H.crispa
12/07/2004, 09:08 PM
Hey gang. I noticed that a lot of questions were being asked at the shop lately about what clown goes with what anemone. I used to have a list down there but it was lost years ago and from what I remember it was inadequate. So, I did some research and compiled this little piece. Quite possibly the most comprehensive guide on this topic to date. Enjoy. Don't forget-- it never hurts to do your own research. After all, can you really trust someone like me??????;)
Clownfish/Anemone Compatibility
The information herein was largely taken from a book by Joyce D. Wilkerson entitled CLOWNFISHES, A Guide to Their Captive Care, Breeding, & Natural History. I have added some comments based on my own personal experience as well as various sources on the internet. I filtered out what I know to be untrue and tried to state when I am unsure of the validity; in all however, I think this is pretty good.
The Bubbletip Anemone
Entacmea quadricolor
In its natural habitat, this anemone hosts the following clownfishes:
1. Amphiprion akindynos, Barrier Reef Clownfish (very uncommon in the pet trade)
2. A. allardi, Allard’s Clownfish (also very rare in the pet trade)
3. A. bicinctus, Two-Band Clownfish (don’t know this one—could be another common name for it—that’s why latin names are so important to us reefers)
4. A. chrysoterus, Orange-Fin Clownfish (NHOI= Never Heard Of It. Check for other common names)
5. A. clarkia, Clark’s Clownfish (very common in the pet trade and accepts THE MOST host anemones of any clown. Sometimes they will even accept condylactis <condy> anemones)
6. A. ephippium, Red Saddleback Clown (rare in the pet trade but attainable sometimes)
7. A. frenatus, Tomato Clown (very common. The females grow very large and most often are quite disagreeable to tankmates. On the upside, they typically spawn readily in captivity and produce large clutches)
8. A.mccullochi, McCulloch’s Clown (NHOI)
9. A. melanopus, Red and Black Clown (NHOI)
10. A. omanensis, Oman’s Clown (NHOI)
11. A. rubrocinctus, Australian Clown (NHOI)
12. A. tricinctus, Three-Band Clownfish (NHOI)
13. Premnas biaculeatus, Maroon Clown (common. Difficult to pair because of aggressiveness. Finicky spawners and young difficult to raise young because of aggression. Female grows quite large and may even bite YOU!—biiitch!)
In captivity may also host A. oscellaris, Oscellaris or “False Percula� (I have personally witnessed this myself on numerous occasions and is a fairly common—if unnatural—pairing. Sometimes it can take months for the false perc to accept the host and sometimes it is immediate. I have even had one pair that the female wallowed in the anemone and the male wanted to but she absolutely would not allow him to do so!—biiitch!)
“Corkscrew� or “Long Tentacle� anemone
Macrodactyla doreensis
1. Amphiprion chrysogaster, Mauritian Clown (NHOI)
2. A. clarkia, Clark’s Clown (see above)
3. A. perideraion, Pink Skunk Clown (common, hardy, good breeder, peaceful, cute)
4. A. polymnus, Saddleback Clown (rare in the pet trade but sometimes I have seen it)
In captivity may also host: P. biaculeatus , Maroon Clown
Adhesive, Sticky Carpet, or Pizza Anemone
Cryptodendrum adhaesivum
Now you know why I insist on including the Latin names for these things. There are at least three different common names for this anemone and the consumer needs to know exactly what he has in order to know proper husbandry. A retailer could even make up his own name. He could call it a “cow patty� anemone and he will have broken no laws or rules of etiquette. The only valid name for any animal or plant is the Latin name. Only when you know this, can you be sure of what you have! Buyer beware. That said, bubbletips, saddle, and a few other anemones are pretty obvious! That said, I’m going to skip the Latin names from here on out except where there is a new animal not afore mentioned. So if you are in doubt, look to the above paragraphs for clarification.
1. Clarks
2. Tomato
3. Maroon
Delicate, Sebae, Hawaiian, White Sand, Cow Poop etc. Anemone
Heteractis malu
The odds on you finding this bad boy in the pet trade are slim. But, below are the clowns that will pair up with it.
1. Clark’s
2. Maroon
Magnificent, Ritteri, Anemone
Heteractis magnifica
Most old schoolers—like Barry—know this as the “ritteri�. This is because it was misclassified as “Radianthus ritteri� and that has nothing to do with anything important. Reef geeks sometimes enjoy trivia like this however and if we ever get on Jeopardy, perhaps this little nugget will come in handy. Most likely, it will be relegated to the realm of “geekdom� and nothing more. Anyway, it is rumored to be really difficult to keep. I have not had one but I have generally found this notion of “easy� and “difficult� to keep to be complete rubbish. In this case I will caution the buyer that this is not a substrate anemone. It prefers to attach to the rockwork, perched high. It has been known to wonder around a lot and has a curious habbit of climbing the glass to the top, detatching and falling to the bottom, and climbing the glass again. That said, this species can be positively beautiful and I once sought one myself but decided that Heteracis crispa was a better choice because it hosts the clowns I wanted and it burrows into the sand instead of wandering around the tank—and it is just as beautiful!
1. Skunk
2. Barrier Reef
3. Two-Band
4. Mauritian
5. Orange-Fin
6. Clark’s
7. A. leucokranos, White-Bonnet Clownfish
8. Red and Black
9. A. nigripes, Maldives Clownfish
10. Ocellaris
11. A. percula, Percula Clownfish
Leathery (Sebae) Anemone
Heteractis crispa
Ahhh, my personal favorite and one of my favorite inhabitants of my reef, hence my Reef Central nickname “H. crispa�. This anemone comes in many color morphs—mine is deep purple and looks positively stunning. It also lays claim to the title of second most appealing to clowns—next to the bubbletip. This all comes at a price of course. According to most literature, this anemone is really hard to keep in captivity and expels its zooxanthellae readily. As I said earlier, I take little stock in the “easy/difficult� labeling and I have had nothing but great success with this animal, and damn if it doesn’t look awesome!!! Anyway, I seem to get away with a lot of stuff I shouldn’t so my results may not be typical. But! Here is the list of compatible clowns:
1. Redneckeuos Billclintonous, the Bill Clinton clown
2. Barrier Reef
3. Mauritian
4. Orange-Fin
5. Clark’s
6. Saddleback
7. Sebae
In captivity but not in nature:
8. Allard’s
9. Ocellaris
10. Percula
Merten’s, or Saddle Anemone
Stichodactyla mertensii
OK gang, this is the bright green one frequently seen at JoMars. I have also seen an incredibly beautiful, eerie white/gray/blueish one—freaky but extremely eye catching. It is a short tentacled, undulated, low lying anemone that is very sticky. I have one myself and I love it. This bad boy can grow to more than a yard across.
1. Barrier Reef
2. Skunk
3. Allard’s
4. Mauritian
5. Orange-Fin
6. Clark’s
7. A. fuscocaudatus, Seychelles Clownfish (NHOI)
8. A. latifasciatus, Madagascar Clownfish (NHOI)
9. White-Bonnet
10. Ocellaris
11. A. sandaracinos, Orange Skunk
12. Three Band
I will also leave a copy of this at the store.
Clownfish/Anemone Compatibility
The information herein was largely taken from a book by Joyce D. Wilkerson entitled CLOWNFISHES, A Guide to Their Captive Care, Breeding, & Natural History. I have added some comments based on my own personal experience as well as various sources on the internet. I filtered out what I know to be untrue and tried to state when I am unsure of the validity; in all however, I think this is pretty good.
The Bubbletip Anemone
Entacmea quadricolor
In its natural habitat, this anemone hosts the following clownfishes:
1. Amphiprion akindynos, Barrier Reef Clownfish (very uncommon in the pet trade)
2. A. allardi, Allard’s Clownfish (also very rare in the pet trade)
3. A. bicinctus, Two-Band Clownfish (don’t know this one—could be another common name for it—that’s why latin names are so important to us reefers)
4. A. chrysoterus, Orange-Fin Clownfish (NHOI= Never Heard Of It. Check for other common names)
5. A. clarkia, Clark’s Clownfish (very common in the pet trade and accepts THE MOST host anemones of any clown. Sometimes they will even accept condylactis <condy> anemones)
6. A. ephippium, Red Saddleback Clown (rare in the pet trade but attainable sometimes)
7. A. frenatus, Tomato Clown (very common. The females grow very large and most often are quite disagreeable to tankmates. On the upside, they typically spawn readily in captivity and produce large clutches)
8. A.mccullochi, McCulloch’s Clown (NHOI)
9. A. melanopus, Red and Black Clown (NHOI)
10. A. omanensis, Oman’s Clown (NHOI)
11. A. rubrocinctus, Australian Clown (NHOI)
12. A. tricinctus, Three-Band Clownfish (NHOI)
13. Premnas biaculeatus, Maroon Clown (common. Difficult to pair because of aggressiveness. Finicky spawners and young difficult to raise young because of aggression. Female grows quite large and may even bite YOU!—biiitch!)
In captivity may also host A. oscellaris, Oscellaris or “False Percula� (I have personally witnessed this myself on numerous occasions and is a fairly common—if unnatural—pairing. Sometimes it can take months for the false perc to accept the host and sometimes it is immediate. I have even had one pair that the female wallowed in the anemone and the male wanted to but she absolutely would not allow him to do so!—biiitch!)
“Corkscrew� or “Long Tentacle� anemone
Macrodactyla doreensis
1. Amphiprion chrysogaster, Mauritian Clown (NHOI)
2. A. clarkia, Clark’s Clown (see above)
3. A. perideraion, Pink Skunk Clown (common, hardy, good breeder, peaceful, cute)
4. A. polymnus, Saddleback Clown (rare in the pet trade but sometimes I have seen it)
In captivity may also host: P. biaculeatus , Maroon Clown
Adhesive, Sticky Carpet, or Pizza Anemone
Cryptodendrum adhaesivum
Now you know why I insist on including the Latin names for these things. There are at least three different common names for this anemone and the consumer needs to know exactly what he has in order to know proper husbandry. A retailer could even make up his own name. He could call it a “cow patty� anemone and he will have broken no laws or rules of etiquette. The only valid name for any animal or plant is the Latin name. Only when you know this, can you be sure of what you have! Buyer beware. That said, bubbletips, saddle, and a few other anemones are pretty obvious! That said, I’m going to skip the Latin names from here on out except where there is a new animal not afore mentioned. So if you are in doubt, look to the above paragraphs for clarification.
1. Clarks
2. Tomato
3. Maroon
Delicate, Sebae, Hawaiian, White Sand, Cow Poop etc. Anemone
Heteractis malu
The odds on you finding this bad boy in the pet trade are slim. But, below are the clowns that will pair up with it.
1. Clark’s
2. Maroon
Magnificent, Ritteri, Anemone
Heteractis magnifica
Most old schoolers—like Barry—know this as the “ritteri�. This is because it was misclassified as “Radianthus ritteri� and that has nothing to do with anything important. Reef geeks sometimes enjoy trivia like this however and if we ever get on Jeopardy, perhaps this little nugget will come in handy. Most likely, it will be relegated to the realm of “geekdom� and nothing more. Anyway, it is rumored to be really difficult to keep. I have not had one but I have generally found this notion of “easy� and “difficult� to keep to be complete rubbish. In this case I will caution the buyer that this is not a substrate anemone. It prefers to attach to the rockwork, perched high. It has been known to wonder around a lot and has a curious habbit of climbing the glass to the top, detatching and falling to the bottom, and climbing the glass again. That said, this species can be positively beautiful and I once sought one myself but decided that Heteracis crispa was a better choice because it hosts the clowns I wanted and it burrows into the sand instead of wandering around the tank—and it is just as beautiful!
1. Skunk
2. Barrier Reef
3. Two-Band
4. Mauritian
5. Orange-Fin
6. Clark’s
7. A. leucokranos, White-Bonnet Clownfish
8. Red and Black
9. A. nigripes, Maldives Clownfish
10. Ocellaris
11. A. percula, Percula Clownfish
Leathery (Sebae) Anemone
Heteractis crispa
Ahhh, my personal favorite and one of my favorite inhabitants of my reef, hence my Reef Central nickname “H. crispa�. This anemone comes in many color morphs—mine is deep purple and looks positively stunning. It also lays claim to the title of second most appealing to clowns—next to the bubbletip. This all comes at a price of course. According to most literature, this anemone is really hard to keep in captivity and expels its zooxanthellae readily. As I said earlier, I take little stock in the “easy/difficult� labeling and I have had nothing but great success with this animal, and damn if it doesn’t look awesome!!! Anyway, I seem to get away with a lot of stuff I shouldn’t so my results may not be typical. But! Here is the list of compatible clowns:
1. Redneckeuos Billclintonous, the Bill Clinton clown
2. Barrier Reef
3. Mauritian
4. Orange-Fin
5. Clark’s
6. Saddleback
7. Sebae
In captivity but not in nature:
8. Allard’s
9. Ocellaris
10. Percula
Merten’s, or Saddle Anemone
Stichodactyla mertensii
OK gang, this is the bright green one frequently seen at JoMars. I have also seen an incredibly beautiful, eerie white/gray/blueish one—freaky but extremely eye catching. It is a short tentacled, undulated, low lying anemone that is very sticky. I have one myself and I love it. This bad boy can grow to more than a yard across.
1. Barrier Reef
2. Skunk
3. Allard’s
4. Mauritian
5. Orange-Fin
6. Clark’s
7. A. fuscocaudatus, Seychelles Clownfish (NHOI)
8. A. latifasciatus, Madagascar Clownfish (NHOI)
9. White-Bonnet
10. Ocellaris
11. A. sandaracinos, Orange Skunk
12. Three Band
I will also leave a copy of this at the store.