thoughts and opinions?

[shelbyguy]

tank seems solid, water tests are coming up normal on a regular basis..
the rock seems to be set up very well for the fact theres lots of nooks and crannies for the fish, shrimp and crabs.

im at a point i want to add an anemone as the only fish that simply dont seem to have a "home" are the clowns.

im pretty sure we have enough light...just now would like some info on some easy going starter anemone that can get me started, and possibly the clowns a place to have.

 

[jrgilles]

Not sure when you set your tank up, but they usually recommend waiting 6 months to a year to add an anemone. They need good lighting also.

I currently have them under 2X250W MH and 4X65W CF and they are doing great. I've tried them under just CF lights before (many years ago) and lost the nem every time.

You can look up online for what anemone clowns host in the wild. There are a lot of resources (but you can get them to host others besides their wild preference.)

I have some red bubble tips anemones now and they seem to be doing great.

 

[Katchupoy]

I agree jrgilles, its the maturity of the tank we are talking about here. Also you need to double check your power heads if they are anemone proof... Most of the time, thats the one that kills them is when they go around and look for place to stay and they end up with powerheads.

Do you have in mind what kind of nem do you want to keep?

 

[shelbyguy]

i was hoping you werent gonna say wait 6 months

but so be it.

as for what type i really have no clue at the moment, they all are really neat looking.as for power heads, at the moment we dont have any...

we are using the flow of the bio filter (fx5 fluval) as water circulation. maybe time to look into power heads to circulate?


i worry about different water parameters for the anemone as as of right now alll tests seem baseline..

ph- 8.2-8.4
nitrates 0-20 ranges
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
salinity 1.020-.023
temp 78-80


lighting is 2 150mh 1x14k 1x10k
2 65w compact blues
moonlights

 

[Katchupoy]

what corals do you already have? are you going for a softy tank? or a sps tank? full tank shot maybe?

 

[shelbyguy]

we have at the moment i believe is leather finger, and some mushroom thinger and something else... cant recall the name of it. ill post a pic here in a few.

 

[shelbyguy]

doesnt come out well as full tank shot...but this is what we do have.
left to right?

 

[bigblue141]

Depending on what type of clowns you have, they might host in the leather, you could get some frog spawn or Hammer coral as well.

If you want to get a nem, and after your tank has matured, I would wait until someone has a captive bred one. They are much hardier than one from the wild in most cases.

Nems will also move around. If you start getting some high end SPS and the nem moves, the nem almost always wins that battle. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[TJL]

I agree with Ryan on this, so first off what do you want to keep theme-wise; Softies, Softies/LPS, LPS/SPS, SPS or full mixed reef ??? The clowns will host different types of corals that do not wander around the tank causing chaos and destruction and thus allowing you greater options of livestock. If you really want an anemone IMHO it should go into a specific set-up for them in mind. The Carpet Anemones are incredible animals that need thier own space often 30"-40" square if not greater. I've had a huge Green Carpet Stichodactya mertensii that completely filled a 55g Hex and easily could have stretched to more than 3' across. Before I placed it in its own aquarium it dominated 1/3 of my 180g and consumed some unfortunate tank mates including a 8"+ Hepatus Tang. While your still in the early stages really put some effort into planning out your ideal system and go from there.

Cheers, Todd

 

[jrgilles]

I have a nem that just split, and I think half of it is splitting again. PM me when you are ready, as I might have a red bubble tip I could sell you (if you are interested in a red bubble tip.)

+1 what he said about nems killing sps. You must vigilantly watch and adjust things as it grows to keep your other corals safe from the nem.

 

[NWDiver]

As stated above, nems will be an issue if you choose to keep sps. I bought one from barrier reef a while back. it was the cutest little rbta and I knew that the clowns would love it. Well they do, but the cute little rbta is now better than 12" wide and dominates one end of my 120. It has prevented me from buying any high-end sps as I know there will come a day when it decides that the far side of the tank would be a better place to live. I just know it will create a swath of destruction as it looks for a new home Now that I have it, it just seems wrong to pull it out and leave my clowns homeless. It has stayed in its current location for 6 months but still...