Clown/Anemone not paring

[BigSoxFan]

Hey just had a question about the time it takes for a clown and a Anemone
to pair up.They were bought at seprate times. They have been growing and doing great for about 4.5 to 5 mnts now, but want nothing to do with each other. the anemone is a common long tentacle. Water is near perfect, and lighting is a corallife 260w on a 75gal. The whole system has been running for a little over a year. My lr stock could be more only about 40lbs (im just really happy with the way it looks so i dont want to add more). So i dont think it is thier living conditions. Let me know if you all need more info. thanks as always for any input.

 

[FishGeek]

Its not something that happens right off the bat, as an anenome could eat the clown. When I had my Clarkii Clown and got a Carpet Anenome shortly after it took the Clown quite sometime to gain the courage to start messing in the Anenome. At first he wouls pick at the outer edges and fan it and kinda clean what he could without getting too close. After a while of that he would venture into it for short periods and shortly following that he hardly ever left it. Just give them some time.

 

[BigSoxFan]

ok so 4 or 5 mnts is not that long of a time for them not to pair up?

i just wanted to be sure it was nothing about water chem. i guess i need to give it more time.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

sometimes clowns don't even try to get in, sometimes they chose corals instead, my 3y old false percula used a powerhead as host and now when the lights are off my paired false percula try my anemone-like plate coral.

 

[TRe]

theres no gaurentee that they will ever pair up

 

[FishGeek]

That too. (messeage wasnt long enough so I added this)

 

[Lorna]

Well especially depending on the type of clown you have. If you have a clarkii or a sebae clown there is a good chance they will find each other and if so I am really suprised they haven't already. Ocellaris/perculas are not natural hosting in an lta as their natural host is a carpet anemone.......I have two percs and a bubble tip anemone which the clowns could care less about, they host a trumpet coral. Captive bred clownfish are even more likely to ignore the anemone as they have never seen it before. I have actually heard of people taping pictures of clowns in anemones to their tank to show the clowns how to do it..........they say it worked but I am not so sure. I have also heard of shining a light on the nem after lights out sort of guiding the clown to the nem......again no guarantees....

 

[BigSoxFan]

ok well im not going to try and force nature i will just wait it out and see what happens. will the anm. suffer in any way if it dose not have a mate?

 

[Lorna]

No......many anemones have no clownfish such as those that are found in temperate waters.

 

[KLR]

Clownfish Weirdly Hosting

Hey just had a question about the time it takes for a clown and a Anemone
to pair up.They were bought at seprate times. They have been growing and doing great for about 4.5 to 5 mnts now, but want nothing to do with each other. the anemone is a common long tentacle. Water is near perfect, and lighting is a corallife 260w on a 75gal. The whole system has been running for a little over a year. My lr stock could be more only about 40lbs (im just really happy with the way it looks so i dont want to add more). So i dont think it is thier living conditions. Let me know if you all need more info. thanks as always for any input.

I have dreamnt of having my 2 ocellaris clowns host in a anemone, I have 2 bubble tip anemones, a purple condy anemone, multiple flower anemones, and some grass. Out of all the choices the clowns chose the grass. So now they host in that and wish they would host in an anemone. But, from what i've read and seen a bubble tip anemone is the best , and hardiest host for clownfish in a saltwater aquarium. I've also read that perculas live with bubble tip anemones in the wild and ocellaris live with carpet anemones in the wild.....that may be my problem. But, I would try a bubble tip anemone.

 

[Lorna]

bta's are the natural symbiotic host for maroon clowns.....not perculas or ocellaris whose hosts are carpet anemones. Given time and luck they may host in a bta......mine host in a long tip anemone and leave the bta alone....I have 2 clarkiis who also host an lta