Bta advice

[bluesox68]

So my system has been running great for a few months and all levels are fine. What I would like to know is if my system is ok for a bta? I have never had one and I know some have lighting requirements but if everything is stable would i be ok to get one in the next month or so? My goal would be to get clowns as well. I know they are not guaranteed to host but are their tips or tricks to encourage that to happen? Would you suggest getting the bta first or the clowns, or at the same time? It would be nice if they all came from the same place and already hosted but I haven't seen that yet. I'm just thinking rbta or something small. Thanks Oh in case your wondering 40 tall and hopefully switching to led soon but I only have vho's for now but I'm not sure if that's good enough lighting?

[HaZRaTTy]

I'm no expert on VHO lighting, never had them myself. Just in regards to that I would hold off on purchasing the Anemone until you switch lights, Then you won't have to acclimate it twice.

(IMO)

[bluesox68]

I agree, the lights will come first. Any thoughts on the other questions? Thanks

[mike31154]

+1 on waiting 'til after lighting upgrade to LED. I kept my BTA under a 2 lamp 36" T5HO fixture soon after setting up my used system, but wouldn't recommend that scenario. I was a newb, hadn't researched a lot & didn't know better. Despite this the BTA did ok, not great, just ok. They are among the easier to keep, hardier anemones.

After upgrading to MH, T5HO combo lighting, it started doing much better. I also switched from treated tap water to RODI a couple of years after & that further improved how the BTA fared in my system. Now under a DIY LED fixture, they (many splits in the past several years) have never looked better.

With respect to hosting etc., always a bit of a crap shoot depending on the species of anemone & clownfish. In nature there are definite pairings of different species of clowns & nems. I have a mated pair of Maroons hosting in my BTA and although that's a natural pairing, it still took close to 2 weeks for the symbiotic relationship to be successful. Most folks shy away from Maroons since they can be nasty, but I like them & lucked out a bit since my female is fairly docile compared to some of the stories I've read. She won't charge my hand when in the tank unless I really get close to the BTA or clutch of eggs. Last time I recall her even bumping my hand must be years ago now. She does have a thing about toothbrushes though. Whenever I decide to use a brush for a bit of algae removal, she goes ballistic. Hard to imagine, but the same species of fish will often have quite varied behaviour from one individual to another. I've read threads where clownfish have drawn the blood of their keepers in defending their territory, which is the tank.

Not sure it really matters whether you get the nem before or after the clownfish. Sometimes clowns will take up residence in other items such as LPS coral, so if that happens before you add a nem, it could be a chore convincing the clown to switch to it's natural host. In my case, the clownfish came first & the BTA was added about a month later. The system was pretty barren when I added the clownfish, so there was nothing else that resembled anything he might go for.