Carpet Eating Clowns

[Reef GE]

I have a green carpet anenome. Added a few clowns to my tank today for the first time. On a few minutes one of the clowns touched the carpet and got swallowed up...he eventually made it out but is roughed up. Then five minutes later the other clown touched the anenome and bam....he became lunch. Did I do skmething wrong? Why is my carpet eating my clowns? Ocellaris.

Should I remove carpet?
What are the chances the roughed up clown makes it? He’s got plenty of sores.

 

[40g Nano]

Carpets are agressive

 

[Reef GE]

Anything I can do to help the clowns adjust to the anenome? Captive bred ocellaris.

 

[Reef GE]

Carpets are agressive

I knew that but I thought they could host clowns.

 

[40g Nano]

They can, but I have no experience with them.

 

[Sailfin11]

I've heard it takes the clowns a few days to get coated with mucus from anemone, so maybe that process is still happening. In terms of recovery, my six line wrasse got completely stung by an RBTA and was able to heal in a few weeks. Just keep feeding nutritious foods to boost their immune systems.

 

[BrandonS]

how big is this carpet? I have had smaller clowns have a hard time with even bubble tip anemone's. Especially when they are new to a tank and still stressed. Maybe an acclimation box?

 

[ScubaFish802]

My clowns would bite the tips to build tolerance before going all in usually, I don't know much about carpet nems though. Maybe we can get @OrionN s thoughts

 

[JoshH]

@Nemguy123 any thoughts here?

 

[92Miata]

Carpets are pretty voracious fish eaters.


In the wild they typically host the species of clowns that look like Clarkiis and Skunks - bigger, heavier bodied. You might have better luck with one of those species (or wild caught fish in general).

Or try one of the anemone species that isn't known for eating fish (like RBTAs. )

 

[Reef GE]

how big is this carpet? I have had smaller clowns have a hard time with even bubble tip anemone's. Especially when they are new to a tank and still stressed. Maybe an acclimation box?

10 in

 

[Reef GE]

I've heard it takes the clowns a few days to get coated with mucus from anemone, so maybe that process is still happening. In terms of recovery, my six line wrasse got completely stung by an RBTA and was able to heal in a few weeks. Just keep feeding nutritious foods to boost their immune systems.

They didn’t have a chance to get mucus to build up. First contact with anenome was the last. He ate one on the first attempt to host.

 

[Reef GE]

Carpets are pretty voracious fish eaters.


In the wild they typically host the species of clowns that look like Clarkiis and Skunks - bigger, heavier bodied. You might have better luck with one of those species (or wild caught fish in general).

Or try one of the anemone species that isn't known for eating fish (like RBTAs. )

So ocellaris are not compatible with carpets?

 

[92Miata]

So ocellaris are not compatible with carpets?

Compatible is a fuzzy sliding scale here.

Generally - wild caught fish host easier because they were hosting in an anemone when they were collected, and they know what to do, whereas captive bred fish have spent their whole life usually living in a bunch of barebottom vats.

Generally clowns host easier in their natural hosts. For Ocellaris, that's typically H. magnifica, but sometimes carpets.


A big aggressive fish eating carpet and small captive bred clowns is just a high risk situation. Clowns that do dumb things with carpet anemones in the wild don't get collected - because they get eaten.


Did you buy the clowns from a store/mail order? I'm kind of wondering if clowns from someone elses tank that were hosting a BTA or something might have a better shot.

 

[Reef GE]

Compatible is a fuzzy sliding scale here.

Generally - wild caught fish host easier because they were hosting in an anemone when they were collected, and they know what to do, whereas captive bred fish have spent their whole life usually living in a bunch of barebottom vats.

Generally clowns host easier in their natural hosts. For Ocellaris, that's typically H. magnifica, but sometimes carpets.


A big aggressive fish eating carpet and small captive bred clowns is just a high risk situation. Clowns that do dumb things with carpet anemones in the wild don't get collected - because they get eaten.


Did you buy the clowns from a store/mail order? I'm kind of wondering if clowns from someone elses tank that were hosting a BTA or something might have a better shot.

They are young captive bred clowns, small size. Anything I can do to help them adjust, or just forget the carpet. It came with my tank when I bought it. I can move it to a quarantine tank if necessary. Don’t have good lighting for that tank but maybe it can live there til I figure out what to do with it. I live overseas and there are VERY few people with reef tanks here so I’m not sure what I’ll do yet, but don’t want to keep losing clowns or other fish.

 

[Reef GE]

I bought them from a store. Captive bred in Israel.

 

[Reef GE]

I do have two saddlebacks. Also captive bred. Would they have a better chance of hosting the anenome? I don’t want to risk it if not certain but see that saddlebacks typically work better with haddoni.

 

[Pillahump]

I do have two saddlebacks. Also captive bred. Would they have a better chance of hosting the anenome? I don’t want to risk it if not certain but see that saddlebacks typically work better with haddoni.

saddleback clowns are the carpet anemone more natural host. However, I have seen other types of clowns being hosted as well.

 

[shred5]

Sure it is not a Atlantic carpet anemone? They do show up from time to time and will eat fish including clowns?

It is possible for the other carpets to eat clowns too occasionally. Clowns usually have a instinct for this kind of thing unless it is forced or panic.

 

[James M]

What type of carpet anemone is it ? Any pics ?