Anenome in a reef tank?

[PowderBlue518]

Im a newby to the saltwater aquarium hobby. I have a 12 nano(established 8 months) with just one true perc ,a purple fire fish ,a few corals ,of course some LR and small clean up crew. I was wonder if I would be able to get a small anenome for the clown to host in? someone told me that you cant mix both anenome and corals, cause the anenome will "kill" your corals.. is this true? Any suggestions please let me know Thanks

 

[ClownReef®]

Its true-ish..You can certainly keep an anemone, but keep your eyes on it, if it moves close to corals, it will sting them. I kept RBTA's (Rose bubble tip anemones) wth SPS for the longest time, never a single problem. You can try a small BTA (bubble tip anemone) for your tank.. Just give it the right lighting and water conditions.

 

[PowderBlue518]

THanks for your input, so a 12 gal nano isnt too small for an anenome?

 

[ClownReef®]

It has to be relatively small..dont forget they are fast growers and may split at any given time.

 

[Eric Boerner]

In a 12g, within a year, the BTA will be the only thing in the tank since it'll be so huge.

If you keep corals with it, don't keep stoneys in that small of a space with it. Try zoanthids, mushrooms or leathers. They'll retract away from the anemone enough to keep from getting damaged too much. But in the end, you'll likely remove one or the other in that small of an area.

Now, if you had a much larger tank.... totally different story. :

 

[slcw]

there are many ways to talk about this topic

first, generally in nano tank is too small for anemeone that would eventually grow

seconds, keeping corals with anemones according to some is a receipe for disaster over the long term due to allelopathy.
(these words are not mine, rather from the 4 FAQs threads on BTA under www.wetwebmedia.com)

however, how many people would actually create a biotope or monospecific tank just for anemones? may be 1 in 500? just guessing.
but as suggested by mentors there to segregate them apart.

For myself it was not easy to adopt that idea either. It took more than a dozen months to action on the monospecific, and am still undergoing uneasyness of letting go the balance of my corals. (remove all but 1ft area of my corals from 210G for a monospecific setup)

 

[ClownReef®]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7999736#post7999736 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by slcw
there are many ways to talk about this topic

first, generally in nano tank is too small for anemeone that would eventually grow

seconds, keeping corals with anemones according to some is a receipe for disaster over the long term due to allelopathy.
(these words are not mine, rather from the 4 FAQs threads on BTA under www.wetwebmedia.com)

however, how many people would actually create a biotope or monospecific tank just for anemones? may be 1 in 500? just guessing.
but as suggested by mentors there to segregate them apart.

For myself it was not easy to adopt that idea either. It took more than a dozen months to action on the monospecific, and am still undergoing uneasyness of letting go the balance of my corals. (remove all but 1ft area of my corals from 210G for a monospecific setup)

Alot of fancy words..

The anwer is yes, you can keep anemones with corals..(LPS, SPS). My old system as a 125 gal. stuffed with SPS, clams, zoas and many other inverts and i had a gorgeous RBTA:

It split after 2 years of having it..Never had a single problem..

Your tank is indeed small..but its just like anything else in the hobby..when it gets too big, provide it with a bigger home (i.e sell it or give it to someone with a larger tank). You can start with a small BTA, and see where it takes you.

 

[bluerug]

I just saw a tank that was full of sps and other things such as torch's, frilly mushrooms, but mainly sps with several rbta's in the tank and had no problems what so ever and it was a 175 bowfront.

 

[bluerug]

Here is mine for a reference, i just got it today along with the frogspawn. And i have the same tank you do. So good luck and start out small like i have done.

 

[slcw]

just to share what i been reading...cheers


extracts from the FAQs
<not enough in such a small tank with regard for allelopathy. This will be a problem in 6-12 months and alone will cause frequent moving of the BTA from sensation of competitive cnidarians within inches of it>

. <if this is a reef tank, please do reconsider keeping this or any anemone in residence. They are a long term risk/recipe for disaster... usually waiting until you go on vacation to die or move about the tank...
stinging corals before they proceed to a pump or overflow and clog the port... effectively killing the whole tank in a day or so. This is a common scenario. Moreover, anemones and corals are generally unnatural tankmates and a poor mix together>

<that is a baited question for someone like me who doesn't believe that most anemones should be offered for sale at all casually to aquarists. Far too many die in transit, they are VERY slow to recover in the wild from even modest collection (natural lifespan in decades but they are extremely slow to reproduce), and for the few that actually do survive import to make it into an aquarium... most are forced to live with other anemones or worse...a coral reef display (where they suffer chemical warfare <allelopathy> and die slowly over months or a couple of years at best. Most need full reef lighting, almost daily feeding and a species specific display (they are to be the only stinging animal in the tank). Forgive me, I know this wasn't exactly what you asked... but for your edification and the benefit of others, it seemed like a good time to air out this opinion... one that is shared with many industry professionals>

 

[slcw]

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

<that is a baited question for someone like me who doesn't believe that most anemones

should be offered for sale at all casually to aquarists. Far too many die in transit, they are VERY slow

to recover in the wild from even modest collection (natural lifespan in decades but they are extremely slow to reproduce),

and for the few that actually do survive import to make it into an aquarium... most are forced to live with other

anemones or worse...a coral reef display (where they suffer chemical warfare <allelopathy>

and die slowly over months or a couple of years at best. Most need full reef lighting, almost daily

feeding and a species specific display (they are to be the only stinging animal in the tank).

Forgive me, I know this wasn't exactly what you asked... but for your edification and the benefit of

others, it seemed like a good time to air out this opinion... one that is shared with many industry professionals>

 

[ClownReef®]

I couldnt disagree more.

 

[bluerug]

Me to could not disagree more.

 

[slcw]

according to the FAQs, keeping other corals with anemones over 1 - 2 years usually nothing happen. Thereafter problems occur.
I am not expert, but i am like you guys and girls keeping corals and anemones together but however lately, i am beginning to buy the idea of monospecific aquarium.

am still learning....it is not easy to let go...God help me.

this is my journey http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic42410-13-1.aspx

 

[PowderBlue518]

well thanks everyone for your opinions. Ive decided not to go with any anenomes at this time. Maybe I'll put one in my 122 gal in the near future.

Now in my nano I have one true perc and I was wondering if he would host to any of my corals, cause I heard that some do? Thanks again!!

 

[TheVillageIdiot]

I have heard it said (or seen it typed) that in nature, anemones are rarely found near other corals. I used to live in SE Asia (malaysia specifically), and we frequently took boat trips out to a small chain of islands about 20-25 miles from our island to snorkel. The species of anemone I am not sure of but Amph. Ocellaris were hosting them and they weren't carpets (it was a long time ago), my guess would be magnifica?

Anyway, these were usually deep (for a snorkeler, so 8-15' down) in the water and well away from other cnidarians that I could see. I won't argue that an anemone won't survive in a mixed reef, but I am going to keep mine in a species only tank, hopefully duplicating one small patch of reef from nature.

 

[traveller7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8002568#post8002568 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PowderBlue518
well thanks everyone for your opinions. Ive decided not to go with any anenomes at this time. Maybe I'll put one in my 122 gal in the near future.

Now in my nano I have one true perc and I was wondering if he would host to any of my corals, cause I heard that some do? Thanks again!!

Cheers to a logical and wise decision.

fwiw: a healthy BTA can easily grow from 2" to fill that 12gal wall to wall in 6 months.

My percs were partial to hosting in green star polyps, euphylia species, zoos, xenia, and anthelia. I would not recommend xenia or anthelia for most tanks.

 

[vessxpress1]

Put an 'isolated' cluster of pulsing xenia in there or a frogspawn. It might host that. I've never had luck getting a tank raised percula to host anything though. It seems like they're hit or miss.

I agree that a BTA in due time would take up the majority of your nano. Mine was relatively small when I got it and now can stretch to be roughly 10" across after a year. It takes up the middle 3rd of my 38 gallon. If you were successful with it, you wouldn't be able to keep much else.

As for the above article, I don't entirely agree with it either. I won't argue that A LOT of unqualified people buy anemone's for inadequate systems and for whatever reason, a lot are lost. From what I've seen though, the guys that hold their tank as a major priority in their life, are well informed and determined, with the right equipment, can keep an anemone that 'was healthy to begin with' for years to come. The key is to get one that's healthy. Then make sure you have good lighting (and don't be afraid to buy new bulbs), feed it and be sure it's a seasoned, stable tank. I'm past the one year mark with mine (knock on wood).

 

[PowderBlue518]

Thanks everyone for your input!!

 

[Eric Boerner]

I hate to be the one to debunk the myth, but I have kept BTA's in a mixed SPS environment for several years. So the, "1-2 years and things go down hill" mentioned above is hogwash.

Yes I have a large system. Yes I keep my BTA secluded and happy on the opposite side of the tank as my SPS. Yes I have a 'firewall' in the middle of the tank that my BTA's don't like to cross (no rock canyon).

The tar and feather statment of "you'll have problems after 2 years mixing them" is incredibly erroneous, at least in respect to BTA and LTA. That quote may have been taken back in 1990 when people didn't know anything about keeping anemone long term. Wetweb is really, really antiquitated material sometimes.