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WDLV
03/09/2010, 11:32 AM
I have a couple leucs that I've had for several years. Like their chrysopterus counterparts they're fairly prone to disease. As a result they've been quarrantined and treated on two occasions. At present there are no outward symptoms of disease but the female is extremely skittish as she always has been. The male is as friendly as a skunk can be expected to be. Both are WC.

When I sit in front of the tank she cowers in her anemone and starts getting blotchy white from the stress but when I hide and observe them she's an aggressive feeder and is aggressive with the male (though not unusually so.) The tank is not in a high traffic area. It's in my basement and aside from my dogs residing in their "houses" within view of the tank, large creatures (humans) are only seen maybe two or three times a day during the week days. Two visits are for feeding.

So, this tank is a 45 cube (24"x24"x19") and they are the only fish inhabitants in that display but there is a total of about 200 gallons total system volume. This is a new reef and they do have an anemone. The tank temp was recently raised by two degrees for the fourth consecutive month for a current temp of 82F. They were previously residing in a system that held latezonatus clowns and needed to be cooler. I've gone up in temp to see if I can get some courtship behavior out of them.
I feel like I'm pretty experienced with this species. I've had seven of them and none have ever died. Two were donated to a public aquarium and three were sold to other hobbyists. These have been with me for about three (Female) and four (male) years.

That's the background. Now for the question....

Is there something else I could be doing to make them more comfortable or is it just the nature of the beast with this species?

MarinaP
03/09/2010, 11:48 AM
is it just the nature of the beast with this species?

That ^

At first I thought you were talking about my caps ;) I have 275G full of nems for them - same story.

Reefvette
03/09/2010, 12:12 PM
My female is very skittish but ive been through that with my nigripis so i wasnt too worried.

I did notice that when they hosted the mertens carpet the female was more out and about, now that they host a mag the female hides more.

I think, like nigripis these guys dont venture far from the anemone in the wild, especially if they are hosting the large mags and mertens. When those anemones get big they are like a never ending maze. of tentacles.

WDLV
03/09/2010, 12:17 PM
That ^

At first I thought you were talking about my caps ;) I have 275G full of nems for them - same story.

At this rate I think my thielleis will spawn before anything else does. They act like Os.

I need to get you up here one of these days to evaluate my systems. And the same goes the other way. If you ever do a tank tour with WAMAS or whatever please let me know.

WDLV
03/09/2010, 12:19 PM
My female is very skittish but ive been through that with my nigripis so i wasnt too worried.

I did notice that when they hosted the mertens carpet the female was more out and about, now that they host a mag the female hides more.

I think, like nigripis these guys dont venture far from the anemone in the wild, especially if they are hosting the large mags and mertens. When those anemones get big they are like a never ending maze. of tentacles.

That's a good point! Never thought of it that way. The nems I'm keeping are quite small.

traveller7
03/09/2010, 10:05 PM
That ^

At first I thought you were talking about my caps ;) I have 275G full of nems for them - same story.pshaw, they came out to see me this weekend when I dropped by to visit...although it was the first time I have seen them in years ;>)

In my humble opinion: add dither fish, lots of them :) Caps seem to retain the nastiest attributes of chrys and skunks: cantankerous, aggressive, and skittish to the max. Let's try to breed those qualities out of them and turn them into puppy dogs like ocellaris for the easy going clownfish collectors like me :)

OrionN
03/09/2010, 11:48 PM
I agree with Scott. My yellowtail damsels (two of them) always get my shy clowns to be outgoing more, and eat more. Yellow tail damsels are prety docils and will not bother the clowns in their anemone, but the clowns will chase them away from the anemones. I think this is more natural and get the clown to be more comfortable trying to defend teir anemones.

WDLV
03/10/2010, 07:12 AM
I have kept them in a larger system with green chromis and they did come out more then.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/leucokranos/Leucs004.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/leucokranos/Leucs003.jpg
...but the tank they're in now was designed only to hold one pair of clowns. There's not really room to add ditherfish. I suspect anything I added to the current tank would be killed quickly.

As you can see here, when I'm in front of the tank, she's hiding.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/3-2010/3-1-2010002.jpg

reefpix352
03/10/2010, 08:11 AM
I'm thinking the dither fish will help too. Also - looking at your awesome tank - I'm expecting to see a nice bommie w/ a BIG anemone in the middle. I think a bigger anemone would be a better host as I tend to see sandracinos and crys clowns in big carpets in the wild.

Cheers
James

rodsboys
03/10/2010, 09:17 AM
This might sound stupid,but is there any way you can put some kind of 2-way mirror on the front glass?

WDLV
03/10/2010, 10:57 AM
I'm thinking the dither fish will help too. Also - looking at your awesome tank - I'm expecting to see a nice bommie w/ a BIG anemone in the middle. I think a bigger anemone would be a better host as I tend to see sandracinos and crys clowns in big carpets in the wild.

Cheers
James
That tank will eventually hold a lot of BTAs... if you're referring to the smaller tank pictured second. The first couple pics were of my old system at about the one year mark. That system was far prettier when I finally took it down. The smaller tank with the bare bottom is only a few months old. It has a lot of growing to do.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/1-2008/Jan122008002.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/1-2008/Jan122008003.jpg

This might sound stupid,but is there any way you can put some kind of 2-way mirror on the front glass?
Sure, but I would never do that because it would make them think there was another pair of clowns in the tank that they needed to defend against.

rodsboys
03/10/2010, 03:03 PM
You could always stick a sheet of tint on the mirror side.No reflections for them and you can still observe them in action instead of hiding.

WDLV
03/11/2010, 06:44 AM
I don't see how that would not create a reflection??? I had considered putting up a oriental screen or something so I could take pictures etc, but that seemed kind of rediculous.

LargeAngels
03/11/2010, 08:16 AM
I'd add rock's in the middle. When they are in the open their only choice for retreat is the back wall.

WDLV
03/11/2010, 09:50 AM
That's one idea I've been debating. I have a little problem of what I can put there without obstructing flow and turning into a poop trap. I'll have to build something....

LargeAngels
03/11/2010, 09:55 AM
Make a tall pillar in the middle. Take a fiberglass rod and stack drilled rock on it.

tahoe61
03/11/2010, 10:52 AM
You stated your tank is in the basement. If it is not getting alot of foot traffic and you are not spending alot of time in there the clownfish is going to do what is natural and run and hide, some clowns are just like that. I would try spending more time at that tank when feeding and attempting to hand feed if possible.

MarinaP
03/11/2010, 11:25 AM
I would try spending more time at that tank

Not going to change their behaviour. When they were young, mine lived in a 12g in the library/den. They saw me 10-12 hours a day and remained the way Walt had described.

What do you know - their offspring who "saw" me since day 1, also darts and hides when approached :rolleyes:

Reefvette
03/11/2010, 12:27 PM
Mine was most active when it was with the mertens.

Check it oooouuuutt.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s234/ClownBailey24/th_MVI_2608.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s234/ClownBailey24/?action=view&current=MVI_2608.flv)

WDLV
03/13/2010, 06:33 AM
In my previous system (210 gallon) I made sure there were numerous places to hide with the mentality that more hiding places = less desire to hide. I had forgotten that concept considering instead that the anemones would provide amlpe shelter. So, I tried three different rocks. The first one I added last night. I was pleased to notice that the male and female were in the front bottom right of the tank hanging out when I came down this morning. I just didn't like the rock because I thought it was just too big because it obscured the back too much and provided too much of a flow killer and detritus trap.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/3-2010/3-13-2010001.jpg




So I tried another smaller rock but that one was too tall for my liking and again blocked too much of the view of the back wall.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/3-2010/3-13-2010003.jpg




The third rock I tried was wider but short enough to allow view of the back wall. I think it has a nice shape to it too. What do you think?
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/3-2010/3-13-2010004.jpg

clowns101
03/13/2010, 09:37 AM
Im really coming to with this tank!Im getting ready to set up more and would like a tank like this!Was it coustom made???

velvetelvis
03/13/2010, 10:24 AM
Not going to change their behaviour. When they were young, mine lived in a 12g in the library/den. They saw me 10-12 hours a day and remained the way Walt had described.

What do you know - their offspring who "saw" me since day 1, also darts and hides when approached :rolleyes:

Skittishness seems to be the rule for members of the skunk complex. My CB (not F1, either) pink skunks were the same way. Even though they were in a nice big 75 that gave them plenty of room to avoid me, they still dove behind the rocks as soon as I even approached the tank. OTOH, my CB black ocellaris pair race to the surface and follow me all over the tank as soon as they see the Magical Bringer of Food draw near.

WDLV: I like the way you left the chromis plenty of swimming room up top in your old setup. Nice layout!

Sullyman
03/13/2010, 12:00 PM
I've been following this thread as I have a pair of Leucs coming Tuesday, this has helped save me some angst already knowing that they are skiddish. Is an rbta a good anemone for them or would they be happier with a different one?
Walt is that a bio cube that you made into the wedding suite?

WDLV
03/13/2010, 04:53 PM
Thanks for the kind words!!!

The tank is a Marineland 45 gallon cube (24x24x19). The background and overflows are DIY.

Here's the build thread.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1732025

To answer the anemone question... The BTAS are decent. It will be better when there are more.