i'd post another question on this one. The anemone I put in doesn't want to attach to anything. It just keeps floating around and lying on its side. Any way of getting them to stay in one spot so they can stick their feet to the rock?
 
LTAs (( Macrodactyla doreensis )) are sand dwelling anemones, so it should be placed in/on the sandbed. Could dig a little hole for it, and place it in it. Also, during this time I would turn off the powerheads. Lastly, what lights was it under, and what lights do you have? Are you acclimating it to your lights?

As for time it takes for clowns to be hosted, it could take minutes, days, weeks, etc. Back when I had an LTA with a pair of occelaris it took them about a month to be hosted.
 
In my experience they may never host it. I have had a pair for a year and a half and have yet to host any anemone i have put in the tank.:(
 
Its random just like everything else in this hobby :) They probably eventually will take to it, but you never know. I wouldn't turn all your powerheads off BTW if you were considering that, but I do agree slowing the flow down a little will help the anemone to adjust and not get blown all over the place while its trying to pick a new home.
 
sedor said:
Its random just like everything else in this hobby :) They probably eventually will take to it, but you never know. I wouldn't turn all your powerheads off BTW if you were considering that, but I do agree slowing the flow down a little will help the anemone to adjust and not get blown all over the place while its trying to pick a new home.
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Why would you suggest against turning off the powerheads while the LTA settles in? IMO, leaving them is a huge risk until it is settled in --- too easy for it to get sucked in. Plus, LTAs aren't fans of lots of flow anyways. I have had better luck getting LTAs to settle in with the powerheads turned off.
 
I didn't turn all my flows off. the tank still had the filter flows on and the return from the sump. After 3 hours with the main circulation off ( 2 koralia 3's ), the anemone seemed to have anchored itself to part of the rock and my substrate. I turned one of my powerheads on and the thing detaches and starts floating around again. Whenever i do turn the main powerheads on, i find the anemone upside down with its foot facing up and the tentacles down and so i have to stick my hand in the tank to fix it. Any suggestions on how long it takes to attach? I can't keep my powerheads off forever for this.
 
No, I actually turned them off for a few hours so it attaches and after a few hours of them being off, I turn it back on and it detaches.
 
dviper150, have you tried trapping it in a strawberry crate?

surferboi2113 said:
IME it takes a night for the clown to fins the anemone. I've always waken up in the morning to them together.
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lucky you. My pair of true percs took 2+ years to host. Same RBTA I introduced from the beginning. Wanted to try a diff anemone, but was too scared of ripping the foot since it was attached to a rock.
 
Generally the anemone will attach within the hour. After it attaches, it moves around via its foot until it finds a good spot and then starts to burrow. A LTA needs about 4-6 inches of sand to burrow. If it doesn't find this, it may float around until it dies. I, also, would shut off the powerheads temporarily until it attaches. If it doesn't attach you might have other issues in the tank that make the anemone unhappy.

Some clowns will never accept the anemone as a host. Some will do it immediately. IME ocellaris clowns seem to prefer surrogate hosts vs real anemones and I don't know why. But everyone has different experiences. I had a tomato that never accepted any host. I had a pink skunk that dove into an anemone the second the fish hit the water.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have 6 inches of sand in my tank. I am thinking of just taking it back to my lfs. I don't want it floating around and getting it stuck in the powerheads.
 
My sand bed is between 2-3 inches and the new LTA I got a week ago is doing just fine. He did move around until he found a sweet spot and started to burrow into the sand. The place where he has burrowed is raised up like a protective wall around him. So the sand there has risen to about 4-5 inches. I don't know of anyone using 6" sand bed. So I wouldn't take it back to the LFS just yet.
 
It did burrow a few times but then I would turn my flow back on and it would detach and start floating around again.
 
You don't have to take my advice about the deep sand bed and I do respect everyone's advice on this thread but I think your best advice will come from those who have kept LTAs alive in a tank for at least 3 years. This is infancy in the life of an anemone but 3 years should be enough to understand the temperament of your animal. You will hear many anecdotes about a happy LTA that just decides to lift foot and travel for no reason. Remember that a LTA likes to have its stalk buried and this is about 4" long.
Although my experience tells me a DSB is best for a LTA, I think most literature states the same. A BTA is probably the best anemone because it sticks under rocks.

But if others tell you otherwise, maybe they are right. I haven't kept an anemone in about 5 years so maybe research in the LTA behaviour has changed.
 
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