Clownfish Hosting (the wrong thing)

[MGR201]

I purchased a beautiful little A. Percula clownfish for my BioCube but wanted to host it with an anemone. Unfortunately, by the time I found the perfectly sized anemone several weeks later, the clown had become accustomed to nestling closely with a Zoanthid colony. I cannot dislodge the fish from the Zoanthids; it appears to have established its territory around that colony and it simply ignores the recently introduced anemone. Any suggestions on how to reintroduce the fish to the anemone? I have tried covering the Zoanthid colony with a cut up plastic jug (hoping the fish would "discover" a new home in the anenome after being blocked from its old one) but the clown just makes a fool of me as it hovers over the jug until I remove it (I tried for 72 hours).

 

[jaa1456]

just give it some time let it find the anenome

 

[ryangrieder]

if its a purc, sometimes they can host right away, yet sometimes they can takes months. one time took me over a year to host in it. what kind of anemone did you get? i believe, and correct me if im wrong anyway, but thought they only host in bubble tips and carpets. i find best results with bubble tips with my clowns. other clowns like tomatos, maroons and a few others host pretty quick, if not immediately. purcs are picky. patience is key

 

[BILBO913]

can you move the rock the zoa are on closer to the anemone, kinda giving it more of a choice. and as ryan said it can take awhile, just be patient

 

[MGR201]

It is a green Bubble Tipped Anemone. Unfortunately, the rock with Zoanthid colony cannot be moved closer. We are on day 8 now.

I figure this means I can get an Anemone Crab (I always thought that the clown would push it out of the anemone but if the clown won't budge from the Zoanthids after a few months, then there's an available anemone home for a crab). ;-)

 

[MGR201]

Here are photos of the anemone and the clown with his substitute home.