Bubble Tip Anemone

[dmills422]

So, I did something that I really shouldn't have. I bought a bubble tip anemone yesterday when I bought my pair of Percula Clowns. Well, my tank is only two months old. The water parameters seems very stable but from what I've read you really need to wait at least until the tank is 6 months old. Do you think it will be okay? What do I need to watch out for? I have a Nova Extreme light.

 

[rayn]

I'm gonna get slammed for this but, I did the same thing you did. Not with the clowns, but got TWO anemones when I went for my CUC. LFS had a 50% sale so I thought why not. But I have to say so far they are doing great! I definately watch my water and change weekly, got the correct lighting for them, and by the end of the weekend will have my sump setup. But if you keep everything spot on and tend to it, I would think you should make it.

 

[dmills422]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! What are the most important factor of water qualiy to keep right? My pH is 8.0, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrites all 0, Calcium is 380, and KH is between 8 and 10.

 

[Lanie]

Good luck with them! I was told to wait a Year. Of course I didn't listen either. My last one got sucked into my koralia. Keep an eye on them if they move a lot

 

[rayn]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! What are the most important factor of water qualiy to keep right? My pH is 8.0, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrites all 0, Calcium is 380, and KH is between 8 and 10.

All of them! I'm having a slight issue with nitrate right now as I have HA, but it is going away. Water changes are a big thing. I have a 55 and do 20 gal weekly. Couldn't tell you what my calcium is, but it must be okay as I have a stow away zoa growing on my LR. Good luck, and as much as they say, and I have to agree, patience is key. But I figure if I'm gonna screw up, I'll do whatever it takes to make that creature live.

 

[bues0022]

Couldn't tell you what my calcium is, but it must be okay as I have a stow away zoa growing on my LR.

Just as an FYI, zoas don't use calcium to grow and therefore aren't as sensitive to fluctuation in said mineral.

With such a new tank you are going to have swings in almost every chemical/mineral you can and can't test for in your water. You will want to watch your ammonia/nitrate/nitrites closely as almost any level can be harmful to anemones. Futhermore, to say that your water is stable is bit early. Water quality is a very fluid thing and even systems that are setup for years can crash quickly with minor errors. Keep a good eye on your parameters and always keep some new SW mixed up and oxygenated in case you need to perform emergency water changes.

 

[Zire]

If calcification doesn't accelerate zoa growth, then I assume strong lighting and occasional feeding is the way to go? I always assumed all corals used calcium in some degree.

On the note of anemones I got mine about 6 months into my tank's life and it's proven one of the more resilient of my invertebrates, even when sub-optimal conditions killed my hammer and elegance coral, the anemone just kept on ticking. Don't stress yourself out, just keep on top of your parameters. BTA's seem to be pretty hardy and your parameters are better than the ones mine used to be in.

 

[rayn]

Never said my water was stable and I'm not trying to brag about my water. Just stated that for whatever reason, what I'm doing is working. I've watched my nitrates jump to 20 ppm and then got them back down with water changes and all I've seen my nems do is grow, eat, and go with the flow.

 

[dmills422]

I think bues was talking about me saying that my water was stable. I was just talking about ammonia and such but thanks for letting me know that it's not stable. Now, how much and how often should I feed the anemone. The clowns haven't started feeding it yet. I squirted some mysis shrimp on it yesterday but I'm not sure if it ate them or not.

 

[bues0022]

Here's a write-up I did a little bit ago about feeding nems. You'll see a lot of people claiming you must do one thing or another, but in reality there is not "must feed or must not feed" for BTA's. I'm going to post the link because I don't want to retype it all:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1835320

 

[Zylski]

I think youll be fine. I put one in after about 2 weeks but I had all established live rock. It did just fine. IMO there really hardy critters.

 

[dmills422]

Phew... I'm so relieved that it's not doomed. I'll be sure to keep the water tip top. I fed it a piece of shrimp and it loved it.