help getting my clowns to host frogspawn?

I posted earlier today with some questions and a list of what i could remember about my tank while i was getting bored to death by my professor and thought of one more that i really wanted to get some info on.

I have a pair of clownfish, and really wanted to get a bubble tip anemone, but i dont have the equipment or the money to upgrade at this point, so I got some frogspawn instead.

I have read all over about some people using pictures to get their clowns to host their frogspawn with success and failure, I was just trying to get more info about getting them to make a connection. I know that clowns have minds of their own, kinda like my beagle, but is there anything that I could do better or change up to get them to host my frogspawn.

I found some pictures of clowns hosting frogspawn on the net, and taped one picture up at a time near my frogspawn on the end of my tank. before i started the pictures the clowns usually hung around on the other side of the tank and now they are hanging around the picture and the frogspawn but not hosting it. Its only been two days and i dont keep it up all day only for about 4 or so hours and even when i took it down they still have been hanging around there.

Thank you in advance for any info and i appreciate your time with some help

 

I believe your on the right track Boss Hogg, I have had clowns host various LPS corals with zero encouragement, nature took its course
but I do know that images of other clowns hosting can prompt the fish in the tank to do the same

Steve

 

keep the pics up all day and night. I got my clowns to host my frogspawn the same way. Took 3 days. They seem to build a relationship with the pic because seeing an unfamiliar clown interests them both. I'm sure it will work considering you have already sparked their interest. Leave the pictures up for at least a week without touching them. Sometimes they won't "host" it right away, but they will start to hang around it, then sleep in it, then finally host it.

 

But wont the frogspawn close up when its touched??

 

Getting a clown to host something other than a nem is hit or miss, even with encouragement like you're doing. The big problem is whether or not the coral will tolerate it. For some people their frogspawns won't let a clown host in but others will. The only draw back to trying to get a clown to host something like a frogspawn is if the coral doesn't approve. In that case, the persistent bugging from the clown could lead to the coral's demise. Just watch the coral carefully, keep up with the pictures, and have patience.

 

+1 on what anp said, I agree that the clowns may smother/aggravate (to death) corals that aren't meant to be hosted. I have 3 BTA's in my tank and had a pair of Ocellaris'. They went through many corals, hosted my hairy mushroom rock, my goniopora, my green star polyp. I have two frogspawns in my tank and they never looked twice at those. I had to get rid of the gonio because they aggravated it and it stopped coming out.

Luckily, when I got my 2nd pair of clowns, they both went straight for my nems, my old pair would never host the nems even with pictures being put up and coaxing. Ultimately every clown has it's own personality and it's a crapshoot at times.

Just wondering what is keeping you from getting a BTA? I do recommend them going into established/stable tanks only (6+ months), with medium to high lighting & screened off powerheads/intakes. My 3 do very well under 5x54w of T5 lighting (TX5 fixture) & I target feed them maybe once every two weeks.

When initially put in, you just have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't sting your corals when they wander to a spot they are happy in. Mine footed in two days and have never left their spot (for the past 5 months).