Ocellaris not hosting a nem.

msr224

New member
I bought an RBTA a month ago. It's doing fine but my clown does not seem to have any interest in it. The clown has been in the tank for well over a year and has never had a nem to host in until now.

Is there anything that I can do to encourage the pairing?
 
I would give it more time before going w/ another nem, and those two mentioned can be a little more challenging to keep.
It may take a while, mine took close to 4 mo before finally going in, now they almost never leave.
 
His might never go in. They might go in tomorrow. Ive noticed ocellaris are a PITA when it comes to them jumping in a bta. Percula are much easier.
 
Try this...after the light goes off and your clown is ready to sleep, get your net and slowly guide your clown towards the anemone until part of its body hits the tentacles. Sooner or later when your clown realized its fun hanging out there, it will never leave.
 
Try this...after the light goes off and your clown is ready to sleep, get your net and slowly guide your clown towards the anemone until part of its body hits the tentacles. Sooner or later when your clown realized its fun hanging out there, it will never leave.

IMO it's never a good idea to force a clown into a nem, they can still be hurt by them, and even eaten, if they haven't built up their immunity to the nem's sting. If you'd like to coax them into hosting some people have had success with putting pics of a nem hosting a clown(in your case a RBTA hosting a Occ.) on the side of the tank near said anemone, or all over for that matter.

And it's the anemone that HOSTS the clown, not the other way around ;)


Good luck! Takes time, could be months or possibly NEVER as btas are not a natural host to Occ.
 
Are they tank raised or wild caught clowns? Tank raised are more likely to go into an anemone than ones from the wild that are not used to a BTA (not their natural anemone host) I had wild caught ocellaris that never took to my BTA even after keeping them in a colander in close quarters with the BTA.
 
Carpet is a natural host for ocellated clowns. I would think they would take to at some point. But it is always better for the anemone to be in the tank before the clowns as they will be looking for a place in the tank to use as a host
 
This is what I did. I put in the BTA with my Ocellaris that i had for over 2 years at the time. I positioned it close to where the clowns slept at night. Then I taped pictures of clowns hosting anemones around the area that the BTA was. It took around 2 1/2-3 months but eventually the figured it out. Then the BTA got sucked into the vortech and now the clowns host my giant torch coral (even better IMO). I think once you get a pair of ocellaris to host a nem for the first time they will be more willing to host corals after wards if the nem is removed.

It's just a pain to get them to start hosting if they've never done it before.
 
This is what I did. I put in the BTA with my Ocellaris that i had for over 2 years at the time. I positioned it close to where the clowns slept at night. Then I taped pictures of clowns hosting anemones around the area that the BTA was. It took around 2 1/2-3 months but eventually the figured it out. Then the BTA got sucked into the vortech and now the clowns host my giant torch coral (even better IMO). I think once you get a pair of ocellaris to host a nem for the first time they will be more willing to host corals after wards if the nem is removed.

It's just a pain to get them to start hosting if they've never done it before.

Were they tank raised or wild caught oscillators? Just wondering
 
I have seen a ocy in a 55g tank with 6 bta. The clownfish chose a hairy mushroom and a powerhead.

Ive also seen a 500g tank with all softies/lps and 1 small bta, and the ocy chose the anemone.

Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it takes years, sometimes it never happens.
 
Are they tank raised or wild caught clowns? Tank raised are more likely to go into an anemone than ones from the wild that are not used to a BTA (not their natural anemone host) I had wild caught ocellaris that never took to my BTA even after keeping them in a colander in close quarters with the BTA.

other way around, you have a better chance of TR clowns hosting a powerhead. wild caught ones usually jump in
 
Couple of things;

Forcing a clown to be hosted is a good way to get your clown eaten.

Tank raised/wild caught has nothing to do with it, the issue is that the 2 most common tank raised clowns are O's and percs. The most commonly kept anemone is an E. quadricolor, neither of those combos are a natural combo, there in lies the issue.

Time is the best means of having your clowns hosted when using a non-natural combo.
 
Couple of things;

Forcing a clown to be hosted is a good way to get your clown eaten.

Tank raised/wild caught has nothing to do with it, the issue is that the 2 most common tank raised clowns are O's and percs. The most commonly kept anemone is an E. quadricolor, neither of those combos are a natural combo, there in lies the issue.

Time is the best means of having your clowns hosted when using a non-natural combo.

That is all that ever needs to be said on this.

Expecting these clowns to associate with their non natural host is like wondering why your dog won't sleep in a birdhouse. It may happen, but don't be surprised if it doesn't.
 
Encouragement is one thing, but pushing? lol

You can target feed your clows near the anemome to make them aware that its there, but id say that's bout in.

In my case, I had a pair hosted in a bubble tip for some time. After the bubble tip commit suicide, the clowns just stayed near where the bubble used to reside. My long tentacle was on the other side of the tank. It was not until i changed my water flow and forced the long tentacle to move locations (and kill some of my favorite SPS in the process..), that the clowns recognized a new sheriff in town and gave it a try. Now happily hosted.

Are your clown shacked up near the anemome presently?
 
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