Hi all. I thought I would chime in.
There are several species of clownfishes that are notorious for being rough on their rather beautiful natural hosts--or anemones.
A couple that come to mind are
A. polymnus, or the Saddleback Clowns and
P. premnas, or the WSM/GSM clowns. The saddleback clowns are known for 'mouth diving' right into the anemone, and poking its head out of it. After constantly doing this over and over, the anemone is beaten up from the inside. It is very hard for an anemone, which is made mostly of water. The other observation is from maroon clowns, by both variants, the White Stripe and the Gold-Stripe. They are known to suck/suckle tentacles into their mouth, and usually just spit them out. I am not sure why they do this for the moment, but think that it may be an acclimation type of thing...especially if it is the first anemone the clownfish has been in for some time.
With that said, it is a great idea and best, for the hobbyist to purchase or acquire an anemone that is at least 3 times the size of the clownfish. The bigger the anemone as compared to the clownfish, the better chance the anemone has from physical abuse from the fish it is hosting. I have to say that you are doing a great job by getting a bubble-tip anemone for your maroon, as that specific anemone is the natural host for your clownfish in the wild. However, getting one either smaller or even slightly larger than your fish may/will result in doom for the anemone.
So one option I would go about is to return the small anemone for credit at your LFS....or possibly do a trade...and when a larger bta/rbta comes along, acquire that one instead. This is best for both the host anemone, and also for your wallet
Best,
Ilham
