Clarkii clownfish leather coral tank

[newenglandreefer]

Hi all,

My tank is a 25 gallon NUVO Lagoon-style mixed reef tank. I largely have leather corals. I love the look of the various shades of pink and purple. GSP has been excellent as well. It has taken over two "islands" of rock on the right side of the tank.

At present, I have two Clarkii clownfish (I've also heard them called Clark's Anenomefish). The large one, named Meatball, I got from a LFS. At the time I got him the owner of the shop guessed he was about 1.5-2 years old and probably from the ocean. My second Clarki, named Katheo, I got about 1 year later from a different LFS. I'm not sure where Katheo came from but he was much smaller than Meatball when I purchased him. He has now grown to be close to Meatball's size.

Does anyone have experience creating ideal homes for Clarkii clownfish?

Here's a YouTube video too that I made recently of the tank.

Clark's Anemonefish Tank | IM 25 Gallon Lagoon

They used to have an anemone that they LOVED, but unfortunately now the anemone is hiding in the back corner of the tank and has turned into a tiny little stump on the sand bed. She is still attached. After talking with my LFS he thought perhaps the clowns overwhelmed her because they were bigger then the anemone and would constantly go in and out. She started to hide more and more, eventually retreating to the rear corner of the tank.

When I got this anemone she was huge, but overtime got smaller and smaller. Anyone have any ideas on bringing her back to health?

Excited to learn more from you all. Any questions too about Clarki's ..fire away.

Jeremy

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking tank!

 

[newenglandreefer]

Great looking tank!

Thank you!

 

[Brianreeferny]

Beautiful tank and fish. Great video too. As for creating a home for the clowns, they love anenomes but will host other corals in time. Leather corals release toxins, this could possibly be why your anenome moved and closed up or it could just be too small for the clowns.

 

[newenglandreefer]

Thanks, Brianreeferny for your comment I didn't know about the leather coral toxins. This indeed would make sense...perhaps in combination with the clowns being larger than the anemone it could've been too much.

The clarki's have since dug out a cave in the rocks and they seem to be hosting this area for now. I was hoping at one point they would host one of the leathers. One clown slept on the Toadstool for several nights but since then they've mainly gone into the rocks. We will see if this changes as time goes on. For now, they are enjoying their time tonight with their new friend, a skunk cleaner shrimp!

 

[NCsalt]

Never had experience with them, but I always thought Clarkiis were cool. Yours look very nice! Maybe run some carbon if the the leather is producing toxins that are irritating the nem?

 

[LiquidSpace]

There’s just something cool about Clarkiis. I’m going with a pair when my big tank is up and running.

 

[newenglandreefer]

There’s just something cool about Clarkiis. I’m going with a pair when my big tank is up and running.

There is something cool, right! I never anticipated caring for two Clark's Anemonefish, alas we were at the LFS and my boyfriend noticed Meatball with his creamsicle orange color and big eyes, since then I was hooked (no pun intended lol!)

They do have big personalities and are fast swimmers too. A midsize or larger tank would serve them well. Many websites advise 25-30 gallons and up (especially for a pair) largely because I've heard they can grow 5-6 inches in size.

The picture above is Meatball when my BTA anemone was big (the good ole' days).

Clarkii clownfish live in many different regions of the world and the coloration can vary widely. There's a neat site online that shows all the different variations

 

[newenglandreefer]

Never had experience with them, but I always thought Clarkiis were cool. Yours look very nice! Maybe run some carbon if the the leather is producing toxins that are irritating the nem?

Thanks NCsalt. I'll have to try this out. I am running some basic carbon filter media but it's probably not enough. Clarkii's are beautiful and they are hearty too. Wonderful fish!