Clowns Hosting Anemone

[jeremyhowe]

I have two caramel clowns and a green bubble tip anemone that I added to my tank yesterday. They are the first real things going into the tank other than a clean up crew. The clowns seem to prefer the left side of the tank and the anemone the right (for now). It is a 75 gallon tank. Will the clowns find the anemone? Or will it just take time before they feel comfortable to go to it? How long does it usually take for them to host it? I know they hosted it because when I bought them from the LFS they were hosting that anemone. Also how do I go about feeding the anemone, and is it true that the anemone won't eat for at least a week since he just moved?
Thanks!

 

[burning2nd]

Is this a new tank?

generally anemones are not 2 be added Until the tank has reached one year of age...

as for the clowns... theres nothing you can do... they will ither find it.. and like it, Or not.

Do no move anything.. except things outta the way of the GBA as it moves about the tank.
Is this your first?
Is it sticky? have you fed it yet?

this is not true... if the GBA is in healthy condition... it should easly pull what ever touchs it... If it doesnt like the food it will spit it out... snails included.

some more detailed info about your system and setup will help some of the others maybe for some pointers..

good luck

 

[boosted306]

When I had my 75 up and running my clowns stayed in about, say 15 gallons of the 75. Mine stayed in the far right of the tank next to the heater and wouldn't venture to much further than that. I put several anemones in the tank and neither clown would host. I would like to try another one now that the clowns are in a smaller tank and venture all over. I would try to feed the anemone now/today. If they are open they should draw food in. I agree with the above post that if it does not like what you give it, it will spit it back out.

 

[Maxx]

I have two caramel clowns and a green bubble tip anemone that I added to my tank yesterday. They are the first real things going into the tank other than a clean up crew. The clowns seem to prefer the left side of the tank and the anemone the right (for now). It is a 75 gallon tank. Will the clowns find the anemone? Or will it just take time before they feel comfortable to go to it? How long does it usually take for them to host it? I know they hosted it because when I bought them from the LFS they were hosting that anemone. Also how do I go about feeding the anemone, and is it true that the anemone won't eat for at least a week since he just moved?
Thanks!

Couple of things, some already touched on...

1...Anemone's host the clowns, clowns do not host the anemone. I know its trivial, but its a pet peeve of mine.

2...Anemone's are probably one of the hardest things to keep in an aquarium. They definately do not need to be in a tank that is less than 6 months old at an absolute minimum, with 1 year being preferred. The rational behind this is that a new tank has swings in water parameters that can be harmful to anemone's and other delicate inverts. Anemone's seem to have a more difficult time acclimating to captivity than many other things in our systems. Putting them into an environment that has swings in parameters doesnt help them at all. The store you bought it from should have told you that...
You're anemone may very well decide to wander around "looking" for a better environment. This puts it in danger of being sucked into pump intakes or powerheads....

What kind of lights do you have over your tank, what kind of water movement do you have going on, (flow provided by what, and how many?), and how long has your tank been running?

3...As Burning 2nd pointed out, the clowns will decide if and when they decide to bond with the anemone. And there really isnt much you can do about it except be patient.BTA's arent the natural host for Percula or Ocellaris clowns, and I suspect your Caramel Clowns are designer colored Ocellaris from ORA or someone like them.

Click on the link in my signature about Anemone's. That will take you to the RF resource library where there are articles about anemones....you will find lots of information there about yours.

Nick

 

[nsamouroux]

We got our occellaris clowns into our large RBTA by taping a full-size (8x10) printed picture of a similar colored anemone and clown pair to the side of the tank nearest the RBTA. It took about a week, but now they're inseperable One of the two clowns seems obcessed with hosting in a hawaiian feather duster worm, however, and a frogspawn, but I figure that's because the two clowns haven't bonded yet. Lately the Wormsnuggler has been trying to cuddle with a sea apple, but hasn't had much success .

Our mated Clarkii pair almost instantly took to the two green BTAs in their tank, it took no tricks at all to start the hosting antics. A pair of black saddleback clowns in our smallest tank almost instantly paired up with a small sebae anemone that we picked up from Craigslist. As someone else mentioned, certain anemones naturally host certain types of clownfish, although they will often host other types as well. You can make "suggestions" to your clowns to help them find the anemone, but can't really force anything. Try the picture taped to the side of the tank, and start feeding on the side of the tank where the BTA is comfortable, the clowns should soon realize that the food comes from that side and notice the picture and the BTA. Things should progress relatively quickly from that point!

 

[returnofsid]

The picture trick sounds crazy, but it does work!! I've suggested it to quite a few people and all of them have had it work.

I do agree with what several have said about anemones needing a very well established aquarium. Clownfish don't have to have an anemone and do just fine without one. If you're finding yourself in a situation where, after researching it, your tank is not conductive to an anemone at this time, I would suggest rehoming it. An anemone in a new tank, or a tank where it's needs aren't being met, can be a disaster waiting to happen.

A lot more information about your tank would go a long way towards helping us help you.

 

[jeremyhowe]

Couple of things, some already touched on...

1...Anemone's host the clowns, clowns do not host the anemone. I know its trivial, but its a pet peeve of mine.

2...Anemone's are probably one of the hardest things to keep in an aquarium. They definately do not need to be in a tank that is less than 6 months old at an absolute minimum, with 1 year being preferred. The rational behind this is that a new tank has swings in water parameters that can be harmful to anemone's and other delicate inverts. Anemone's seem to have a more difficult time acclimating to captivity than many other things in our systems. Putting them into an environment that has swings in parameters doesnt help them at all. The store you bought it from should have told you that...
You're anemone may very well decide to wander around "looking" for a better environment. This puts it in danger of being sucked into pump intakes or powerheads....

What kind of lights do you have over your tank, what kind of water movement do you have going on, (flow provided by what, and how many?), and how long has your tank been running?

3...As Burning 2nd pointed out, the clowns will decide if and when they decide to bond with the anemone. And there really isnt much you can do about it except be patient.BTA's arent the natural host for Percula or Ocellaris clowns, and I suspect your Caramel Clowns are designer colored Ocellaris from ORA or someone like them.

Click on the link in my signature about Anemone's. That will take you to the RF resource library where there are articles about anemones....you will find lots of information there about yours.

Nick

I have a 250watt metal halide on the tank. As far as water movement I have a koralia 3, maxijet 1200, the return pump for my sump, and the return for the rena xp3 filter. The tank has been setup at my house for around 2 months, but I purchased everything from someone who had it up for over 2 years. I got all of their sand and live rock as well.

 

[burning2nd]

took me year b4 my occellaris thought about it.....

you should give it time... and let it do its thing. adding and removeing diffrent ones... put several Nems in one tank....

is makeing more stress then anything... pick one... let it thrive... let the clowns take there time... it will happen.

 

[Maxx]

I have a 250watt metal halide on the tank. As far as water movement I have a koralia 3, maxijet 1200, the return pump for my sump, and the return for the rena xp3 filter. The tank has been setup at my house for around 2 months, but I purchased everything from someone who had it up for over 2 years. I got all of their sand and live rock as well.

Be careful with the powerheads, anemones are very prone to being sucked into them. If this should happen, its imporant that you not remove it manually. Unplug the powerhead and let the anemone work itself out. they can survive a surprising amount of damage....if they're healthy to begin with.
What is the purpose of the Rena filter?

Nick

 

[jeremyhowe]

Be careful with the powerheads, anemones are very prone to being sucked into them. If this should happen, its imporant that you not remove it manually. Unplug the powerhead and let the anemone work itself out. they can survive a surprising amount of damage....if they're healthy to begin with.
What is the purpose of the Rena filter?

Nick

Rena is there just for more filtration. I picked it up for cheap. The sump is also just a hang on tank overflow leading to a 20 gallon tank which holds my protein skimmer and some biological matter. Not an actual sump.

 

[Maxx]

Rena is there just for more filtration. I picked it up for cheap. The sump is also just a hang on tank overflow leading to a 20 gallon tank which holds my protein skimmer and some biological matter. Not an actual sump.

Jeremy,
What is in the Rena?
(Oversimplicification here...) There are two types of bacteria, Aerobic, and Anaerobic. Aerobic live in oxengated water, (IE filter floss etc inside your Rena filter). As a by product of their metabolic processes, they excrete nitrate. Nitrate is a fertilizer for algae, and higher nitrates are a real problem for invertebrates. You may be causing yourself some problems with the Rena unintentionally is my concern...

What biological matter is in your sump?

BTW, that is a text book definition of a sump. Doesnt have to be pretty, just hold things and water!



Nick

 

[Reef Setup]

hey jeremy, it looks like the tank is doing good for you! I also got a few free frags an addition to the tank! As far as introducing bta in a tank after a year ive never heard of that, im not sayin its not true, but it worked out for me! With in a few months of getting the tanks parameters right i introduced a rbta and 2 clownfish at the time! They both snuggled the crap at the rbta to the point where they were so protective i couldn't put coral in there domain!And as far as suggestions y they wont host I couldn't help you on that cuz ive never had that problem or knowledge to look into! Hang in there jeremy they'll come around! pm me if your interested in those frags!