Should I buy them together

[lickyricky]

Hi guys,

My question is, is it better to get a clown and anemone together? LFS sometimes has them both and wondering if I should just get both once my cycle is over. I would also like a goby with a pistol shrimp. It's a 37 gallon DT (60 total). Could I still get 1 more fish? Want to have LPS and soft coral as well. If so what would you suggest?

 

[lickyricky]

Hi guys,

My question is, is it better to get a clown and anemone together? LFS sometimes has them both and wondering if I should just get both once my cycle is over. I would also like a goby with a pistol shrimp. It's a 37 gallon DT (60 total). Could I still get 1 more fish? Want to have LPS and soft coral as well. If so what would you suggest?

Btw I plan on adding slow. Would like to start with an anemone and clown. Are a pair of clowns better or should I get just one?

 

[5altkreep]

My opinion- start with the clowns for now, wait on the nem.

 

[Amoo]

Putting a Nem in a freshly cycled tank is a recipe for disaster even for the most experienced reefers. Add the Clowns and if you're serious about wanting a Nem spend the next few months reading about Nem care.

 

[madducks42]

Also something to keep in mind is that there is no guarantee the clownfish will pay any attention to the anemone, especially if you get captive-bred ocellaris. We have a pair of ocellaris and they couldn't care less about the anemone in the tank, and that seems to be fairly common. One of the LFS I go to says it's a 50/50 chance with captive bred clownfish and I think that's being generous, lol.

 

[lickyricky]

Also something to keep in mind is that there is no guarantee the clownfish will pay any attention to the anemone, especially if you get captive-bred ocellaris. We have a pair of ocellaris and they couldn't care less about the anemone in the tank, and that seems to be fairly common. One of the LFS I go to says it's a 50/50 chance with captive bred clownfish and I think that's being generous, lol.

That's exactly why I wanted to know if I should buy them together since the LFS has some that are already hosting

 

[Amoo]

Also something to keep in mind is that there is no guarantee the clownfish will pay any attention to the anemone, especially if you get captive-bred ocellaris. We have a pair of ocellaris and they couldn't care less about the anemone in the tank, and that seems to be fairly common. One of the LFS I go to says it's a 50/50 chance with captive bred clownfish and I think that's being generous, lol.

I would dispute this, but only to an extent. If you take an Ocellaris and try to hook him up with a Nem that isn't a natural host, then I would say you're looking at 50/50, captive or not. VERY VERY VERY rarely, do I see clowns in a tank captive or not, paired with a natural host and not being hosted.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

You will want to wait on the anemone. They really require a mature tank to thrive. They also require high light and very stable water parameters which most new tanks do not have.
If the clown is going to be hosted by an anemone then it will do so later just as well as now.
Do look up what kinds of anemones host what type of clowns though. Trying to set up a mis-matched pairing is likely to fail.

 

[madducks42]

I would dispute this, but only to an extent. If you take an Ocellaris and try to hook him up with a Nem that isn't a natural host, then I would say you're looking at 50/50, captive or not. VERY VERY VERY rarely, do I see clowns in a tank captive or not, paired with a natural host and not being hosted.

It's my understanding that BTA's are a natural host for ocellaris. Our pair of ocellaris have zero interest in our BTA, granted it's only been a month so maybe it will eventually host them. But the LFS guy was specifically talking about BTA's and captive bred ocellaris. I've come to accept that opinions and experiences in the reefing community will vary quite a bit, lol.

I just wanted to point out that there is no guarantee of an anemone hosting clownfish. I made sure to get a BTA that I really enjoyed, if it eventually hosts the clownfish that'd be awesome, but I'm super happy with it regardless.

To the OP, if having an anemone that hosts clownfish is really important to you then I would suggest waiting until your tank is stable and at least 6 months old, most people suggest a year, and then buying them all together like you stated. If your LFS has them now they'll have them again in the future : )

 

[Amoo]

It's my understanding that BTA's are a natural host for ocellaris. Our pair of ocellaris have zero interest in our BTA, granted it's only been a month so maybe it will eventually host them. But the LFS guy was specifically talking about BTA's and captive bred ocellaris. I've come to accept that opinions and experiences in the reefing community will vary quite a bit, lol.

I just wanted to point out that there is no guarantee of an anemone hosting clownfish. I made sure to get a BTA that I really enjoyed, if it eventually hosts the clownfish that'd be awesome, but I'm super happy with it regardless.

To the OP, if having an anemone that hosts clownfish is really important to you then I would suggest waiting until your tank is stable and at least 6 months old, most people suggest a year, and then buying them all together like you stated. If your LFS has them now they'll have them again in the future : )

When I say natural hosts, I mean ones that they naturally host out at sea, not just ones people have been able to host. The three wild hosts for Ocellaris are H. Mags, Gigs and Mertensi.

Source: http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Amphiprion_ocellaris/