For clownfish, the coral that they host is more than just a home, it’s their food. Clownfish eat the parasites and leftovers from other fish that come to feed on their tentacles. This makes clownfish one of the only clownfish species in which both sexes can reproduce sexually or asexually. Clownfishes are good for protection for hammer coral because they won’t let any other fish near them when they’re hosting it.
This blog post will discuss how these two species benefit each other and what you need to know about Clownfish hosting hammer coral if you want to keep them as pets!
See also:
- What Is The Best Coral For Clownfish To Host?
- Coral Beauty Angelfish With Clownfish? (Top 2 Facts)
- Top 3 Interesting Things About Torch Coral And Clownfish
Are Hammer Corals Easy To Care For?
The hammer coral is a somewhat tricky species to keep alive. Because of their large and fragile polyps, the need for stable water parameters, moderate water flow, frequent feedings, and the requirement to test for and maintain calcium levels over 400ppm, these magnificent corals fall into the intermediate care category.
Proper Tank Conditions For Hammer Corals
In a saltwater aquarium, caring for Hammer corals necessitates a modest degree of expertise. Euphyllia Ancora, like most other coral species, requires steady reef tank water conditions, is sensitive to practically any quantity of copper in the water, and is intolerant of significant fluctuations in water quality.
Where Do You Put A Hammer Coral In An Aquarium?
When it comes to the appropriate positioning in your tank, this coral species isn’t fussy. The key would be to stay away from the extremes. Avoid excessively bright regions or have too strong currents, as well as areas that are too dark or have too weak winds.
How Much Light Does A Hammer Coral Need?
Hammer corals require only a moderate quantity of light for photosynthesis and can thrive in the middle of your aquarium. For most tanks, almost any reef LED illumination should be enough.
Water Flow
The trick is to keep the flow moderate. Consider the three bears and goldilocks. It’s just perfect, not too much, not too little. The polyps should swing with the stream, but not so excessively that their skeleton is continuously twisted over. In the worst-case scenario, too much flow will rupture the polyps, preventing them from extending in the first place (best case). As a result, please don’t allow them too much freedom.
Compatibility of Hammer Coral And Clownfish
The hammer coral is an aggressive coral species with sweeping tentacles that will assault its neighbours. On the end of a specialized polyp that can reach several inches from the coral’s body are stinging nematocysts (similar to an anemone’s sting). The sweeper tentacles are powerful and will chemically burn any corals in their vicinity.
As a general guideline, allow your hammer coral plenty of area to develop, as well as to protect them from causing any problems.
Feeding The Hammer Coral
Corals are all living creatures. Animals have one thing in common: they all want to consume stuff. The hammer coral is no exception–though, unlike some other LPS species, Euphyllia Ancora is not a voracious feeder. Hammer corals are more reserved eaters who would benefit from the addition of meaty marine food such as Mysis shrimp on a regular basis.
Will A Clownfish Hosting Hammer Coral?
If an anemone isn’t accessible, clownfish will typically locate another host, such as hammer corals or even a toadstool leather coral. It’s possible that this is the best of both worlds. You get to see the clownfish in their natural habitat and you don’t need an anemone, which is often an issue.
What Makes Hammer Coral Suitable For Clownfish?
Clownfish live in the water under the protection of corals and sea anemones, or “host” them. Sea anemones and corals are quite different, with corals having a skeleton and being tougher, whilst anemones are soft, filled with water, and maybe extremely mushy.
Clownfish and Anthozoans (Anemones and Corals) have a symbiotic connection in which the hosts give refuge and protect the fish from predators, while the fish supply nutrients and clean the remnants of other fish’s algae.
Though your pet clownfish will thrive without Anthozoans in their tank, they have been protected for centuries, and it is instinctual for them to do so. Anemones and corals are also attractive. They can improve the appearance of your aquarium. As a result, a small ‘ocean’ within your house may easily enchant visitors.
Hammer coral is a great place for your clownfish to call home. With their T-shaped tips and puffy tube-like tentacles, these are sometimes referred to as Euphyllia Hammer Coral or Anchor Coral. They can even appear like mushrooms. They come in a variety of hues ranging from blue-grey to orange and sometimes even bright green.
Give them enough room because they sting adjacent corals and are considered “aggressive.” True Percula Clownfish prefer them as hosts, although the corals themselves aren’t always that kind. So, before making any greater commitments with Hammer Corals, it’s wise to just try it out.
Some Other Related Questions
Can clownfish host a hammer coral?
A member is actively involved. The clown should be OK; mine recovered after a few days. (Instead, they are now hosting with my RBTA).
How do I stop my clownfish from hosting coral?
Drill a series of holes around the circle to allow water to flow through.
Will clownfish host leather coral?
A member is actively involved. They’ll host whatever they want, even if it’s not the most suitable host in your tank.
Conclusions
The above article has provided you with the necessary information related to Hamer Coral and Clownfish, right?
Annette M. Chaney is an experienced marine biologist with over 20 years of experience as an aquarist and fishkeeper. She started her first aquarium at a young age, filling it with frogs and goldfish obtained from the ten-cent pet store.
Annette grew up caring for and breeding African Cichlids, which led to a hobby in high school that doubled as a profitable means. Attending Reed College gave her time to solidify herself as an accomplished aquarium caretaker with an eye for sales. After that, from 2009 – 2013, she studied at Roger Williams University – one of the most prestigious universities for Aquaculture and Aquarium in USA. She is the founder of AquariumCircle since 2010.