Clown/Anemone Question...

[cbianco]

So I'm thinking about a fish... :applause: (<----I've never EVER owned a fish, only coral)

I'm looking for a clown anemone pair. (Just one clown.)

Question :confused:

Is there a relatively small anemone that is likely to stay where I put it and will be happy on the sand bed against my reef scape and host a clownfish? (Yeah, that's more than one question, lolol)

I know jack-squat about the above subject so be nice, help lead me in the right direction please.

Links?

Thanks in advance. :ph34r:

Christopher :)

[cbianco]

Wow... did some WWW reading.

It seems that size for any clown hosting anemone is going to be an issue in my tank.

:(

I want something fancy dang-it!

Christopher

[Europhyllia]

well what do you got now?
maybe we can suggest something fancy but small... ?

[Europhyllia]

Like if your tank is really tiny some anemone shrimp live in partnership with ricordia (instead of anemones).
a shrimp/ricordia combo might fit almost anywhere (just an example -don't boo it yet...)

[cbianco]

Well, I'm fishless, lol.

30 gallon Mixed reef with plenty of acropora, some zoanthids, some ricordia (which are finally splitting), larger/multi head torch.

Any interesting suggestions?

Christopher :)

[cbianco]

Like if your tank is really tiny some anemone shrimp live in partnership with ricordia (instead of anemones).
a shrimp/ricordia combo might fit almost anywhere (just an example -don't boo it yet...)

Ahh good ole sexy shrimp. [insert: sexy_smiley]

Christopher :)

[cbianco]

I found a statement leading me to believe that there is a chance that sexy shrimp may host a torch coral.


The relationships they form in the wild with anemones can be detrimental to some LPS in captivity specifically small Torch Corals as they many times cannot tolerate the Sexy Shrimp's attempt to host them.

Found at: http://www.reefpedia.com/index.php/Sexy_Shrimp

Anyone have experience?

Christopher

[ReefCube]

in a 30 gal your very limited you will find road blocks in all directions so if you have a small tank with corals i would do some common fish cheap and all different no 2 are the same so you dont get any fighting.

[cbianco]

in a 30 gal your very limited you will find road blocks in all directions so if you have a small tank with corals i would do some common fish cheap and all different no 2 are the same so you dont get any fighting.

I was more interested in the relationship between the clown and the anemone than just having a fish (please don't take that as belittling anyone). I honestly am not that interested in fish (maybe a little bit) but I am very interested in symbiotic (sp?) relationships on the reef.

You're absolutely correct with the road block statements. Maybe I just need several little tanks, lolololol.

Christopher :)

[Roo&Lis]

I had a maroon clown that was really cool. I'd give him a little piece of krill and off he'd go to feed his anemone. I've even heard you can train them to do tricks.

[tebstan]

I'd give him a little piece of krill and off he'd go to feed his anemone.


That's awesome. I must try this. Wonder if I could train it to feed the LPS for me... :)

[OrionN]

H. malu is an easy to keep small host anemone that stay in the sand. They can be very colorful also. My two Malu anemones stay at about 5-6 inches or so fully extended. I keep them in a 30 g Finnex tank. I keep them well fed and they spawn in my tank several times. You got to really be careful not to get a H. crispa because these do get large although care is essentially the same.

[jroescher]

Maybe consider a small shrimp/goby pair. My shrimp won't go anywhere without one of his antenea touching the goby. Really interesting relationship.

[cbianco]

H. malu is an easy to keep small host anemone that stay in the sand. They can be very colorful also. My two Malu anemones stay at about 5-6 inches or so fully extended. I keep them in a 30 g Finnex tank. I keep them well fed and they spawn in my tank several times. You got to really be careful not to get a H. crispa because these do get large although care is essentially the same.

After a quick lookup, Malu only get to about a max of 6" and come in a variety of colors. Unfortunately, their hosting abilities are kind of limited; tomato and clark's clownfish.

On a side note, after reading about anemones (of all sorts) last night (mostly on WWW), I am a bit discouraged to own one myself. It would appear that they may be more sensitive about my tank, than I am even dilligent in deeping my acros, lolololol. Can their husbandry really be this difficult?

Let me ask you, I didn't seem to find this info yet, how can you tell malu from crispa with certainty?


Maybe consider a small shrimp/goby pair. My shrimp won't go anywhere without one of his antenea touching the goby. Really interesting relationship.

Shrimp gobies and shrimp are awsome!!! I was very close to buying a pair when I had my JBJ NC a few years ago. They are still on my "considering" list.

As well, I am still considering Karin's idea of some (3-4) sexy shrimp. My torch coral and my ricordia are very close in proximity in the tank. Seems like those are two possible hosts, close together, UP FRONT in my tank.

Descisions, descisions...

Keep the ideas coming folks.

Christopher :)

[Markster]

I had two occelaris clowns in a 29 gal with a large bubble tip anenome and they did fine...mater of fact, they laid eggs a couple of times and had another maast member come over and collect the hatchings. He raised them, sold many to the LFS and I got a few back. That was 10 years ago before I combined the 58 and 29 into a 75 gal.

[ErikH]

A black clownfish and an RBTA.

Here's "emo nemo" and his RBTA

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x315/erikharrison/Fish/Folder%202/DSC_0056.jpg

It also hosts two sexy shrimp.

[phippsj]

My clowns host with a hammer coral.

[justahobby]

Christopher, I would almost entirely dismiss the "hosting capability" of anemones. Condies are one the of best known for being "unhostable", but when clowns are given a lack of options, they will host anything (magnets, heaters). And yeah, I've seen clowns host condies. Clowns have their own minds made up and they may decide to host your LPS over an anemone they grow up with in the wild.

I would suggest Pink Skunks or a variant as they stay smaller and are more passive (so says literature and my exp.). As far as an anemone staying in place, ME has been carpets settled down better than most.


Going back to non-fish symbiotic relationships... Mini Maxi carpets are one of the easiest to care for, stay very small. Anemone crabs are fun to watch.

[txg8gxp]

This is my unknown anemone. My GSM's just love it, it's really cool to watch them hang out in it(ok...on it hahaha). I love how they keep everything around it clean. They got to have a clean home :)
http://i776.photobucket.com/albums/yy46/txg8gxp/DSC00970.jpg?t=1281636996

[justahobby]

^^^ Looks like a BTA, without seeing the foot.

[txg8gxp]

I got it from saabtech and he never had any get bigger then about 3"

[cbianco]

Well, after doing more reading, it seems that just about most anemones have the potential to out grow my tank. (I prefer to plan for the worst case senerio.) Also, it seems in many situations anemones will pick their own spot and I can't afford to have it move and sting my other inhabitants. I think I am going to have to nix the clown/anemone idea.

However, I am looking at...
-sexy shrimp for my ricordia/torch,
-maybe an/some acro crabs,
-mini carpets/anemone crabs (have to look into this).

Are there any other symbiotic relationship animals that you can think of that don't involve fish?

Christopher

[kkiel02]

+1 for the Malu. They stay small and stay on the sandbed. The hosting like Justin said is mainly for natural habitats. Occelaris and Perculas arent supposed to host BTAs but you see them hosting them everywhere. I think the natural host for a BTA is the Maroon Clownfish BTW. Make sure you get a healthy anemone as they are fairly easy to care for. If you can keep acros Im sure an anemone would easily make it.

Edit- Nevermind I hadnt read the last page yet. lol