anemones...help!

I have been debating on whether or not i want to add an anemone or two to my nano...as i plan on having a black percula clown (i know i know, 'everyone wants a clown to have an anemone' ). I just want one because i have seen some gorgeous ones, and want to know the basics of keeping one. What are some of the easier ones to keep (i will have 4.5 watts per gallon, and most likely will attach the anemone towards the top of the tank) and how do i feed them, i know directly but what foods etc. I am really excited about getting one, i just dont want to make a mistake, seen too many people do that here :/

condylactis, they're the weeds of the sea. many good points: they're cheap, hardy, easy to feed, photosynthetic, may host, and very common.

the carpets and more exotic anemones have too many bad points: expensive, delicate, difficult to feed, maybe photosynthetic, may need cooler temps, may host, and are becoming very rare.

i figure condys are a good gauge. if you can't keep a condy, don't bother with the others. you'll waste your time & money and the livestock's lives. i've always stayed with condys myself (didn't trust myself to try a carpet or anything, too expensive too). whenever i wanted a more colorful anemone i just got me a purty one (they typically look like weeds too X) ). get the red base ones, ime they host easier (not a guarantee).

Condy's are extreamly unlikely to host.

its not a huge issue for the clown to take to the anemone as a host, i just want to try something other than the usual...and i have this weird fascination with anemones anyway. I'll look those up, and if i have any more q's i will just post em, thanks!

I've been looking it up and the more and more i read about it, the more i dont really want them anymore...is it reallly true that i cant keep any other corals in the tank b/c of the anemones sting?? if so, then count me out of them > sucky!

it's true that anemones sting but it isn't guaranteed that they will sting your corals. however, in a small tank, the risk is obviously greater. Also, anemones will move around until they find a spot they like and even then they might move again. That movement could bring them too close to a powerhead and they will get sucked into the intake and blended by the impeller. Anemone death is one of the worst things a tank can have happen to it.

I would stay away from them unless you have a larger tank (20 plus gallons) and personally I would keep them in the sea as I have never had a good experience with them (for longer than 6 months)

I have a seabae anemone! I love it and its growing and doing great I have had it about 6 months and it has doubbled in size. It is not in a "reef" tank but it does have all of its needs met. I have a Clarki clown that host it completely feeds it grooms it sleeps in it and plays with its tenticles. I didnt even want the seabae anemone but my wife did and I got her one lucky for me its a healthy happy one.

My tank specs are as follows 20 gallon high (the standard 20) with a 175 watt MH light over the tank 12K sunburst bulb. with a cpr backpak on the tank. and 20 lbs of live rock with a cushed coral substrate.

I dont feed the anemone at all I let the clarki do it. he drags food down there and puts it on the anemones mouth. I do a 20 percent waterchange with RO water every week and the tank is doing great. the only corals i have in the tank are some button polyps and some shrooms (from my nano) other then that the tank is dedicated to the anemone.

as far as a condi goes dont do it. they will die. Condy anemones have Very specific requirements and I have not seen a healthy one in a long time.

Go with a BTA (Bubble Tip Anemone). They are cheap and easier to keep than most species. Best of all they reproduce in captivity by cloning and you can purchase captive cloned BTAs (eco friendly).

Your Perc may or may not host with it, but I have seen it done.

I bought a small BTA ( size of a golf ball) for my 7bow, and a true perc to go with it. The perc never took, so I traded for a clarki, and as soon as it was put in the tank, it was hiding in the anenome. The only problem is in 6 months it has grown considerably, it now reaches from the bottom of the tank to about 3" from the water line, If it doesn't split soon I will have to trade it in for a smaller one. I have plenty of other corals, just not near the anenome, and it hasn't moved since it found it's "Spot". As far as feeding goes, I believe they light dependant, with food supplements. The clown feeds it flake food whenever I feed the fish, and once a month I give the whole tank pieces of uncooked shrimp. So far so good.

Originally posted by Yup

I bought a small BTA ( size of a golf ball) for my 7bow, and a true perc to go with it. The perc never took, so I traded for a clarki, and as soon as it was put in the tank, it was hiding in the anenome. The only problem is in 6 months it has grown considerably, it now reaches from the bottom of the tank to about 3" from the water line, If it doesn't split soon I will have to trade it in for a smaller one. I have plenty of other corals, just not near the anenome, and it hasn't moved since it found it's "Spot". As far as feeding goes, I believe they light dependant, with food supplements. The clown feeds it flake food whenever I feed the fish, and once a month I give the whole tank pieces of uncooked shrimp. So far so good.

how much lighting do you have in your minibow?? Also, how hard has it been to keep in such a small aquarium (i also have the minibow). Just curious because i have heard bubbletips are more difficult to keep...

32w retro. Likes to be directly under the light, and I placed my other corals away from the anenome. Other that that just read the post above. Here is a recent look.

This is the anenome less than 4 months earlier. It has grown very quickly!

WOW! I have the same tank and lighting you do, and i never thought that anemones could thrive in such a habitat...i kinda like that now. What do you do to your anemone (aka what do you feed it, what additives do you add to your water)?? The corals you have look really nice...nice tank!

I know that some peeps have reservations about keeping anenomes at all -- virtually all of them are collected from the wild, and they ship very poorly. Lots die in transit, and most of the ones we see in stores aren't healthy ... and every reef anenome taken from the wild means one less host for clowns. Clowns w/o an anenome = lunch.

But ... if you look around, you can find pics of clowns hosting in almost anything: 'shrooms, LPS, xenia ...

Just thought.

No additives, no phosphates, under 40 nitrates at all times. I don't feed it, the clown shares his dinner once or twice a week. Water change when trates approach 40 but never less than 20 (need to feed the plants + algae for clean-up crew to eat and stay alive). If I'm cooking shrimp or scallops the tank usually gets a treat.

Like it or not anemones ARE sold. It looked very healthy and I know the LFS takes care of their stock very well. Last night mine was twisting into knots and folding itself in half, I thought it was trying to split, but I'm not sure. If it did, I told the woman of the house I would keep one, and trade the other to the LFS. I think the people who set tanks up recklessly and abandon or neglect them are much more dangerous to the reefs than true hobbiest's purchasing an anenome.

what happens if my clown doesnt host the anemone? does anyone have any good links on feeding bubble tips? also, what kind of clown would you recommend?

I have a large condy in my tank and it's never been a problem, it's actually quite healthy, it's budding as we speak and it hasn't harmed anything except a few aiptasia. Though it does have half the tank for itself, it seems to prefer the high water movement areas so it sits under my powerhead, and th discosoma and candy coral that I have seem to prefer the low water movement areas so they're on the other side of the tank. Though I just got a clown and it doesn't seem to even notice the condy, it seems to have taken up residence at my thermometer.

Clarki's will usually take a host rather quickly. True+false may take alot longer if at all. Anything that touches a tenticle it will eat. I use uncooked shrimp or scallops, and plenty of light b/c they produce their own food through photosynthesis ( I can't think of the word for it right now).

Should the first coral i get be an anemone so it can find its spot before taking over others?

I have looked at a few clarki's but none have ever just struck me to say 'i have to have that fish'...false percs have a true hold on me, and i guess if he doesnt like the anemone i give him, he can be like zontars fish and get attached to a thermometer or some other piece of equipment! One more thing (sorry, i realize i am asking a TON of questions)...i have read in more than one place that you have to clean your anemone if a clown doesnt take it as a host(due to the clowns ability to clean it themselves), does anyone do this, and how do you if it is necessary??

just another quick (hehe sorry) thing... what do you guys think about a bubble tip anemone and a tomato clown??

Originally posted by Yup

32w retro. Likes to be directly under the light, and I placed my other corals away from the anenome. Other that that just read the post above. Here is a recent look.

It hasn't grown. It is gasping for light! See how its stretching towards the LIGHT? You might need more light. How much light does your tank have on it? YOU NEED MORE LIGHT!

he said he had a 32w cls pc...you dont think that is enough??

If I thought that was enought, do you think I would have posted - "NOT ENOUGHT LIGHT" ?

???

If the anenome is healthy and growing rapidly, why would I need more light? The light must be good enough for it to be doing so well. It may be streching for more light, but is it getting wider b/c it's looking for more food? You see overweight people eating snacks, does that mean that mean they don't eat enough?

The lighting is perfectly fine for it. It's not so powerful that it makes it cringe in the corner under the rock ledge while slathering on sunscreen to keep from being a crispy critter, while the light isn't too little as to cause the anenome to shrink up and wither away. Maybe we should all put light meters in the tank and adjust the lights on dimmers to get the "proper " light for each inhabitant. It is alive an WELL, and growing too fast. Katydidit, don't at all be afraid to try it under 32W as long as you keep the tank vitals up.

Dude, its not growing bigger as in healthy. Its growing bigger because its trying to capture as much light as possible - IE YOU NEED MORE LIGHT.

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