Trick to Clowns hosting an Anemone

emilypres

New member
I started out with a green bubble tip anemone. I then added a true percula clownfish and a week later added another percula clown. Neither one will host the anemone, is there a trick to this or should i just give it time? Also when i first put my green bubble tip in my tank it bubbled right up and was beautiful. Now it doesn't bubble up at all, is there a trick to bubble tips bubbling? Do water parameters matter?
 
1) Not really. Some clowns never go into an anemone, but many of them will after a while. Patience is key.

2) Bubbletips don't always bubble. Their tentacles can change shape throughout the day. No one is sure why they bubble at some times and not at others, and why there's such variation.

3) Water parameters are absolutely crucial to the health of an anemone, but I don't think they have an effect on the shape of the tentacles. I have two RBTAs that are clones from the same "mother" anemone. One tends to display bubbled tentacles often, while the other usually displays long, thin tentacles. They're in the same aquarium; the only difference is that the "bubbled" anemone is a few inches higher in the rockwork.
 
I leaned my iPad against the tank with a pic of clowns in an anemone after doing that for about 4 hours a day for 2 days...the third day..BOOM !! They jumped in the nem.
 
I leaned my iPad against the tank with a pic of clowns in an anemone after doing that for about 4 hours a day for 2 days...the third day..BOOM !! They jumped in the nem.

lol you serious? I am going to try this asap if this is for real.

Also, do any of you target feed your anemone's?
 
I have never seen a clown host an anemone EVER!!! I believe it may be impossible.

Several of my anemones have hosted clowns though... :P
 
PS don't force it, even the mildly potent stings from a BTAs nematocysts can kill unacclimated clowns.
 
i dont think that BTAs are a natural host of percula clowns...occelaris yes, percs no.
that being said, its not totally uncommon for them to go into e bta. you need patience, you cant force it. the picture thing may work, not sure, it takes time. i put a gigantea in my tank and it took a few months before my clown went in the nem...i didnt do anything, she just figured it out.
 
Yes put pictures of anemone in clown and video helps too.

That is why I have put up a few videos in the ritteri thread showing them together. Figured someone would snag one and let 'them' view it.
 
I read somewhere that clowns are attracted to nems by sense of smell. It is instinctual even for TB clowns. My clowns (percula) took to RBTA immediately(I beleive they were grown out in a tank with a bta variant of sorts) and IMMEDIATELY took to my gig after it was added. Even if it is "natural" host anemone to the clown in question, they still need time to acclimate to the nematocysts. Try not feeding the tank for a few days. Then shut off all the pumps and let the water get still. Then target feed the nem small bits of food and just let it sit. It will draw the attention of the clowns. They might slowly go and pick out the food and this will aid in the slow exposure to the new nem.
 
i dont think that BTAs are a natural host of percula clowns...occelaris yes, percs no.

Bubble tips (E. quadricolor) are not a natural host for percula or ocellaris.

That doesn't mean that they won't associate with the anemone though. It does mean that they could take a few days, months, or even years though. I've seen at least a half dozen people mention that their ocellaris or perculas took a year or two to associate with a BTA. Or, of course, they may never associate with it. The best options for people wanting clown/anemone pairs are to either buy ocellaris/perculas from a breeder who keeps them with quadricolors from a young age or to simply choose a species of clown and anemone that are found in association in nature. :)
 
ding ding ding

ding ding ding

bubble tips (e. Quadricolor) are not a natural host for percula or ocellaris.

That doesn't mean that they won't associate with the anemone though. It does mean that they could take a few days, months, or even years though. I've seen at least a half dozen people mention that their ocellaris or perculas took a year or two to associate with a bta. Or, of course, they may never associate with it. The best options for people wanting clown/anemone pairs are to either buy ocellaris/perculas from a breeder who keeps them with quadricolors from a young age or to simply choose a species of clown and anemone that are found in association in nature. :)

we have a winner!
 
I guess Im one lucky fellow. My maroon hosted as soon as the anemone was put in the reef, almost instantly.

PD: Sorry... Yes mine are Maroon clown and BTA
 
I have been told that taping photos of clowns hosting in anemones to the sides of the tank would help "teach" a clown to host....but video idea is pretty cool.
 
I have been told that taping photos of clowns hosting in anemones to the sides of the tank would help "teach" a clown to host....but video idea is pretty cool.
actually... it's hilarious!

It's amazing what people will believe in a day and age when all the correct info is right there for the taking!
 
I guess Im one lucky fellow. My maroon hosted as soon as the anemone was put in the reef, almost instantly.

PD: Sorry... Yes mine are Maroon clown and BTA

That is because BTAs are the natural host for maroon clowns. :)
 
The natural hosts for percs are H. magnifica (Ritteri), H.crispa, and S. gigantea. You'll be shocked to see how quickly they'll take to these if introduced -- like cats to catnip (though using that same metaphor, a small population of cats are not attracted to catnip , and the same goes with percs and said hosts).

I've had both mags and gigs, and my percs couldn't wait for me to add them to the tank. I'm guessing they could smell the nem as soon as it hit the water. They were smothering the gig before it had a chance to acclimate. A year later they can't be separated from their host.
 
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