What anemone should I get?

[BiggF!sh]

Hey guys, I have a platinum clown (amphiprion Percula) in a 50 gal. What anemone do you think I should get. I obviously would like something that does not grow too big and that would fit in that tank.

 

[KrisReef]

Find an inexpensive clone that you like, generally bubble tip, as those are easier to keep ime and when they wander into a powerhead you won't be loosing a car payment. A lot of designer clowns take awhile to move into an anemone because they have not experienced one before growing up in captivity. GL

 

[AV corals]

I have a two year old sebae that stretch’s 12 in wide so not a sebae. However, bubble tip anemones are quite nice and they don’t really get as wide as a sebae. They’re also pretty cheap $50-80. Here’s a pic of mine.
Also what ever you do. Do not get a hellfire anemone.
Thank you for this public service announcement

 

[KING KONG]

Hey guys, I have a platinum clown (amphiprion Percula) in a 50 gal. What anemone do you think I should get. I obviously would like something that does not grow too big and that would fit in that tank.

Most common anemones would be Bubble Tips,Carpet, Sebae, Long Tentacle. Clownfish in aquarium are weird. They will host to anything like fogspawn, palys,etc

 

[BiggF!sh]

I have a two year old sebae that stretch’s 12 in wide so not a sebae. However, bubble tip anemones are quite nice and they don’t really get as wide as a sebae. They’re also pretty cheap $50-80. Here’s a pic of mine.
Also what ever you do. Do not get a hellfire anemone.
Thank you for this public service announcement

Bubble tip look awesome but I thought those wouldn’t host my species of clown…

 

[KING KONG]

Bubble tip look awesome but I thought those wouldn’t host my species of clown…

They may host them but to play safe
Leathery (Sebae) Sea Anemone (H. crispa),Magnificent Sea Anemone (H. magnifica),Giant Carpet Sea Anemone (S. gigantea),Merten's Carpet Sea Anemone (S. mertensii) are some options....

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys, I have a platinum clown (amphiprion Percula) in a 50 gal. What anemone do you think I should get. I obviously would like something that does not grow too big and that would fit in that tank.

Bubble tip are the most popular, available and price structured often splitting and giving you a return on your investment. They come in colors that enhance the tank decor and widely accepted by clown fish

 

[KrisReef]

Bubble tip look awesome but I thought those wouldn’t host my species of clown…

The clown will be happy with a bubble tip.

 

[OrionN]

The clown will be happy with a bubble tip.

maybe, a big maybe.

 

[Jekyl]

It took my clowns over 2 years before any of my anemone hosted them. Don't get one thinking that it will be an instant match. Also keep in mind that anemone need a mature tank, stable parameters and strong lighting.

 

[Rtaylor]

A few things to consider:
Bubbletips are not a natural host, but will often host percs. The watch out with bta’s is that they split a lot. People either love that or hate that about them. Bta’s will find a home in your rockwork and they do tend to move more than most anemones.

Magnifica’s are a natural host, but it’s difficult to find a healthy specimen and they require higher lighting and flow. These guys will find the highest spot they can in your tank and often decide they’ll only be happy on the back glass. They can also get very large as they only infrequently split. Sebae (h.crispa) are sand dwelling anemones that are difficult to keep as well.

Long tentacle anemones are sand dwellers. Not a natural host, but often will. They don’t split and can get big. Much hardier than mags.

Carpets can kill other fish, but can be beautiful (and get very large). Gigantea are a bit less aggressive than haddoni, but harder to care for.

I’d avoid the condylactis anemone. It’s aggressive, known to kill fish (including clowns sometimes) and gets big.

 

[OrionN]

Get one of these, H. magnifica or S. gigantea. They are the natural hosts of Percula and Ocellaris. Don’t feed them much and they will not grown on you.
BUT I need to warn you that they are not easy to get. Expensive, hard to get to establish and not that easy to keep healthy.

 

[KrisReef]

maybe, a big maybe.

That is interesting. Do you think that the tank bred clown would be "happier" with a more wild match between host and fish?

 

[OrionN]

A few things to consider:
Bubbletips are not a natural host, but will often host percs. The watch out with bta’s is that they split a lot. People either love that or hate that about them. Bta’s will find a home in your rockwork and they do tend to move more than most anemones.

Magnifica’s are a natural host, but it’s difficult to find a healthy specimen and they require higher lighting and flow. These guys will find the highest spot they can in your tank and often decide they’ll only be happy on the back glass. They can also get very large as they only infrequently split. Sebae (h.crispa) are sand dwelling anemones that are difficult to keep as well.

Long tentacle anemones are sand dwellers. Not a natural host, but often will. They don’t split and can get big. Much hardier than mags.

Carpets can kill other fish, but can be beautiful (and get very large). Gigantea are a bit less aggressive than haddoni, but harder to care for.

I’d avoid the condylactis anemone. It’s aggressive, known to kill fish (including clowns sometimes) and gets big.

@Rtaylor
You forgot S. gigantea, my favorite anemone.

My error. You did not. I just did not read carefully.

 

[OrionN]

That is interesting. Do you think that the tank bred clown would be "happier" with a more wild match between host and fish?

Thousand years of life-or-death instinct is not going to be bred out in a few generations. Tank bred or wild caught do not mater. Once you see them in their natural host, you will see that un-natural surrogate hosts are all very pale in comparison to the real thing.

 

[OrionN]

You may want to hunt for a H. malu. They stay small, live on/in the sand bed, beautiful and almost all Percula and Ocellaris will accept them as host. My Percula/Ocellaris and hybrid between the two, always accept Malu as host quickly, unless there is a Gigantea or Magnifica also in the tank. Much easier to get and care for too. The one problem is not many LFS can tell between H. malu or H. crispa. They are all Sebae Anemones or Long Tentacle Anemones to LFS

 

[BiggF!sh]

Thousand years of life-or-death instinct is not going to be bred out in a few generations. Tank bred or wild caught do not mater. Once you see them in their natural host, you will see that un-natural surrogate hosts are all very pale in comparison to the real thing.

What do you mean?

 

[OrionN]

In the wild, on the whole, a pair of clowns will successfully spawn 1 pair of reproductive clowns in their lifetime. Many thousand baby clown died. The ones that do not find a natural host quickly have no chance in living. This life-or-death instinct to find a natural host quickly isn't going to go away after a few generations of tank bred.

 

[X-37B]

I have a pair in my 30g remote system attatched to my old 120 currently 80g.
I had them for 2 years and they never hosted anything in the 120.
They were both under an inch when I got them.
I got this nem, from a tank breakdown as it was 6 years old.
Within one day both found it and have been very happy since.

I have a clown living in a large frogspawn in my 45 for 3 yeats now too. Its 6 now.

 

[BiggF!sh]

In the wild, on the whole, a pair of clowns will successfully spawn 1 pair of reproductive clowns in their lifetime. Many thousand baby clown died. The one that does not find a natural host quickly have no chance in living. This life-or-death instinct to fine a natural host isn't going to go away after a few generations of tank bred.

Got it ok, but what did you mean they looked more pale?