imananemonenewb !

Skerp

New member
Hey i just started doing some research on anemones and i'm thinking about maybe getting one for my tank in the future. I've got a few quick questions though. I have read that some are aggressive and can sting or kill other corals? Is this a rare occurrence or not? Are there certain species to stay away from in general because of this? I also have read that many people do not have success keeping H. Magnifica and I probably will be avoiding that one. Also is an anemone a good thing to be added to an aquarium first? or somewhere in the beginning? And Ive read that anemones need at least 6-8 watts per gallon. The tank im planning onl wil have 4.75 watts per gallon, but I was thinking about getting another light fixture because the one i have will only cover half of the tank(either front or back). Should i do this or is it not that necessary? The lights i have now are 2x 175watt 10k MH and 2x 110watt VHO actinics. The tank im looking at is 48"x24"x24" and i figure if i put the anemone in first it will pick a place high on the live rock closer to the lights and it will be all fine and dandy. Also what additives do anemones need if any?

Thanks a bunch :)
Matt
 
The watts per gallon rule is not really a good rule to apply. 200 watts of fluorescent lighting is not the same as 200 watts of metal halides. Two 175 watt metal halide would be excellent lighting for a bubble anemone over a 4 foot aquarium. Your tank is two feet deep so you may want him a little higher up in the rock work but it should be fine. You would want to feed the anemone once or twice a week with meaty food items such as shrimp, krill, or silversides. Many people mix anemones in with there reefs without a problem. What species do you plan on keeping?
 
Cool thanks for the info. Im looking at long tentacle or seabae. They seem to be the easier to keep ones i think.

Thanks again :)
 
The bubble tip are the easiest by far to keep.

Sebae's are not easy but can still be kept. Good healthy specimens are hard to come by because of their tendency to bleach.

LTA are not too difficult either. I have had good luck with them in the past. Make sure you get a sand bed as they burrow.

I would stay away from Gigantea's and magnifica's altogether.
 
all anemones will sting and kill corals, fish, most will also kill crabs and shrimp...keep them well fed...

BTA's seem to be the easiest kept...LTA's as mentioned are right up there...

i would avoid all the carpet species all together...

your tank must be mature and well seasoned to add an anemone...if you dont want it to kill your corals you do one of two things:
dont buy corals for a year, add your nem let him settle then start buying coral.
buy your coral, glue them to pegs...drill your live rock and move them (the corals on pegs) as the nem approaches them.
 
Good advice NanoReefWanabe, BTA are the easiest to keep. As for carpets and LTA I don't have any experience with them. I would say you don't need to not add corals for a year, you just need to wait for your nem to stay in one place. It can be a month or longer in some cases. He is right though, a roving BTA will kill corals in a fully stocked reef.
 
you should also wait for a least 6 months 'till your tank is mature and stable before you put any anemone's in.
 
Okay, sounds good, thank you all for the info. Also i like your idea nano, but what exactly would you glue them with? puddy or something like that?


Thanks again :)
Matt
 
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