Clown and anemone

[viix]

I’m having a slight problem and Im hoping you guys n gals can kind of guide me through a tuff decision.



In short, I have a sebae anemone that I need to part with. How bad would it be to keep my clown and separate them or should I do it as a package deal?




This seems like it should be an easy decision to make. Here’s some history for why its so tuff for me



It was about three years ago that I started my reef. I pretty much started it because I really wanted a clown fish. So it was only natural that my first fish were a pair of clowns (the other one vanished). About 6 months into having my reef I decided it was time to get an anemone. My reef at the time was only a 15 gallon tank and I knew even this tiny sebae would out grow it really fast. That’s when I thought "hey I can just upgrade as the anemone grows". Of course it out grew that tank really fast so I upgraded to a 38 gallon tank. My anemone wasn’t the only thing growing. Everything else in my tank started exploding in size too. I decided to get a 50 breeder and that would be my last upgrade. So now here I sit. I have a clown that I'm attached to and a 14" sebae that I love but he is making everything around him miserable. I’ve tried putting him away from everything but he is an attention hog and if there’s something pretty he needs to be in front of it. Im not going to consider another anemone. I have to much stuff in my tank including a 13" rbta that needs to go also. I know two anemones are a lot but when they were small it was hard to imagine them as big as they are now.

[Jrmass]

Well, you can have a clown w/out a host anemone. I have a pair of occe's in my tank that have a choice between a sebae AND a RBTA and they opt to host NEITHER. So, you do not have to have an anemone for them as this is just kind of a safety net for them and a place to lay their eggs. I'm not sure if you were thinking about getting rid of the anemone anytime soon but, I'm sure I would be interested in the RBTA. I have a 125 gallon tank that has a nice vacant area that would fit this animal well and this would give me a 5th anemone in my system lol. (Carpet, Sebae, Rock, RBTA (small one)). So, if you do ever decide to remove them I'm sure we could work something out otherwise there is always the option to upgrade again lol. I keep telling myself I'm never going to upgrade again and yet everytime I still do!

btw if you are ever in the sparta area feel free to get ahold of me and maybe feel free to stop in.

Jason

[ReefLuvR]

Clowns will host in a whole host of corals, too! I've seen them in frowspawn, hammer, leathers, kenya tree & zoanthids (they were mad!!). I think you're making a good decision for the animals in your care. And I also think your clown will be just fine after he adjusts.

Best of luck!
Jen

[Jrmass]

Actually Jen... When clowns are left in singles instead of pairs... They typically become "she". In the world of clownfish the larger of the pair is the female and as I said above when alone they are typically female.

Just another little bit of worthless jeopardy info for everyone =)

Jason

[viix]

Thanks for the fast replies. Next time I go to sparta I will get ahold of you for sure. Do the same if your ever in my area. I just moved to Necedah though. I would be looking to relocate them soon. The rbta is attached to a nice size piece of rock though (about the size of 2 baseballs ish). It does have some really nice life on it pink zoos that arnt affected by the anemones touch and some green n orange ones that are. Unless I can get him to move off the rock. Anyway heres some pics

[Jrmass]

First off let me tell you that your setup is VERY NICE and you were not kidding when you said that your anem's are HUGE! lol

Typically you can get any anemone off a rock if you can get access to the base... If you can get access to the base you can slowly "tickle" the foot and it will gradually let itself loose (often takes quite a bit of time *when I removed my rock anemone about a month ago it took about an hour to accomplish this*). But, this way the foot does not get damaged at all and you do not need to dismantle the tank to get it out.

I was going to say that I head to Tomah on occasion as I stop in at "All Creatures Great and Small" on occasion (about 7-10 mins out of Tomah on 21). But, as I said if you ever make it out this way I'm home each night by 4 p.m. so feel free to keep in touch.

Jason

[viix]

Thank you Jason.

I will be working on trying to get the bubble tip off the rock but from what I can see it has its foot inside a hole.

I wasnt expecting this to turn into a for sale but these guys have some fans. I was wondering what a fair price would be to sell them for?

[Jrmass]

lol not even sure myself... I typically trade for all of my stuff =). I know they usually have a pretty nice price tag with them (the RBTA does at least). I have no clue about the sebae. I know for the RBTA that most around here charge in the $50 range for smaller specimens and this seems to be a pretty common price. But, obviously yours is larger so it would naturally be more expensive.

Jason

[Jrmass]

I was wondering when the last time that yours split was? Or if it has ever split for you? They usually do not get that large because they usually split in 1/2 or even in 1/3 before they can get that big. So, I was just curious.

Jas

[viix]

He has yet to slit but ya he looks close. Hmm I wasnt thinking trades but that might not be a bad idea. My main reason for selling instead of trading is because Im in need of some new lights but I always love new corals to look at. lol

[Jrmass]

Well, like I said I don't usually pay money for the stuff I get I usually can figure out something that someone's interested in. Also depending on what you are looking for as far as lighting goes I might be able to work something out as well. I happen to have a HOB 70 watt MH that isn't currently being used with a fairly new bulb. Otherwise I have a fairly nice selection of things that could be picked through. As you can tell I'm rather interested in the RBTA lol.

Jas

[kshilton]

Originally Posted by Jrmass

First off let me tell you that your setup is VERY NICE and you were not kidding when you said that your anem's are HUGE! lol

Typically you can get any anemone off a rock if you can get access to the base... If you can get access to the base you can slowly "tickle" the foot and it will gradually let itself loose (often takes quite a bit of time *when I removed my rock anemone about a month ago it took about an hour to accomplish this*). But, this way the foot does not get damaged at all and you do not need to dismantle the tank to get it out.

I was going to say that I head to Tomah on occasion as I stop in at "All Creatures Great and Small" on occasion (about 7-10 mins out of Tomah on 21). But, as I said if you ever make it out this way I'm home each night by 4 p.m. so feel free to keep in touch.

Jason

I have been told that a person can touch their foot with a piece of ice and they will release almost idmeately

[psulion3]

Very nice tank with healthy livestock. You must have very good water quality. I'd be interested in the sebae but already have two RBTA ,a green BTA and an LTA split between two tanks. My false percs won't host any of them.
BTW Jason, those blue clavularia I got on the group order through Brad are spreading nicely. If I can get them to "jump" to another rock, I'll send some your way.

[Jrmass]

Sounds good... Glad that they took off nice. They really looked sweet when I got to see them here at my house. I've never heard about the ice trick but it sounds like it would work because it would force the tissue to retract thus in theory would make the foot release.

Jas

[taminate]

we tried the ice in a baggie trick..n i didnt like it. the ice melts too fast. from our experience anyway.