True or false - Which percs should i get?

A

A_Sig

[I read somewhere that true percs will not right away take to the anemone. But on the other hand false percs will. Is this true??? If so, how long will it take before they eventually take to the anemone? I want to get me a pair of trues right after i move my tank into it's new stand, but if it takes them forever to take the anemone, i'll just get some false ones. Let me know what ya'll think.]
 
[It took my True Percula two weeks to find my BTA. It took my False Percula less than 6 hours to chase the True Percula out of the BTA.

I've got pictures, and you won't believe that a little tiny 8 month old ocellaris was able to chase out a 6 yr old female Percula.

Btw, it took less than 11 minutes for my Gold Stripe Maroon Clowns to dive into the Rose BTA we got a couple of months ago.]
 
[most can't tell the two apart. in nature the ocellaris (false perc) has anemones whereas the true perc does not. Either way I highly recommend a tank raised clown and anemone and then it will not make too much of a difference.

If not tank raised then go with the ocellaris

I think Marc's notation on a week vs 6 hours is very common place with these kinds of clownfish.]
 
[the trues are suppost to be a little harder to take care of. but with clowns and anemones it can be a hit or miss. it can be hard sometimes to get a clown of any kind to go into an anemones at first.]
 
[Signey,

I'm sure you already know that clownfish do not need an anemone to live happy lives in captivity, and in my experience, they are just as likely to ignore the anemones that you provide for them in preference for a coral instead. I keep oscies and right from the start they decided on a colt coral over the very nice BTA! When my colt died a couple years later, the oscies moved into my xenia at night and the frilly 'shrooms by day, even though the anemone was still available, right where they always hang out. :glare: Point is, they may not take up residence where YOU want them too. Also, young clowns may not seek out a host until they mature. Mine took a few months until puberty set in. :laugh:]
 
[anemones can be hard to keep to. alot of them die within 6 months. the easy ones to keep are ususally not hosted by clowns. the easest hosting anemones are the bubbles. and the bubbles are the 2nd most frequntly used host after rittira (wich usually dont last long in aquariums).]
 
[Man... thats an awsome picture. I currently have a BTA that I have had since the beggining of my reef tank, and when I bought my Tomato clown he went right to it as well. I was planning to get rid of both the BTA and the clown and get a RBTA and a pair of true percs, just wanted to know how long it would take before they would begin to host. So Rick, how long have you had you RBTA... and where did you get it from???]
 
[one trick I have used is when placing the fish into the tank for the first time, place them into the tank right next to an anemone to make sure they notice it first thing.]
 
@BrianC wrote:
[in nature the ocellaris (false perc) has anemones whereas the true perc does not.] said:
[Not sure I totally agree with that statement. In Wilkerson's book Clownfishes , the author lists no fewer than 4 host anemones for the Amphiprion Percula("True Perc "). They are:

Stichodactyla Haddoni
Stichodactyla Gigantea
Heteractis Crispa
Heteractis Magnifica

It should be noted that none of the above species are particularly easy to keep in captivity.

It has to be stressed though that those are only natural symbionts. In the world of our aquariums, all bets are off...

I had a pair of true percs in my tank for about 4 years. Now they are with Tesfeld! During that time they hosted in a sarcophyton, colt coral, elegance, nepthea, and for the last year, prior to the move, they hosted in a big colony of sinularia.

They don't *need* an anemone at all, and to be honest, a sinularia is alot easier to take care of.]
Click to expand...
 
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