[DJ88]

Sam,

Don't put two different types of clowns in one tank. Especially a Maroon. A Maroon clown will kill any other clown's in HER tank. I have one and even getting her to accept a mate was near impossible. She took a mate but then six months later killed it with no warning. My female is in the sump now as she was getting so agressive the other fish in the tank were hiding all the time and she was even attacking me.

How old is your tank? You will have to be careful having more than one anemone in a tank. Do you have corals? How much light do you have on your tank? What color are they? How often do you plan on feeding them? What will you feed them?

I don't mean to sound preachy but IMO and IME Anemones are the most difficult creature to keep in a tank. They are very sensetive to poor water quality, need high lighting, need to be fed regularly. Etc..

You said that you are just getting into reef keeping. How old is your tank? How much experience do you have with creatures in your tank other than fish? How much research into the anemone's needs and requirements did you do? Did the store ask you any of these questions? Did they let you know how difficult it is to keep an anemone? If they didn't then they should have.

One anemone in a tank is a big undertaking. Three is more then most experienced reef keepers will want to have themselves. I have a feeling that the store just wanted to get rid of them and did not let you know of the needs that the animal has. Especially where you say they "gave you a deal". That is my biggest concern. If they are giving you a deal and the anemone was not opening in the store then you may have bought something that will not make it in your tank. If any of the three appears white in color it has expelled the symbiotic algae it requires to live. To keep this anemone alive will require lots and lots of feedings and work. I have a BTA I am trying to nurse back to health and it is not an easy job. My Saddleback is slowly coming back to health after a tank crash and that is with daily feedings of silversides and clams soaked in selcon.

As for each clown pairing up with an anemone it most likely won't happen. My sisters clown's want nothing to do with her anemone. Some will, some won't. Tank raised clowns seem to not accept a host as easily as wild caught. Anemones DON'T need to have a clown to survive. And vice versa.

Stores selling these creatures without asking the purchaser how expereinced they are and what the tank is they will be putting it into should NOT be able to buy and sell these animals. Anyone who does has no concern about the welfare of that animal. I don't care how nice the staff or owner is. Anemones should not be sold to anyone but the most experienced hobbyists. I don't think they should be sold at all. I won't buy anymore, and will try to deter anyone else from buying them.

I wish you the best of luck.

I made hasty anemone purchases when I started out and lost most. I won't ever buy another and would not even let my sister buy one until her tank was a year old, had enough lighting and she fuly understood the WORK involved in keeping these delicate animals. Anemones can live for decades in the wild. Even hundreds of years. In our tanks they don't live for more than a year or two.

Sorry to sound preachy but this is a personal pet peeve of mine.

[ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: DJ88 ]