Added anemone to a 1.5 month old reef.

[jiffyjhn]

Hi guys

Last weekend a guy locally offered to sell me 2 really nice RBTA for $70, I bought it and put them in my tank. I fed them once and they've really puffed up in size for the 2 days I've had it.

Yesterday I saw on some forums that you are not supposed to put an anemone into a newly established tank, even if your params test good. But no one offered any explanation why.

The anemones are doing really well so far. I test my water twice a week. 0 ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. PH = 8.4. Although my skimmer has been skimming a lot of wet skim after I added the anemones. Should I be worried since my tank is only 1.5 month old?

 

[Cancun]

No I wouldn't be worried. A established tank for about a year is a good rule of thumb...though...make sure you have good lighting.....nems need a lot of good strong light to thrive.....BT Nems are pretty hardy....just keep up the good work testing your water....keep up with your water changes...and keep a good eye on them.....in my experience they will move and "hopefully" settle in the place they choose...no matter where you put them. Hope that helps at least a little bit...and good luck! Post some pics if you can!

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I believe one of the reason is because even new cycled tanks can still be unstable with parameters and can cause issues. Anenome need a well establish tanks for it to do well. They are sensitive to changes n cause them to get stress n die. An establush tanks gives it more successful rate for survival. Not saying it cant be done, just need to monitor your parameters more to make sure, i did the same as you n so far my bta is doing good.

 

[Wilrok_1]

You should be fine , usually you can tell if it will work out or not right away .

 

[jiffyjhn]

Thanks for the replies guys. Really helped. It's the 4th day the Anemone has been in my tank. I tested the water this morning and ammonia has gone up from 0 to between 0-0.25(the color on the test kit was in between 0-0.25). planning to do a 50%water change when I get home from work today(will post some pictures too). I guess the ammonia went up a little because I added 2 anemones into a 32 gallon tank at the same time, and the bacteria in the tank isn't enough to handle the bioload yet?

 

[jiffyjhn]

No I wouldn't be worried. A established tank for about a year is a good rule of thumb...though...make sure you have good lighting.....nems need a lot of good strong light to thrive.....BT Nems are pretty hardy....just keep up the good work testing your water....keep up with your water changes...and keep a good eye on them.....in my experience they will move and "hopefully" settle in the place they choose...no matter where you put them. Hope that helps at least a little bit...and good luck! Post some pics if you can!

Here are some pictures of one of the anemones and the tank. The other one is hiding in the rocks

 

[D-Nak]

Sounds like you've got it under control. Many people with new tanks are still learning about the care requirements of not only the tank, but different needs of specific inhabitants.

BTAs are great "starter" anemones because they're a lot hardier than other species. It looks like you have healthy nems, so it's one less thing to worry about.

 

[raythepilot]

Anemone cannot tell the difference between old water and new water. They only know good water and bad water.
If you can test any NH4+ in your water that is not good. The nems will keep moving around to find better water. They always go down stream to any intake so cover your intakes with a nylon mesh bag. Put a bubbler in the place where you want your nems to go. The flow will be toward the bubbler and attract them there.
Do as many water changes as you can. I do 2 x 25% a week and NH4+ and NO3- are always 0.0.

 

[jiffyjhn]

Anemone cannot tell the difference between old water and new water. They only know good water and bad water.
If you can test any NH4+ in your water that is not good. The nems will keep moving around to find better water. They always go down stream to any intake so cover your intakes with a nylon mesh bag. Put a bubbler in the place where you want your nems to go. The flow will be toward the bubbler and attract them there.
Do as many water changes as you can. I do 2 x 25% a week and NH4+ and NO3- are always 0.0.

By intake do you mean the place where the water goes into the overflow?

I got home from work yesterday and planned to do a 50% water change since I tested a bit of NH4+ the day before, but I tested before doing so and the NH4+ is 0 again. I tested once more just to make sure. Tested nitrate and nitrite to be 0 too. I do a 20% change every weekend.

The anemones are not moving around, the big one is in a place where i want him and opening up big when the lights is on(although he seems to be deflating and inflating once in a while). The smaller one is hiding behind a rock and not really opening up very big right now. I plan to leave him alone since that what I read on most forums.

 

[raythepilot]

If all you have is an overflow than the you are probably ok but make sure the nem is safe if it goes over the overflow.
If your nems are not moving and inverting than your water is ok.
It is better to have only one nem in a tank but I often have 2 or three in a small tank.

 

[Cancun]

Nice pics! They look good and healthy to me! I agree with the others......your on the right track!

 

[Willyboz1]

You will be fine. I added mine at 3 months. Was doing great until I starved it.