Anemones...can you keep varied kinds together?

[Poorbob2000]

Hello Everyone,

I have a couple of tanks and am restructuring my 80 gallon system. I was thinking about combining several different species of Anemones thru-out the aquascape. My only concern is whether the various kinds will co-exist peacefully or will it be a problem. I have several varieties of Carpet Anemones, Sebae, Long Tentacles and Bubble-Tip Anemones. I have a rose bubble-tip anemone with a carpet anemone now and the bubble-tip anemone has moved as far away as is physically possible. I am pretty sure it would move farther away if it could...sigh. It looks okay but has developed an attitude....smile. Any ideas or should I keep species separated from each other. Sometimes I swear they are just like kids...or, some adults I know...smile.

Any advice or personal experiences would be really appreciated as I am gonna be starting in about two weeks filling it up.

Thanks,

Bob Bennett

 

[Krish]

My friend kept a BTA and a carpet anemone in his 65 gal high and they fought constantly. It may just be the those 2 particular ones though. I'm not sure if that is a normal thing...HTH

 

[spongebob lover]

well as far as i know you are not suppose to mix anemones in a tank even if it's an 80 gal. hmm i believe you are gonna have to buy more tanks for each one of them hehe

 

[Blazer88]

What about mixing RBTA with GBTA?

 

[spongebob lover]

i believe those can be together i mean Ken ( Kens) has one green and one red and they are fine , i guess its because they are from the same family, but that's just my opinion .
I'm sure Nick (maxx) can give you a little better explanation or hook you up with some interesting info.

 

[spongebob lover]

ok dood i found the webpages that maxx gave me, they helped me a lot .

http://www.athiel.com/lib/questions/anemone.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anembehfaqs.htm

http://www.reefindex.com/browse.php?pg_which=1&cat=34

 

[richard55]

I am not sure if it is OK I have kept a large LTA, a large condy and a small rbta in my 55 for a year or so.

 

[spongebob lover]

wwouu dood, well if they don't fight i guess it's ok

 

[richard55]

they are as far apart as possible and the LTA is a ground dweller while the condy is up high.

 

[Ugla]

I have a green lta and rose bta. They now keep about a foot away from each other. Had em for years, no problem.

 

[steve-s]

Strictly speaking, anemones kept together in the same system should be the same species. At the very least of the same genus. Mixing them, especially in a smaller system can be very hazardous to their long term health and anything kept with them. In terms of the BTA's an Entacmaea quadricolor is an Entacmaea quadricolor, color is not a factor, they are still the same species. As with any anemone, (or coral for that matter) color is not a factor in species identification.

In keeping any anemone species, there are a few good guidelines to keep. A well matured tank and hobbyist, aquiring tank raised clones as apposed to wild caught, properly intense reef lighting for that particular species (to simpley say they all need MH lighting is simpley not true or in their best interests), non chemical competing tankmates, a good skimmer, carbon use and proper weekly water changes. I would also urge caution on targeted feeding and frequencey. In my experience, they do quite well without it as long as the tank is being fed otherwise for fish and such as long as the light needs are met. If the light is not up to their particular (species) needs, don't get one. They cannot be properly cared for with feeding alone and will not live long lives otherwise. Captive lifespans being what they are in the first place. In the absence of fish or other "general" tank feedings, target feeding should consist of small raw meaty seafoods fed on randoms days and infrequent at that. I would suggest no more than about 2x a week depending on the size/species of the anemone.

There is no one encompassing way of keeping these beautiful creatures though as each species has slightly different needs.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Maxx]

Steve-S gave a pretty good overview of keeping anemones, and Gabriella posted up some good links....not much to add in either of those areas...
To answer your question about keeping different anemone species in the same tank....
Well that's a difficult one. I know a few people who have done it, and I know lots of people who havent been able to do it.
The only common factor in people who are successful at keeping different species of anemones in the same tank is:

Large tank
Excellent conditions supportive of the anemones habitat in the wild
(IE good substrate for substrate dwelling anemones and good rock work for the Rock dwelling anemones to live in/on. Excellent lighting etc)
Excellent water quality
Good husbandry skills....

There is a theory that many people have that anemones are similar to soft corals in that they will give toxins that are harmful to others, (anemones or corals depending on which one we're talking about...)
These people do frequent water changes and run carbon constantly and/or ozone.

My advice is this....

Most people find it difficult enough to keep a single anemone, much less a mixed group in a tank.

I would set up a different tank for each species that you're wanting to keep. And then, if/when your successful at keeping them, you can start to mix them...once you've gotten attuned to their specific needs and behaviors in your tank.

Nick

 

[Beeba]

I have a big RBTA and a Condy in my 72 gallon and they have planted themselves in a position that is only inches from each other. They have stayed that way for about a year now.

 

[sherm71tank]

You will always have people that have or can do the impossible. I think it iis safe to say that it is certainly not recommended to mix the species. If you do you should be ready for serious problems. I have rbta and gbta in my tank with no problems.

 

[spongebob lover]

i agree with sherm, besides if they reproduce no matter what you are gonna have to buy a bigger tank for all of them hmm... may be i should buy different species .
One thing i wish someone could tell me is... are the carpet anemones hard to keep? i haven't really research on those ones

 

[Maxx]

Condy's and BTA's are among the easiest anemones to keep, and they are considered the hardiest anemones for home aquariums.

There are three main types of carpets, Haddoni, Mertensii, and Gigantea.

Haddoni Anemone's are fairly easy to keep.

Mertensii are the largest anemones found in the wild, reaching more than a meter, (3.2 feet to us non-metric folks) in size. They are rarely imported.

Gigantea anemones are very difficult to keep, and are not reccomended to be kept by any but very advanced reefkeepers in large healthy systems. It is theorized that gigantea anemones need more flow than other anemones, much like H.magnifica anemones.

Here is a link to a good article about Clownfish and anemones...

http://web.archive.org/web/20041130094125/http://biodiversity.uno.edu/ebooks/intro.html

And here is another good Anemone FAQ....(Its a PDF file so be patient..might take awhile to load.)

http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

Nick

 

[spongebob lover]

Thank you Nick for the info.
you know the second webpage its really really helpful.
I'm gonna read the first one .