Difficulty of Long Tentacle vs BTA and True Perc. hosting?

[piscivorous]

1) How long does a tank have to be established before one can add an anemone?

2) I love the looks of the purple Long tentacle anemones, but keep reading that the Bubble Tips are the "good 1st anemone." I was just wondering if long tentacle anemones are really that much more difficult to care for?

3) Will True Percula clowns host in a Long tentacle as readily as a Bubble tip?

Thanks ahead of time for the answers.

 

[jupiter]

1) How long does a tank have to be established before one can add an anemone?

2) I love the looks of the purple Long tentacle anemones, but keep reading that the Bubble Tips are the "good 1st anemone." I was just wondering if long tentacle anemones are really that much more difficult to care for?

3) Will True Percula clowns host in a Long tentacle as readily as a Bubble tip?

Thanks ahead of time for the answers.

1) When I was on the BBs, I told people to wait 6 months. I did this because after 6 months you should have the discipline and the knowledge during those 6 months to know what to do if there is a problem. Now, people suggest it because of water quality. Those are your two reasons. Would I personally wait 6 months? Nope. But you should
2) No they aren't much harder. They just require stronger light and need a DSB. If you want a purple LTA, don't waste your money on a BTA first.
3) "Host in" isn't proper terminology. The correct phrase is, "Will a LTA host a percula clown fish?" The answer is, it depends. I have never had a percula clown accept a LTA but others have. The natural host is the Magnificent anemone (a BIG no-no) or a carpet (another no-no). The BTA isn't a natural host either. The only way you will find out is if you try. Some people will tell you all clowns will accept all anemones in the aquarium eventually, and this is likely true. Mine always preferred LPS corals.

If you've learned anything today, it's that the anemone hosts the clown, not the other way around, and "host in" doesn't apply, ever. Class dismissed

 

[piscivorous]

Thanks Jupiter. Since my tank is still cycling, and since about the only thing I currently know about anemone is that they can be "tricky"...I haven't spent too much time yet learning much about them. I am JUST NOW beginning to look....which is probably a good thing, since you say they need a DSB? How deep? How big do they get too? I have a 55 which may nullify the whole inquiring process before it gets started....I know it is too small for a number of anemones......

 

[jupiter]

Thanks Jupiter. Since my tank is still cycling, and since about the only thing I currently know about anemone is that they can be "tricky"...I haven't spent too much time yet learning much about them. I am JUST NOW beginning to look....which is probably a good thing, since you say they need a DSB? How deep? How big do they get too? I have a 55 which may nullify the whole inquiring process before it gets started....I know it is too small for a number of anemones......

55 is just fine for a LTA (or a BTA). If I were you, I'd leave a wide open space on the sand bed for the anemone to borrow and spread out. You want a minimum of 4" depth for the bed but you can go deeper. Read up on the proper upkeep of DSB because they can be nitrate factories if not treated properly. The other option is to have a tube filled with sand that the anemone can burrow in while the rest of your tank is shallow. You'd arrange rocks to hide it. But this presupposes that the anemone will stay in it.

If you're going with MH, make sure this open space is under the light (or close by). If you're going with T5s, anywhere is fine.

For the benefit of anyone else reading, anemones should really be left in dedicated tanks so the open space I recommended would be great for the anemone but if you want other corals, you might not like the minimalism.

You really can't keep any of the other host anemones in a 55 though. It's just too narrow.

HTH

 

[piscivorous]

Is it possible to have a partial deep and a partial shallow sand bed? I wonder if you can have shallow over most of the floor, and then made it deeper on the ends of the tank? Maybe this would also limit where the anemone would "like" to stay?
Anyone have a good source to learn more about the habits/care of LTA? Do they like more or less water flow? How large will they get, feeding etc?