Anyone think this is a good idea? Anemone/clownfish

[SeaMac]

Hey everybody...how's everyone doing? :)

Do any of you guys or gals in the Philly area breed clownfish?

The reason that I ask is because the green bubble tip anemones in my 75g reef have started to split relatively rapidly...I began with one approximately 1.5 years ago and now have five. Selling them off doesn't seem to be a problem, but I started thinking about how environmentally conscious (and possibly profitable) it would be to setup a "bonding tank"...basically a tank to allow/promote clownfish to pair up with an anemone. My ultimate goal is two-fold: 1) to learn more about the symbiotic relationship between young clownfish and anemones, since I have no idea how old the clownfish in my tanks are now or how early the relationhip develops; 2) after establishing the relationship, selling the already bonded anemones and clowns as a pair to other hobbyists. I suppose if we kept the clownfish long enough we could sell mated-pairs with their host anemone! ;)

I was hoping that someone out there was already breeding clownfish and would be interested in trying this little experiment with me. I don't have the time or knowledge to breed/rear the clownfish myself, even though I would love to try, because I am a full-time student. I am however planning to set up a frag tank using a 20H that I have lying around (from my previous minireef...where the anemones first split) with a 150w Iwasaki, sump, skimmer, LR and LS, etc...sometime after New Year's (I just need some Xmas money to buy the lights! :D). If anyone was interested, I would devote the tank to clownfish/anemone pairing and hold off on the coral fragging.

I like the idea of a tank-raised clown already pre-paired with a tank-raised anemone...I haven't really seen anyone else doing this yet but wanted to run it by you guys to see what you all thought. Thanks! :)

Chris

[amonhen]

Chris,

Sounds like an interesting idea. Is it really so hard to get them to bond that people would be willing to pay for a bonded group? In truth, I have put some thought into breeding clowns and done some reading, but I have my hands full right now (getting a new 180 up and running.)
So you have a splitting bubble-tip, huh? Mind telling me about your setup? There have been a few threads in Dr. Ron's group recently which have convinced me that I can probably keep one alive, and I've been thinking of trying it. (Part of the whole clownfish breeding thing, you know.) How much do you get for one?

--Jeff

[SeaMac]

Hi Jeff,

I don't really think its difficult per se, but somewhat hit or miss as to whether the clowns take to the anemone or not. I have seen a few responses on the boards where people are wondering how to force their clown into the anemone, how to move the clown from their torch/colt/mushroom coral to the anemone they have purchased for it, etc... I don't think the market would be huge, but it would fun to do, and the idea of both of them being tank-raised and bonded might be more appealing to some. :)

In terms of my setup, I currently am running a 75g reef with 440w VHO (2 actinic, 1 daylight, 1 actinic white), Aqua-C EV150 skimmer, two Mag 5 return pumps (one through a Sea-Swirl), and Geo calcium reactor. The anemones were actually housed for 1.5 years in my 20H minireef with 110w PCs, CPR SR2 skimmer, and Mag 3 return pump (through Sea-Swirl) where they split twice. Since moving them to the new tank in August, one of them has split again and I'm hoping that picks up a little bit now that the tank is maturing.

I have checked the online prices for BTAs, and the average seems to be right around $25. The Hidden Reef usually sells them for $20 or $30 depending on size, so I decided to go with $25 each...so far people still seem interested! I don't know how much someone breeding clownfish would sell them for (maybe $10 as a conservative estimate?), but I'm thinking that with an already paired anemone, the pair would be greater than the sum of the parts (maybe $45-$55 total?). If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask! :D

Chris

[NancyP_SD]

I'm new to this and can't find anyplace that lists all the acronyms people use. Anyway, sounds like you have luck with anemones. I need someone to tell me what kind of "hardy" anemone I can buy for my mini-reef. The one the LFD sold me died, of course, and my clown has sunk into deep depression. Also, I've checked all the LFS here and they only seem to sell the kinds that everyone has told me will certainly die within a month or so (blue tip, etc.)

Anyone with any idea of where and what I can buy? I want one that has a chance to live even if it's not so pretty. I'm in San Diego, CA. Thanks.

[SeaMac]

Give us a little information about your setup...tank size, lighting, pH, salinity, temp., other inhabitants, etc... :)

Chris

[NancyP_SD]

I bought it all set up from the dealer - first mistake (he didn't give me any of the paperwork, but it sure was pretty!). It's an A-Life reef tank. He said it holds 7 gallons (box says water volume 27L) - has all the filtration built into the back, 180 L/H powerhead, (he upgraded the pump from 27w to 31w Rio) built-in bio filter, bio balls, bio sponge, surface skimmer, built-in twin 6 cm cooling fans, aluminum reflector, 27W PL dual lamps (one daylight, one blue - actinic?). He stocked it with live sand, live rock, two torch corals (which are growing like crazy), a rock covered with thriving blue mushrooms, a couple feather dusters, 4 or 5 red-legged crabs, a couple red-footed snails, a bubble coral, a candy coral, and - the blue-tip anemone with Clarkii clown. Actually, everything is doing great except the anemone. I live next to Scripps Aquarium and use fresh sea water. Just in the habit of changing out two cups or so every morning and then a gallon on the weekend. All my tests have come up fine for the first two months (he said he had it running for a month before I bought it). At least until yesterday, my ph dropped from 8.2 to 7.8, but otherwise everything is fine. That's about all I I can tell you. What next?

[NancyP_SD]

Didn't answer all your questions: specific gravity hanging right in at 1.025, salinity just under 34 ppt, ammonia 0 ppm, nitrites 0 ppm, nitrates 10-20 ppm, and, as I noted, ph at 8.2 for 2 months, then dropped to 7.8 yesterday (anything to do with dying anemone?). Per recommendation of LFS I'm feeding phytoplex every other day and supplementing with calcium, strontium & molybdenum, and iodine per mfg's directions.

Actually, I did have a 50 gallon tank about five years ago that a hobbyist helped me set up, so some of this stuff is familiar - however, I've aged, Alzheimer's has set in, and I'm back in the "learn it all over again stage." H. Crispas seems to stick in my mind when I think about the anemone I had in that tank who did so well, but then I'm not even sure H. Crispas is really an anemone;)

[CherryCat]

chris,

i like the idea. i'm not sure you should assume a small market, though. hell, for the money you're talking (approx. $50) i'd buy from ya!! ;)

alright, for the rest of the week i'm doing nothing but researching growing live foods to feed the fry!! well, maybe not the whole week ...