I just recently bought a beautiful 3 inch true perc. Next step is an anemone. So, what anemone will give me the best odds of hosting the clown? I've read for percs that the carpets and bulbs are options. Some have even said that long tentacles have hosted percs. Thanks for any advice!
Your opinions
- Thread starter KyleP
- Start date
While the symbiotic relationship is a very neat thing to watch, there's no guarantee your clown will host an anemone. But the chances increase by choosing the right anemone, usually one it associates with in nature. From what I've read, a bta, although considered to be one of the most forgiving nems, is not a natural host for percs, and chances of your perc hosting it go down because of that. I'm not saying that it's not possible, it has happened before, and I'm actually thinking of trying it in the next year hopefully.
I think there's a sticky at the top of this forum that lists which nems are most likely to host which clowns. That might be a great place to check out.
Also, you're new to RC (and welcome btw) so we don't know a lot about your tank. For example, how old is it? What kind of lighting do you have, what kind of substrate, what size tank, other tank inhabitants - all of these help determine if you're tank is ready and able to house an anemone, and maybe even which kind.
Good luck and happy reefing!
I think there's a sticky at the top of this forum that lists which nems are most likely to host which clowns. That might be a great place to check out.
Also, you're new to RC (and welcome btw) so we don't know a lot about your tank. For example, how old is it? What kind of lighting do you have, what kind of substrate, what size tank, other tank inhabitants - all of these help determine if you're tank is ready and able to house an anemone, and maybe even which kind.
Good luck and happy reefing!
Well it seems that your lighting should be sufficient to house an anemone. The percula's natural anemone to host in the wild is a carpet anemone. This I assume would give you the best chance for the percula to take to it, however I believe it is one of the more difficult anemones to keep in captivity. It's not uncommon for percula and ocellaris clowns to take to another anemone. They may take to it right away, or possibly take some time before anything happens.
I just went through the anemone FAQ again, and it is very helpful.
Doh...sometimes I get confused after reading too many posts!! Sorry about that
I'm still most curious about whether the tank is bare bottom or sand, and how old the tank is. The other things do look fine, but it's the combination of answers that helps find the right nem. Regardless of how good the equipment is no anemone is right for a tank that hasn't had time to mature.
I have been planning on getting some black occells, and an rbta, but was cautioned that the clowns may never take to the nem.
As an aside, the list in the FAQ is not an absolute, only what is found in the ocean. Our H. crispa hosts two occells...
good luck!
Doh...sometimes I get confused after reading too many posts!! Sorry about that
I'm still most curious about whether the tank is bare bottom or sand, and how old the tank is. The other things do look fine, but it's the combination of answers that helps find the right nem. Regardless of how good the equipment is no anemone is right for a tank that hasn't had time to mature.
I have been planning on getting some black occells, and an rbta, but was cautioned that the clowns may never take to the nem.
As an aside, the list in the FAQ is not an absolute, only what is found in the ocean. Our H. crispa hosts two occells...
good luck!
Raol, I have had my reef going for about a year and a half now. I have about two and a half inches of sand on the bottom, with about 90 lbs of live rock. I'm in the process of adding on a 30 gallon sump which the majority of it will be a refugium. My water params are all good. I run a 120 Super skimmer. I'm pretty sure I'm good to go as far as tank requirements for an anemone, but I do appreciate the concern. Its improtant I know because too many anemone's die under bad lighting and poor water quality. I'm probably going to go with the BTA due to the better hardiness and I also have been scouring the threads under this section and there are alot of reports of carpets being fish eaters. I'm not cool with that, and would rather not have that happen in my tank. Ill just cross my fingers on a BTA! Any good suggestions for online stores that are good with anemones...i.e. shipping, quality of product, etc?
maww
Premium Member
percs in nature go to H. crispa, H. magnifica and S. gigantea. H crispa have the highest survival rate of the three. So if you want a natural host, I would say go for the crispa. However, BTAs are by far the easiest to maintain, so if you aren't bothered to have a natural host then definitely go for a captive split BTA.
maww
Premium Member
Fautin and Allen list H crispa in their book. There is an abbreviated onlie version at http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html
DJChesnutRabbit
New member
I have a True Perc that hosts in a LTA. 
KyleP - thanks for humoring me 
Because of the number of posts you have it's possible that you're new to the hobby (although that's not always the case, and you're a great example of that) and that the timing for a nem wouldn't be right. We run across a few newbies that put nems in barely cycled tanks and then wonder what went wrong. I just wanted to check. Because you have a sand bed as well as rock work that also opens up more possibilities in nem choice.
There's pros and cons to both species I would guess. With bta's it's very possible to get a clone, and they seem to be more conditioned to aquarium life than their wild counter parts which helps increase your chances of their survival. But you may have to pay more for that. Bta's also move around quite a bit so you would need to take preventative measures as well as risk loosing some corals if your nem decides to take over their spot. I think there are some that move a lot, and others that are pretty content in this family. These tend to have more posts about them being sucked into powerheads than other nems I've seen. You also have a decent chance of these splitting in your tank increasing your numbers of nems, whether that's good or bad depends on you. They are very pretty nems too and it's pretty easy to know what color you're getting when you buy it.
With crispa's they tend to stay at least close to if not completely in the sand (again depends on the nem, and sometimes it's preference for that day). We have one that only moves a couple of inches at the most but has stayed near the sand line, sometimes in and sometimes on. We don't have a problem with it roaming the tank. As it has gotten larger though, we've had to move corals out of its way. You can find some colorful ones, but in the midwest we usually get bleached crispas and I don't know of anyway to tell what color it will become once it regains its zooxanthellae. I think the biggest challange with these guys is finding a healthy one to start with. For us, once we got ours healthy it's been pretty smooth sailing. Our biggest challange is changing out the lights when they start going bad.
As far as naming goes, sometimes crispas are called LTAs but so are M. doreensis anemones. Another common name for a crispa is a sebae anemone - but other nems are called that as well. For purposes of identification it's always best to use the scientific names.
Good luck and happy hunting!
Because of the number of posts you have it's possible that you're new to the hobby (although that's not always the case, and you're a great example of that) and that the timing for a nem wouldn't be right. We run across a few newbies that put nems in barely cycled tanks and then wonder what went wrong. I just wanted to check. Because you have a sand bed as well as rock work that also opens up more possibilities in nem choice.There's pros and cons to both species I would guess. With bta's it's very possible to get a clone, and they seem to be more conditioned to aquarium life than their wild counter parts which helps increase your chances of their survival. But you may have to pay more for that. Bta's also move around quite a bit so you would need to take preventative measures as well as risk loosing some corals if your nem decides to take over their spot. I think there are some that move a lot, and others that are pretty content in this family. These tend to have more posts about them being sucked into powerheads than other nems I've seen. You also have a decent chance of these splitting in your tank increasing your numbers of nems, whether that's good or bad depends on you. They are very pretty nems too and it's pretty easy to know what color you're getting when you buy it.
With crispa's they tend to stay at least close to if not completely in the sand (again depends on the nem, and sometimes it's preference for that day). We have one that only moves a couple of inches at the most but has stayed near the sand line, sometimes in and sometimes on. We don't have a problem with it roaming the tank. As it has gotten larger though, we've had to move corals out of its way. You can find some colorful ones, but in the midwest we usually get bleached crispas and I don't know of anyway to tell what color it will become once it regains its zooxanthellae. I think the biggest challange with these guys is finding a healthy one to start with. For us, once we got ours healthy it's been pretty smooth sailing. Our biggest challange is changing out the lights when they start going bad.
As far as naming goes, sometimes crispas are called LTAs but so are M. doreensis anemones. Another common name for a crispa is a sebae anemone - but other nems are called that as well. For purposes of identification it's always best to use the scientific names.
Good luck and happy hunting!
sonofgaladriel
Shiny!
I don't think its been mentioned yet, but in addition to choosing the right species of anemone to better match your percula, you need to also consider the size of your clown and therefore the size of the anemone it will hopefully host with.
A 3" perc is pretty big and would most likely 'love to death' an anemone smaller than say 6" or so. Most of the BTAs you're going to find at the LFS or online are going to small specimens, maybe 4" or so tops. Also be careful with the h. crispas. The vast majority of them will be small bleached specimens, that again are already stressed, combine that with the stress the 'overloving' clown may provide and your nem most likely won't survive.
In general, the best thing is to find an anemone first, let it acclimate and settle in for a few months, then add an appropriately sized and specied clown.
But, since you've already got the clown....
I'd look for a large h. crispa or a very large BTA at least 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
Good luck!
A 3" perc is pretty big and would most likely 'love to death' an anemone smaller than say 6" or so. Most of the BTAs you're going to find at the LFS or online are going to small specimens, maybe 4" or so tops. Also be careful with the h. crispas. The vast majority of them will be small bleached specimens, that again are already stressed, combine that with the stress the 'overloving' clown may provide and your nem most likely won't survive.
In general, the best thing is to find an anemone first, let it acclimate and settle in for a few months, then add an appropriately sized and specied clown.
But, since you've already got the clown....
I'd look for a large h. crispa or a very large BTA at least 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
Good luck!
Sonofgaladriel, I'm glad you chimed in, you've got experience with both of the nems being considered. I have a crispa, but only read about bta's so I think your insight is valuable to this thread.
FWIW, I'm partial to buying livestock from the LFSs that I trust, I like to pick out my own things, especially when it comes to anemones. You can check out and assess the health of the nem (they should feed it for you if you ask) and, as sonofgaladriel mentioned, get an appropriate sized one for your clown.
FWIW, I'm partial to buying livestock from the LFSs that I trust, I like to pick out my own things, especially when it comes to anemones. You can check out and assess the health of the nem (they should feed it for you if you ask) and, as sonofgaladriel mentioned, get an appropriate sized one for your clown.
RedSonja
Premium Member
Patience is the key in most things salty
But yes, you're going to need a good-sized 'nem for the clown. Another option if you decide on a BTA is to join a local or nearby reef club and be on the lookout for someone whose BTA splits, you can sometimes find larger 'nems that way. You don't have your location in your info yet
but you can search here on RC and probably find some local reefers.-Sonja
