Why do people struggle so much?

[ItsTheNano]

Out of curiousity I'm just wondering why peope have so much trouble with this. Seems like everytime I come to this section there is always a new thread about how to get a nem to host clowns. I'm not bothered at all im just curious as to how common this is & how long people have waited on average until their nem hosts their clowns. I have always had clowns & everytime i put a nem in my tank they went for it right away maybe the longest I waited was a week. I have had regular ocellaris & they hosted a bta, also had some sea & reef picassos which hosted my nem i then had a black & regular ocellaris which also hosted a nem i now have a picasso & a percula, they host my nem, at night they sleep together on my rbta & at day they share/alternate between my rbta & my green aussie bta.

 

[cubsFAN]

You've been lucky really. People generally put clowns in a tank that does not have a natural host. The most popular clowns are occelaris and perculas. The most popular nems are entamacea quadricolor. Sometimes these clowns never use the nem in the tank and prefer a powerhead or some other coral as a host.

Do you think you are doing something special that is giving you success? I'm sure the people would like to know. This is a very common issue for people. You say that in the sentence before you ask if it's a common issue when you say "there is always a new thread". People generally wait anywhere from immediately to never for success.

 

[matt_97055]

Mine went straight for my new when I put one in there. Now I have 5 and they don't know what to do lol

 

[ItsTheNano]

The only thing i can think of that i have done differently is that in 3 out of the 4 times i got clownfish pair, the nem was in there before the clownfish so as soon as i added the clowns they seemed to seek protection there after being stressed. But the first time i had clowns i had the clowns before the nem & few days after they went right for it. Other than that nothing else maybe people have a problem becase they usually add the clowns first?

 

[Silvergryphon]

All depend on the fish really. I put in a BTA and a LTA (I know the LTA isn't a viable host for Ocellaris) and my pair have ignore the BTA all together. I still catch my female trying to sleep in a bunch of Zoas.

 

[Reefvet]

Step 1) Research which clowns host with which anemones.

Step 2) Acquire the appropriate species and put them together.

Step 3) Provide the appropriate conditions and diet.

Step 4) Enjoy

You'll never see a post from me because it's never been an issue in the nearly 30 years I've kept anemones and clowns together.

 

[davocean]

The easiest nems to keep(BTA) are usually not the natural host nem, and the most common clowns(ocellaris) are usually slowest to accept a non natural host.
I think it is common for many new to the hobby or clowns/nems to assume they are all the same, or same behavior and outcome.

 

[RobNJ]

definitely something to be said about nature and natural hosts. My GSMs started hosting my RBTA as I was lowering it into the tank. 3 years later everyone is still going strong. RBTA split into three so the clowns (paired GSMs) travel from nem to nem, its kinda cool!

 

[nwreefer]

My thought is possibly clowns if captive born won't even know what a nem is or what to do with it. Sure they may have some natural born instinct, but seems like that would lesson from generation to generation.

 

[OrionN]

It is all instinct. I have not problem with tank raise fish finding a host anemone if you provide a natural host for them. If there is some threat fro the clown in the tank, they would have no problem finding non-natural host either.
Parent clown do not take care of the babies, they took care of the eggs but after it hatch, if they see the baby, it's food. After hatched, the larvae drift off with current and use smell to find and anemone (no learning from parent there). If he does not become food and lucky enough to find a anemone, then it will have much better chance of survival.
Looking at babies Ocellaris in my tank with their parent, they have to dodge around to get away from the parent. I did not but them in when they are bite size so I don't have to worry about them getting eaten, but they are always running for their lives living with their parents. Not like human at all. No parental care involve, just parental abuse. Child Protective Service would through all the clownfish parents into jail and never let them out.

 

[dalilgriffith]

An anemone fish will congregate in a place where it feels comfortable. That could be a return, overflow, the sand, the rock, hair algae, LPS, and finally, anemone. In order to get a anemone fish to associate with an anemone, you need two things, time & persuasion. By persuasion, I do not mean that you should force that anemone on the anemone fish. It's just not going to work out well for the anemone and the anemone fish. Persuasion would mean eliminating as many of those things I mentioned above. Usually, what I do is hook a small tank up to my system with a simple drain and return. The smaller the better. Usually 5 gallons is big enough as this is just a temporary thing for them. It will take about a week, but the anemone fish will discover that the anemone is pretty darn cool over time. Again, you are not forcing the anemone on the fish. You are playing match maker, sorta. This has always worked for me, and I swear by it.

 

[Gatorfan]

I bought my H. magnifica while my clowns(juvenile ocellaris) were in qt. Within minutes of going into the dt the clowns found the anemone.