How much light needed for bubble tip anenome?

giorgiboy

giorgiboy

New member
Hi Reefers,
I have an established (4 years or so) Fish and Live Rock set up with one Purple tang, a maroon clown and a picasso trigger (separated by divider from other 2 by permeable acrylic screen with many holes, in about 1/3 of the tank).

Tank is 100 gallons, lighting is 2 * 30 watt sylvania grow lux tubes and 2* phillips 30 watt aquarelle (as supplied with Rena set up).

I am thinking of my first venture into inverts (other than crabs etc and usual feather dusters etc on the rock), possibly a bubble tip anenome that the clown may associate with.

I was wondering if you think that is enough lighting.. If not then I wont for now.. Do you need metal halides for that? Also what do people think of Arcadia Luminaires
http://www.aquariumsuperstore.co.uk/mall/arcadialuminaires.asp

what inverts would be able to grow with T5 high output tubes?

Many thanks
George
 
i dont think regular flouresent tubes are gonna get the job done. T-5 may depending how many and how close to the bulb, however i have no experience with t5s. My rbta is about 8 inches directly under a 250 watt MH and seems very happy.
 
OK think I will leave it for the time being.. Anyone have experience of say 4 * 54 watt T5 tubes?

Shame the existing lights are good enough for aiptasia ...!
 
You'll want PC lights at the very least, and in that case you'd have to have the BTA very close to the lights. T5's would work depending on how many you had I'd say at least 6 to 8 for your application. MH's are best and you can keep anything under them found in the ocean (within reason).
 
I take it that PC and VHO would generate a lot of heat and therefore no good in standard hood? They would need to be suspended or on raised luminaire?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7396016#post7396016 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by poormanisme
i dont think regular flouresent tubes are gonna get the job done. T-5 may depending how many and how close to the bulb, however i have no experience with t5s. My rbta is about 8 inches directly under a 250 watt MH and seems very happy.
Click to expand...

BTAs NEED almost no light. They do like light, but they dont need much. You could probably keep him under those lights, but to be safe, I'd say add anotehr tube or two.

VHOs are a waste of money. You're probably getting 3500lumens out of each one of those tubes. You could jump to VHO and get 6000 lumens each, but you're jumping from 30w to 110.
 
Theres some serious innacuracies in that article, but the part about BTAs only needing moderate light and a good environment is right. One of mine lived under a rock in the back getting almost no light for close to a year. At some point I moved some powerheads, and he moved across the tank.

biggest issue with that article:
"Host sea anemones present a real quandary for most aquarists. They are ecologically very important and with only one exception they effectively cannot be propagated in captivity."

We can propagate about 6 or 7 different species now, not just BTAs.
 
I have to agree the BTAs don't like intense light or strong water flow. They seem to just move in the tank where the feel more comfortable and that always a concern, because they can distrub the other inhabitants
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7397033#post7397033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
Theres some serious innacuracies in that article, but the part about BTAs only needing moderate light and a good environment is right. One of mine lived under a rock in the back getting almost no light for close to a year. At some point I moved some powerheads, and he moved across the tank.

biggest issue with that article:
"Host sea anemones present a real quandary for most aquarists. They are ecologically very important and with only one exception they effectively cannot be propagated in captivity."

We can propagate about 6 or 7 different species now, not just BTAs.
Click to expand...

I also question the feeding discussed in the article. That topic has been a challenge for me. Fenner's book says overfeeding is very bad for the animal, and that one feeding per week is more than sufficient. I've had a rbta for a couple of months and still feel in the dark about a feeding regiment. I've been feeding once a week thus far.
 
Ok so the consensus is the light should be ok and they are propagated in 'captivity'.. I am seriously thinking about dipping my toe in water so to speak.

Are there any general pointers you more experienced reefers could give me -

Species of BTA? Is there a particular one I should look out for that I am more likely to successful with?
Any other pitfalls, tips?

Thanks
George
 
not to shock you all but i have a bta under a (get this)18watt coralife light w/a 10,000k and an actinic. and i've had him for 2months now he's doin fine and is eating regularly. 18 watts go figure. no joking!
 
make sure you get a bta clone from another local reefer since they are hardier and have no impact on the wild. and just b/c your anemone is alive doesnt mean that s/he is healthy. they can slowly digest their own tissue and die months later.

note that this is coming from someone who wants a bta but has made a more ecologically sound decision. i will be getting hairy mushrooms in the near future.
 
travisurfer i do sometimes feel guilty about having my anemones but i do take really good care of them, just that bta of mine prefers dim lighting i guessbut my rose and atlantic are doing fine under my compacts and both have host clowns
 
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