Wild V. Domestic

[dimeadozen]

K so I bought what I was sure was a wild percula clown.

The guy at the Aquarium store told me that wild clowns are cheaper and that domestic clowns are hardyer. Cool I thought.

So I bought the wild clown cus I figured it would have a better chance at hooking up with an anemone. ALso I thought it a bit strange that my wild clown was way brighter than the domestic clowns...

So I took it home. And I also bought a couple of anemonies. One was a rock and the other was a bubble sorta carpet thing. Both Anemonies are about 3-4 inches in diameter

The clown did not take the either one and I now I am confused. IS this normal?

Am I missing something... like magical symbiotic dust I am supposed to sprinkle in the tank?

The clown is very young, but is there a reason why it does not pair at all?

Other than that, the clown is healthy and my rock anemone seems to be doing ok. Although it looks like my other one, in rejection krept into the shadows and got chewed to death by my dragon goby...

 

[Clownfish518]

Anemones need to be the right species for clowns to bond with them. There are only 10 species of anemones that are hosts. Can you better identify the anemone species?

As far as wild versus domestic clowns, clowns that are not the alpha male or female will remain juvenile their whole lives, so there is no way to tell the age of a wild fish. He could be 6 months, he could be 20 years old. Also, wild clowns invariably have internal parasites and should be QT'ed and treated for such.

Domestic are much better pets all around.

 

[MikeinToronto]

The guy at the Aquarium store told me that wild clowns are cheaper and that domestic clowns are hardyer. Cool I thought.

True, usually.

So I bought the wild clown cus I figured it would have a better chance at hooking up with an anemone. ALso I thought it a bit strange that my wild clown was way brighter than the domestic clowns...

WC vs CB, doesn't matter. Both will accept (or reject) an anemone, even a natural host. You can find bright CB clowns as well although I notice bright WC clowns are easier to find. CB doesn't always mean a healthier or better animal. It is just more "environmentally friendly".

The clown did not take the either one and I now I am confused. IS this normal?

Am I missing something... like magical symbiotic dust I am supposed to sprinkle in the tank?

Just wait. It may take hours, days, weeks, years, or eternity. There is nothing special you can do. That species of clown does best with a natural host IME or with a surrogate. They don't seem to like hosts that aren't natural although it isn't to say they won't accept them. Ocellaris is the same way but others have other experiences. You will notice a lot of posts from people surprised their ocellaris bonds to a coral rather than an anemone. This is really common. I find it happens less so with other clown species, even clarkiis (which accept every anemone host).

 

[cheely13]

Just wanted to say that my sebea clown lives in a colt coral he even grabs food and iether tryes to feed it or tryes to stores food it it im not sure. people are always coming over and saying whats your clown doing thats not a anenome. I just say as long as hes happy im happy.

 

[sambrinar]

it may or may not use the nem as a host... it will have to "find" it and it still may or may not use it as a host... and I agree, nothing you can do, just watch