Expert's. Need Help Please!!!!!!!

[KCReefer]

I'm having problem's with knowing what I can keep in my tank.I want to keep some anemones in there but have been told they can not live with coral's. I want the anemones to have something for my clown's to do but I' m wanting to keep some yellow polyps and some mushroom's as well as some devil's leather finger coral's.I've been told some anemones need strong lighting like the rose anemone [what I want] . But found out that the other's dont need as much. I do not have my light yet for this reason. But was thinking about getting a aqualight 96 watt light for my 20 g hex tank. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[coralreefengr]

I don't have anemones so I can't comment on their care, but I do have corals and clowns. The clowns don't seem to care that there is no anemone in the tank and have taken to a couple different surrogate hosts. I have several soft corals for them to choose from and interestingly, they don't host in the ones I think they will. One clown is really fond of my mushrooms and the other seems to like one of my tree corals. You can be assured that if you introduce one thing for them to host in that is not their natural host, they will ultimately host in something else or not at all. Some people even have clowns that always lurk around their powerhead.

 

I guess my point is that if you are going to introduce an anemone and want your clown to host in it, you might want to consider getting the natural host for the species of clownfish you have.

[deacon hemp]

Hey Kcreefer if your thinking about getting a rose bta,i'd go with a pendant mh 175 or 150 watt.the rose will thank you.I just got a green bta for my clowns and all is well,make sure you establish your tank before adding an anenome.The best way to do it is add the anenome wait until it settles in a good spot and stays and then add corals around it! they get big too.

[LiQuiD]

Corals mixed with anemones is fine, I don't know who would have told you that you can't keep them together. Get the best light you can get for your corals and or anemones will be better off down the road.

[Twins Guy]

so...no one is gonna mention the mortality of anemones (and consequences) or their propensity to walk around the tank and sting corals that get in their way?

consider yourself warned!

tg

[FlyGTI]

Twins Guy makes a great point here. Anemones, while they look cool and make a great home for clowns, are prone to relocating from time to time. They have a propensity to act as a one man/beast wrecking crew. If it's in their way, they'll sting it and wait for it to either move or die.

 

Lastly, have a gas mask handy if they decide that their time has come. There aren't many things that stink quite as awfully as a decomposing anemone.

 

Later.

[tinyreef]

i agree with tg and liquid actually. the two (coral and anenome) can be kept together but the anenome will tell you how/where you'll be keeping your corals. if you're on top of the lights' maintenance and never change the water current the anenome should stay put once it settles in (roughly).

 

i would put the anenome in first and after a couple of months start adding corals. if you change the water flow or let the lights age too long the anenome will go walkabout and sting the corals. you'll have to take into account the tentacles and eventual growth of the anenome too. they don't always reproduce upon growth. sometimes they just get hella big.

 

go with the mh (6500K or higher) with actinic supplements. very traditional

[Crakeur]

they can be kept together but the risk of movement by the anemone puts the corals at risk.

 

In my opinion, if you want to keep anemones in a small tank, you should keep them and very little else solely because the anemone will most likely move. If it doesn't move, it can grow rather large and put surrounding corals at risk.

 

fly put it best with regards to the stench of death that they produce. Plus, when they die they melt, making it near impossible to get the whole dead carcass out of the tank. The stench is bad but the toxins released is worse and, in small tanks, will have a devastating effect.