Maroon Clowns Losing Host Anemone

[Jobiwan]

Hi Lee, I've got a pair of Maroon Clowns that have been in a Rose anemone tank for a few years, I want to move them into a 600 gal reef tank, there will be no anemones in the tank. Is this something that the Maroons will be OK with, can they adapt to life without an anemone without being stressed out? I am setting up a 120g Rose anemone tank with about 20 RBTA's to start with, but I promised it to a pair of Perculas, I'm assuming even in this size tank that the Maroons would tear up the percs, if you have a different take on this I would love to hear it, perhaps some other folks who have experience with this sort of situation could share that with me also, thanks for your help, best regards, Joe

 

[Reeferdude]

I've moved Clowns form tank to tank with and without their host and in all cases the fish were fine. At first they may search for the host but they soon figure out it's gone and are fine. I'm sure their may be rare cases when a fish may stress too much, get sick ect but I think that would be rare..

I forgot to add that any life threatening problems resulting in the move would probably not be directly associated with the loss of the host as much as the move itself...Good luck...

 

[Jobiwan]

I've never kept clowns without an anemone, how do they behave, do they move around the tank, just hang out in one area, or what?

 

[Reeferdude]

I think it really depends on the fish and the Anemone and or the combination/breed, fish and host. I hate to personify any fish but I've seen some never be hosted and other have no problems. I also had a Maroon Clown completely devour a RBTA. Before I could stop it too much damage had been done. Results may vary..

 

[jesshimom]

I've had them without an anemone; and they pick something else that suits their fancy and stick close to that area. None of my clowns every really swam around the tank, they hung out in their "area".

 

[Jobiwan]

thanks colleen, how ya doing?

 

[krisfal]

I had to seperate my clowns from their anemone when I got ich in the tank and had to move all the fish out. I worried about how they would do and they were fine. They swam around alot more in the QT without the host anemone than they do in the display with the anemone.

I found it interesting when I put them back in the display with the anemone they went right to it but would only brush against it lightly, the anemone seemed to be sticking to them a little. After about an hour or two of the brushing they finely moved back in.

 

[mmkeeper]

Are you going to have and mushrooms or lps? Clown will host in almost anything that moves in the current.

 

[jesshimom]

Doing great Joe! how about you? You missed an excellent shin-dig today!

 

[Jobiwan]

I'll load it up with ricordea eventually, I don't know about mushrooms, I haven't planned on LPS but I may rethink that, I've got a good sized frogspawn I may put in there if I can find a relatively calm area, the current might be a bit much for it...

 

[leebca]

Jobiwan,

You've gotten good answers. I would only add the fact that the relationship between Anemonefishes and the Anemone is not as good as it would seem. It is an interesting relationship because humans think it is 'fun' but in fact neither the fish nor the Anemone are better off together in captive life.

The Anemone suffers from frequent to constant irritation from the Anemonefish and it 'can't get away' from this irritation. The Anemonefish does get mildly stung with sometimes minor observable conditions (when it becomes more noticeable it is called Hyper-Melaninization). Although we (humans) attribute this a symbiotic relationship, it is better for both in the captive environment to go their separate ways. Neither Anemonefishes or Anemones need each other.

I will say that in the wild, the evaluation of the relationship shifts to being beneficial for both, unlike it is in the captive environment.

 

[prbhasson]

I do not think it matters that they have an anenome. I ended up selling my 2 rbta's and the 2 tomato clowns that hosted in them just found a different spot in the tank to hang out. They have never really swam around alot in the tank. They pretty much stay in one area that they like and protect it the same they would if there was an anenome there...

 

[Rod Buehler]

I will agree with what everyone is saying Re: they dont need an anemone. but a few things that I disagree with here.

The Anemone suffers from frequent to constant irritation from the Anemonefish and it 'can't get away' from this irritation.

Some would call it stimulation. I keep quite a few anemones, and to use my giganteas (a species that is notoriously difficult to keep) as an example, seem to look very dismal in health until clowns are added. I attribute their sudden perky-ness and healthy appearance to the stimulation from the clowns. I will say that if the clowns are too large/aggressive in comparison to the anemone, then it could be irritation and not stimulation.

The Anemonefish does get mildly stung with sometimes minor observable conditions (when it becomes more noticeable it is called Hyper-Melaninization)

I think that most anemonefish keepers will agree that they see more hyper-melaninization when clowns pick an un-natural host like euphyllia, zoanthids, etc.. Or even an un-natural hosting anemone.

Although we (humans) attribute this a symbiotic relationship, it is better for both in the captive environment to go their separate ways.

To me this sound like you are saying its better to not keep anemones together with their natural hosts. While I do agree that the clowns do not need the anemone. I dont think it is more beneficial to keep them separated as your post sounds. I feel that they will feel happier/safer in a natural hosing anemone, whether its in captive environment or in the wild. After all, we are trying to re-create nature in our little glass boxes.

Disclaimer: I do recommend research and setting up the proper environment for anemones and their fishies that they host. I dont recommend plopping and anemone into any tank just to make clowns happy. As stated many times in this thread the clowns dont need the anemone

 

[Jobiwan]

Thank you Lee and everyone else, I did try moving the Maroons into my new tank last night, they did seem fine this morning, the cool thing was they were out swimming around where I could actually see them instead of spending all their time buried in my anmones, I had forgotten how beautiful gold stripe maroons were. The coral beauty gave them hell for a bit last night so I killed the lights, they seemed fine this morning and were swimming around the other tank inhabitants with no serious aggression issues, just the expected minor pecking order stuff. I appreciate all the good thought provoking info and stimulating back and forth, I think I know the answer to this but does anyone have any experience putting a second pair of maroons in a large (600 gal) tank with lots of rockwork/hiding places, or would that just be a recipe for disaster?