Anemone Noob

[phenom5]

Hey guys,
My wife and I are getting ready to build a new house, and I've decided to take this opportunity to upgrade my tank. I've been keeping SPS for the better part of 8 years now, and I'm thinking about trying my hand at a anemone with a pair of clowns.

The tank will be 36x36 footprint with a roughly 24x24 rock structure and a 12" band of open sand around the sides/ front of the rock. Lights will be AI Vegas or Hydras, flow will be 2 Tunze 6095s.

I was thinking about going with a Ritteri. Good idea? Horrible idea?

My gameplan would be to introduce the anemone first, before any fish, and definitely before any corals. Hopefully I can start adding fish/ corals once the anemone is settled in.

My biggest concern would be the anemone taking a stroll through a bunch of SPS, or finding it's way to one of the powerheads.

What kind of feeding schedule would I be looking at?
How long would I want to wait after my cycle before introducing?
Would I be better off going with a BTA, or something that prefers to stay on the sand?

 

[justthewife]

I am just a newbie to saltwater tanks but have had tropical fish tanks for years. I can only give you my honest opinion on an anemone. I have a GBTA and I love him. He was more of an impulse buy because he was "cool" and I was buying clowns to go with him. My husband and I share a 90 gallon reef tank. My clowns never hosted with him, they prefer the return grate instead. I didn't force the issue We have had to work around this anemone for every coral placement and every rock move so as not to disturb or stress it. It was the size of a quarter when we got him. He is now as big as my fist after 6 months. He is very healthy. He started stretching out and accidentally stinging my other corals which were quite pricey. My husband wanted to get rid of him because of this.:debi: We went to the LFS to see if he would take them and noticed an awful lot of large anemone's in one tank. It looked like everyone was dropping their anemone's off to him because they had gotten too big for their tanks and were probably doing the same thing mine was. It reminded me of the dog pound where dogs that outgrew their homes were dropped off and didn't have a forever home. I then didn't have the heart to get rid of mine so my husband and I worked for hours planning and rearranging the rock work in our tank to rear him in so he would be happy and in a place where he would not be bothering things. We have a deep 90 gallon tank.

Now after that thought and I am stating this is only my opinion as I am sure some would have different opinions: Research the anemone you want. Find out what kind of water parameters it needs and how much time and effort you will be putting into your tank. Find out how big they get in a home reef tank and also how big they get in the wild and then figure out if your tank can handle the full grown size. Find out what kind of light it is used to having and if it likes sand or rubble. Anemone's are usually not considered reef safe so plan on placing it away from corals and also research compatibility with other inhabitants you plan on getting. It needs an established tank of about a year before you get one. You can feed them twice a week if you like when they are extended out but they do get most of their nutrition from light (I have mine under 72 watt LED lights). A healthy anemone will grab onto the food and work it towards the mouth. I feed mine brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and squid frozen (I feed thawed of course) from the LFS. I do not feed it silversides anymore because of digestive issues although some people think they are great for them. The more you feed it, the more it will grow or maybe split and then you will have two. There are other things clown fish will host in that are not anemone's so there are other options if you want one just for hosting. Good luck and happy researching. It is really important to research before you buy these beautiful creatures. :thumbsup:

 

[phoenixstar89]

a new tank should be set up for at least 6mo. to 1yr before adding a nem. water parameters need to be completely stable before adding a nem. leds should fine for lighting but I would probably not go with a ritteri for your first nem. they tend to wander more that other nems burning all corals in their path. a tank raised bta is usually your best bet. feeding your nem is optional. adequate lighting is all they need but feeding helps speed growth. I used to feed my rbta and haddoni 4 times a week but now only once every 2 weeks

 

[worm5406]

I have a ritteri. I can attest that stable parameters are paramount to quite a few things we add to our tank.

The problem with new/cycling tanks is the irritants that the rock/stuff puts off irritating the anemone. It will make it walk/float where ever it wants.

Some people have tried to do the quick bacteria in a bottle start and put the anemone in only to watch it move or disinegrate.

An anemone is much harder to cleanup after when it has a disaster. Not like a fish where it can just be taken out.

Go take a look in the big tank section for my thread to see some pictures of my anemone(s) in a 180.

SO.... Now for a few questions.

What size tank?
What type PowerHeads(PH)?
Lighting?
What other inhabitants?
Rock formation?
Are you going to have a high place to marron it on so it does not walk?
How close to natural light source?(window/door)
How are your housekeeping skills?(tank wise)
Dosing?

I would agree with waiting 6 months after the tank has cycled.
Feeding is simple. I feed it physically every 6 days now. I used to do every 3... but.. humm.. it is getting large and I want it to enjoy it's meal instead of tossing the one one out when it is done with the old one.

 

[phenom5]

Thanks for the input guys...

Justthewife-Definitely something to think about, and some of the reasons I haven't tried an anemone yet.

a new tank should be set up for at least 6mo. to 1yr before adding a nem. water parameters need to be completely stable before adding a nem. leds should fine for lighting but I would probably not go with a ritteri for your first nem. they tend to wander more that other nems burning all corals in their path. a tank raised bta is usually your best bet. feeding your nem is optional. adequate lighting is all they need but feeding helps speed growth. I used to feed my rbta and haddoni 4 times a week but now only once every 2 weeks

I have no problem waiting...

I have a ritteri. I can attest that stable parameters are paramount to quite a few things we add to our tank.

The problem with new/cycling tanks is the irritants that the rock/stuff puts off irritating the anemone. It will make it walk/float where ever it wants.

Some people have tried to do the quick bacteria in a bottle start and put the anemone in only to watch it move or disinegrate.

An anemone is much harder to cleanup after when it has a disaster. Not like a fish where it can just be taken out.

Go take a look in the big tank section for my thread to see some pictures of my anemone(s) in a 180.

SO.... Now for a few questions.

What size tank?
What type PowerHeads(PH)?
Lighting?
What other inhabitants?
Rock formation?
Are you going to have a high place to marron it on so it does not walk?
How close to natural light source?(window/door)
How are your housekeeping skills?(tank wise)
Dosing?

I would agree with waiting 6 months after the tank has cycled.
Feeding is simple. I feed it physically every 6 days now. I used to do every 3... but.. humm.. it is getting large and I want it to enjoy it's meal instead of tossing the one one out when it is done with the old one.

Tank Size - 100 or 135 gal...
Type of Powerheads - 2x Tunze 6095...to start, may add more if needed.
Lighting - 2x AI Vega or Hydra
Other Inhabitants - SPS, Jawfish, other than that...not sure.
Rock formation - Single, multi-layers 24x24x12-15" island centered on the back glass with a 12" band of open sand on the sides/ front of the tank.
A high place? - Like a single spire? Or a high point/ outcropping as part of a larger structure? The first one, no...the second could be arranged.
Natural light - not sure, depends on the house we end up building. Out of curiosity...why?
House keeping - Good...been keeping SPS for years.
Dosing - DIY 2-part.

 

[worm5406]

Natural light - not sure, depends on the house we end up building. Out of curiosity...why?

When my 120 was upstairs it was just inside the front door. While the back of the house was on the south side, those windows were covered with room darkening shades. The front has windows on both sides of the front door. This light caused my anemones to gyrate toward that side of the tank.

It never got direct sunlight anywhere, but both the algae and the nems loved that side/corner cloeset to the door.

Sometimes you will see people say 100% lights out for three days, when combating algae, and to even cover the tank if necessary. Yeah, that would be why.

HAHAHA

Nothing to worry about but if it likes the light better over there than in the center (or spot you have picked out) believe me it will move.