True Percs vs other clowns

[DaveG99]

I have had a sebae clown and I have also had false percs. My sebae went right into an anenome when I put him in my 125 I used to have. My false percs I had ignored anenomes all together. My question is Are true percs more likely to go into an anenome quicker than false percs?

[bencozzy]

no.

ocellaris clowns are more likely to host then percs, both can take time.

i say give it time.

[illcssd]

Originally posted by bencozzy
no.

ocellaris clowns are more likely to host then percs, both can take time.

What evidence do you have to support this claim? There is no reason ocellaris will host easier or are more likely to host than percula's. Any fact's to back this statement up?

[karid]

Actually, everything I've heard indicates the opposite - true percs host more readily than ocellaris.

I think the idea is that usually ocellaris are tank bred and have never seen an anemone before and just don't have that instinct. True percs are usually wild caught and know what an anemone is. Maybe its solely a tank bred vs. wild caught issue.

I don't know how "true" that is, but in my experience - I had 2 tank bred ocellaris clowns for 2 years and they did not host to anything. I had 2 true percs for 2 days and they hosted to a frogspawn.

[Slakker]

Originally posted by karid
I think the idea is that usually ocellaris are tank bred and have never seen an anemone before and just don't have that instinct.

Instinct has nothing to do with what you've experienced in your lifetime...it's based on thousands of years of evolution.

FWIW, a large percentage of both Ocellaris and Percula being sold are CB nowadays.

[karid]

well, that's just what I heard and it matched my experience (with the wild caught true percs hosting and the tank bred false percs not).

On a side note - I think tank bred is the way to go! :-)

[GSMguy]

Originally posted by karid
well, that's just what I heard and it matched my experience (with the wild caught true percs hosting and the tank bred false percs not).

On a side note - I think tank bred is the way to go! :-)

there is no way to breed out the hosting behaivior, it is deep instinct. also im not sure if you know this but False percula/ ocellaris clowns are not the same as true percula/ Percula clown.

a TB clown will host just as easily as wild caught when the fish is provided with its propper host anemone.

[karid]

yes, I know false percs/A. ocellaris are the same and they are different from true percs/A. percula (hence "true percs host more readily than ocellaris"). I also understand both fish are sold tank bred and wild caught.

Ok, so there is no way to breed out instinct. I said I didn't how if that was true or not. I was just sharing my experience and what I heard.

[GSMguy]

Originally posted by karid
yes, I know false percs/A. ocellaris are the same and they are different from true percs/A. percula (hence "true percs host more readily than ocellaris"). I also understand both fish are sold tank bred and wild caught.

Ok, so there is no way to breed out instinct. Geesh. I said I didn't how if that was true or not. I was just sharing my experience and what I heard.

i am not trying to be a jerk it just happens sorry.....

here is the deal with the TB/WC clowns as I see it. people have experienced trouble with their percs and ocellaris hosting for one reason, these clowns natural host anemones arr S.mertensi (very rare), S. Gigantea very hard to keep. and H. magnifica.( rare and hard to care for)

as a result people have trouble getting their clowns to host their BTAs LTA's and haddoni. not because of their breeding but what anemone they are offered. i will admit the TB clowns could be more aprehensive but i doubt it with a healthy Gigantea or magnifica clowns dive right in.

[karid]

No problem (I edited my post too just as you posted a response).

Maybe either fish will host just as easy if given the proper environment. However, maybe true percs are not as finicky about what they host to (and their natural hosts more common in trade), they are thought to host more easily? I've personally only seen hosted ocellaris clowns only once and all true percs I've seen have hosted to something.

[GSMguy]

i know my TB true percs host everything from my clam to hammerhead to my haddoni.

[ArgonDreams]

After talking with some microbiologists that work with both species they offered a third idea on the subject. Age. Typically tank raised Occ and True Percula are typically less then a year in age before being placed in a home tank. However wild caught fish can be variable amounts of age and can be 6 or more years old in some cases. Thus giving the old adage that experience is the best teacher.

[cook]

I had a small true perc go right into my gigantea within 5 minutes of putting it in the tank. I think you have a better chance if you give them their natural anemone.

[reefdood]

My two ORA Ocellaris from Petco took less than a day to get comfy in my small rose. One of the clowns died though but his replacement made no haste either.

[TomDe]

I don't know about what is more likely. I got lucky, both my previous Ocellaris females hosted in a BTA after two weeks. I have heard that Ocellaris are harder as they are not a natural host for a BTA. Some clowns will amost always go right in like Skunk Clowns, Sebae's with Clarkis etc.

I gave them to another reefer because I wanted Onyx Clowns. My female Onyx hosted in the BTA within a day! My other small perc male has never come near it.

You get what you get, sometimes it takes a while or could never happen as mentioned.

My 2 Ocellaris were tank bread and took a few weeks but my Onyx was wild caught and took not even 24hrs.

[i2go]

Well, i have two false percs, that have been in my tank for about 5 months. There are two anemones, a GBTA, and a rose anemone. They don't even go near them. But my friend's true perc went to his anemone within a week. I want my percs to host sooooo bad, in about 3-5 more months, im going to start to think to get rid of them and get true percs. Hopefully they will host soon.

Or I might add a pair of true percs, in the same tank, but im not sure how the pairs would do together. I think a clown's instinct has a lot about hosting. thanks!

[DaveG99]

I dont have an anenome yet but my true perc hangs out in one spot all the time. I dont think he has ever been to the left side of my tank. When the lights go out he gets a little brave and moves around the tank more though.

[chrispc66]

A hesitant clownfish can be trained to host in an anemone if they are isolated, I have seen success with CB false percula clowns and BTA placed in small segregated display enclosures which attach inside the tank with suction caps.

I had a breeding pair of WC fireclowns in a BT that absolutely loved anemones, alas the female decided to jump out the tank..



Not sure on the type of anemone tho

[Slakker]

Originally posted by TomDe
I don't know about what is more likely. I got lucky, both my previous Ocellaris females hosted in a BTA after two weeks. I have heard that Ocellaris are harder as they are not a natural host for a BTA.

Neither is A. Percula.

[Jovreefer]

Not true about age either. My first rods onyx was around 5 months old when I got it & it hosted right away. My ORA Picasso was about a year & hosted an LPS within a day, My 2nd Rods onyx went to the LPS my picasso was hosting within an hour of being in the tank.

[Jay Fortay]

I'm going through the same thing now to try to get my small ocellaris to host in a BTA. they have been together for about 5 days now. I have started turning off the pumps and only feeding above the BTA. I heard that this may help. She is getting closer to it now, but just teasing me I hope it happens soon. My fiance really wants to observe the sybiosis. I could really care less.

[angelfishman]

i have a captive pair of black percs for over 1year and they wont host in any one of my anemones.i recenctley added a wild pair percs and they hosted in a heteractis crispa within 1 minute,so wether the wild ones have a natural instinct to host is anybodys guess.derek