Clownfish to Anemone

Yolofly · Mar 11, 2020

Hi Guys,

I have a pair of Ocellaris clown fish and have a green bubble anemone for a month and 1 week and have been trying to have the clown house the anemone but so far they just swim all over the tank. I have seen videos of people using a PVC tube and just "making them" go to the anemone. Do you guys have another way to make them go to the anemone?

zapbap99 · Mar 11, 2020

they go into it if they want simple as that

Yolofly · Mar 11, 2020

No problem, I will wait see if they go by them self. Thanks, @zapbap99

zapbap99 · Mar 11, 2020

Yolofly said:
No problem, I will wait see if they go by them self. Thanks, @zapbap99

feed near it is all i can say i suppose

SteveEreef · Mar 11, 2020

Yolofly said:
No problem, I will wait see if they go by them self. Thanks, @zapbap99

Took my clowns 2 1/2 years

OnyxPerc · Mar 11, 2020

Yolofly said:
Hi Guys,

I have a pair of Ocellaris clownfish and have a green bubble anemone for a month and 1 week and have been trying to have the clown house the anemone but so far they just swim all over the tank. I have seen videos of people using a PVC tube and just "making them" go to the anemone. Do you guys have another way to make them go to the anemone?

You can try using a tube / PVC as you described to release the clowns into the anemone, but that is too forceful for my taste. The anemone is the host and must accept the clowns, so again I do not favor that method.

I usually put the fish and the anemone in a home-made basket together until the anemone hosts the clowns. My basket is made out of egg-crate, zip-tied together, and clamped to the side of the tank. The basket measures 10" long x 6" wide x 6" deep. A large acclimation box would work too. This method confines the fish to a small space with the anemone but does not force the relationship. Every time I've tried this method, the anemone has hosted the clowns within hours. I let them sit in the box for a few days so they get comfortable before releasing it into the main display.

P.S. you'll want some rubble rock in the box for the anemone to attach to. It's a PITA to remove an anemone from egg-crate.

Yolofly · Mar 11, 2020

SteveEreef said:
Took my clowns 2 1/2 years

Really

Yolofly · Mar 11, 2020

OnyxPerc said:
You can try using a tube / PVC as you described to release the clowns into the anemone, but that is too forceful for my taste. The anemone is the host and must accept the clowns, so again I do not favor that method.

I usually put the fish and the anemone in a home-made basket together until the anemone hosts the clowns. My basket is made out of egg-crate, zip-tied together, and clamped to the side of the tank. The basket measures 10" long x 6" wide x 6" deep. A large acclimation box would work too. This method confines the fish to a small space with the anemone but does not force the relationship. Every time I've tried this method, the anemone has hosted the clowns within hours. I let them sit in the box for a few days so they get comfortable before releasing it into the main display.

P.S. you'll want some rubble rock in the box for the anemone to attach to. It's a PITA to remove an anemone from egg-crate.

@OnyxPerc me too, I saw the videos and was going to do it, but like you, I don't want to force the fish to do something they don't want. I will try the acclimation box with a small live rock that I have. Thanks for the idea.

rirun · Mar 11, 2020

I had a pair that "broke up" once I added an anemone. The female preferred the torch and the male preferred the anemone. Had the re-home the female when it started ripping apart the torch...

rirun · Mar 11, 2020

Since then (about 6 months), the anemone split so i gave it to my friend that took the female. She still won't go near it.

OnyxPerc · Mar 11, 2020

Yolofly said:
@OnyxPerc me too, I saw the videos and was going to do it, but like you, I don't want to force the fish to do something they don't want. I will try the acclimation box with a small live rock that I have. Thanks for the idea.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

monti mike · Mar 11, 2020

rirun said:
I had a pair that "broke up" once I added an anemone. The female preferred the torch and the male preferred the anemone. Had the re-home the female when it started ripping apart the torch...