Anemones not hosting clowns..

[Valentini89]

My 2 clowns won't go into my anemones. I have 4 small nems that have been in the tank for several days now, they are on the very top of the rockwork. The clowns won't swim down far enough to reach the nems. They stay high in the water column. What can I do?

[Misled]

Nothing but give them time. It may take months or weeks.

[Joe0813]

Might not ever host them

[davocean]

People often give the wrong type of anemone to their clowns, typically BTA's given to occs or percs, which is not a natural match as found the wild, so it often takes the clowns longer to recognize and accept them.

Sometimes tricks like placing a flashlight over the anemone as lights ramp down, making it the brighter area will make them curious and help speed up their discovering it.

Most likely they will eventually take to them, patience.

[CSmooth2009]

If the Nem wonders where the clowns sleep they will go in it... mine didn’t host for years and when I got a new nem and placed it where they sleep and the nem stayed... they dove in like it was a brand new bed.


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[Tastee]

I added a new BTA to our tank on Sunday, and by Monday evening my pair of Ocellaris clownfish had discovered it and were pestering it for all they were worth. Prior to that they were trying to convince my Torch coral to host them so they were obviously desperate for a new home.

They aren’t under any stress or anything, get along with all the other fish well, particularly our Yellow Tang, but were delighted to find the new BTA. Sorry to hear you are having difficulties with your Clowns.


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[sil40sx]

I had clowns go to my anemone the day after adding them. Some takes weeks, some months.

One weird experience I had was, when I tried moving a BTA, my lightning maroon that never went close to a BTA for months, started aggressively followed my hand when I was holding the BTA to move to the other side of the tank, and viola, as soon as I put it down, it hosted the clown. LOL

Oh, and one more thing,. Try feeding the clowns close to the anemone and let some food go to the anemone. The clown(s) will try to chase the food in there, and when they'll realized they're in a nice place, they will be curious and start coming in

[cavscout2107]

After 4 months of not hosting I taped photos of clowns in nems. I know it sounds crazy but they went in within hours.

[cavscout2107]

*Taped the photos to the glass.

[Alfrareef]

After 4 months of not hosting I taped photos of clowns in nems. I know it sounds crazy but they went in within hours.



Very funny... and amazing.
Perhaps the op could place a “for rent” sign!!! :-)

[Steve175]

It will almost certainly happen but can take weeks as above. I like the focal feedings (I would use a Turkey baster) and transition to night flashlight. I would not move the nem: is easy to damage the foot and the nem needs to find the place it likes most on its own. $0.02

[sil40sx]

Just to clarify, I didn’t recommend nor suggested moving an anemone. I just stated my “weird experience”. :)

On a side note, reason I moved mine because it was starting to sting my SPS. My anemone never moved an inch from the spot I put it for more than a year. It just grew out the area it was on/in, and it got too crowded.

[Anemone]

My 2 clowns won't go into my anemones. I have 4 small nems that have been in the tank for several days now, they are on the very top of the rockwork. The clowns won't swim down far enough to reach the nems. They stay high in the water column. What can I do?

I'm surprised no one asked, but what type of clowns, and what type of anemones?

Kevin

[ca1ore]

After 4 months of not hosting I taped photos of clowns in nems. I know it sounds crazy but they went in within hours.

Not crazy ...... Absurd! Correlation is not causation.

[crimsontopper]

Reefergil posted a video on YouTube about just this. Check it out, might give you some ideas.

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[Uncle99]

I'm surprised no one asked, but what type of clowns, and what type of anemones?

Kevin

Agreed!
These are the critical factors...so OP......can you share?

[Valentini89]

I'm surprised no one asked, but what type of clowns, and what type of anemones?

Kevin

The clowns are your regular orange/white and the nems are the type that have a bubble at the bottom and go up to a tip..

[davocean]

I'm surprised no one asked, but what type of clowns, and what type of anemones?

Kevin

Because after reading as many of these posts as I have I pretty much already assumed occs/percs and BTA, (Why I mentioned in my first post)as this is what I see almost always, and no surprise to me that's what OP has

It also would be no surprise to me that if these same clowns are given a natural host match they would most likely dive in right away.

Now that we are able to keep the more difficult anemone's thanks to cipro treatment this is what those of us that spend most of our time in the clown/anemone forum are seeing over and over...

[davocean]

Not crazy ...... Absurd! Correlation is not causation.

As many times as I've seen this trick working posted there does seem to be something to it

[ca1ore]

Absent statistically significant data, versus inherently unreliable anecdotes, I’m sticking with absurd :)

[cavscout2107]

Absent statistically significant data, versus inherently unreliable anecdotes, I’m sticking with absurd :)

I didn't think it would work. My GF at the time thought it was a dumb idea. But after a little bit they started looking at the photos. Then the female started looking at the nem, then back at the photo, then back at the nem. She worked her tale in first then the whole body after an hour. The male did the same after she settled in.

Like I said. it had been four months of no interest in it. Maybe out in the wild that's how clowns learn the behavior. IDk.

[davocean]

Absent statistically significant data, versus inherently unreliable anecdotes, I’m sticking with absurd :)

All good, and I get it, but when you've seen countless times posted in nem forum, clowns don't go in nem for months now, and this trick is suggested, and clowns are in that week, it's hard to scoff at the suggestion to try it, not like it costs much anything to at least try

[brett559]

I've never had an occy clown host in an anemone (I know I said that wrong!)

I've never not had a perc clown host. Sometimes it took a while, but percs have always found them.

My percs currently host in a huge duncan coral, since I don't have a nem.