Perculas need host other than anemone

[saltwaterfishes]

We have two true perculas. Lately they have been diving into zoas. We don't have anemone for them to host. Our tank is very full to have an anemone moving around. What other alternatives are there besides getting an anemone?

 

[loohunter]

a small red clay flowerpot works awesome. they will love it

 

[saltwaterfishes]

a small red clay flowerpot works awesome. they will love it

Red goniopora?

 

[loohunter]

no i meant an actual clay flowerpot. very small, they will curl up inside it and they feel safe. if you dont want to put something like that in your reef you could try building a small cave out of live rock

 

[krisfal]

I think he means a clay pot like you find at the garden supply. Clowns will host a lot of things anemones, corals and even powerheads or heaters. A lot of prople use clay pots with breeding pairs. If the clowns lay the eggs on the pot they are real easy to get out of the tank when you need to.

 

[loohunter]

I think he means a clay pot like you find at the garden supply. Clowns will host a lot of things anemones, corals and even powerheads or heaters. A lot of prople use clay pots with breeding pairs. If the clowns lay the eggs on the pot they are real easy to get out of the tank when you need to.

BINGO! thats it. basicaly any living thing they decide to host will get irritated. anenomes are the most tollerant, not to mention their natural defense. but if you can create a small caVE for them it will give the clowns that sense of security. it can also help stubborn pairs to start breeding

 

[saltwaterfishes]

Thanks! I'm going to try the small clay pot. Will an elegance or torch work?

 

[loohunter]

torches have been known to pack a pretty nasty sting, and i would never risk the health of an elegance. i would assume the reason you want the clowns to quit hosting your zoa's is because they are irritated and keep closing up?

 

[saltwaterfishes]

The zoas would close but open very quickly. I feel bad for the fish, seem like they need an anemone. The other reason we didn't want to get a rbta is the possibility of it splitting often.

 

[SeaMonster]

mine have aggressively hosted a torch for months. before the torch they hosted some xenia.

 

[lavenderfish]

Mine are hosting their frogspawn quite faithfully. It is flourishing and multiplying in spite of them.

 

[SeaMonster]

You can also use fishing line to tie them down to whatever you want them to host

 

[luke33]

My pair hosts about everything in my tank it seems. Frogspawn, colt coral, long polyps toadstool and xenia. But are generally in the frogspawn or toadstool.

 

[TWallace]

My clowns used to have GBTA host, but I sold it. Since then they've adopted toadstool leathers as their preferred host. Recently, though my female has started swimming through the tentacles of my green goniopora, which makes it retract its tentacles.

 

[steven11]

just be careful with them hosting lps(torch,hammer,frogspawn,ect.) the stoney skeleton of the coral can cut the clowns up if they are agressivly hosting the coral. I was going to suggest a leather of some sort as TWallace did. My clowns are hosting a green sinularia that i have.

 

[mdrumm]

hammer or torch work great. I have seen them host in clams but that is probably not what you want

 

[taichimaster]

My clowns have at times hosted my Duncans. At night, he returns back to the Rose

 

[eliterecon14]

my cousin's hosts his xenia and will gnaw anyone's hand off if it even is in the tank! It is demonic

 

[Sascha D]

Maybe I've just been lucky, or unlucky with my clowns. They always host rocks. I agree with the flower pot. I've seen alot of people use them when breeding.

The best way I've seen to do it, is to cut the pot in half vertically, and then to lay your half-a-pot down on the sand concave down.

 

[morgan]

clowns will kill gonioporas if they host them other corals seem to get away ok but the goni will not live