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Best anemone for ocellaris
- Thread starter joeb558
- Start date
Bubble tips are the best for them. Ask Edward771 he has a few for sale
Totally agree here. While it would be nice to pair them with something like a magnifica etc - unfortunately many of us don't have the size tanks needed for some of those species. Bubble tips are natural hosts for maroon clowns and percs/oscellaris don't always match up right away, but with time they will. The other plus is that bta's tend to clone fairly easily in captivity which also makes them ideal. Mine is a clone from jrwohler's tank. Unfortunately I think he tricked me because it is now the size of small pizza pie and shows no sign of cloning...hahaha.
I haven't followed your tank set up so forgive me - but first you need to ensure you have adequate lighting a somewhat stable tank before introducing the anemone. An anemone is animal, if it doesn't like the spot it is in, it will move about. Mine moved and almost killed a plate coral, stung a fully encrusted superman monti (leaving nothing but a pin head left) and has left white tips on my tri-color validia.
That all stated - the premise behind your question and the answer you are seeking do not match.
You said the clowns are being territorial, but your solution is to get an anemone.
Territorial is typical, as clowns are part of the damsel family. What size are your clowns? I always encourage people to purchase clowns separately. One big one, and then later one small one. Buying two at the same time and same size may result in:
a) you just purchased two juveniles from the same genetic parents
b) you purchased two clowns that have yet to mature and unfortunately both are maturing into females...hence the fighting.
In the end if both are females, they will not change again (to male) and will simply create/carve out separate domains. Adding anemone will increase the fighting as eventually both will want that spot.
If the clowns are differently sized then maybe the fighting you see is just the female showing who is boss and the juvi or male hasn't figured it out yet.
Thank you for the detailed information. I got these two fish from Tony Shipwrecked when he broke down his tanks. They are not very large and one is larger than the other. They had lived together for some time when Tony had them and they could possibly be a pair. The aggression is not towards each other, but every other fish in the tank. They are always swimming together and chasing the other fish. My tank is 9 months old, I would not classify it as fully established but it is doing well. Its a 54 gal corner with led lighting and fuge/sump skimmer type filtration. Water params are good. I do have concerns about anemones being so mobile. I dont have a lot of space in my tank. After further research I have decided to hold off on getting one until I get a larger tank or make some room in this one. Thank you all for your responses.
I think your decision to hold off on getting an anem is a good one.
You have a pretty significant amount of coral in that tank; if you added an anem, it is likely that at least some of it would be stung by the anem.
The clown in the photo looks like an ocellaris to me; the behavior you described matches up with what you can expect from a bonded pair that is about to begin spawning.
The good news: your clowns are healthy and happy enought that they are engaging in nesting behavior. The bad news: the aggression will not get better. As Phil said, adding an anem will not impact that behavior.
From your photo, I see a tang and a wrasse; what other fish do you have in the tank? A tank that is not crowded (in terms of bioload) with an immature pair of clowns can get crowded very quickly when they begin to engage in nesting behavior. Your solution may, unfortunately, be to remove some of the clowns tank mates. 54g is a good amount of water volume, but with a corner tank, as you know, you have less swimming room. Fish like your tang that swim all day will likely continue to have problems with the clowns, especially if the spot they pick for their nest is in his swimming path.
You have a pretty significant amount of coral in that tank; if you added an anem, it is likely that at least some of it would be stung by the anem.
The clown in the photo looks like an ocellaris to me; the behavior you described matches up with what you can expect from a bonded pair that is about to begin spawning.
The good news: your clowns are healthy and happy enought that they are engaging in nesting behavior. The bad news: the aggression will not get better. As Phil said, adding an anem will not impact that behavior.
From your photo, I see a tang and a wrasse; what other fish do you have in the tank? A tank that is not crowded (in terms of bioload) with an immature pair of clowns can get crowded very quickly when they begin to engage in nesting behavior. Your solution may, unfortunately, be to remove some of the clowns tank mates. 54g is a good amount of water volume, but with a corner tank, as you know, you have less swimming room. Fish like your tang that swim all day will likely continue to have problems with the clowns, especially if the spot they pick for their nest is in his swimming path.
clowns chasing other fish is totally normal. They are saying - hey this is my spot. The female may try and chase the tang and the tang may just knife the clown. I've seen wounds on my clown from my tang but life goes on.
If the pair do end up becoming more than platonic buddies and start breeding, then space may become an issue as they will vigorously defend the area to prevent fish from messin' with their eggs. I don't see the tang caring, and a wrasse should be able to hold it's own. The PJ cardinal will have to hang out somewhere away.
In the end I think you'll be fine without an anemone. My pair laid many many eggs before I even bothered introducing the nem.
If the pair do end up becoming more than platonic buddies and start breeding, then space may become an issue as they will vigorously defend the area to prevent fish from messin' with their eggs. I don't see the tang caring, and a wrasse should be able to hold it's own. The PJ cardinal will have to hang out somewhere away.
In the end I think you'll be fine without an anemone. My pair laid many many eggs before I even bothered introducing the nem.
