[HELP] Plan to a S. Haddoni garden

[yanagisawa]

Greetings.

I am planning to build a tank with only S. Haddoni. I would like collect these carpet anemones in different color and let them live long. However, I am quite young in marine aquarium experience and I would like to have some words from the anemone lovers like you. You know, fail to plan is equal to plan to fail.

Question 1:
How many color can S.Haddoni have? I see red, yellow (though some of them bleahed to be yellow), green, blue and purple. Is there any other color? I have to consider this to organise the anemones position and also the tank size.

Question 2:
Since I had a bad experience that my BTA went into my wave maker and my tank finally became a meaty soup. How can I prevent the anemone from going into the danger? Or, can I help them stay in the sand bed by some means?

Question 3:
How thick of the sand bed do you suggest? Deep sand bed will be a new challenge for if it is necessary. I am using Neozeo system to maintain my aquarium water condition and can I use this system to keep S.Haddoni in the new tank?

Question 4:
Can you suggestion an online store that I can buy the anemones with healthier status?

Many questions and many thanks!
Yanagisawa

 

[Toddrtrex]

[welcome]

First, while it may seem odd -- set up a fully running holding tank for any new Haddoni -- you do NOT want to put a newly received one into a tank with existing ones. If, you get a "bad" one, it could very well take out all of your existing ones. Trust me, this can/will happen -- since it happened to me.

1) The ones that I have personally had -- blue, red, solid green, green with stripes, purple, greenish -- with purple rim, and tan.

2) cover your powerheads/intakes. A "happy" anemone is one that (( most likely )) will stay in place. Give it the power flow, substrate, light, etc.

3) At least 2-3 inches -- can be only locally that deep.
All of mine have been in 2-3 inch sandbeds, right at the rock/sand interface

4) LFS would be the best, so that you can see it in person. But, an online retailer that has "what you see is what you get" would work (( and a guarantee would be very nice )). I would not buy one site unseen, with just a stock photo.

I will stress this again -- SET UP A HOLDING TANK.

 

[bues0022]

My advice.....listen to Todd - especially when it comes to Haddoni's!

 

[Winwood]

Yup, Todd has got it down.

 

[yanagisawa]

Thanks Todd.

I will setup a new tank in this schedule:

1st momth-setup all hardware and 5cm thick sand bed. Planning to use aragonite? Is this good? Any brand recommended please?

2nd month-(supposed to be brown algae phase) Wait.

3rd month-(supposed to be intermediate of brown algae phase and green algae phase) Wait.

4th month-(supposed to be green algae phase) Input two little clownfish.

5th month-(supposed to be intermediate of green algae phase and purple algae phase) Observe the health of the clownfish and wait.

Later-Input 1st anemone if no fish is dead.

The timeline is according to my current tank.

And, what material is suggested to cover the powerhead?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Sounds like a really good time table -- go for you for having this long term plan.

What type of powerheads? I have Vortexes, and use the sponge covers that came with them.

All my tanks have "Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand" -- seems to work really well, and seems like a good amount of anemone keepers use it too.

 

[yanagisawa]

Thanks Todd.

I can wait for this long term plan since I am studying a master degree and I have to take care of my current freshwater planted aquarium and a mixed tank for LPS...really want more free time...

The powerhead I am using is Hydor. Would you recommend Vortex? I saw that many people in the RC was using this brand. I just know Vortex would produce less heat to the water by its special magnetic motor design. Any other great advantages?

"Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand" is not available in the store nearby. Sad. : ( I will keep searching for seller for this sand.