Anemone

[jason604]

Any have a bulb or retteri anemone? Or anything really pretty with nice color and size. Rbta? Please pm me with pic price and size. Thanks

[Coralgurl]

Your tank is new right? I'd hold off on a nem for at least 6 months to let your tank settle.

[jason604]

Your tank is new right? I'd hold off on a nem for at least 6 months to let your tank settle.

Ok thanks but is there a reason to this? Tank just finished cycling about 1-2 weeks ago =)

[Coralgurl]

Your tank is like a baby, yes it's done it's cycle but you need all the good bacteria to become established. Right now there's just no more die off. I'm not good at the scientific stuff :lol:, but I know with some corals if you add to soon, they will just die and frustrate you. You are going to have swings in your parameters, you need to learn about keeping the tank stable for ca, mag and alk. I'm on my second tank and find the first 9 months to a year to be the most challenging, after that things seem to stabilize. This hobby is about going slow, start with easy corals, see how they do, then move into the harder ones. Learn to recognize when things are thriving and when something is "off". Add your cuc and a couple of fish to start. Let the tank get used to that bioload and add another fish.

[Madreefer]

Good advice^^
We were all newbies once. So we all know the feeling of having a boring looking tank and the urge to get that spectacular looking tank as soon as possible. Patience is the big key here. And as much as that guy thanks he knows at the LFS don't listen to him. I'm talking those big chain pet stores that sell all pets. Support the small stores where the owner is usually a hobbyist. Get your answers on this site by using the search key. Icon answers there than send the questions out there. There's alot of helpful knowledgeable people on here.

[jason604]

i guess ill have to wait then lol, but we all know how amazing clowns fishes look in a nice anemone!! what softies would you guys recommend that clowns will host in??

[maron6977]

Mine host in a colt coral & love it . Took them a long time before they moved in there though .

[Dive_dry]

I have 2 anemones in my tank and my clowns don't give them a second look they host in my open brain. So just because you have an anemone doesn't mean they will host in it

[ckmullin]

when ready first throw in an anem...let it get settled and then throw in clowns. It might help for them to keep it as a host when you throw other goodies in the tank.

[Davidbugera]

Your tank is like a baby, yes it's done it's cycle but you need all the good bacteria to become established. Right now there's just no more die off. I'm not good at the scientific stuff :lol:, but I know with some corals if you add to soon, they will just die and frustrate you. You are going to have swings in your parameters, you need to learn about keeping the tank stable for ca, mag and alk. I'm on my second tank and find the first 9 months to a year to be the most challenging, after that things seem to stabilize. This hobby is about going slow, start with easy corals, see how they do, then move into the harder ones. Learn to recognize when things are thriving and when something is "off". Add your cuc and a couple of fish to start. Let the tank get used to that bioload and add another fish.

+1

[Coralgurl]

I kinda already said this, but I went back through a thread from when my first tank was a few months old. I had added corals and they were NOT doing well. I was asking for help and below is some great advice I received.

It really can be a challenge to do corals in a tank under 5-6 months old. Some real pros can set one up and have a perfect tank within weeks - though this is the exception to the rule. Corals require excellent water, light, and only a little food. It takes months to determine weather a coral is happy in your tank as to how deep it's placed, the water flow has to be right, the water must be great, and the light good. This assumes the coral survives that long. And in a reef tank with fish, overfeeding of the fish can produce an environment where most corals will die, as overfeeding results in poor water/high nitrates or nitrites. Take things slower - do not add anymore fishes, or corals, and attempt to keep what you have alive for a few months. Check water parameters often, and do water changes when needed. Let your reef grow into YOUR desired looks, over time - rather than attempt a full blown complex system over only a couple months......a good reef tank regardless of size requires many months, if not years! I'm still waiting for mine to look like a million bucks - and it'll be 5 years from now.

this hobby is all about patience .patience and more patience....that being said a 6 month tank is a new born. after a year that's when it will really start to do its own thing and take care of itself. you can help it along with filters and skimmers. but nature needs to take its course over time.as the tank matures it will usually self correct except if you do something dramatic like add 5 fish at one time.it took me years to get my reef close to where i want it.
One of the hardest things is looking at others tanks and wanting yours to look the same (been there, done that). It will, but it takes time. Rushing into things is the fastest way to push you out of the hobby!

[JTang]

Fire me a PM when your tank is ready. One of my RBTA's is getting pretty big n might split anytime.

[Ginu]

Any have a bulb or retteri anemone? Or anything really pretty with nice color and size. Rbta? Please pm me with pic price and size. Thanks


My anemone decided to split and now I have three fairly large ones too, however Id wait a few more months before adding anemone's to the tank, just my 2c.

[jason604]

yea i guess i will have to way a few months before i can get a rbta which i love! Jtang i will deff msg u when the time is right lol... how about clams and starfish? no brittle stars i want the blue or red...when can i get them?? i love this forum theres so many friendly ppl thats willing to share their years of experience to newcomers..

[Madreefer]

IMO I dont think your tank is near ready for a starfish of any sort. The reds or blues are difficult to keep. As for clams they need pretty good water parameters and decent lighting. I dont know what you have for equipment so I cant really comment. It's best to start researching all your livestock purchases before getting anything. www.liveaquaria.com has a good database of info to a certain point. Check it out. But some of the info is not always right but it's a good start to ryour research.

[Ginu]

+1 to the post above.

Never tried star fish but they also need a established aquarium. As far as clams go, I've killed two in a 34 gallon tank probably because the tank was to new.

Clams need very specific parameters, really good water, and have specific food requirements along with good lightning and a very expensive cost. If you decide to get one, I strongly suggest getting a 4”+ as they have the most chance of surviving. Also check about the supplements needed to successfully keep any form of clams.

My suggestion is to start small and slow to see how your tank takes it and read lots and lots when adding new livestock. Tank crashes are not fun and tend to be very costly.

[jason604]

IMO I dont think your tank is near ready for a starfish of any sort. The reds or blues are difficult to keep. As for clams they need pretty good water parameters and decent lighting. I dont know what you have for equipment so I cant really comment. It's best to start researching all your livestock purchases before getting anything. www.liveaquaria.com has a good database of info to a certain point. Check it out. But some of the info is not always right but it's a good start to ryour research.

im running 10000k LEd fixture. Yea ill have to do a ton of more research lol, but its killing me with all this reading and school on top of that so asking experienced people is like a super short cut:razz: