new clown + anemone

tywtly13

tywtly13

Member
today I picked up a small ocellaris clown and a condy anemone. So far, they seem to be doing pretty well. I acclimated them both for an hour, and the anemone has chosen its spot in a very exposed place (lucky!) and the clown is swimming around all over the place. So far, the clown has shown zero interest in the anemone. Does anyone know if there is anything to do to help? Or will it just work in its own time. Also, what specifically should I be feeding the clown? The store worker said they were feeding him pellets and flakes. Will that be a good enough diet for him? I also have frozen plankton, algae sheets, and freeze dried krill. I have had terrible luck keeping clowns in the past, they wouldn't eat and they died within a week. I know they are supposed to be hardy, and I have better expectations this time since this tank is so well established, but I'm still a little cautious.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
try frozen mysis.....the food you have is really insufficient.
Ther is never a 100% gaurantee that clowns will host an anemone....just have to wait and see
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Condylactis anemone are not a natural host for clownfish. It may well eat your fish.
 
psychic_alice

psychic_alice

Member
Okay lemme give you a breakdown on this....cuz I know ;) First off, Spanko is 100% right, Condy anemones are not hosts neither are pink tip hatian (or whatever they're called) anemones. Clownfish will never go to them!!!! Second mistake is that ocellaris or false perculas are not the most anemone-attached clowns (they don't always go to them), Especially if they're tank raised, it's a very very long shot. However, I do happen to have a tank raised ocellaris that had never seen an anemone before and slowly got him to live in one (you may call me "the fish whisperer" Lol). That took a lot of time and a lot of completely unorthodox ideas.
 
tywtly13

tywtly13

Member
wow....how about that. Well, the store I got the condy from doesn't take returns, so......crap. I guess I'm stuck with it. I had one before (condy) and it hosted a domino damsel....so, I don't know wtf's up with that
Gah, I wish I had known that they won't host together, cause I definitely wouldn't have bought the anemone. Either way, the clown's doing great so far! Earlier he ate a shake of pellets and a pinch of krill and seemed happy, fat, and full, and later this week I'm going to pick him up some mysis. I am going to get another when I can, and I would like to be able to get the opposite --- so I can have a chance of breeding eventually, so....how can I tell them apart? I know that they change as they mature or something, but....is there any way to know?
 
sean48183

sean48183

Member
The bigger one usually becomes the female. If you have a small one buy a big one and vice versa and it should work. Condy's are beautiful anenomes as the get bigger so you didn't do all bad. However they do require extreme light. If you have ever seen them in they ocean they are usually in 20' or less of water and sometimes inches of water. Also if your tank is large enough you could try a sebae anemome which is the best shot for your clown to go to. Your tank should at least be 100g or more for this to work or your anenomes will play chemical warfare and reek havoc on your tank.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by sean48183
http:///forum/post/3184877
The bigger one usually becomes the female. If you have a small one buy a big one and vice versa and it should work. Condy's are beautiful anenomes as the get bigger so you didn't do all bad. However they do require extreme light. If you have ever seen them in they ocean they are usually in 20' or less of water and sometimes inches of water. Also if your tank is large enough you could try a sebae anemome which is the best shot for your clown to go to. Your tank should at least be 100g or more for this to work or your anenomes will play chemical warfare and reek havoc on your tank.
Good advice. Something you probably already know: Anenomrs are one of the most difficult marine animals to keep and most clowns don't do any better with one in the tank.
 
A

ali19

Guest
Originally Posted by sean48183
http:///forum/post/3184877
The bigger one usually becomes the female. If you have a small one buy a big one and vice versa and it should work. Condy's are beautiful anenomes as the get bigger so you didn't do all bad. However they do require extreme light. If you have ever seen them in they ocean they are usually in 20' or less of water and sometimes inches of water. Also if your tank is large enough you could try a sebae anemome which is the best shot for your clown to go to. Your tank should at least be 100g or more for this to work or your anenomes will play chemical warfare and reek havoc on your tank.
Sean is correct the bigger becomes female and the smaller will remain a male but if the female dies or is removed the male can then become a female so if you were to replace the original female then get a smaller clown again and this will be a male. Female is the last stop, they can't go back from that. I had a tank raised clown a few years back and it took straight to a BTA within hours of putting it in the tank and as far as i am aware it had never seen an anemone.
Good luck!
Ali
 
tywtly13

tywtly13

Member
Yeah, I know clowns don't benefit any more than if I hadn't added the anemone, I just wanted to see the relationship, and yes I know that they are harder to care for. I had one before (long time ago, 12 gallon tank) and I kept it as long as I had the tank. And my tank isn't big enough to do that with the sebae. I'm not that worried about it, I'll just enjoy them seperately

A little update: The clown is doing great, seems to love his new home, constantly exploring. Eats every piece of krill he can get to and pigs out on the pellets. No problems so far. I gave the anemone a huge keill last night and it gulped it down with no hesitation. I'm going to get mysis this weekend andwhatever other foods I see that I think may be nice. Thank you for your help!
 
psychic_alice

psychic_alice

Member
fyi, if you get a wildcaught clown (ocellaris) it will more likely know what an anemone is (not that you really want it going to your condy). I mentioned I took some rather...unorthodox methods to get my tank raised ocellaris to go to my anemone. I stuck pictures to the glass of clownfish in anemones, and even showed youtube videos XD then one day, he got it!
Here's a question tho, why does everyone say anemones are hard to keep??? I had a LTA soon after I got my nemo (who was about the size of a quarter) and never had any trouble keeping it even tho I had never had a saltwater tank before. The think flourished in my tank until I had unexpected lighting problems, even went months without light and only died when the lights were fixed (anyone wanna venture on what happened?)
 
garick

garick

Member
If its anything like some corals. After its body gets used to the lower lighting or lack thereof. The sudden shock of intense lighting could have overwhelmed it and stressed it into death. Just my personal opinion though.
Most people get the idea that they are hard to keep because most if not all anemones are wild caught. So from the stress of moving, to their chemical poisonings. They normally end up dieing and in most cases its a slow death. Some can last months without ever eating and just wither away to nothing.
Condy anemones are pushed because they are cheap and easy to acquire compared to others. However if you wanna see how strong anemones can be. Get yourself an aptasia invasion and you'll know that even in the worst of environments some creatures can thrive.
P.s - This site has what appear to be a nice listing of compatible anemones and clown fish types. Here which clearly shows that the condy has no obvious relationships with any of the common clown types. However limits and lack of choice can often create strange bedfellows.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
My personal experience, I purchased an ocellaris clown (tank raised) that was already attracted to an anemone (pink tip Haitian). So try having your LFS put the two together b 4 you purchase them. Or find a shop that is already doing that call it plus sale. As for adding another clown, do it quickly they get very territorial and may kill the new arrival no matter what size it is. Never add more than one spies of anemone to a tank other wise there will be a war that nothing will live.
 
sean48183

sean48183

Member
I wouldn't recommend trying to get the clown in to your condy. The condy will most likely perish because the clown will iritate it to death. However there is a small yellow fish (maybe a goby) that can live in these anenomes. I saw them in cozumel and there would be about 20 of these little guys just chillin in these beautiful huge condy's. Must be immune to the sting like a clownfish because the condy has one of the nastiest stings of all anenomes. Might have to search the net but they were sweet looking fish only about an 1 1/2 inches long.
 
psychic_alice

psychic_alice

Member
Originally Posted by sean48183
http:///forum/post/3188034
I wouldn't recommend trying to get the clown in to your condy. The condy will most likely perish because the clown will iritate it to death. However there is a small yellow fish (maybe a goby) that can live in these anenomes. I saw them in cozumel and there would be about 20 of these little guys just chillin in these beautiful huge condy's. Must be immune to the sting like a clownfish because the condy has one of the nastiest stings of all anenomes. Might have to search the net but they were sweet looking fish only about an 1 1/2 inches long.
Do you mean this guy?
 
sean48183

sean48183

Member
No it's not a clown goby. I checked it out and I believe it is juvenile bluehead wrasses. They are cleaner wrasses as juveniles that hang out in condy's for security but as they mature they head out and become blue head wrasses. I guess that's why you never see them together in home aquariums. 10 adult bluehead wrasses would be a nasty tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top