clownfish and anemones

cowfish · 01-19-2006, 04:43 PM

As some of you may know i am trying to start a pair of false percula clownfish. Now i need to know what type of anemones they will host i know they will host the carpet and ritteri anemones are there any other known anemones they will host?

JennM · 01-19-2006, 05:01 PM

Occasionally they will host in an E. quadricolor or bubble tip anemone, but that's more the exception than the rule.

What size of tank do you have and what kind of lighting do you have, and how long has your tank been established? No anemone is considered "easy" but BTA are among the easier to maintain and are able to reproduce by fission in a closed environment.

If it's an anemone you're set on, IMO choosing a BTA for a properly suited tank, and choosing clowns that are likely to host in it, such as tomatoes or maroons is a better bet.

JMHO

Jenn

hyeteck · 01-19-2006, 05:19 PM

i have a false clown as well, right when i put my bubble tip anemone in, the clown went in to host within seconds.

TheReefer12 · 01-19-2006, 05:43 PM

I have to say that a clown will host with anything. That can also work the opposite way. Your best bet is a carpet and ritteri as you stated. The next two would be the BTA or a sebea.

Brian

cowfish · 01-19-2006, 05:48 PM

The aquarium size is 30 gal. and has been setup for about 4 months. My lighting is power compact.

ChrisPrusha · 01-19-2006, 06:13 PM

With respect, I think your chances of having success with an anemone is unlikely. Not what you want to hear, I know...but that's my opinion. It's not impossible...but very difficult.

gwen_o_lyn · 01-19-2006, 06:13 PM

typically anemones don't do well under power compacts, they might live a few months but they usually die

JennM · 01-19-2006, 06:23 PM

Actually I respectfully disagree when it comes to E. quadricolor and power compacts. I have kept one in a tank I maintain under 130 watts of PC for 5 years now and counting, and it has split twice. The customer doesn't do anything special re feeding (the skunk clowns that live in it do all its "maintenance") and we service the tank every other week and have done so for 5 years now. I put the original specimen in the tank when I deemed it appropriate, several months after the tank was set up. It even survived a "Rio meltdown"...

Other species of anemone may not fare as well but in my experience, Long Tentacled anemones and Bubble Tips do fine under PC.

I don't agree that any clown will host in any anemone. Some species seem to have a stronger urge to host than others. A. clarkii will host in dirt, but A. ocellaris and A. percula don't seem to have that same drive. A. frenatus is somewhere in between, but will usually host in LTA and BTA.

I've kept literally hundreds of clowns and dozens of anemones in my shop over the last 4 years and seen a variety of matches and not matches... it's a crap shoot at best. The best way to end up with a match is to ask the LFS to do it for you - put clowns and anemones together and matche them up for you and buy the whole ensemble -- that is IF your tank and lighting are appropriate.

40 gallons is a small tank for a carpet. I have a BTA here that a client bought online as a "2-3" diameter specimen. It arrived a good 12-14" in diameter and ate 8 of his fish before he donated it to me. Now it's home to a rather large Maroon clown. Most BTA in the trade are smaller but some grow to behemoth sizes. Carpets can get massive, as can any host anemone. Keep in mind that in the wild, these animals often host more than a pair - they host family groups of clowns and as such, can be enormous.

The BTA I've maintained for 5 years is in a 52-gallon corner tank and has not outgrown its environment - it splits before it gets too big, but as I mentioned, they can get massive - it all depends on the individual animal. Be prepared for any eventuality if you opt to keep one of these delicate animals.

HTH

Jenn

ChrisPrusha · 01-19-2006, 07:15 PM

It took 8 fish before he had enough?

If I read you correctly, Jenn, you think a BTA is possible?

JennM · 01-19-2006, 09:01 PM

It took 8 fish before the keeper was determined enough to forcibly remove the anemone from the tank. Even at that he had to move all his rock as the anem was firmly planted in a bottom rock that supported every other rock in the tank and he "donated" said rock along with the anemone (which moved off that rock today - 2 weeks after he brought it to me!)

Yes - very doable under PC lights, if you count 5 years as a success... which I do.

Jenn

TheReefer12 · 01-19-2006, 10:37 PM

I have to agree that power compacts are sufficient. I have 2 BTAs under them now in a 30 gal. 1 has been in there roughly a year and the other about 4 months now. My maroon clown hosts in both. The problem you are having is the clown. Perculas tend to be extremely picky but I have 3 that love to host in an elegant coral.
I think Jenn puts it best if you have your LFS do the pairing up for you and you buy the set.
Brian

Brian