Am I ready for an anemone yet?

[WindowMaker]

Hey all, Ive been working myself up to the point of getting an anemone for my tank. Ive just completed the final steps of lighting (150watts of LEDs).

Here is what I have:
80 gallon bow front
sump with euro reef skimmer, carbon reactor, gfo reactor.
mag 9.5

1 large 4000gph powerhead.

All the regular stats are nil

phosphate is about .05

dosing 2 part, trace and iodine


tank residents are a pair of oscellaris clowns, 2 cleaner shrimp, an assortment of snails and a couple of hermit crabs.

am I missing anything here, or am I getting close enough to take the dive?

Thanks!

[Myka]

What brand/fixture LEDs do you have? What are the dimensions of your aquarium? How long has it been running? What type of anemone do you want?

Bubbletip anemones are the prettiest anemones that are easy to keep and will host Clownfish. Color doesn't seem to change hardiness. They are good anemones for novice reefkeepers.

[Nano]

How olds the tank?

[Northernseacorals]

When you buy the new tank mate; try and purchase cultured/propagated :idea:

The less we take from the wild the better :biggrin:

[WindowMaker]

tank has been running for over a year. I was having some issues before with fish dying, then I discovered that my sally lightfoot was eating all of them. Its gone now.

LED's are a DIY mix of 50% RB and 50% 20k white, a whole pile of research led me to this being a suitable mix.

[Myka]

You didn't answer any of my questions. :twised: The LED fixture is DIY? How many watts are each LED? Did you use any optics? Depth of tank is important to be able to determine how intense your lights are at the bottom of your tank (I'm not familiar with the depth of the various bow front tanks), I think your tank is probably 21 or 24" deep which makes me think your lights are lacking a bit. The intensity of lighting is very important to determine which species are suitable. You didn't say which species of anemones you are interested in either. Like the various corals available on the market, the various anemones can have quite different requirements! Need more info.

Given the limited information you provided, it is likely you should be able to keep a Bubbletip anemone provided you keep it in the upper half of your tank. I wouldn't try any other species without more experience and more intense lighting.

[WindowMaker]

I did mention they were DIY, there are 48 3W led's. No optics, tank is 24" deep. I was debating the use of some optics to bring the light closer to the bottom. Suggestion on angle?

Bubble tip was what I was thinking, I know they are the more beginner breed and they look pretty cool too.

[fishytime]

you should be fine with a bubble tip....one thing tho.....nems is evil:mrgreen:

[WindowMaker]

Define evil?

clowns+nems are the reason I went from FOWLR.

[Myka]

I did mention they were DIY, there are 48 3W led's. No optics, tank is 24" deep. I was debating the use of some optics to bring the light closer to the bottom. Suggestion on angle?

Bubble tip was what I was thinking, I know they are the more beginner breed and they look pretty cool too.

Unless I'm blind, you didn't say DIY anywhere, although I assumed this when you mentioned researching the color so I responded accordingly. Anyway, no I don't know much about the optics, I'm not keen on the LEDs so I haven't checked them out too much.

As I said, the BTA would probably be your best choice. Make sure you drip acclimate it, and I like to turn off all the pumps for the first hour and then just turn on one small pump overnight. This helps the anemone settle in and get a good foothold. Make sure when you buy it that it is stuck onto something really well. If you buy one from someone else's tank ask if you can also buy the rock it is on. That's the easiest way to acclimate them is to not peel their foot up. You don't usually get that lucky though! :D

[fishytime]

Define evil?

clowns+nems are the reason I went from FOWLR.

sorry....Im just jaded towards nems......I had 1 BTA turn into about 20 and start killing my prized sps.....no more nems for me...."nems is evil" is just a phrase Ive been saying for years on this site...

[Myka]

Some anemones will wander around the tank stinging corals too. They can also let go of the substrate/rock and get sucked into a powerhead, chopped into a million stinging cells and left to wreck havoc. They are quite skilled killers. However, if your nem is happy it is less likely to move about ime. I think some are just prone to moving though.

[Milad]

FYI your LED light is very very lacking for a tank that size
especially with your 20K LEDs. (Im guessing you have non CREE royals)

and without optics, thats even less light towards the bottom of the the tank.

you have enough to keep softies, i wouldnt try to keep any demanding sps.


for sps, you should be looking at about 40 CREE XT Royal Blues and 20 Neutral Whites. and if the fixture is 8" from the surface, you want about 60 degree optics.

[WindowMaker]

Thanks for the help,

I have another 48 led's that I will add down the road when I can get a hold of a couple more drivers. I was only planning on the nem for now, other corals will be down the road.

Im going to talk to my local fish guy. usually with stuff like nems he holds on to it for about 30 days before selling, so if I can just get him to put it on a rock I will take it all together.

What do you recommend for food for a BTA? how often? any other precautions I should worry about?

for the acclimation, is 4 hours long enough? or should it be faster/ slower?

Thanks again!

[Milad]

Thanks for the help,

I have another 48 led's that I will add down the road when I can get a hold of a couple more drivers. I was only planning on the nem for now, other corals will be down the road.

Im going to talk to my local fish guy. usually with stuff like nems he holds on to it for about 30 days before selling, so if I can just get him to put it on a rock I will take it all together.

What do you recommend for food for a BTA? how often? any other precautions I should worry about?

for the acclimation, is 4 hours long enough? or should it be faster/ slower?

Thanks again!

You missed the point of my post
If your nem needs light similar to LPS or SPS, you won't have enough. A bta --might-- be ok but I wouldn't put money on it.

[SleepyPirate]

I have 55 gallon tank without sump but have Canister filter with 4 12" t5ho and 1 halogen and Iv kept my 4 anemones 2 RBTA 1 GBTA and 1 ?? Magnificient anemone not sure of name just fine among many other corals stonys and softies havent had any problems besides when the anemones are first introduced they like to wander and float around like tumble weeds sometimes which can cause problems like them getting sucked into my tunez fan which happend to my GBTA But after 1 year of recovery hes back to normal. Iv moved twice with my tank and have lost a fish or two from the tank cycleing but no problems with the anemones. Seem pretty easy to keep to be honest dont know why others have so many problems.

[Jeontai]

Just like everything else in an aquarium, results will vary from person to person. No two tanks are alike. Some people get really lucky and have no problems with anemones, others have nothing but problems.

[Myka]

BTAs don't need very much light if they get fed. You really only need to provide one or the other for BTAs...food or light. My BTAs prefer Mysis or Plankton. I don't feed my anemones because they get plenty of light under 250w halides and T5s. The one under the T5s is actually happier than the one under halides. I've kept BTAs under T12s long-term with no trouble. 1-2x per week a few pieces of Mysis or Plankton is usually enough. They don't need much.

[WindowMaker]

sounds great, I already feed mysis every couple of days, so it wont be hard to give it a little squirt while im in there.

[WindowMaker]

Well, I was at my LFS today and the owner made me an offer I couldnt refuse for a rosy BTA. It had about a 1" foot in his tank that was lit by two flourescent tubes. ( he has had it for over a month). I just placed it in the tank and is already near double the size as in his tank. I take it that its happy with that for now.

Thanks for all the positive help.

[Myka]

That's great! Post a pic when you can! :)

[WindowMaker]

Bad pic, but here it is. Its glowing a nice shade of neon pink right now.

[Myka]

Oh it's cute! It probably won't eat right away, prob give a week or so before you try feeding.

[WindowMaker]

Sounds good, I fed the other fish mysis this evening and it didnt seem to show any interest. It was still trying to get into position at that point. I notice now that the lights are off that it is on the move again.

[WindowMaker]

Update a couple days later: Nem seems very happy, bright red now and nearly double the size he was in the store tank. It seems to have settled top and center of the tank, just where I wanted it. Also noticed that the rock he came with seems to be covered in brown and green button polyps, they were all closed up in the store so I never noticed. Now theyre wide open. Im happy to have the addition in my barren tank. Ill try feeding it tomorrow and see the results. So far the clowns have shown no interest.

[intarsiabox]

I had a tiny green BTA given to me a few months ago, it has now split into 5 of them and my clowns won't go near any of them. The clowns are captive bred, I don't know if they have a hosting instinct built into them or not.

[Myka]

Put a pic of a clown in an anemone on the side of the tank near where the clowns hang out so the clowns can see the pic. It sounds silly, but it often works. I've never had it not work actually.

Those brown/green button polyps can become quite a nuisance, I would not want them in my tank.

[WindowMaker]

That is so ridiculous that I feel compelled to try it.

[Myka]

You should, it will probably work. :D But maybe I jinxed you now! :p

[WindowMaker]

A little over a week later, Nem is eating well and about 3x the size from when purchased. He has stopped moving and picked a spot dead centre (right where I wanted it). The male clown decided he likes the nem a few hours ago, the female seems to be showing more interest now too. Currently the male is cuddled up in the middle of the nem. That was faster than I expected!

[daniella3d]

cool! :)