Clownfish Tricks

[Lance A. Lot]

I have some questions about clowns from my tanks.

1. Is there anything I can do to encourage baby clowns to host in the anemones I have in their tank?
Background information: 2 buckshot clowns from Booyah's reef in a 75 gallon tank with at least 7 bubble tips in it. They have both been in the tank for about a year.

2. My older pair of clowns has picked a host location. Will they ever consider moving?
My older pair of clowns in my 180 have been together for 5 or 6 years now. About 6 months after moving them from a 75 gallon tank to the current 180 they have decided to host in a large chalice coral. This coral has grown large enough to take up 1/4 of the tank space now. If it gets much larger I may want to 1. frag large portions of it or 2. remove and sell. Will my clowns move if I provide a more natural place for them? ie. grab a larger nem from the 75 and put it in the 180.

 

[Crabs McJones]

There are a couple ways that you can try to get your clowns to be hosted by the anemone. I've heard that taping a picture of clowns in an anemone has worked, also running a video on a laptop of clowns in an anemone. There are other ways that I don't recommend as it is more invasive and can cause stress to both clown and anemone, but its essentially using either a net, or plastic container and forcing the clowns into the anemone and seeing if it takes. Again I don't recommend it but it is an option.
In regards to your second question, it's possible, but unless their current home is moved, or removed from the tank, they likely won't leave it

 

[ca1ore]

The best approach is to provide the correct anemone. The BTA, for example, is frequently used but is actually not a natural host for many of the commonly kept clowns - which is why the fish ignore them. Unfortunately, the more appropriate anemones are also much trickier to keep.

I’m highly skeptical that taping a picture to the tank really works. It seems to me, I must confess, borderline absurd. Remember, correlation is not causation.

 

[DSC reef]

We've had multiple clownfish from ocellaris, percula and maroons get hosted by bubble tip anemones. Infact, that's the only type ofanemone we've ever owned. Sometimes they go right to it while other times my wife spent time getting them near it. Clowns will take to many things like Duncan coral, goniopora, etc. We even had a pair of maroons get hosted buy our large squamosa and none of those are the "correct" host either but it happened. I really don't think the anemone is the issue, just takes time and patience.

 

[Toofattofish]

In the past I really wanted my clown to be hosted by a BTA which I had for a few months. I got them to bond by using the cylinder from a siphon to slide the clown into the anemone and by the next day the BTA was hosting the clown which then became a major terror until I got rid of it. I'd prefer a more docile clown than one that bonds with an anemone and becomes super territorial (though I'm not sure how frequently this happens)

 

[Lance A. Lot]

We've had multiple clownfish from ocellaris, percula and maroons get hosted by bubble tip anemones. Infact, that's the only type ofanemone we've ever owned. Sometimes they go right to it while other times my wife spent time getting them near it. Clowns will take to many things like Duncan coral, goniopora, etc. We even had a pair of maroons get hosted buy our large squamosa and none of those are the "correct" host either but it happened. I really don't think the anemone is the issue, just takes time and patience.

3eei