how long should it take for my clown to "find" my bta?

[rgentry123]

i have an occelaris clown and added a gbta about 2 weeks ago, he/she still hasnt gone in. how long should it take for him to find his nem?

 

[spieszak]

From my experience and reading, as long as it takes, and maybe never. There are tricks that are "supposed" to make a clown consider hosting (like taping a picture of a hosted clown to the tank) but there's no real proof of them working...If you've had the clown for a while, I'm sure you've noticed its its own fish, and does not fit a "mold" Clowns are weird, and that's part of what makes them such a great fish to keep. So, as far as time frame, when he gets to it.

 

[rgentry123]

From my experience and reading, as long as it takes, and maybe never. There are tricks that are "supposed" to make a clown consider hosting (like taping a picture of a hosted clown to the tank) but there's no real proof of them working...If you've had the clown for a while, I'm sure you've noticed its its own fish, and does not fit a "mold" Clowns are weird, and that's part of what makes them such a great fish to keep. So, as far as time frame, when he gets to it.

HAH! "when he gets to it" well i guess that answers my question :spin2:

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[jorgeldelapaz]

Buy a mate for the clown make sure the one that you buy has hosted a Anemone watch how fast your other clown will join in.They are like monkey see monkey do.

 

[R33f3r]

Sometimes it takes a few days-weeks-months, sometimes instantly, or never.

 

[jorgeldelapaz]

Check this out Atlantic anemone lights off cell phone pic the small clown coach the big female in it was amazing to see her go in little by little only took a few hours.
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<a href="http://s933.photobucket.com/albums/ad172/jorgeldelapaz/Pics/?action=view&current=IMG-20110129-00049.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad172/jorgeldelapaz/Pics/IMG-20110129-00049.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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</center>

 

[jorgeldelapaz]

Her my other clown i have 8 in my tank.lights off cell phone pic
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<a href="http://s933.photobucket.com/albums/ad172/jorgeldelapaz/Pics/?action=view&current=IMG-20110129-00051.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad172/jorgeldelapaz/Pics/IMG-20110129-00051.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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</center>

 

[Tahoe Reefer]

you can try target feeding near the nem to bring the clowns over to it everytime you feed. Might help... good luck

 

[ram6519]

Mine took almost a year before if decided to host in my anemone.

 

[josh27]

Might just be luck but I had a pair of perc clowns with a nem for about 1 week and they didn't really care about it. The next day I put a pic on the front of the tank and the female was in the nem by the end of the day.

 

[dryad001]

It took my clowns about 72 hours.

 

[rguyler]

My gold stripe maroon took about 2 months to pair up with mine. It's like a box of chocolates...you never know what you'll get.

 

[garygb]

jorgeldelapaz, that BTA looks too small and unhealthy to be hosting a clown. I would suggest you isolate it from clowns and provide excellent conditions to give it a chance to return to good health.

rgentry123, ocellaris is not found with BTAs in the wild at all. I would say there's a chance it will go to the anemone, but definitely not a sure thing. It's been my experience, that when you add a natural symbiote, such as maroon, tomato or clarkii with a BTA, the fish will be in it within minutes (makes no difference whether it is captive bred or wild caught).

 

[rgentry123]

so what anemones do ocellaris go to in the wild?

 

[garygb]

Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea, and Stichodactyla mertensii--all three considered difficult to maintain.

 

[rgentry123]

ok so the three clowns you listed - maroon, clarkii and tomato all are too aggressive for my tastes. ive both a maroon and tomato and they were both demons. are gbta's known for hosting skunks? or would it be more of a crapshoot like it will be with the ocellaris?

 

[garygb]

I have a pair of orange skunks that took to a GBTA quickly. Though not a natural host, from my limited experience, they seem to take to them quite well.

 

[Ben_n_Em]

I'm in the same boat. I've had 2 Ocellaris for about a year and added an RBTA about a week ago. One has showed some interest but definitely no "hosting". Good luck getting yours to dive in.

 

[SkullV]

Both of my Gold Stripe Maroon pairs found their BTAs within an hour. It is easier for them since they are natural pairs.

 

[karsseboom]

mine took 2 days...