BTA questions

[EvMiBo]

Really getting interested in a BTA for my tank/maroon clown.. I've been reading on here, the anemone faq, etc. and have a couple questions/need your opinions if you don't mind. My real estate is somewhat limited to a few spots in the bottom half of the tank, otherwise I fear my corals being stung to death - I know anemones move but are BTA's known for wanting to sit up top? I have a 50g tank (36L x 18H x 18D) with 6x39w ATI sunpower so I am confident the lights will be fine, I do weekly 10% waterchanges, all water params are ideal or close to it (and been up and running for 7 months)... I'm currently looking at something like this: http://liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+4&ddid=86543 because of the relative similarity in water depth, etc. One more thing: I've moving in July, would you wait? I feel like I have good enough husbandry skills to take care of it :crazy1:

 

[Glaucus]

They will move around quite a bit at first. I don't know for sure how harmful it is to them. It's sting is relatively mild. If you touch it you won't even feel the sting. Of course corals are much more fragile than human skin. Now it seems to me SPS corals will have less problems then soft corals. Maybe if a BTA stings those it won't cause major damage. Donno.
But you say there's only a few empty spots left. I have seen people talk about trying to trap an anemone in a good spot. Or to keep it from moving using a trick. No idea if that is worth trying. You can expect it to move and not just a bit but all through your tank.

You mean in July you have to move the aquarium? I guess in theory it is possible to take out like 25% of the water and put it on something with wheels, push it in a van and transport it without doing much to it. But are you going to do it that way? If you are going to take out most of the water why not wait till July? I have no experience with this but moving an aquarium does sometimes seem to go less smoothly then people wish it would.

If you want a clown pair & anemone tank it's best to have a stable, and empty tank, for months. Then you add an anemone. And then a month or so later two juvenile clowns. And after that only add stuff that's very compatible with the anemone.

Maybe it is best to not get a BTA at all or to set up another tank for it. If you add a sump to your current system after you move and then a month or so later you add another display tank then you don't need to wait several months before you can add an anemone to your new display tank. But that's going to cost a lot of money and since you are moving it's probably not the time you want to double your reef hobby costs.

You want to get an anemone because your maroon clown is damaging a coral? If not just play it safe. Especially with the moving coming up. When your tank is running at your new place then maybe you can consider again if you want to take the risk.

 

[EvMiBo]

Yes, moving into a new place (aquarium + all possessions). The way I'll do it is get a couple 10g and 5g buckets, save about 50% of my water and have pre-made fresh saltwater ready to put in when it's set back up.. I did it a little over a year ago with my 55g reef, it's kind of a bi*ch but my losses were very minimal.

I have a 2.5" female Premnas biaculeatus that I would like to give a "home" (anemone), she isn't damaging anything - just something I wanted to give to her to live in and to myself to observe.

I think the best for now would be to find her a small juv male and think about getting the anemone at a later date after moving. I may give my current tank a shot and add an anemone (after the move) or start a 20-30g nano and dedicate it as an anemone tank of some sort. I know some company makes 47g collumn tanks, anything smaller? That'd be pretty sweet. Thanks for the input .

 

[MarineFlake]

Bta's, nems in general, will sting and porentially kill at will. If there is something in the tank you care about, nems may not be for you. They will move, I have a couple rose that have been moving relatively frequently for the last year. The other nems in the tank much less but know that they will move and can end up in places you don't want. You have to accept that they are free to move and sting as they see fit. If that doesn't fit your tanks profile, perhaps some nice frogspawn or hammer is more suited. ; )

 

[cabowabo]

A scenario with only a few spots is not a good one for a BTA unfortunately. The problem is they like to be wedged between rock as in their native environment and will move until they find their favorite fit. They will sting and attempt to kill anything to close to that new favorite spot they settle on. Once there they tend to stay put as long as fed properly. If you rely to much on the lighting to give them nutrients they will move in search for food again stinging anything in it's way. They are very beautiful and hardy(for Anemones), so much so I now have dedicated my tank to them and what mushrooms and gorgonia they haven't killed. It is definitely possible to keep them with other corals if the BTA are added and settled first. This way if hand fed say once per week (at least), they will stay put and you can then add live stock.
Just my own experience with them. Good luck.

Mike

 

[EvMiBo]

Who doesn't have a tank with a coral they care about?

I'm going to look into possibly setting up another tank to have dedicated to some anemones after I move. Thanks for input.