Clown ignores my anemone

[modilla]

I moved my 1 yr old maroon clown from a large FOWL tank to a smaller tank that houses a new sebae anem. Both look great but they act like they have no clue to being host/hostie? Can i help them bond or should i just give them more time? It has been three weeks now and i realy hoped the would form a relationship.

 

[bigarn]

Not saying it won't happen ... but clowns do fine without a host.

 

[xeniaman]

can be very frustrating, I have two different anemones in my 240 Green carpet and bta, my percula don't touch them. Lately my clown is getting frisky with my moon brain. Clowns can be weird.

 

[modilla]

Clowns been growing fine, its the anem. i'm worried about. Many places say that the sebae is rather difficult and a clown will definatly help. Thought about trying to get clown to eat brine shrimp off/near the anem?

 

[lexluethar]

I do NOT think a host has anything to do with the health of a Sebae anemone. The only thing a host would help with is giving the anemone pieces of food - something that you can do on your own, and in fact if you have great lighting it isn't even necessary to spot feed.
Your clowns may host, or they may not, its a gamble. You should come to the realization now that they may never host.

 

[modilla]

While it is true that hosting is not a must, I am shure that there are benifits from the transfer of the natural slime coat of the fish to the anemone. Also just because my system is pushing over 13 watts per gallon i'm not going to stop spot feedings.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by MoDilla
http:///forum/post/2522558
While it is true that hosting is not a must, I am shure that there are benifits from the transfer of the natural slime coat of the fish to the anemone. Also just because my system is pushing over 13 watts per gallon i'm not going to stop spot feedings.
Then my suggestion to you would be to research more about anemones their clown hosts and their dietary needs.
The info given by lex is 100% accurate. Anemones and clownfish do not benifit more or less from having eachother. Weather or not they feed the anemone is still an unanswered question as there is still speculation that the clownfish is using the anemone to store food rather than feeding the anemone. Also as far as feeding the anemone if you have sufficient lighting for your anemone then spot feeding can do more harm than good. It has been documented with a number of different species of anemones, that under the correct lighting these anemones have gone 2+ years with no supplemental feedings and have grown to many times their original size. When supplimental feeding was then introduced the anemone would exihibit signs of stress and in some cases begin splitting.

 

[modilla]

I have only spot fed the nem twice in two months and only very small pieces of food. I did hours of research and more than a few highly regarded sources told me that the maroon and sebae were compatable and have formed bonds before in private tanks. Only two other clowns had higher recomendation, the sebae (ugly IMO) and the blue striped (costly and not very common around here). Once again, It may not be any benifit to either animal but it sure is a very nice picture when/if they bond! I had a condy that more than tripled in size with same set up/practices. Gave it to my mom because i wanted a anem that would be more of a natural hosting species.
Thanx to those that tried to give advice on the actual subject and not fish/invert husbandry tips.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by MoDilla
http:///forum/post/2522193
I moved my 1 yr old maroon clown from a large FOWL tank to a smaller tank that houses a new sebae anem. Both look great but they act like they have no clue to being host/hostie? Can i help them bond or should i just give them more time? It has been three weeks now and i realy hoped the would form a relationship.
There is nothing you can do. There is a great chance the clowns will never host the anemone.
The other "extra" info on this thread is good advice and seems completely accurate. Any sites that are saying difficulty in keeping Sebae anemones can be remedied by getting a clown to host are dubious at best.

 

[modilla]

Will agree that a clown is not a true fix to sebae difficulty, but the chances of a rather large specimen prev. hosting in wild are pretty good and that it would maybe help in the transition to tank life if a new bond was made right away. Kinda like the way some poeple retire then know not what to do but to get frustrated without the stimulus of old rooteen. As for the clown, if he does not host in another month he will go back to his home in the FOWL and i will try another type (blue Stripe) with the anem. I never said that any one was blowing smoke, but simply that the original Q? was If and how to encourage a bond and nothing else.

 

[trish&dave]

We just purchased a BTA and a Sabrae. Our Maroon Clown immediately began the process and has not left it since. It is fun to watch. We also have two percula, they have ignored the BTA, all they really want to do is swim in the high current! We had to place it near the top, so we are curious if the just have not noticed yet.
That is a good question about the feeding next to the BTA, because I can put frozen brine in my hand and the percs will eat right out of my hand. Should I try this so they might recognize it is there?

 

[trigger11]

Originally Posted by MoDilla
http:///forum/post/2523015
Will agree that a clown is not a true fix to sebae difficulty, but the chances of a rather large specimen prev. hosting in wild are pretty good and that it would maybe help in the transition to tank life if a new bond was made right away. Kinda like the way some poeple retire then know not what to do but to get frustrated without the stimulus of old rooteen. As for the clown, if he does not host in another month he will go back to his home in the FOWL and i will try another type (blue Stripe) with the anem. I never said that any one was blowing smoke, but simply that the original Q? was If and how to encourage a bond and nothing else.
As to the original Q the only potential thing I have ever read about to try to encourage a clown to host in anemone is to take a picture of that particular kind of clown hosting in an anemone and then putting the picture on the tank. Seems kind of silly but I have read of it where it seemed to work for a couple of people. I have had various clownfish anomene's and have only had one hosting pair. I honestly believe it is just one of those things that is really up to the clownfish. If they want a particular place as their territory they will take it.
In my honest oppinion I believe if you really want to have a clown/anemone host then you will need to buy the combination from the LFS. I know how frustrating it is when you see the clownfish swimming all around the anemone and never go in it.
Best of luck

 

[modilla]

Thanx for the advice trigger11, sounds a little weird but what could it hurt? Maybe its like the story of the dog and his reflection (just had to have both steaks) any way i will try it tonight. If it does not work i will make sure the blue stripe is a YOUNG juvinile specimen.

 

[lexluethar]

If you are going to try the picture method, give it more than one night. Try taping a picture to the tank for a week or two to see if that helps. Also i don't think the age of the clown matters, its more of a where the clown came from type of thing. Wild caught clowns have a much higher probability of hosting an anemone then aquacultured ones. Although you can still have success with tank raised hosting anemones, i think it becomes more of a learned trait. If they see a wild caught clown hosting, or they are direct decendents of wild caught clowns they have a good chance of hosting, the further down the hereditary line you travel, the less likely IMO you have of them hosting.
Don't get defensive because people on this board are telling you things you don't want to hear. We are just trying to help you out. And you just jumping at someone because you've done a couple HOURS of research, arguing because your LFS or brother told you something is ludacris. If you don't agree with someone site some examples, throw out some text book citations, but don't sit there and say i've done a few hours of research and your wrong... And I'm not sure if the 13 watts per gallon is true, but if it is you wither have a lot of crap lighting, or you have too much lighting in a small tank. And at that amount, I do not think feeding would be necessary.
The reason people were saying you were wrong was because you wanted to argue the fact that hosting creates a healthier relationship for the anemone and clown. When I don't think that is true at all. I have one clown hosting a BTA a nd another just chilling in the corner, and both swim the same amount, eat the same amount, chase other fish around the same amount, everything is equal. So to say that they are healthier is crazy. As for the anemone I can give you 5 posts in the past two weeks of people who's clowns have actually killed their anemones because of agressive hosting. So I would agrue that hosting can be a detriment to their survival (depending on the species of clown and anemone).
Do what you want, I do wish you the best of luck. My only advice would be not to get so defensive, just listen, if you don't agree that is fine, but don't agree on the basis of fact and science, not on the fact that its not what you want to here. If you continue down that path people will become less likely to try to help you out.
Good luck.

 

[ichlid]

I just signed up today and this is my first post, but please don't discredit me for that. What I know from my own personal experience is that the maroon clown has only one specific anemone to host; that is the bubble tip anemone. According to many sites I've visited, the maroon clown is only immune to the stings of the bubble tip. I find this to be true because I recently had a large, older maroon and also placed a sebae anemone in with it. We waited and waited for weeks and nothing happened. We then invested in a bubble tip anemone and within minutes of having placed the bubble tip in, the maroon was ALL over it. It "sat" on it like a little couch; quite humorous....I would definitely suggest investing in a bubble-tip. They are easy to care for and your maroon will never be the same afterwards. As an experiment, we left the sebae in for a couple of days after we added the bubble tip- the maroon NEVER left the bubble tip and continued ignoring the sebae until we got rid of it. Good luck; I am a personal believer that clownfish should not live without thier natural host in the ocean; to make them comfortable we must accomadate thier very specific needs...no clownfish is EVER seen in the ocean without it's host anemone...why deprive them of that in captivity?

 

[trish&dave]

My maroon clown found the BTA and as ichlid stated, he has not left it since. I read in a reef book (forget the author) that there is only one type of clown that will truly host a sabrae. Guess I am taking mine back to the LFS! Plus in the same article, it rated the sabrae as one of the toughest to take care of.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by trish&dave
http:///forum/post/2524949
My maroon clown found the BTA and as ichlid stated, he has not left it since. I read in a reef book (forget the author) that there is only one type of clown that will truly host a sabrae. Guess I am taking mine back to the LFS! Plus in the same article, it rated the sabrae as one of the toughest to take care of.
There are natural known hosts for certain anemones. That by far does not mean that a different species of clown fish wont take to a different anemone. There are thousands of instances where clownfish take residence in things like powerheads, mushrooms, and other soft corals when their known hosting anemone is right there for them. In other cases the clownfish takes what is available and settles for the anemone that is there. I dont believe in the maroon clownfish only being able to resist one type of sting. I have seen many maroons in carpet anems, sebea anems and BTA to name a few. As for a clown host for a sebae,
1. A. ephippium, Red Saddleback Clownfish.
2. A. percula, Clown Anemonefish
3. A. polymnus, Saddleback Anemonefish
4. A. perideraion, Pink Anemonefish
5. A. tricinctus, Three-Band Anemonefish
There are more those are the more common ones.

 

[modilla]

Class was tuff last nite so i did not try the picture thing yet. Does any one have a pic of a maroon clown hosting that i could print out? google had a few but not very good, looking for the whole anem w/marron in it.

 

[trish&dave]

Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2525010
There are natural known hosts for certain anemones. That by far does not mean that a different species of clown fish wont take to a different anemone. There are thousands of instances where clownfish take residence in things like powerheads, mushrooms, and other soft corals when their known hosting anemone is right there for them. In other cases the clownfish takes what is available and settles for the anemone that is there. I dont believe in the maroon clownfish only being able to resist one type of sting. I have seen many maroons in carpet anems, sebea anems and BTA to name a few. As for a clown host for a sebae,
1. A. ephippium, Red Saddleback Clownfish.
2. A. percula, Clown Anemonefish
3. A. polymnus, Saddleback Anemonefish
4. A. perideraion, Pink Anemonefish
5. A. tricinctus, Three-Band Anemonefish
There are more those are the more common ones.
Do sebrea move alot? We placed him on a rock near the top and cannot decide if he is getting blown off the rock (he stays in place during the day), or just trying to move around. When I place him the first time, it took him a while to get his footing and was being blown away. Should we let him go?

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by trish&dave
http:///forum/post/2526920
Do sebrea move alot? We placed him on a rock near the top and cannot decide if he is getting blown off the rock (he stays in place during the day), or just trying to move around. When I place him the first time, it took him a while to get his footing and was being blown away. Should we let him go?
They move when they are not happy. But that is different than tumbling or blowing around. They will foot and then slowly move about your tank to find their ideal spot. If they havent footed yet then something else maybe wrong. Current to strong in the tank, stressed from acclimation, water quality issues, improper lighting... all can be contributing factors.