flowerpot/clown problem,please help!

katara

katara

Member
Ok..first I swore off fish;I could'nt keep them alive.But I got sick of people coming over & overlooking my corals and asking"where are the fish" so I bought the pair of clowns.They have decided to take my gonipora as a host and it is receding,big time.When I bought my flowerpot I got it for $5, it only had 4-5 stalks..it was dying..but now about 8 months later it has grown about 4x it's original size( and NO, I do NOT have poor water quality)Please give me some advice..I've already sent my roomie to get an anenomie(which I swore I would never do again).HELP!!
 
blondenaso1

blondenaso1

Member
I had the same problem. Sorry to say I didn't have any look with it. I couldn't catch the fish and the flowerpot was deteriorating. I ended up trading it back in to the LFS.
 
barracuda

barracuda

Active Member
Buy them an anemone. This probably will solve your problem, as clowns will prefer an anemne and not coral.
 
rook

rook

Member
Try a bubble tip anenome. I have one and it is quite small and doesn't give me any problems. Supposedly the only times it will move (once it is settled) is when it crawls in the back to die or to split. When I placed mine it took to where I put it and has not moved more than two inches. Make sure to place it somewhere so he can hide his foot under a rook in the shade but extend out tword the light.
I did have a ocellarous(sp) hosted in it but changed that for a maroon. The ocell did not really care to great for the anenome (it was tank raised and never saw one before.) Your clown sound like they will readily accept an anenome.
 
timsedwards

timsedwards

Active Member
If I had a $ every time someone posted about gonipora dying!
I went through the same, the long and short is that gonipora doesnt have a good reputation at all of surviving in captivity, so dont beat yourself with a stick, its the goniporas fault! lol. They require fantastic lighting and a good flow, and yes clowns will love it to pieces. Im sorry to say your gonipora is unlikely to survive, as a general rule they only last 6 months or so in captivity unless you are a very talented fish keeper.
Im sure otherpeople have had bad experiences of them?
Tim :cool:
 
blondenaso1

blondenaso1

Member
I had had my goniapora for over a year and it was still doing great. I attribute its success to good lighting, excellent water with light skimming, and constant tank feedings. They don't have all those polyps out there for nothing. In the wild they constantly feed. Then one day the clown decided it looked close enough to a bubble tip and decided to play in it, sleep in it, steal food from it, and bite off its polyps! Now that I removed the flowerpot the clown sit in the hairy shrooms. I have tried to catch the clown to no avail and I refuse to get an anemone. I cherish my SPS corals and I don't feel like coming home one day to find the anemone sitting in between all my acros stinging the heck out of them. Anyone know how to catch a maroon clown?? Seriously the worst fish I have ever bought!
 
saltyshark

saltyshark

Member
I had the exact same problem a few days ago. My smallest Ocellaris was getting a bit too friendly with my flowerpot. So I went out and bought a BTA. This did not solve the problem at all as the BTA went to the other side of the tank behind the LR :( So I made a shelf out of LR, away from the clowns and put the flowerpot on top of it. My clowns usually stay on one side of the tank so they did not bother the flowerpot anymore and now it's fully extended and happier than ever. So move it around, it worked for me :D
HTH,
SaltyShark
 
seaham358

seaham358

Member
Same problem with my 2, 3 striped clowns. After 3 days I moved the flower pot to the other end and placed on the sand of my 125. They would swim over and just look at it. After a few days I got them a BTA where the smaller one took to it after 3 days. We'll now a week goes by and the big one kicks the little one out of the BTA. Now the smaller one is living in my Hammer which I put where the flower pot was. So I got him a LTA. I hope he takes to it in a few days. Good luck.
 
katara

katara

Member
Thanks everyone!My roomate ended up bringing home a brown bubble tip anenome(the ugliest thing in my tank) and it cost $30.The jerk lfs won't let me trade it back in for ANY credit even if I upgrade to a $60 anenome or coral.
I might just give it my "nicer " lfs since I have moved the gonipora to the other side of the tank and now the clowns leave it alone(plus, they have zero interest in the anenome).Anyways I've been on pins and needles since putting this anenome in my tank..I've already been through two disasters because of their toxins.Just another expensive mistake:mad: Thanks again for all of your input.
 
katara

katara

Member
Thanks Jon..actually before I get to read anymore replies I took the anenome to my "nice" lfs and they gave 1/3 credit of what they would sell it for.
So with my $11 credit(+ an extra few bucks) I bought a nice 4lb peice of rock that seems to have quite a few tiny feather dusters (green,red,white) and what seems to an orange sponge.At least I don't have to stress on the anenome anymore.
Thanks again all..This time I REALLY did learn my lesson.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top