Pre-thinking the nem with Blackfoot clowns

[Lowstorm]

So let me start this with, I won't be getting an anemone yet!!!!

My first fish are hitting the water April 2nd. A pair of A. Nigripes (Blackfooted Clownfish, Rose Skunk). Now, I eventually want to allow them to be hosted by an anemone. Problem is, there's only 1 anemone that naturally hosts them. That's the Magnifica. I already have made the anemone column in my tank, its in both high and low flow, isolated from other rocks, whatever species I get will beable to be either at the tippity top of the tank under my lights, or the sand bed if that's what they prefer.

I've had great success with all sorts of nems before. Some of my clones are still in other reefers tanks around the area! I feel confident I could probably do a BTA today and it would be fine. But I'm waiting... and waiting.. and now deciding what I should eventually get.

Mags are known to be fish eaters. My tank is 125 gallons, and I plan on having clams, anthias, gobies, and the clownfish. Oh, and lps, sps, and zoas. My tank has one arch (left hand side) one medium sized 'pile o rocks' in the middle, and then the right hand side has my column going up almost all the way to the top.

I'm really thinking I should stick with my original plan of getting a couple of BTA's. Or maybe an LTA. I know I have the experience for a carpet, but I don't want to have the experience of a giant 2-3 ft wide monster fish eater.

I know blackfoot clowns aren't very common, and there's not a lot of info on them from my searching. I saw 2 instances of them being hosted by other anemones. Are my chances decent at getting them to stick with a more common, less dangerous nem? The only other clowns I've ever had are cinnamons and barberi. They jumped right into the anemones, even if it took a few days/months.

 

[reefwiser]

The Problem is that anemones are not something you can place in a tank and expect them to stay there. They will find their place and it is usually not where you want them to be. The colorado sunburst anemone is the one I would pick lots of color and does rather well in aquariums. You can generally pick up one that has split and reproduced in aquaria. When you get into wild caught anemones you get into disease issues an that is not a fun path.
Always best to introduce anemone have it settle for a few months and doing good then introduce clowns.
Mark show the slide introduction of clowns to an anemone one of the best tricks for getting them into hosting.

 

[Lowstorm]

Yeah, I really don't want wild caught... which is why I'm leaning more towards a bta. Or ten! I'm not so much into the fancy colors. A big green is at My lfs that I've been eying the past two months. It's holding up really well to the maroon that's with it. Not so well to the crappy lights. And since I've had really good luck with btas and them not killing everything in my tank...

I guess my only concern is eventually would they go to the bta. I'm not getting many fish, so the clowns, hosted or not, will really be seen. I can live with them not ever finding the nem.

I had heard of the tube thing. Or using a glass. Or the smaller bowl trick.

So my overall plan is to have a few btas. Well, that's my preferred plan. I do like the colors on some of them, like the rains.... OMG the purple And the acid! I'm not as wowed by the rainbows. And a plain old green would be fine foundation for me.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have a pair of nigripes. You do not see them often. Reefgen tank bred on mine. I have had mine 2yrs. The female is now really large and the male just a little thing. Both juveniles when I got them. For the longest time, they just hung around my neon green palua and my large toadstool. Then at one point they tried to be with the large squamosa clam.

I had gotten a M. doreensis in Feb hoping to add my clarkiis to it when it settled. Before I could do that, the male nigripes found it and loved it. Took less than a week. Now two months in the female is also in it. However, they still like to go to the nepthea too. At night, they lay in the LTA. Cool fish.

Just wait. The female will be a terror to the male. So funny. I would try a BTA or LTA at this point. Or a clam.

 

[Lowstorm]

I've had them 2 weeks now. They're so cute. Males about half the size of the female. And yes, super shy. Someday I'll be getting them an anemone, if they've gone to ltas before I'd likely get a couple of them. Its been a decade since I had one.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Good luck. Now I have to get another nem for my clarkiis.

 

[Lowstorm]

Hi again.

My tank is maybe ready! Been steady, can keep spa except birds nests (too bright of lighting when I place them. Lesson learned. Bird of paradise is coming back from it)

So my LTA will arrive Tuesday. I'm rather excited. Since April I went back and forth with the type, and even though I really like the color choices the btas have, the ltas kept calling me. So I went and ordered one from live aquaria to finish off my order to get the free shipping (got a goby/shrimp trio from divers den too)

I'm hoping it will like the area I want it to be in. If not and it moves that's fine. I'm ready to move my sandbed corals as needed! Not that there's much there. Just a giant acan colony and my orange wall hammer. Oh, and that digi frag that fell into the corner. It's got a 125 gallon tank to choose a spot to take over.

So so excited!

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yippie!!!

My LTA would not settle in the end. I think my Engineer Goby just irritated it too much. I moved to sump to be with the clarkiis and settle in, but forgot about my killer starfish and one day it ate the nem.

However, my BTA split from my ocellaris pair and now that is the nigripes home. They have been laying eggs for the past 6 months every 9 to 10 days. Super fun.

 

[Lowstorm]

Need I say more?

Sitting an extra night in Minneapolis killed the LTA, there was actually ice in the bag. The fish and pistol shrimp didn't make it either. Thankfully I went through live aquaria so doa means a refund. But those fish hit me hard!

So I went and got a beautiful purple and green tip bta from the lfs. They let ME take it out so I know it'll be fine. It's settling in nicely now

 

[DeniseAndy]

Oh, man. I am sorry. This time of year can be brutal. Poor babies. Glad you got an anemone though. The BTA will make a nice home. That is what mine are in now. I have video of my two spawning. I have to find it though. Must still be on my phone.

 

[Lowstorm]

Yeah. I'll order prettier nems in the spring. That way if they're delayed they won't freeze to death. Under normal lighting this one looks brown with white stripes on the tentacles and little green dots on the end. As soon as my leds hit it it was amazing!

 

[Lowstorm]

Tonight is the night.

My female bfclown is hovering over the anemone, her fins touching it. But she's being blown around by the flow from my powerheads... my nem decided it likes high flow.

I'm betting within a week, she'll be in it fully!