How to "start" a species tank...???

[futureeyedoc]

So I think I'm going to go the "species" tank route with nems and clowns in my new 33 long with 20 long sump and I'm wondering about how to go about starting off the tank???????

It's got probably 10 lbs of live rock in it now, 50lbs live sand in the main tank and 40 in the sump, and has been "cycling" for about a month. I used so much live sand and the rock was well pre-cured that it really never did much of a cycle.... levels have been zero on everything almost since day one..... Of course going to add probably another 35-40 lbs live rock in the next month or so....


But my question is.... how exactly do I get started with the "species" tank idea.... I have a couple of years of reef experience but no species tank experience. Since I'll be keeping it free of other fish and coral, how do I go about "cycling" it and moving it from a begginning tank to a well established tank?
Everything I've ever experienced or heard suggests nems ONLY in established tanks..... so what do I do to get the tank "established" in this case.... just stick a clean-up crew in it and let it run for 6 months????

Or if I use well cured LR, maybe some live sand, LR and water from my current 2+ yr old 24g nano, etc... and let it run a month or so... it might be ready for the first few nems and maybe a clown pair?????

Totally confused/lost here on where to go from here?



Also, any opinions.... can I even do a mated clown pair in a 33 long if its the only fish? Can I do 3-4, maybe even 5-6 if its JUST clowns and I start them off all together in the tank really small?????


THANKS!


Lighting, and flow will be more than adequate....Lighting is 4x 54w (216watts total) T5's with individual reflectors ( remember a 33 long, the tank is only about a foot deep)....2 are 10k and 2 are actinic....

Flow wise I have 2 koralia 2's ( one on each end) and then a 700-1200gph return (catalina 4000) hard lined and split into 2 returns with 1/2 inch loc-line.... So depending on calcs thats like 1500-2000 gph! When I hard lined the return I put a big ball valve in-line so I can decrease the flow somewhat if needed or take out one of the koralias

 

[futureeyedoc]

oh, and I'd be doing proly percs for the clowns, nothing like a tomato or maroon that can get much bigger

nem wise it'd probably be BTA's.... any idea how many I could keep in there if its nems only? I saw someone else's build on here with a 40 and it had like 20 of them????

 

[futureeyedoc]

anyone? I know there's quite a few clown/anemone species tank ppl on this forum!

 

[tufacody]

There is nothing any different about keeping a species tank other than providing solely for the needs of the species you want to keep.

Most people say 1 year on keeping a nem. There is a lot that goes on with a new tank besides the nitrogen cycle. You want to be through all that before trying a nem.

If you want to keep an anemone as your species, you may not want to even add clowns. Kinda takes away from the species tank, as now you have to contribute to the needs of the clownfish. (Of course, few people want a nem without clownfish).

So first step is, what do you want first - nem or clowns. What kind of nem? What type of clown? Occelaris might very well ignore a BTA. Haddoni likes sand, heteractis and BTA like rocks. Lots of variables. Decide what you want, then seek the specific advice you need.

 

[futureeyedoc]

like I said above, percs and bta's....and I definetly do want to do both....
I'd probably add the nems first and then the clowns... I have a perc in my 24g nano and I hate how sad he looks w/o a nem 1/2 the time....

I totally understand the requirements for nems, I realize the "norm" is a tank established for a year....

someone who has done this before... is that what you did?
I mean so you basically stock it with LR and a CUC and just let it sit there for a year???

 

[kimsie]

Well - I don't have a clown/nem only tank - but I can try to help with your questions...

I'm of the opinion (and I know I may be of the minority here) that you don't HAVE to wait a year or six months before you can successfully keep an anemone... But there are some qualifications to that comment. That 6 month mark is partly due to the tank going through changes and cycles that a new tank does, but also it's for the hobbiest to develop the skills that they need to be able to handle water parameters and problems a tank comes with. If you have other SW tanks (which it sounds like you do) and are starting with almost fully cured rock - I don't think you need to wait a year.

I think ocellaris and BTA's would be beautiful. But I would caution against having more than 1 pair of clowns. It almost inevitably leads to problems... I have seen it successfully done in much larger tanks (200+ gallons) but with a 33g I would not do it (note - I did try in my 30g to have 2 ocellaris pairs and had to go get another tank... so I am speaking from experience there! :lol: )

I think you're right - you need more rock - and I would add that sooner rather than later because depending on how cured it is it may cause a whole new cycle. Then - once you add the rest of the rock - I would wait until the cycles are finished (possibly another month - depends on how cured the rock is and how big of a cycle you have) then I would add a clean up crew... wait a few weeks and I would think you could add your first BTA (or your clown pair). Another week or two later you can add the next BTA or your clowns if you didn't move them first.

As to how many BTA's you can have - really that's up to you and your space. If it were me I would add them slowly and feed them well - then hopefully they'll split for you and fill up the tank themselves.

Does any of this help?

 

[futureeyedoc]

definetly helps! Thanks!

um.... to be more specific on the clowns.... if I were to get say 4-6 of them when they were really really little and introduce them all at once, only 1 would become the dominant female right???

I never intend to introduce more than one pair to the tank, but I'm thinking if I introduce like 5-6 in the tank when they're very young all at the same time ( and of course no other types of fish ever) that that might work????

or is that still simply too many clowns for the tank?

 

[kimsie]

Well... to be honest I really doubt it's going to work. Does that mean I wouldn't try it? I don't know. I guess I really think that in a 33g you might be asking for trouble... but also maybe if you were really sure you could find them other homes or had other options for them if/when the fighting breaks out? I would love to tell you it would work - I just really don't think it will. I think your best bet is to have only 1 pair.

I understand your thinking - that if you get 5-6 really young that maybe they will act as they do in the wild and only one pair will develop and the rest will stay juvi's... but I think most people have found this not to be true in captive situations. Why I don't know.

If you decide that you are going to try it - caution aside - I would wait until you have a number of different BTA's and I would wait until you find a local breeder who will either sell you some very young (younger than they normally sell them to the stores)... maybe your LFS could even arrange this for you with their local breeder.

Your final question - is that simply too many clowns for one tank - I really think yes. I do think you'll have just as much enjoyment out of 1 pair and a number of BTA's as you would with 5 clowns that could end up fighting and you have to remove some in a few years...

 

[futureeyedoc]

yeah thats what I figured... I do have multiple options for other homes.... so we'll see.. probably just stick to one pair.....

 

[orchidsnfish]

I'm the person with the 20 nems in the 40 gallon. The guy I got them from had them in a tank about the same size (different dimensions...his is a cube). Have you seen the 46G bowfront with like 1000 nems?

Here's a link
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1383176&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

I think you can keep a bunch as long as they are clones (which all mine are). All RBTA's will not get along with all other RBTA's. It's not likely that you will find someone with 20 clones like I did, so start with as many clones from one anemone as you can find or start with 1 and let it split.

I think you should seed the tank very well from an established tank or even plumb it into an established tank. I don't think it has to be up 6 mo or a year or whatever the set time is now. Established is established. As long as you know your stuff and can make the tank very stable for them I don't think you have to wait that long at all.

 

[futureeyedoc]

cool, thats what I thought... obviously need to give time for a new cycle once I add the additional LR and CUC, and then we'll see where to go from there...
Thanks for all the help everyone...


so right now from what I've taken from here and elsewhere this is where I'm at....

-If I'm experienced/know what I'm doing for the most part I don't have to wait the standard year, as long as I seed it well, wait for all the cycles, have good control over it etc....

-should keep the clowns to just a pair

-can definetly add multiple bta's



If anyone else wants to chime in on this and has an opinion either way... let me know, I'm always open for any and all information when it comes to reefing!