Anemone in a 29G

[jesslovesfish]

Hi all, can I have a BTA?

29 Gallon with 130 total watts (Current USA dual Satellite fixture).
At this point I have a single frag of coral, and I'm wondering if now wouldn't be the best time to get an anemone so it finds a nice spot for itself withoutout walking all over the corals. I know they can move later, but is that really common?

Is this feasible?

Thanks,

J

 

[jesslovesfish]

I should mention I have RO/DI wanter, lots of flow, and an AquaC Remora skimmer.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Is your mind set on a bta? Do you have a deep sand bed? You know lta's are just as nice, they like to be in the sand. So you don't have to worry about them walking all over your corals. Although they do get bigger than a bta.

 

[bencozzy]

pics of your set up?? plz

its possible to do either a LTA or BTA but either nem doesnt leave much room for corals in that size tank, ive seen it done but theres always that risk of losing your corals to a wandering nem.

in your case Jess there isnt a black or white answer its a at your own risk type deal.

 

[Lance M.]

How long has your tank been setup?

A bta should do well. How is your tank aquascaped? I have rocks all the way up to about ~5 inchs below the water line and my oldest bta stretches out from underneath a rock and is about 3-4 inches below the surface of the water underneath 130 watts.

LTA's will move up onto the rocks to get more light if they can't get enough and imo you would be on the edge of not enough light with nly 130 watts pc over a 18'' tall tank.

My lta lives in the rocks ~10 inches from the surface of the water under 130 watts pc in a 20 gallon H.

And like Ben mentions size could become an issue.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Do not get an LTA as they like a lot of light. When I first started out in this hobby, I had a 29 gallon reef tank with the same skimmer and lights. I had a BTA that did awesome for well over a year and reproduced once.

It looks to me that you are set for a BTA if the tank has been up since July of last year.

 

[E.J. Coral]

I had the exact same setup a few years back, and my BTA thrived.

 

[jesslovesfish]

Sorry, I don't have any pics of my tank yet. It's a standard 29 Gallon. My guess is about 40 lbs of live rock - it's sort of in a "wall" formation (with lots of arches, etc) to about 2/3 up the tank. There's a shallow sand bed.

It has not been set up for a year, despite my signature. I had another set up in the same tank last year but a mantis shrimp and DC's water supply killed everything by March. The new tank (sans mantis and with an RO/DI) has been set up about 3 months.

The anemone is just a consideration - I might just go with frogspawn or hammer coral and hope the clown will host!

 

[Subliminal]

I have a BTA in my 29g. I don't feed it anymore because it's growing way to fast. Probably haven't fed it in 3 months. Clowns might feed it, though...who knows.

Suggestions: look for a nice piece of live rock with a hole in it, and when you get one, stick it on top of the hole. I did that with mine 2 tanks and 7 months ago, and it's never left that rock.

You also need to be careful of powerhead intakes, as when they let go, if in search of a new spot, they'll more than likely get sucked in.

I'd suggest placing it on the top of your tank, to one side or another. Mine was a split from a fellow reefer a little while before I got it, and now can stretch to about 20% of my tank if it wants to...of course, that's controllable with the flow.

Anyway, rambling post, this one.

 

[WDLV]

Recommend captive cloned BTA. Especially for that size tank. Usually cheaper and healthier. You just need to find them. It's not hard though.

Despite popular belief, you do not need sand in a tank housing sand dwelling anemones. They usually seek the lowest point and just attach themselves between the bottom rockwork and the glass.