adding a anemone to sps tank

JGoslee

Premium Member
Was thinking about adding an anemone to my tank. It is a 58gal bb sps tank. Lighting is 2-250de 14k phoenix. Im looking for something that wont get to big and wont travel around the tank to much. Also that wont be effected by a bb tank with alot of flow. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks
 
most anemones will move around and be a pain from time to time. Entacima quadricolor (bubble tip) most hardy
 
Can't guarantee that it won't move. In a tank already populated with SPS corals it's just too big of a risk IMO for both the corals and the anemone. Best to setup a seperate tank for your anemone cravings and find someone local getting rid of an established one, tank raised, or by some other means of propagation....
 
So anemone's are not good with sps? I was hoping to have 1/3 of the tank for the anemone and clownfish.
 
Only if you prepare for the possibility that it may sting and kill some of your prized sps. Also, be sure that you COVER ALL POWERHEAD and RETURN INTAKES!! I cannot stress that enough. I would recommend Entacmaea quadricolor (BTA) in your particular instance.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7639450#post7639450 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphiprion
Only if you prepare for the possibility that it may sting and kill some of your prized sps. Also, be sure that you COVER ALL POWERHEAD and RETURN INTAKES!! I cannot stress that enough. I would recommend Entacmaea quadricolor (BTA) in your particular instance.
Once the anemone moves around and then finds a nice spot, will it stay put or change its location again after some time? Not sure how I would cover 2- tunze 6000. Has anyone covered a tunze before? Thanks for all the replies!
 
i'm doing it...although my tank is young (mostly sps frags)

The BTA doesn't pack much of a punch sting wise...I mount my frags on rocks that can be moved around if the BTA decides to walk around...before the BTA settled in, it was walking all over the place. I would get home from work and the BTA would be all over an acropora frag...I simply moved the frag and the polyps were back out within a few minutes. Now it has been settled in for a while and I can finally stop moving corals around.

My LFS keeps a RBTA in the tank they sell SPS colonies out of, I was also concerned and they said they had never lost any SPS to the RBTA. They just move the corals when the BTA starts bothering it.

I don't think it's that big of a deal as long as you don't mind moving stuff around occasionally to accomodate the BTA if it decides to move locations.

I also use Tunze 6000 and the BTA stays clear of that thing...It doesn't seem too crazy about high flow areas.
 
Jer-z how long have you had the bta? Good to know someone has had some success keeping an anemone with their sps.
 
Not entirely sure how the Tunze intakes are arranged, but you could sort of "box" the intake in with that rigid plastic screen stuff (any sewing fans out there that can help me out with a name?), which would increase the surface area of suction (as opposed to decreasing it=stronger suction). I have had my anemone with sps for many years, but it does occasionally sting things--but it has never killed them. E. quadricolor is a bit more prone to moving than mine, though. The above should help account for that, though.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7639789#post7639789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JGoslee
Jer-z how long have you had the bta? Good to know someone has had some success keeping an anemone with their sps.

I have had the bta for about a month now. Not really long enough to call it a success, but so far so good. :)
 
Jer-z do you have 2 tunze6000 or one? When you say your bta stays clear of the tunze is it because they prefer low flow? Do anemones not like alot of flow?
 
There are no guarantees that even after it seems to settle in that it won't decide to move. As bulb life changes, you rearrange rock, change type of flow directions. Within 1 night it can move all the way from one end of the tank to another, so doubtful trying to keep it on one end of the tank is going to work ideally for you given enough time.

I have had RBTA move and get caught/stuck within the branches of a Hydnophora. Had I not noticed it soon enough it would have taken out the RBTA. As it was half of it was goo and pulled through. However, believe it or not the Hynophora suffered equal damage that I couldn't keep from spreading and lost the whole thing and it was show sized.

I won't add an anemone to a SPS dominate tank again, nor would I recommend it. I'd hate to see the possibility of causing damage to a prized tort.

Yes, I'm sure there are success stories, but it's a time bomb waiting to happen given enough time. Keeping any powerhead intakes, overflow teeth protected is a good idea. I'm sure if it starts on the move and the foot can't hold on to the rock and starts to float that could easily get caught in the intake of a Tunze, will it happen ? not likely but certainly can and trying to cover the intake with a sponge of sorts will be too restrictive so just a gamble you must be willing to take ( Just not me ). Over the years, I have never lost a anemone to one but have definately damaged enough of them sometimes causing a split.

Now I keep anemone only propagation tank and/or in a lower flow softy dominate tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7640256#post7640256 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JGoslee
Jer-z do you have 2 tunze6000 or one? When you say your bta stays clear of the tunze is it because they prefer low flow? Do anemones not like alot of flow?

I just have one...But the way Mine is setup the anemone would have to climb all the way up the glass to get close enough to it...They can deal with flow, but a direct stream from a Tunze will cause it to look elsewhere. It seems to prefer the end of the tank opposite of the 6000...Plus the Tunze draws water from such a wide surface area the suction isn't too powerful.

It all comes down to what you want...To me the extra work and potential risk is worth it...I like SPS too much to not have any. But for me, the clownfish/anemone relationship so fascinating that i would not be happy without it...Then again I am not dropping huge money on ultra rare SPS colonies. Just growing stuff from frags.
 
Once on the move, the foot can let go and float in the current. if that were to happen, it can easily get sucked into the intake. Don't make the assumption it has to crawl up there......and even if it did crawl it can easily roam up there during the night and you would never know....
 
I have two medium Rose BTAs in my 180 gallon tank with two opposing Tunze 6200. I also have lots of SPS in the tank and I have not noticed any issues. My BTAs actually touch some of the corals occassionally.

Rose BTAs are very hardy. I would not have any issues with having them in a tank with decent lighting and decent water quality. I actually have a baby BTA living in my overflow, even though it is a little dark there.
 
I have had a large nem (magnifica) in with sps, lps and softies for 4 years now. It moved around a lot for the first few months but it is settled now.

I'm nor recommending that you do it, but it can be done :)
 
Funny you should say that. I just had to remove my BTA last night (In a druken fury) It was fine for months then decided to start moving and killed a Fireside Acro Frag....RAAAAAAAH!!
 
Back
Top