where can i get a....

[twizzlerman77]

where can i get a "nemo" clownfish with full bars that will go in a bta? mine will not touch one.

[ramtheory]

is yours tank raised?

[trottman]

it takes a long time for tank rasied clowns to ever touch a anemone. some may never

[twizzlerman77]

im not sure he is my only fish i have from petco my girlfriend had to have him....

[breutus]

how long has it been together with it?

There is a couple of tricks you can do to get them to host but it does take a couple of weeks either way.

[twizzlerman77]

its only been like 5 days with this 1, but i had one a while back for like a month and he never touched it, then it crawled in the back of my tank and died like 2 weeks after i got it

[twizzlerman77]

like two weeks after that not after i got it..... typo

[breutus]

has it hosted anything else in the tank? where does it sleep? Is there any other fish in the tank?

Some of the easier ways to get them to host with out much stress is;
shine a light on the fish at night while the lights are out and it's trying to sleep it will aggravate it if it happens for a while every night and it will look for a new place to sleep.

the other thing is if you put a fish in the tank that bully's him a little bit then he will seek refuge in the anemone for protection.

but it does take time! I have NEVER not had a clown host an anemone! they all come around eventually with BTA's... but do make sure it's a BTA.

all the other ways i've heard are pretty stressful to the fish and anemone so I don't recommend them

[Chelsey]

How are you keeping a BTA alive with only power compacts?

[sheepdog43]

It can be done.
I know a shop with some and I have one. All are healthy.

In fact the shop near me has had several in a deep 45 under PC and never had a problem.

[Chelsey]

Cool. As long as the BTA is healthy more power to you.

[breutus]

PC's aren't that bad they just loose there par pretty quickly and need to be changed about every six months. BTA's are very hardy anemones I have seen them live happily in systems with worse lighting then pc's they just just need to be fed properly.

[twizzlerman77]

always give him a squirt or brine everyday anything else i should be feeding it?

[Reefer Wannabe]

silversides

[breutus]

Definitely silversides I feed 2-3 whole silversides a week to my big ones and a couple of halves or smaller chunks to my smaller ones. That is with a lot of lighting over them.

Also it will help the clown take to them if there is need of pruning and cleaning in the anemone

[twizzlerman77]

awesome info thanks

[twizzlerman77]

ive still never found out where to get the fish at... anyone??

[paulamrein]

Most lfs I have been to have a huge tank devoted to juvenile clowns. I got mine from MS. They always have them, Belts too. The clowns I got are the strongest fish I have ever seen!! Actually I have a third wheel false perc that needs to come out. I am switching over to a 125g next week some time, where do you live?

[twizzlerman77]

so... i need to get one that is not hand or tank raised???? i may take you up on that false percula does it have full bars it has to or my girlfriend will not like/ want him cause he wont look like "nemo". thanks

[twizzlerman77]

also has the fish hosted to an anenome that you have witnessed?

[Reefer Wannabe]

Originally posted by twizzlerman77
so... i need to get one that is not hand or tank raised???? i may take you up on that false percula does it have full bars it has to or my girlfriend will not like/ want him cause he wont look like "nemo". thanks

They don't need to be wild caught, it is instinct for them to seek a "shelter". Unfortunately, in there little mine ecosystems, so never do. Mine took almost a year before they took to my BTA.

[drgabe]

If Nanook was around he would tell you to let your girlfriend pick out fishes for HER tank. But he is getting crusty in his old age.

Picking up a wild caught Clown is pretty easy- any of the reputable stores in the area will have some on hand, or can order them for you pretty quick.

[twizzlerman77]

she does pick out her fish in HER tank... but she "HELPS" me pick out mine too...

[twizzlerman77]

paulamrein, you got a pm

[ramtheory]

Originally posted by paulamrein
Most lfs I have been to have a huge tank devoted to juvenile clowns. I got mine from MS. They always have them, Belts too. The clowns I got are the strongest fish I have ever seen!! Actually I have a third wheel false perc that needs to come out. I am switching over to a 125g next week some time, where do you live?

I am almost 99.9% sure those are locally raised if they are separate from the main system of fish. I would ask the next time you are there.

when looking for a clown that you intend in having host an anemone, I would wait till you see one in a shop hosting if that is your primary goal. otherwise it is a waiting game some may never host. I have two clowns that I picked up from a buddy that are tank raised locally. They are over a year old and still won't go near my BTAs. they hang out top water at night and hardly ever play in the rock work. There was this time my son knocked a piece of PVC into the tank and they hosted in it until I had a chance to recover it.