The purpose of the symbiotic relationship between the clownfish and Anemone is protection. Many of the Clownfish that are tank bred may not feel the need to develop this relationship or it could take time whereas in the wild Clowns would have little chance of survival without it. I have had success in the past with tank bred B&W Ocellaris accepting a BTA as a host but it took several months, it should be quicker with True Perculas.
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At about this time I would expect the reader to wonder how and why clownfish choose the anemone that they do. Thankfully, you are not the only person that has ever contemplated this. Arvedlund, et. al. (1999) found that the eggs of the clownfish were imprinted with cues during the development process. The eggs are laid nearby the base of the host anemone of the parents, where the imprinting occurs. Olfactory cues are imprinted according to the mucus released from the oral disc and tentacles of the anemone. These olfactory cues assist the juvenile clownfish in locating the same species of anemone that its parents preferred. Arvedlund's work was an extension of the work performed by Elliot in 1995 where they concluded clownfish species were able to track the scents of hosting anemones from as far away as 8m down current (Elliot, 1995). |
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...hcs3/index.php
BTW congrats Dentoid !