My new bubble tip anemone

[travis wilson]

I had purchased a green carpet anemone several years ago, but unfortunatly it did not make it. I have just recently purchased a bubble tip anemone and my two false percula clowns will not swim into or feed it. It is still in it's first week, any help or advice on how to get the three of them to hook up would be greatly appreciated.

[zhenya]

Hi travis wilson,



I'm not sure if A.ocellaris will accept your Entacmaea quadricolor, it may happen and it may not. Ocelaris clownfish are not associated with the BTA anemones in nature, so it's a shot in the dark at best. My advice would be to give it some time.

The easiest clownfish to pair with any anemone is the A.clarkii because it accepts all of the host anemones. That is what I have hosting my BTA's.
Anyway, sometime I give clones of my RBTA to the LFS I frequent and I did see once A.ocellaris pair hosting in one of my clones.
You may check for more info in the anemones and clownfish here:
Anemone fishes and their host sea anemones

Good luck!

[Ninong]

Even though Entacmaea quadricolor is not a natural host for Amphiprion ocellaris, they will usually accept it as a surrogate host in captivity. It's A. percula that only rarely accepts E. quads.

It could take a few weeks, but chances are pretty good that your Ocellaris clowns will eventually accept your BTA.

[Ninong]

Travis,

I forgot to mention that you should feed your anemone two to three times a week. Please read this article by Dr. Ron Shimek on the care of this animal. For advice on what to feed it, consult with zhenya, our resident expert on this particular species.

Clownfish have never been observed feeding their host anemone in their natural environment. That is definitely an unnatural behavior that is only observed in captivity. For one thing, the natural diet of clownfish consists primarily of tiny zooplankton that pass nearby, plus some nearby benthic algae and benthic microcrustaceans -- nothing that they would take home and save for later. The reason I used that expression is because some experts have questioned whether the behavior observed in captivity amounts to feeding the anemone or simply bringing food home.

[Yankee I Am]

My clarkies will feed their carpet before they even eat.....coolest thing to see

[travis wilson]

thanks guys my fish is starting to check him out . dame cool

[scubadude]

Hey Travis
Welcome to RL!

How bout some pics