ARE MY CLOWNS WEIRD???

[txmaverickmh]

My pair of clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) were the first fish that I got for my aquarium when I set it up last August, and I think they are just beautiful and I love them to death!

BUT, they have never hosted in anything in my tank, I dont get it? I am wondering how many of you have clownfish that just swim freely in the tank with no host?

I had a RBTA for about 5 months until it mysteriously died, but they never took any interest in it. I have also seen clowns host in things like frogspawns (I have two big ones) and other things, but my clowns dont host, if anything, they host in the back right corner of my tank and swim up and down it all night while sleeping.

Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts.

Michael

Here are some pics of my guys:

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad3/txmaverickmh/April2010/Clowns003.jpg

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad3/txmaverickmh/April2010/Clowns002.jpg

http://i916.photobucket.com/albums/ad3/txmaverickmh/April2010/Clowns001.jpg

[Meslo]

my sister has tank raised clowns that dont know how to host :) they just go up and down the glass corner of her tank.

[txmaverickmh]

Thanks for the comment, I wish I knew whether my clowns were tank-raised or not

[Mr Cob]

lol at your thread title.
I'd try another BTA.

[txmaverickmh]

Would you think I should try a ROSE bubble tip anemone, or what other type of anemone?

[hobogato]

i think another rbta would be a good thing to try.

[Mr Cob]

Would you think I should try a ROSE bubble tip anemone, or what other type of anemone?

rose baby!



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[txmaverickmh]

I am going to pawn one off Dr. Mark as soon as he gets back in town!!!! Only problem is his pawns are so freakin big!

[diego]

Michael,
I have a pair clowns that do the same thing. They could host in my frogspawn but don't. I did notice one trying to rub up on my candy cane.

[StevenSeas]

Their natural hosts in the wild are carpet anem. And hadonni both of which are soo much more difficult to keep than bta. Rbta are the same as a bta e. Quadricolor the rose is just one of the four (quad) color strains. If it's tank raised it won't have been relaised in a system with a anem. so it won't know to host. If it's wild caught it might not go to a bta because the pheremones that it gives off is different than that of their natural hosts. I believe it was in Joyce wilkersons book on clownfish that if you could get those pheremones and put it on an old boot and put that in the tank the clownfish would host in it.

[txmaverickmh]

very interesting, thanks aggiereefer, now if I could get my hands on a bottle of those pheremones...LOL, perhaps, I will try another RBTA, my tank is just getting crowded and I fear the damage of those guys, especially when they are mobile.

[kkiel02]

Michael my clowns wouldnt host for the about 4 months I would say. I just kept throwing anemones at them. I also was addicted to different bubble tip variations at the time. Eventually they found one they liked. It was brown with neon green tips alot like the scubasteve hybrid coral. They wouldnt leave that anemone and wouldnt host any of the others until the sad day I came home with the anemone dying. I still am not sure what killed it but now my clowns host all my bta. Good to see you back btw.

[alton]

My Black and Whites in my 300 use the frogspawn in the tank and my false use the GSP in my 29

[swiatrek]

I have a rbta and my clowns were doing the exact same thing. Then after about 5 months my male just started hanging out and then my female followed. Wish I could tell you that I did something special, but they just eventually found it I guess. Good Luck, it really is neat to watch them.

[ErikH]

Here you go homeslice.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Clown_anemone/Clown_anemone.htm

[Europhyllia]

Well where do they lay their eggs? I'd consider that home base. They used to host in my Duncans until the Duncan's perished. :(
But most of the time they like to hang out in their little cave with their eggs. They fiercely defend it.
Maybe yours think your tank corner is their cave?
The only time they stopped spawning and defending their 'special place' was for those 10 days that I had a tang.

[vman181]

My two host in the corner of the tank at night. They do the same thing, sleep and swim up and down that side.

[Randy@pollyspets]

I've had two species of clown mate in my tanks, Clarkii (wild) and 2 different pairs of False Percula (Wild and Tank Raised). They have all EVENTUALLY hosted in BTA's. The tank raised ones can be stubborn. I know the ones we get from ORA are funny about this. I'll put them in our tanks at the shop, and the next day 3 or 4 may be in an anemone...while other times I order them and no clowns touch an anemone for weeks!! Part of it may be maturity...in all my cases with clowns, I have found that after they have concretely established their mating pair, they will look for something to host in; this is instinctive, tank raised or not. I would recommend keeping with Bubble Tips, and to be patient, it may take a year or so for them to really settle into being a proper "pair" of clowns.

[corkyGramma]

Depending on the size of the tank, you could try introducing a third clown_it wakes up their instincts and they'll adopt the anem before the other one does.