I've had a pair of ocellaris clowns for about a month now. They are tank raised and have never showed the slightest hint of hosting with one of my corals. Is this just the way it is with tank raised fish, or is there a chance that instinct might take over?
Hosting clowns
- Thread starter reiverix
- Start date
Depends. Tank raised fish will host, but most that I have seen tend to host in inanimate objects rather than corals, and they need a few months to mature (ie, determine who is going to be dominant and the female) before they really display this behavior very well.
I, for one, would prefer that they leave the corals alone. Most corals do not appreciate the 'attention'.
I, for one, would prefer that they leave the corals alone. Most corals do not appreciate the 'attention'.
They haven't really had much time to settle in. Over the years, my ocellaris have become increasingly interested in using the corals as hosts. When the pair was spawning constantly up to about a year ago, they just lived in a cave and didn't have much of a host. Now the pair is using several zoanthid colonies and a toadstool as hosts, and aren't spawning at all.
I learned something interesting recently. I got all wiggy because the new juvenile clown and the older (now) female were getting black blotches. Turns out that happens when they spend a lot of time snuggling in the zoanthids.
I learned something interesting recently. I got all wiggy because the new juvenile clown and the older (now) female were getting black blotches. Turns out that happens when they spend a lot of time snuggling in the zoanthids.
My pair didn't host anything until they had been in my tank for 9 months. When I added them they were both the same size, by the 9th month it was very clear which was male and female.... once that was known they decided to pick a cave in my live rock.
Recently I upgraded my tank size and brought in new sand. I put a few nylon sacks of the old substrate in the back of the tank to help seed the new sand. Within a week my pair had decided to host one of the nylon sacks!! I'm curious as to how they will react when I eventually remove it!
All that said, give them time - they'll pick a home when they are ready!
Recently I upgraded my tank size and brought in new sand. I put a few nylon sacks of the old substrate in the back of the tank to help seed the new sand. Within a week my pair had decided to host one of the nylon sacks!! I'm curious as to how they will react when I eventually remove it!
All that said, give them time - they'll pick a home when they are ready!
reiverix said:
You use the word "instinct," ...I am not sure clownfish instinctively host in corals. I have observed many types of clownfish in the wild; Maroons, Skunks, Cinnamons, etc. but I have never seen one in a coral in the wild.
I'm sure it must happen but I have never seen it. The ones I have seen were always in anemones, and I'm not an expert but to me that is the natural, "instinctive" behaviour. What we see clownfish doing in captivity (hosting in corals, rocks, Atlantic Condylactis, etc.) is modified behavior I would think.
Fenner suggests hosting in Condylactis can be a deadly situation for tank raised clowns. I am not suggesting the trade of wild anemones; IME this is a practice that has resulted in horrible mortality rates and should be discouraged.
Here is a link regarding Sarcophytons you may find interesting:
http://www.garf.org/39/fish/pict.html
Nice pic. To be honest I'm not too fussy if they host or not. They are cool fish regardless, and very tame.