Just Lucky I Guess??

[SaltyDog08]

So I got an ocellarous clown for my first fish to add to the 40 breeder. He's only about an inch long. At first he slept up by the magnet at the top of the tank and never went down in the rock. But now that i bought some firefish he loves going and hanging with them. Then I added 2 kinds of pulsing xenia, pom pom and blue I think. At night the little clown goes in the blue xenia and acts like its an anenome. During the day if my hand goes in the tank he also goes in but in the other one. Is this normal for tank raised clowns to go in xenia like an anenome or did I just get the luck of the draw, because I kind of like it. And will this hurt my xenia because it opens find and pulses but not at night.

 

[returnofsid]

Very normal. Clown's commonly host all types of LPS and soft corals, if anemones aren't present.

 

[SaltyDog08]

even though it is a tank raised clown? and do you know if it will hurt the xenia? i also heard that if i were to put an anenome in there it might kill the clown, like the clown loses its slime coat to host an anenome. im not sure if thats right but thats just what ive heard

 

[returnofsid]

Yep, still normal. It probably won't hurt the Xenia at all. Sometimes, LPS get irritated with Clownfish and won't expand their polyps. I've never seen this with Xenia though. As for an anemone hurting your clownfish, I've read that before also, but doubt it's true. I, and a lot of other people, have had clownfish that were hosting soft corals or LPS that later hosted an anemone with no problems at all. The whole idea of tank raised and wild caught, in regards to hosting anemones, is bogus...IMO.

 

[SaltyDog08]

lol Thanks for the info. And I was looking at your pictures. I have a 40 breeder also but it's not a frag tank. Right now I'm running just a cpr bakpak, and rena 2 filter, and 6 T5HO lights. I would like to expand to a new light fixture but a lot of them I see are really costly. What kind of fixture do you have on your 40 frag tank because i want to do some corals like montipora and maybe a few clams. or would they be fine under my light?

 

[returnofsid]

If your T5HO fixture has individual reflectors, it'll be find to grow anything you want in that tank. I'm running a Tek5 fixture over my 75, which is deeper. I have high light demanding SPS, including several species of Acropora. I also have clams in that tank and until recently had a Sebae anemone at the bottom. I recently rehomed the anemone.

On my 40 breeder, I'm running a 250watt MH Aqualight Pro. The only reason, is because I got a great deal on a used light fixture.

 

[seattle989]

wont harm a thing . One of the cheapest alternative host for a clown.

 

[SaltyDog08]

I've heard that if I run individual reflectors I can put anything in there. Would I need to buy the retro fit kits to make my own light fixture pretty much or would i be able to use the same fixture just change out the reflectors.

 

[SaltyDog08]

that clown xenia looks just like mine =)

 

[returnofsid]

What kind of fixture do you have and what type of reflector does it have?

 

[SaltyDog08]

There is'nt a name or anything but here is the link to the same exact one i have.
http://www.fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html

 

[returnofsid]

Yeah, those fixtures aren't the greatest, but they aren't bad. Does it have individual reflectors or just a flat reflector above all the bulbs? Even with a flat reflector, a 40 gallon breeder is shallow enough that I think you'd still be just fine. I'm actually considering one of those fixtures to replace the compact fluorescent fixture above my 46.

 

[SaltyDog08]

They are nice for the price but I'm just iffy about putting anything costly in there such as montipora or a clam of some sort. I think the reflectors are like /(_)\_/(_)\ that maybe. lol sorry for the bad illustration. the reflectors only go halfway down the bulb if that helps. so they kind of have their own but kind of not

 

[returnofsid]

So they are kind of "gull winged" around each bulb? That's good. Much better than a single, flat reflector. I honestly think you'll be just fine. Montipora are actually not near as high light demanding as some other SPS. I've kept Montipora digitata and M. capricornis under Compact Fluorescents and they grew well and kept their bright color.

 

[SaltyDog08]

Well that's good to hear. I'm going to I guess a private show where all these guys in a club go to and one of them is bringing me so maybe I will find some cool stuff there. I'll let you know if I get anything. I'm still a little new to the hobby but I know the basics and then some. Thanks for the great Information!!

 

[gotfish]

Just another example for you. The really crappy thing is, I've got an anemone that I got from someone else on here that they don't even look at hosting in.

 

[SaltyDog08]

yeah thats another reason i wanted to know if the xenia would be fine because i dont want to go spend money on an anenome and my clown not even host it.

 

[gotfish]

yeah thats another reason i wanted to know if the xenia would be fine because i dont want to go spend money on an anenome and my clown not even host it.

The xenia don't seem to mind. Every once in a while they will close the fingers on the polyps, but for the most part they don't seem to mind. My scribbled rabbitfish loves playing around in the xenia as well. That's the first place he runs to when the lights go out.