Do clown fish have to have an anemone?

[supra930]

i was just curious to see if clownfish have to have an anemone or can they thrive in just a FOWLR tank by themself.

 

[lilrobb]

Yup,
They will host a rock or anything else then...

 

[eandrews]

Yes some dont host

 

[supra930]

awesome thats what i was thinking i just wanted to double check.thanks guys.

 

[supra930]

also what would be a good choice of fish to go with a pair of clowns in a 30gal FOWLR and how many can i stock my tank with?

 

[lifestudent]

Clownfish do not need anemones in reef tanks; only necessary in the wild for protection from predation.

 

[weaglereefer]

Nah, mine love the leather. Then I cut up some frags and they ditched it for a field of lunar palys. At night, they sit completely still in the palys, first time I saw it I thought they'd died since I've NEVER seen them stop moving.

 

[tehawesome]

My tomatos host hairy mushrooms with anemone in the tank. My boyfriend has 2 maroons, one hosts a rbta and the other xenia.

 

[jennm]

AndyMan;540122 wrote: Cruelty not to give them an anemone . . .

I respectfully disagree, Andy. In the case of captive raised clowns, which many (most?) available in the trade are nowadays, they typically haven't even seen an anemone before they get to market. So unless you introduce them to one, they aren't 'missing' anything. They may or may not know what to do with one, if provided one.

Some species have a stronger drive to host than others, and some will adopt substitute hosts, but some don't host at all even if provided a "textbook match".

I don't think it's cruel not to provide them with an anemone.

Rather, if one isn't equipped to care for the anemone properly, I'd say it's cruel to the anemone.

Jenn

 

[courterbobby]

I have never been able to get a clown to host a nem and I buy tank raised clowns. I just end up taking the nems back after a couple of months because I don't like the upkeep they require feeding them and all then they go on a rampage killing things in their path and im like "Im good to you and you treat me like this?" blahhh

 

[brianjfinn]

courterbobby;540205 wrote: ...require feeding them and all then they go on a rampage killing things in their path and im like "Im good to you and you treat me like this?" blahhh

This sounds like something my wife said to me the other day...

 

[littlej2455]

I think you should give them one, but I have seen plenty that do not have them because other fishes in the tank would eat it.

 

[brianjfinn]

littlej2455;542799 wrote: I think you should give them one, but I have seen plenty that do not have them because other fishes in the tank would eat it.

Eat the anemone? Never heard of that one.

 

[hhughes]

Bruce (my maroon clown) hosts in my xenia...

Yes, I know (s)he probably needs a name change.... lol

 

[drbombay]

Ok, since it's fine not have an anemone for your clownfish, is it just a question of watching the soft corals health should the clown host over that?

 

[mapleredta]

DrBombay;545196 wrote: Ok, since it's fine not have an anemone for your clownfish, is it just a question of watching the soft corals health should the clown host over that?

Yes, I have definitely seen clowns aggravate corals to death before.

 

[merkywater]

courterbobby;540205 wrote: I have never been able to get a clown to host a nem and I buy tank raised clowns. I just end up taking the nems back after a couple of months because I don't like the upkeep they require feeding them and all then they go on a rampage killing things in their path and im like "Im good to you and you treat me like this?" blahhh

A trick I found was to remove what the clowns were hosting and put the Nem near that area and they will host the nem it worked like a charm for me. It took just over night.

 

[nimrod107]

Not necessary for tank raised clowns since they were never reared to use them for protection. Might be comfortable for some of them though. I say put it in and if they host great if not take it back or keep it if you like it. Give them the opportunity to have a squishy sofa but if they like standing then so be it.

 

[laura]

My clown hosts in my frogspawn. I had anemone earlier, and it wouldn't go near it. Since I put in the frogspawn, it's happy as a clown...HAHA! :yay::yay::yay:

I find it standing on its head when I turn on the lights with no damage to the fs.

 

[nimrod107]

My clowns won't go near my frogspawn. Might try putting an anemone in if I can get a good deal on one... will let you know how it turns out.