new anemone?

chevyjaxon · #1 02-17-2008, 04:38 AM

ive had my tank setup 5 weeks now i have a yellow tang 5 damsels a neon wrasse and some crabs i have two skimmers on this setup and a 20 gallon sump i also have a P.C. lighting setup 96w x 2 i want to add a anemone and clownfish real bad. the LFS said I have to wait another 3 months before my tank will be mature enough, oh yeah i got 100 lbs LR and 70 lbs live sand the tank is a 90 gallon any thoughts on adding anemones and clownfish would be appreciated

mr_alberta · #2 02-17-2008, 04:46 AM

I would not add an anemone to your tank as 2-96W isn't really sufficient to keep any of the clown hosting anemone species. Also, since you are very new to the hobby, you should wait until you have a little more experience keeping some of the easier soft coral species before moving on to the more difficult anemone species.

Get a feel for your tank first and learn the quirks of it. Get your water parameters stable and let your tank mature. The anemone and clownfish you choose in the future will thank you for it. Even at the 3 month mark, your tank will be pretty new. Most people don't recommend putting in an anemone in your tank until at least the 1yr mark.

fishoholic · #3 02-17-2008, 05:00 AM

We got one 6 months after setting up our 1st reef, found out very fast that PC lighting was not even close to being good enough for an anemone. Upgraded quickly to MH and 2yrs later we still have our GBTA.

I would wait a few more months and upgrade your lighting to MH's or T5's before getting one.

sumpfinfishe · #4 02-17-2008, 05:56 AM

Chevy-listen to the people on this one!
It sounds like you have added quite a large amount of goodies to such a juvinile system, IMO our reef tanks are like natural reefs, they need to mature and seed slowly in order to become balenced eco systems. Which means if you add too much too fast your tank may fail or at the very least run into all types of problems with parameters in water quality and such.

Also remember that an anemone is usually much larger than a single fish so if it dies due to inexperience your not loosing a single fish, instead it's like loosing a mini school of fishes which can in turn crash your entire tank if it dies through starvation, lack of proper lighting, or being sucked up through a pump to name just a few examples.

So my advice would be, wait a while at least six months, then if you still want a clown or two and a host, read a book or some online articles on anemones and how to care for them properly.

super7 · #5 02-17-2008, 06:30 AM

Wait and get better lighting, like MH or VHO T5.

chevyjaxon · #6 02-17-2008, 10:40 AM

is there no way that i can make it work??

fishoholic · #7 02-17-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevyjaxon

is there no way that i can make it work??

Yes, with better lighting and a few months time. With what you have right now no. Basically if you get one now you will be watching it slowly shrivel up and waste away. Probably not what you wanted to hear but it's always better to know the truth and save an animal some hardship.

bassman · #8 02-17-2008, 02:43 PM

My 2 cents

I think I know what you are going through. When I saw my first anemone I HAD TO have it right then and there so I bought it and it lived. My tank was also just over a month old and running PCs. This does not mean the one you want will live though. There are way too many variables involved.

I have heard numerous times to wait 3 months before introducing an anemone to a new system. For this argument I have none. I am not sure exactly why it has to be a minimum of 3 months. I personally have had success with just over 1 month.
However, I had plenty of healthy, mature live rock, impeccable water parameters and very few tank inhabitants. As I said earlier though, there are so many variables at play here it is virtually impossible to say what key conditions were being met for my success.

That is really all I can say about the tank maturity level argument. Each tank is different.

As for lights…

You have to accept that you will need metal halides to keep an anemone alive, healthy and growing for any length of time.

However, IMO, depending on the health of the anemone this does not have to happen immediately.
You can keep a healthy anemone alive for a short period of time with PC's.
How healthy it is when get it will determine how long it can survive. I had to go a couple of months once and my anemone was fine. But it was healthy to start with.

Keep in mind you don't have to blow your load on lights either. All you really need right now is at least one 150-watt metal halide bulb that you can keep above the tank on the side that the anemone ends up settling in. You can add more lights later and greater wattage if you want to.
You can find pendants cheap and used all the time. Or you can build your own even cheaper.

If you can get lights with in the next month or two and you have to have an anemone now then I would look for one that has already been in the seller’s tank for at least one month. And one that has been kept under metal halides. This means it's survived shipping/handling already and hopefully has some zooanthelle built up inside. (Zooanthelle is the algae the anemones grow inside them for food. This is why the light is SO important to them) They also eat with their mouths so you can also keep them going a little bit longer by feeding them more often. Not over feeding just a little more often.

I would read up on them a bit so you can find the species you like most. It’s so hard to describe what a healthy anemone looks like as is and that is made exponentially harder due to number of different species available. They all have different characteristics that they reflect when healthy or sick.

Generally speaking you will want to look for one with its mouth closed up tight like a poop chute. If the mouth is open it’s not a good sign. Also if it looks clear or bleached it’s probably almost dead. This is why I suggest you read up on them a bit first. If you know what species you are looking for and you know what a healthy one looks like this will help you immensely. If the pet store just has the one, the one you want, call them and ask them if they can tell you what species it is. Then you can Google it and see some pictures of healthy ones.

If you want it, and you accept that it may not make it but you are willing to try and perhaps fail then go ahead. It's really up to you. If you understand the risks going in it makes it a lot easier to make an intelligent decision.

One other thing to keep in mind, because this happens to me all the time, is that anemones are not hard to get, well some are but you know I am saying. The day after you buy this one another one will come in. Except it will be even nicer, bigger and healthier! It happens to me every time! LOL On that note, I should tell you that it is not advised to keep different species of anemones in the same tank, they can and will kill each other. So you will want to make sure the one you buy is really the one you want in the end.

digital-audiophile · #9 02-17-2008, 06:14 PM

I've wasted too much time and money over the years on impulse buys. I have learned my lesson many times over and understand now that patience and research is the best bet.

Everyone can share these virtues but people will still go out and waste their money on bad decisions. It seems that in life one must actually touch the stove element to understand it is hot...

TNTCanada · #10 02-17-2008, 07:51 PM

Trust these people... learn from their mistakes and loss of animal life and money... and lots of frustration...they have been in the hobby for a long time and have been in your shoes before and most probably made the wrong decision and lost... so please take their warnings very seriously as this will make you a better reefer in the long run....patents

Just my $0.02

Cheers
Tyler