I don't know why the thinking is still that anemones are hard to keep.. Now that the hobby in general has advanced and we know the requirements for keeping them, the success rate of keeping anemones has skyrocketed. Proper light, water movement, and good biological filtration are pretty much what it takes to keep an anemone alive... they're way more tolerant of nutrients and don't need as much attention to calcium and alk as any stony coral - frogspawn included.
Good common hosts are usually available, there are many colour varieties available of Entacmaea quadricolor or bubble tipped anemone. These are hardy, host a variety of clownfish, and commonly propogate in home systems, mine included. The downside is they tend to wander, sometimes consuming coral patches and in extreme cases as we have read, getting sucked into powerheads and overflows. (This I have NOT experienced, though no doubt my day is due...
) There are others as well, do a google search and you'll find plenty of reading.
As far as clownfish hosting goes... be patient. I had 2 bubble tips that my maroon clown, (not a good choice for a clownfish - VERY territorial and aggressive!), ignored for close to 2 months. Then one day as he swam by as he had 5000 times before it was if he had an epiphany - he dove straight into one of them, rolling over and around... almost as if enjoying a massage... then straight up out of that one into the other for a repeat performance... that was 3 years ago, and he is seldom very far from an anemone.
More recently I bought a sebae for my 4 Percula clowns. For the first month they never paid it a second look. One had taken up hosting in a giant Hawaiian Feather Duster and the other 3 just swam around for food. Then when I did my tank upgrade I moved everyone into a 75 gallon while I switched tanks and plumbed. As there was no light for a day or two, the anemone was cranky, receeding to a place under the rocks. I actually thought one of the Percs died because he was laying on his side under a rock..
When I moved the rock, he dove into the anemone's tentacles and was quite PO'd that I would have the gall to disturb his new friend. A few hours later the anemone was out completely, and all four of them were rolling around in it. Now when you look at the tank, there is always at least one clown in it, and after the lights go out, all four of them take refuge in it... ( the anemone has QUADRUPLED in size since the clowns found it at the end of June!) FYI the maroon is in a separate tank...
This symbiotic relationship is the one that propelled me into this hobby - the thought that I could keep that picture in my living room got me started and I think I will always maintain at least one of these pairings. I encourage anyone that wants to do this to do your reading, do your diligence, and go for it. You will be well rewarded for your efforts!
