Best clown fish hosting Anemone?

So what is considering the best, or favorite clown fish Anemone?
I have a large percula clown fish, approx 3-3.5". Tank is 22gal, with 150w 10k MH.

I was thinking about getting a sebae, but from what I've read they are VERY difficult to keep. So on that note I was thinking about a bubble tip.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas are greatly appreciated.
Also, is there any kind of dip i can perform on anemone's to be sure I don't have any bad hitch hikers?
Now how I quantify BEST is 3 factors: Price, Clown fish "likability", and Appearance

Thanks!

Some anemones in the "pot"

1. Sebae $22
   • Hard to care for
   • cheap
2. Bubble tip $24
3. Fluorescent Green Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni)
   • Pricey, at around $70
4. Rose Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor)
   • again, pricey at around $100

 

Some general info:

Anemones are best kept in established tanks of one year +

Clownfish have about equal odds of hosting your Xenia, GSP, powerhead, a rock, or your hammer coral as they do any anemone.

Clownfish do not in any way need an anemone... they very well may completely ignore any anemone you get.

Anemones are notoriously tricky to keep. They tend to look fine for months and months (so the keeper thinks he/she is doing a good job) for them to suddenly deteriorate. Because they die from the inside out - by the time you see any problem, it's often too late.

Anemone's move around the tank and have a good chance of killing other coral or killing themselves in powerheads.

A dead/dying anemone can poison your entire tank, killing lots of other things with it.


I would advise you to not get one... but I do not actually know the age of your tank or your experience level... I am assuming it's new status, so I give the general info above.

Good luck on whatever you decide.


Oh yeah, I have personally seen a carpet anemone eat a tomato clown in a friends tank. More specifically, the clown was there, the anemone closed around it and then the fish was gone forever. That particular anemone was about 15 inches across.

 

You make alot of good points... several of which scare me half to death
Pros just don't seem to outweigh the cons in this case.

Thanks for the info

 

I would suggest getting a large frogspawn or similar coral and try that. I got my 2 clowns (1 black and white perc, and one occelaris) to host with it by printing a few pictures of clowns hosting with frogspawns and taping it to the tank and in about 2 days they both wouldn't leave the frogspawn alone. Frogspawns do not move and are not aggressive and can't eat the clowns. Perfect combo.

 

I agree anemones are really not worth the risk. your tank would also get very tight for a full grown nem. if you do decide you want to try one I recommend a bta. they seem to be known as the easiest to care for.

 

Just an FYI, Rose anemones and bubbletips are the same genous, both are entacmaea quadricolors. In fact, it is not uncommon for a rose anemone shift to green after you bring them home, and vice versa. I had a green BTA change to rose a week after bringing it home. Amenones can be a pain to keep alive. I just had one recently die, though it did absolutely nothing to my tank in the way of toxins. My first anemone was perfectly fine, so it's anyone's guess why the other died. Such is life with a nem in your tank, they are unpredictable.

 

i have also seen a nem eat a clownfish. its not so easy to care for (some say impossible) but the most luck i have had with clownfish to host a coral is goniopora. i have 2 nems and my clownfish would never go near them but he loves the goniopora.

 

Yep, Hatian anemones and some condis are known to eat clowns that make the mistake of going into their tentacles. On the flipside of that, clowns will also eat damaged and dying anemones.
Fact is, clownfish are silly and will host to anything they take a liking to, including live rock, food clips, powerheads, heaters, etc.

 

I am going to try this picture idea. I also have frogspawn, and they are hosting the back of the overflow and only come out when it's feeding time. =(

 

If they are hiding in the back of the overflow, they may be afraid of something in the tank, possible the foxface? I have seen some that are agressive. How big are the clowns?