False Percs and anenome

tashier · 07-25-2006, 10:20 AM

So,

I've got a couple of false percs and so far they want nothing to do with the bubble tip anenome. I've heard that if they are tank raised they may not have learned that habit. Do I have any better chance with true percs to get them to host the anenome? Anyone have any success with tank raised false percs hosting?

Sean

thekid55 · 07-25-2006, 10:30 AM

i had a false perc host my BTA but i belive it was because my skunk clown was always messing with him and i think he felt safe in the Bubble tip but the both ended up dying after a bad fight.

B00TCAMP · 07-25-2006, 10:33 AM

Hi there,

I have 2 False Percs and it took 4 months for one of them to find my bubble tip anemone and now he hardly ever leaves the area of it. As for my other one, for some reason he likes my mushrooms, he sleeps in the mushroom and always sliding against it. Wierd.

Tim

Loverotties · 07-25-2006, 02:13 PM

You never know if a clown will like a Anemone or not.

Nyles · 07-25-2006, 02:49 PM

It usually takes quiete a while as well. Give it a few months, my last pair took about 3 months to pair. Im trying to get another false to host a sebae now, but Im guessing it will take a month minimum. He kinda hangs out in the area of the anemone but hasn't hosted yet, course he is getting along with all the fish in there at the moment.

Twitterbait · 07-25-2006, 03:28 PM

you could always grab him and stuff him into the anenome... but i don't think he would appreciate it...

tashier · 07-25-2006, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

you could always grab him and stuff him into the anenome... but i don't think he would appreciate it...

Haha,

ya I feel like doing that sometimes. I once saw her (I think it's a her) rubbing against my mushrooms but it was just that one time. The pair usually just hang out up in the corner of the tank all day.

zxcv123 · 07-25-2006, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

you could always grab him and stuff him into the anenome... but i don't think he would appreciate it...

Thats what I did to my clown fish (a occ.) and the next day he was hosting the anemone.

JennM · 07-25-2006, 04:40 PM

I see that mythinformation about captive-raised clownfishes not hosting in anemones all the time. It's pure garbage. Instinct is instinct and it isn't 'bred out' of them.

Having said that, some species of clown have a stronger hosting instinct than others. Ocellaris, in my experience, have a weaker hosting instinct than some other species. Same with true perculas.

First off, the BTA is not their natural host, so the odds of a match there just went down. If you had wild or tank raised tomato clowns, maroon clowns, it would be a much more likely match, as that's their natural host in the wild. Skunk clowns typically will also host in BTA.

Clark's clowns will host in just about anything. In my experience they have some of the strongest hosting instinct. I've seen them host in everything from a Frogspawn to a terra cotta flower pot, to a condylactus anemone (an Atlantic specie that isn't even a host anemone - they come from a whole different ocean).

I have 2 ocellaris that chose a BTA to host in, after I'd had them in captivity for 3+ years without any host. I'd never offered an anemone, but when they were moved temporarily to my sell system during 'tank renovation' they adopted a BTA so I kept it with them when I replaced them in my 120.

I've kept hundreds of clowns in my shop (and a few pair over the last 20 or so years). I've never witnessed a difference in instinct between tank raised vs. wild caught. Instinct is instinct. Provide them with the appropriate host and usually they'll take to it, albeit sometimes it takes weeks or months. Sometimes it's instant. My pair of TR tomato clowns took about 10 seconds to take to a BTA I introduced to my tank about 6 years ago.

The problem here isn't that they're tank raised - it's that the BTA isn't immediately recognized by them as 'their' host. Their natural host is a carpet anemone.

I don't suggest buying a carpet - they are trickier to keep. BTA is the most suited to captive life. Just give it some time and let Nature do her thing. If they're going to host, they will, but they'll do it on their schedule.

Don't force the issue. A clown that accepts a 'different' host has to have time to acclimate to the anemone, and build up a resistance to its sting. Often they 'flirt' with it for a while, or even seem to be spastic when they first come in contact with their new host. Forcing the issue can be potentially dangerous to the clown.

Let it be.

Jenn

tashier · 07-25-2006, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennM

The problem here isn't that they're tank raised - it's that the BTA isn't immediately recognized by them as 'their' host. Their natural host is a carpet anemone.

Jenn

I've seen some posts of carpet anenome's chowing down on the clown fish.

tashier · 07-25-2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zxcv123

Thats what I did to my clown fish (a occ.) and the next day he was hosting the anemone.

How did you 'grab' him and stick him in?

JennM · 07-25-2006, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tashier

I've seen some posts of carpet anenome's chowing down on the clown fish.

Sure - if it's the wrong host anemone for the wrong clownfish. And that usually happens when somebody forces the issue.

Heteractis crispa which isn't common in the trade, naturally hosts Clark's Bluestripe, True Perc, Pink Skunk and Saddleback. (No mention of ocellaris)

Heteractis aura, also not common in the trade, will only host Clark's.

Heteractis malu (aka Sebae anemone) only hosts Clark's and occasionally Tomato and Bluestrip in captivity - but I've seen tons of people try to match Sebae Clown with Sebae anemone... news flash - it's NOT a match.
Heteractis magnifica aka Ritteri Anemone hosts Clark's Bluestripe, Ocellaris, Percula and Pink Skunk.

Stichodactyla gigantea aka Giant Carpet naturally hosts Clark's, Ocellaris and Percula but in aquarium may host other species unpredictably. This anemone grows very large, and is often an impractical host for small tanks.

Stichodactyla haddoni or Saddle Carpet hosts Saddleback and Clark's and others unpredictably

Stichodactyla mertensi naturally hosts Clark's and ocellaris and may host Pink Skunks in captivity.

Most info in above taken from Tullock's Clownfishes and Sea Anemones, with a few comments of my own added.

There is no guarantee of a match, even with a 'textbook' pairing. As I said, sometimes it's instant, sometimes it doesn't happen at all, and occasionally, mismatches end up matching, such as my ocellaris in my BTA - but those are the exception, not the rule.

So yes, the 'wrong' host anemone may perceive a different clown as a meal - that's why when some clowns accept a different host than what Nature intended, it takes a while for them to acclimate to it.

And I've seen textbook match anemones eat a clown if it's ailing. Probably Nature's way of cleaning up.

Jenn

JennM · 07-25-2006, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tashier

How did you 'grab' him and stick him in?

I still wouldn't recommend this. There's another current thread called "sleeping bag" or something to that effect - IMO it's risky and stressful to force a 'match' and there's no guarantee it will work.

You can't force Mother Nature.

Jenn

Nyles · 07-25-2006, 05:28 PM

Maybe another thing to consider is tank size as well, my tank is 6 feet long and it rare for my perc to even swim around the sebae let alone host, maybe getting them in a smaller tank for short period would speed it up but not my preference simply due to stress, and a firmly latched sebae.

tashier · 07-25-2006, 05:31 PM

Thanks Jenn, you've definately got typing skills to get all that in.