Clown Fish Finally Hosts Catalaphyllia

On Jan 6, 2014, I introduced this Catalaphyllia jardinei specimen into the reef tank with the intent of providing my clown fish with an alternative to the group of Bubble Tipped Anemones it has hosted for the past three years. The anemones were wrecking havoc with the hard corals but I had long hesitated to deprive the clown fish of its snuggly bed of tentacles.

When I introduced the C. jardinei, I left one anemone specimen in the tank to see what would happen. The clown fish showed no interest in adopting the coral. On Jan 26, 2014, I removed this last anemone from the main tank and parked it in the refugium. I subsequently traded it in to the "local fish store" on Mar 2, 2014. Still not much interest from the clown fish.

Over the past week, the clown had start poking its nose into the C. jardinei, a promising sign. This evening, I found it fully immersed in the coral, resting calmly. It took a full two months from the removal of the anemone begin hosting the coral.