Clowns with no Host

[nataliem]

I have two true percs in my 33 gallon tank. They seem to only host on the powerhead. I have a Red Bubbletip and a bunch of corals that they could host in but they love the powerhead. I used to have a false perc (in a different tank) and it did the same thing. I am wondering if anyone has any tips or ideas on how to get the clowns to host in a coral or BTA?
Thanks!

 

[slpcamaro]

I havn't tried this but I've had a store tell me to get some strawberry baskets, you know those little green baskets they come in from the store. Clean one off and tape the clowns and whatever you want them to host to, together inside the basket.

 

[perfectdark]

Yikes that to me would sound more like a lot of stress and anxiety. I have never heard that method before but IMO I wouldnt do that. FYI If those baskets are made of any type of metal or have metal anywhere on them I wouldnt use them. The SW would rust and corrode any and all of it, releasing harmful pollutants into your tank.
There is no prooven method to get them to host. Depending on the species what anemone you have weather it was wild caught, tank raised or aquacultured all may play a role as to if or when it will host. Yours choose your PH, there could be worse things. Its not recomended to want them to host a coral as they most often end up killing most corals they host. Typically if they choose a coral host its an LPS of some type with a hard calcium base. When the clown hosts it becomes irritating for the coral and depending on how aggressive can eaisily rub too hard damaging it or just not allowing it to expand fully and benifit from the light and your trace elements. HTH

 

[donald]

i have to ask how old are your clowns? My clowns took a while to host because of their age.(3/4 inch when bought) I gave up on them ever hosting it took so long, then one day, presto, the larger one (female) hosted my flower pot coral. Then the smaller one (male) found the GBTA. That has been 2 months ago and now they are starting to share the GBTA. (yahoo). It really just takes time, i even tried using video of clowns hosting to encurage them with no imediate luck. Just give them time, if they are truely hosting the powerhead you might try removing it and letting them start over. Hope everything works out.

 

[dawman]

Originally Posted by slpcamaro
http:///forum/post/2585934
I havn't tried this but I've had a store tell me to get some strawberry baskets, you know those little green baskets they come in from the store. Clean one off and tape the clowns and whatever you want them to host to, together inside the basket.
You surely don`t want to do that .That will do more harm then good . Some clowns can take a long time to host an anemone . Some, just a few hours , weeks , months , or not at all . One thing I did with two of my percs a few years back was I found a picture on the web , printed it and taped it to the tank . Not sure if that did it but they started hosting the nem after a few weeks .

 

[nataliem]

Ya, they are both prity little. I would say that one is about 2 inches and the other is about 1 and a half inches. I have the larger one for about 9 months and the smaller one for about 1 month. I have tried putting a fake plastic clown ( the ones with the clips to attach food to) near the anemone to stir up some jealousy or at least show the clowns what to do but it didn't work. They are both tank raised so I think maybe there maternal instincts have vanished..... Running out of Ideas..

 

[spiderwoman]

Originally Posted by slpcamaro
http:///forum/post/2585934
I havn't tried this but I've had a store tell me to get some strawberry baskets, you know those little green baskets they come in from the store. Clean one off and tape the clowns and whatever you want them to host to, together inside the basket.
Now that is a joke!

 

[spiderwoman]

Like PerfectDark said, there is no way you can force your clowns to host the anemone. You can put the anemone right in front of them and they may still go to a frogspawn that is on the other side of the tank etc.