Tip of the Day – 1/10/2014

Clownfish naturally flock to anemones. They do it in the wild, they do it in the aquarium. The clowns seek a safe place in which to live, and the anemones benefit as well by having a guest that will provide it with food and fight off certain other fish. It’s a perfect match, and the relationship is easily one of the main reasons that hobbyists buy anemones. Unfortunately, those natural behaviors aren’t always seen in captivity. Many clownfish will avoid an anemone, and the anemone may not readily accept its homeless guest. This frustrates hobbyists to no end, prompting forums to be flooded with questions about getting anemones and clowns to co-habitate. The failure of a clown to take to anemone has also prompted many to believe that captive bred clownfish will never reside in an anemone. Thankfully, that’s not even remotely true, as captive bred clowns accept the anemones just as easily as wild-caught fish.