BTA queries

[turkleton]

So I figured I would ask a few questions before I bought, and possibly killed an anemone.
I have done some reading on anemone care but it's hard to find to find anything specific. I want to set up an anemone and a pair of clowns in a 20 gal tank. The tank I have has been set up for somewhere around 8 months. The minimum tank size for BTA's listed by online sources ranges from 20 gal to over 100 gal. So is a 20 too small and if so is that because of the adult size of the anemone or just the instability inherent in smaller aquariums? I currently have a 2 x 24 watt HO T5 light on the tank. I know the BTA's need moderate to high lighting, is this too little light for a tank that is only 16 inches tall? Keeping in mind that the anemone could attach to the rock work anywhere form the bottom of the tank up to about 6 inches below the light. If this setup is absolutely not possible with a BTA are there other anemone species this would work? Lastly are there any tips people have regarding care and upkeep that are not generally mentioned in the online references.

[mike31154]

When I started up my previously owned 77 gal I added a BTA about 6 months in. All I had was a 2 x 39 watt Hagen GLO T5HO light (one 10000K lamp & one actinic) at the time. It didn't die on me but it also don't exactly thrive. I had a juvenile Maroon clownfish as well and after a few weeks it finally made the BTA its home. I was a newb in the hobby at the time and although I did some research, I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing what I did initially. I now have 2 x 250 watt MH and 2 x 54 watt retrofit T5HO (overdriven) and the BTA has become 4 through a couple of splits a few months back. Traded one off at a frag swap so 3 are still in the tank, huddled close together, hosting my now pair of Maroons that are spawning regularly.

Something else I changed a year after startup is switching to RODI water from treated tap water and adding a couple of VorTech powerheads to improve flow. I think all of these upgrades have contributed greatly to the health of not only my BTAs but also the remaining livestock.

Having said that, in your smaller system, your lighting should suffice for a small BTA and I think it's been up and running long enough to be sufficiently stable. As anemones go, BTAs are probably one of the easier species to maintain. The downside is that the natural hosting clownfish are Maroons. There are other species of clown that may and do host in BTAs, but Maroons are pretty much 100% going to go for a BTA. The problem with this is, Maroons are one of the larger clownfish species and I think you're ok with a 20 gal, but it's definitely at the lower limit as far as size goes. My female is at least 5" now, but even in my 77 she rarely strays more than a couple of feet from the BTAs, so you're probably ok. That's the good thing about most clowns, they don't need that much room to swim, since once they've taken to a host, they stay close most of the time. The only time my female roams is when it's feeding time (she's a pig), or she feels threatened. Then she'll roam around a bit or come shooting at whatever the perceived threat is.

My BTA didn't grow much in the first year and there were some issues, probably with my initial limited lighting and poorer water quality. I feed chunks of silversides every few days and with the improved lighting, water quality, they're growing quite large. You'll be ok for a while with a small one to start, but will likely find a tank upsize necessary at some point down the road. Also, once it starts growing, it can get large fairly quickly. You will be very limited to what, if any other corals or fish you can keep in that tank after adding a BTA and a pair of clowns.

[turkleton]

I don't really care if there is much else in the tank, a pair of clown's and an anemone are about all i'm looking for. I would maybe try a couple soft corals as well but nothing much, a few mushrooms maybe. Although I really like maroon clowns I would go with something smaller and more docile. I had a pair of maroons in my 65 when I initially set it up but when they got big enough they turned into quite the pain in my ass, especially the female. She would regularly attack my hand and knock over corals.

[Jan]

I've had this 33 gal set up for about 3 yrs. Lighting is 4 24w T5's.At one point there were 8 BTA's. It seems when it gets too crowded they move off the area at the left. I have my powerheads covered so there is not too much damage if they do.I have a HOB refugium with chaeto and a CPR protein skimmer.The main flow is one of the smaller tunzes.There is aquaclear powerfilter for chemipure elite.
Initially I had a tomato clown and a cinnamon . The cinnamon was larger and in the tank first. As the tomato grew,the cinnamon no longer tolerated him so he had to be removed.(they did have a couple of sets of eggs though).
After the 15 yr. old cinnamon died I replaced her with 2 percs. Since there was not much else in the tank for them to call home they took to the BTA's within 3 days.
Corals include,GSP,mushrooms,and leathers.There is now also a green goniopora,chalice and acan.
I think your 20 gal would be fine.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/Jan_073/Tommy/IMG_2995.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/Jan_073/Tommy/IMG_2184.jpg

[Jan]

I forgot to say the tank is 22 inches tall and the anemones stay at the bottom so your 16 tall should be good.

[turkleton]

Thanks for the info.