Will clowns switch hosts readily?

[Xan]

I have a small pair of melanopus clowns (although one has quite a reduced blackening in coloration over the other) The larger of the two has taken to hosting in my colt coral. 'She' chases off the other when she is in there although they swim and hang out together when she's not. I have a very small BTA growing in the tank. I was wondering will she give up the colt coral for another host if she likes the BTA? And, if not, will my colt keep tolerating this behaviour?
Also, if the if the clowns are both melanopus but , say, different variations or subspecies (because of their coloration differences) will they pair up? I have had them since they were very tiny and one is now definitely getting larger and is the more dominant of the two.

Thanks for any input.

Xan

[Hemmie]

Hi Xan,
Usually when they pick a host, that the end of it, they'll defend it even against their tankmate Clown, but that being said, mine did the same thing with a Sebae. The female wouldn't let the male in for months. Then one day they were both in there.:)

I tried and tried to get them to host someplace else because they were killing the Sebae. They wouldn't budge and ended up killing him.

Before hosting in the Sebae, they took up in a Feather Duster. They were in there for almost a year when they switched to the Sebae. I just don't know how or why they choose what they do, but I think it's all a crap shoot.

:D

I don't know about them pairing up. Maybe someone else can chime in and help you there.:)

http://www.machiasvet.com/sebaebefore1.jpg

http://www.machiasvet.com/clowns99.jpg

[Xan]

Thanks Hemmie.
Clowns certainly are peculiar lttle fishes, aren't they??;)
I'm just glad she chose the colt coral since it's fairly hardy. mIt curls up around her at night in a big ball but it opens up fully when the lights are on. I feeding the little BTA trying to get it to grow faster (it's only about the size of a quarter :p )

Thanks again, and that's a great pic, btw.:p

[Hemmie]

Good luck and hopefully someone can help you with your other questions.

Maybe when the BTA gets bigger, it'll be a little more appealing to them.:)

[wanareef]

I have two anonomes- one a rose and the other a green bta. When it's time to trade off the female tomato will chase the male out of one and he would go to the other. And back and forth, sometimes twice a day if I'm near the tank and watching. :)

[Hemmie]

They are about the most entertaining fish, aren't they? You wonder what goes on in their little pea brains.:D

[wanareef]

Yea, it's interesting to see them all cuddled up in their own anonome all buried sometimes where you only see a fin sticking out. The life of riley :D

[Dragonlady]

My 3 clownfish host in both a sebae anemone and a BTA, and they are usually all 3 sharing the same host. They alternate between the 2 anemones. The mated pair of clowns even produced eggs yet again, but this time it was while the juvenile was sharing the same anemone.
Originally, the clownfish hosted in the sebae almost immediatley, and it seems to be their preferred anemone.
It is ultimately up to the clownfish if they want to pair up with each other or an anemone.