pettyrd September 22, 2013 Share September 22, 2013 So... I have a pair of Picasso clowns that love anemones... Especially Sebaes. A few weeks ago their Sebae committed suicide in my MP40. Watching them swim around looking for a home was sad, so once the tank was ready, I went out and bought them a nice new shiny Ritteri anemone. The female Picasso swam up to it and checked it out, but didn't want anything to do with it. Instead they hosted my Elegance coral. That was two weeks ago. Yesterday, I bought two pink skunk clowns for the Ritteri. They immediately took to the lonely Ritteri and were happy as can be for about 18hours. Now the jelous Picassos are moving in on their territory and trying to take over the Ritteri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef September 22, 2013 Share September 22, 2013 Ummm yeah this could be a problem.... But if you could put another anemone on the other side of the tank one set may decide to leave... If not then they will fight...alot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 22, 2013 Author Share September 22, 2013 The female Picasso is chasing the skunks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 22, 2013 Author Share September 22, 2013 Hmmm.... I have a small RBTA on the other side if the tank that the Picassos won't even look at... Maybe I could coax the skunks to move... Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef September 22, 2013 Share September 22, 2013 (edited) I'd coax someone over and put an egg crate divider up for a bit somewhere in between if possible to keep them from trying to go to the other anemone... Edited September 22, 2013 by smallreef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 22, 2013 Author Share September 22, 2013 (edited) I was able to catch the two small skunk clowns and move them over to the RBTA. Neither took to it. One skunk went bact to the Ritteri and the other is hiding somewhere in the rock work benieth the RBTA. I think I am going to put the skunks in the sump... I don't want them to die from being bullied. Edited September 22, 2013 by pettyrd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte September 22, 2013 Share September 22, 2013 I was able to catch the two small skunk clowns and move them over to the RBTA. Neither took to it. One skunk went bact to the Ritteri and the other is hiding somewhere in the rock work benieth the RBTA. I think I am going to put the skunks in the sump... I don't want them to die from being bullied. Instead of the sump, maybe you could try the idea listed above by grabbing some cheap white egg crate from Home Depot and separate the tank in half for a period of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella September 23, 2013 Share September 23, 2013 That's why multiple pairs of clowns are not recommended together. It probably won't end well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef September 23, 2013 Share September 23, 2013 That's why multiple pairs of clowns are not recommended together. It probably won't end well.But a 180 usually has a good chance of being okay as long s you can get them and their host at opposite ends...For clowns that haven't attached to a host anemone I wouldn't say it's a good idea...but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08can-am September 23, 2013 Share September 23, 2013 I say pull one pair. I gambled with a pair of picassos and snowflakes in my 300. The picassos had a rbta and the snow flakes had a gbta about 5 feet away. The female picasso found the snowflakes and began beating on them. I say pull one pair and save the abuse courtesy of my sweet S4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 23, 2013 Author Share September 23, 2013 I pulled the skunks out. I tried to separate them but the tenacious little fellas kept finding their way back to the Ritteri with the Picassos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 23, 2013 Share September 23, 2013 I have a pair of Percs and a pair of Skunks in a 75. The Skunks live in and lay eggs near the RBTA while the Percs lay eggs near the waterline. There are only 3 other fish in the tank, so everyone gets along nicely. Been that way for 3+ years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind September 23, 2013 Share September 23, 2013 I pulled the skunks out. I tried to separate them but the tenacious little fellas kept finding their way back to the Ritteri with the Picassos. That was probably the best thing for both couples or the stress of fighting over the anemone might have caused other health issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 24, 2013 Author Share September 24, 2013 That was probably the best thing for both couples or the stress of fighting over the anemone might have caused other health issues. I thought so too. Looks like I will resale the skunks. Or should I try to find another anemone that they will host, and put it on the complete opposite side? The separation didn't work before because the skunks didn't have an anemone they liked on the separation side. No one likes my RBTA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnevo September 24, 2013 Share September 24, 2013 I think maybe it's an RBTA thing :( My clowns decided they wanted to host my spaghetti finger...but my SF wasn't having it...it just wanted to shrivel up from all the contact so i switched them around.. For the past few weeks they've really been testing the waters with the anemone, it's like they keep daring each other...go try it out...they take turns teasing it... Just go host already!!! They're only about a year old, so maybe soon... I think even if they host it still might be a problem long term, but hey at least you got your current clowns hosting the ritteri that should be added to the methods to get clowns to host..get some competition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 24, 2013 Author Share September 24, 2013 I think maybe it's an RBTA thing :( My clowns decided they wanted to host my spaghetti finger...but my SF wasn't having it...it just wanted to shrivel up from all the contact so i switched them around.. For the past few weeks they've really been testing the waters with the anemone, it's like they keep daring each other...go try it out...they take turns teasing it... Just go host already!!! They're only about a year old, so maybe soon... I think even if they host it still might be a problem long term, but hey at least you got your current clowns hosting the ritteri that should be added to the methods to get clowns to host..get some competition... LOL... It was an expensive method... but worked very quickly. My Picassos haven't left the Ritteri yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind September 24, 2013 Share September 24, 2013 should I try to find another anemone that they will host, and put it on the complete opposite side? The separation didn't work before because the skunks didn't have an anemone they liked on the separation side. No one likes my RBTA. This is worth a try and you have a long enough tank. The problem maybe that the E. quadricolor is not a natural host for either. Yes, they do take to them in captivity sometimes but it isn't natural. The H. magnifica you have is a natural host to both types of clowns. I would try either another H. magnifica or an H. crispa which is another natural host. I like the crispa because they stay low in the tank where the rock work meets the sand and rarely moves while the magnifica like to be up in the rocks. Because each one likes a different spot there is less chance that they settle in the same zone and cause issues with the clowns being too close. There is no guarantee it will work but if you like both clowns it is well worth a try. Good luck and keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind September 24, 2013 Share September 24, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 24, 2013 Author Share September 24, 2013 I think I will give it a try. I'll be on the look out for a nice Sebae. If anyone sees one in their LFS, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettyrd September 29, 2013 Author Share September 29, 2013 Yesterday I bought a huge Sebae from a shop in MD. I don't want to jinx myself... But the plan is working flawlessly so far. I redid some of my rock work to kind of shield the sebaes location from the Picasso pair. I placed the skunk clowns in the tank and directed them to where I placed the new anemone... They took to it quickly. I am happy to get the poor little guys out of the sump. They seem pretty happy, fingers crossed they stay that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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