Am I ready for a RBTA?

[jimrawr]

I have never had an Anemone before. This tank that I will be putting it in is still really new, only had it up for about 4 weeks now. Its a 92g corner tank with good parameters. I have a clown, hippo tang, and a powder blue tang.

I found a good price on a RBTA from someone local that I would like to pick up, but not sure that my tank is established enough? When I setup the tank I got 90 lbs of live rock and 40 lbs of base rock, so the tank cycled really quickly. Right now parameters are all great and everything seems healthy.

Should I take the dive on the RBTA or are they really difficult to keep?

 

[graveyardworm]

Answer to the title. Nope.

You also already have a pretty heavy fish load for a newly setup tank. I would give it atleast 6 months to mature and stabilize before adding a BTA or an anemone of any type for that matter aside from aiptasia or majano's.

Stability means more than just low nitrates and the absence of nitrates and ammonia. Its about all the dead organic matter within the LR having time to fully decompose and work out of the LR.

Anemone's are particularly sensative to slight water parameter shifting that you cant test for.

 

[stevetcg]

Speaking from experience, I would wait another 4-6 months. You might be able to get a good deal this week, but when you figure the chances of survival of this good deal are slim, its a better deal to pay more later and have it live.

And thats just the financial aspect. Impatience kills.

 

[Antonais1391]

ive had my 55g up for almost 6 months my parameters are great almost 0 nitrates would it be safe for me to add a anenomy?. all my corals are thriving even the SPS

 

[graveyardworm]

Possibly, you're going to need to look at your own personal circumstances to see if it fits the plan for your tank. It sounds like the tank is stable enough, but do you have room? A 55 is a pretty narrow tank which doesnt leave a whole lot of room for a BTA. BTA's easily reach 12 inches across tentacle tip to tip when fully grown. Thats 1/4 of your tank.

 

[Antonais1391]

whats a BTA?? and what would be a possibly better suited anenomy?

 

[VAHeatt]

a bta is a bubble tip anemone. And my opinion is you should be fine! Ive had mine for months now in a newly setup 180gal. Mine has actually grown triple the size since I bought it. I recently had my saltwater level way above high and my BTA was fine (I fixed the problem). I learned doing this 5 years,Don't listen to everybody,most people tell u no to save their own [profanity] Ive been very stubborn to alot of thing in this trade and luckily I will say Ive been fine.I haven't lost alot or waisted my money. I know people will say blah blah this and that but at the end of the day all of our tanks are different. Dissagree if you want but I do alot of eyeing out,and guess what,I haven't killed anything yet and also all my perimeters are on point. I find people waste money buyin all the extra stuff they say u need! Maybe it's me,but Im speaking from experience. I have done this for 5 years,may not be alifetime yet but Its sure not a rookie. I have a 55g and 180g. Now im not tellin you to totally ignore everything, but sometime's just find out for yourself! Some info that was supposeto be good turned out bad and vice versa!

 

[velvetelvis]

For every hobbyist who disregards conventional wisdom and succeeds, there are many more left with sick or dead livestock (and hurting wallets). We're dealing with animals capable of suffering here, not science experiments, and we owe it to them to give them optimal conditions and care. Patience is the one thing you absolutely need in this hobby. There will be many more opportunities to get a bargain on a nice-looking anemone in the future, when both you and your tank are ready. Meanwhile, learn all you can--from books and magazines as well as forums and websites. Good luck.

 

[Antonais1391]

i tend to mix conventional wisdom with just doing what i think will work. and its worked fine for me in keeping aquariums, growing bonsai trees, and painting. and now i need to start looking for a healthy anenomy

 

[graveyardworm]

Come on guys the tanks been set up for four weeks, and I havent asked but based on the question this is the OP's first experience at reef keeping. How much livestock have you killed before you realized you shouldve waited a bit. Honestly what is a few more months going to cost without an anemone? Answer: Absolutely nothing! What will it most likely cost if one gets added now? A few bucks that doesnt really mean much, but it will also cause the unnecessary suffering and quite possibly the death of a creature which could've ended up in the hands of someone ready to care properly for it.

 

[Sk8r]

Has anybody mentioned the propensity of unhappy anemones to whirl about the tank on the flow, stinging everything they can reach before suiciding in an intake and filling your tank with loose nematocysts that sting everything they haven't already reached? Nems are not necessarily cooperative, and can take out your tank. There is a reason it's suggested to wait until your tank is stable.

 

[geo]

I am not trying to sound mean and I apologize in advance if I come across that way, but we are dealing with animals not plants or paint. A really good rule of thumb is if you have to ask if you are ready to keep an anemone odds are very strong that you are not. Some are much hardier than others but I would not classify any as an invertebrate suitable for a new tank or new reef keeper.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I have to agree. 4 weeks is way too soon to add an anemone, the tank has barely finished its cycle. There are going to be changes to the tank over the next couple of months -- changes that you can't predict.

VAHeatt --- "Don't listen to everybody,most people tell u no to save their own ***!"

That isn't it at all. Most people tell other to wait because they care about the hobbyist and the creatures that they put in their tanks.

The risks of putting it in a tank too soon are too great. There is no reason not to wait, BTAs (( E. quadricolor )) are readily available. IMO, telling someone that has a 4 week old tank that they will be fine putting an anemone in it (( and a tank that might have issues given its bio-load )) is bad advise -- why set someone up for failure?

 

[reefrf]

Yes 4 weeks is too soon to add a anemone. Even though your tank has cycled the fluctuations of your water parameters are still pretty extreme in comparison to a tank that is 6 months old. Your ph & Alk swings will fluctuate and that will affect your corals & inverts p greatly.

 

[Ebisan]

I would wait for at least 6 mos. I had added an anemone in a 6 mo old stable tank and it didn't survive. Stability is key. I tried again when my tank was over a year old. My quarter sized bta has now turned into 18 and survived 2 tank moves. I didn't lose any livestock (except for maybe a wandering hermit crab that didnt' make it to a bucket). I made sure I kept most of my old water prior to the moves. If my tank was younger, I don't think I would have been so fortunate.

 

[carlosngloria]

heres another question for you. What type of lighting do you have?

 

[celamb89]

Hello,

quick question

will this be enough light to keep a LTA in my 42gal display which is 48inches

http://http://www.marinedepot.com/48_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_4x54W_T5HO_48_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-Current_USA-CU01120-FILTFIT58U-CU01122-vi.html

48 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 4x54W T5HO

thanks!

 

[lougotzz]

To be honest to the op, I had a rose living in a tank a week after the cycle was over. It was thriving. Just got rid of it for a magnifica. Bta are really easy to keep alive and happy. I'm not reccomending anything, just giving my personal trials. I think people losing their bta blame time as a reason, and not something they did wrong (acclimation for example) I personally think that 6 mo to a year rule is BS.

 

[dots]

Here are some reasons for the recommendations you see here.......

I went through a few myself before I realized some things I was doing wrong and spent hours watching their behavior. What I learned:

Anenome don't conciously do anything....but more react to the enviroment. Once you realize that the anenomes actions are a direct corelation to its enviroment, the happier you both will be.

Anenome when purchased are usually stressed due to shipping and are not in the best of health usually....they are weak from lack of light and worse dyed to give them a more appealing color......so assuming your tank is optimal, most anenome will be a little on the "sick" side for a little while until established.

As mentioned anemome only react to the enviroment, so if the water quality, flow, or light is not adequate, they will pull up stakes and wander until they find it, unfortunatly they are trapped in you tank. A wandering anenome is not good,(BTAs seem to wander the easiest though), if not happy they will wander and wander feeding off themselves for months and wither away, all the time "appearing" healthy and the owner is perplexed why it died.

Unfortunatly, by the time the owner notices the signs of an anenome starving, ie bleaching or withering away its on the fast downhill slide....at that point it is too weak to fight off an infection or heal a tear and dies.

Probably the most IMPORTANT and NEEDED thing to consider is lighting. Intense lighting. I was very stubborn when I first got into anenome and killed my fair share....because I didn't have enough light.....Metal Halides are intense enough to keep anenome long term, and would not suggest keeping one in any less than that. Sure, intense PCs and obviously T5s would work, but you will rely on supplemental feeding more and increase the odds its not getting its needed daily requirments. And yes, I have heard of the guys who had 10 BTAs that split umpteen times under N.O. lighting and never were fed........but remember that these suckers live for decades in the wild and five years is considered a "success" in the hobby, and stories are just that...stories.

I have always thought the tone of this article was spot on:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm

another

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm

last one I liked:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/btanemmarcq.htm

 

[dots]

IMO, when you have the experience and enviroment I had far better results with Sebae than BTA's.