Onyx / picasso Clownfish hosts

The new fish on the block · Mar 6, 2016

Hi all i recently purchased an pair of onyx clowns and want to get them an anemone what kind should I get. I also read about them losing color when hosting a BTA. Thanks and happy reefing!!

DannyB · Mar 10, 2016

I have never heard about them losing color due to being with a BTA. Maybe someone else can chime in that.

gioNVA · Mar 11, 2016

I've had 4 onyx clownfish lose the black color in a rose bta. 2 of them were rod's onyx, 1 was cquest, and 1 wild. My doni's picassos also lost the black in a rose bta. A gigantea would be best but they are hard to keep. You can try a H. Malu as I've seen onyx clowns keep the color in those.

bairdimusprime · Mar 11, 2016

Clowns are supposed to darken with age, especially Onyx Picasso clowns. both of mine have a host BTA and have never experienced color loss. what are you feeding your fish???

bairdimusprime · Mar 11, 2016

here's my Picasso clowns... took this pic after feeding some @ReefFrenzy .
these two are three years old and the black gets blacker.. please feel free to ask any questions you have as my tank is dedicated to them

Jimbo662 · Mar 11, 2016

I put a snowflake and a Picasso in my tank last weekend. Within an hour the Picasso started hosting my toadstool. Finally last night I noticed the snowflake had finally joined in. I'd considered getting a bta since I don't have many corals in the tank right now. Now that they're happy with the toadstool no need for a bta and no chance of it stinging / killing anything else. :-)

ReefFrenzy · Mar 11, 2016

Very nice! Thanks for the shout out.

Trex · Mar 11, 2016

I had (( still have one )) a pair of Salomon Island percs that lost almost all of their black when they were hosted by an M. doreensis ( LTA ). They regained a good deal of it when I switched that out for an S. haddoni.

Pictures;

When first released to the main tank,

First hosted by the LTA

6 months later,

First time in the S. haddoni (( August 2009 ))

3 months later

RyanSweet · Mar 11, 2016

Wow! Great observation. I've never seen clowns change that drastically with different host nems. I wonder what caused it??

ngvu1 · Mar 11, 2016

I have only heard clown fish losing color due to lack of light. However, we have a reef, if the light is not enough for the clown fish to keep color, the nem is not going to make it.....Also "It will get more black when it gets older" is not happening. If the clown you buy is 1 inch or bigger. What you see at that size is what you will have for the rest of the life of the clown :-)

gioNVA · Mar 11, 2016

Here's another example:

ORA picasso back in ~2006. Before RBTA:

Same fish after a year or so in the RBTA:

bairdimusprime · Mar 11, 2016

amazing, wonder why this happens

ngvu1 · Mar 11, 2016

Thanks for sharing. But how do we prove that the color change/lost is due to the RBA?

Besides, most true percula clowns have more black color when young and lose all black color when mature (as I have seen). The true Onyx clowns keep the black color when mature .....

gioNVA said:
Here's another example:

ORA picasso back in ~2006. Before RBTA:

Same fish after a year or so in the RBTA:

gioNVA · Mar 11, 2016

I took all the rose anemones out of the clownfish tank and they regain the black color within a few months. Same tank/food/lighting/water just no rbta.

bairdimusprime · Mar 11, 2016

just found this pic of my clowns in 2014, so yes they did lose some black with the RBTA's. I guess I missed that

ngvu1 · Mar 11, 2016

Very interesting. thanks for sharing!

gioNVA said:
I took all the rose anemones out of the clownfish tank and they regain the black color within a few months. Same tank/food/lighting/water just no rbta.