Keeping an anenome and coral options

P

PirateFish52

New member
Any thoughts on how hard it is to keep an anenome? I heard that if one dies in your tank it kills all the inhabitants.

I would like to get one, as my two clown fish are trying to live in the large hairy mushroom rock in my tank, which makes me think they need an anenome.

My setup now is a 55 gallon with 4 t-5's- 54 watts each.

I am turning my 55 into a 75 in the next month or so. Will get 2 more 54 watt t-5's.

That would make 324 watts total for the 75.

Do you think that's enough lighting for an anenome?

Do I have enough now with the 4- 54 watt T5's for an anenome in my 55?

Also what kind of corals can I get into with the 75 gallon tank lighting I plan on having. I have a lot of mushrooms, xenia, leathers, and zoas. Would like something different.
 
what ballast are you using? I know Kevin (itzme) has 75 gallon tanks with 4 overdriven T-5's (icecap 660 ballasts) and he is keeping SPS and Clams.... etc.

that lighting would also be good for an anem.

as far as the clowns they don't NEED one. they will be perfectly happy in the shrooms. mine were happy enough to lay eggs every other week.

I've never had a anem. but from what I've read you should have an established tank (6m. to a year old) and also they can move or hide and also fight with other corals.

sean
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13770675#post13770675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crazyseany
I've never had a anem. but from what I've read you should have an established tank (6m. to a year old) and also they can move or hide and also fight with other corals.

sean
Click to expand...

This is good advice. Nems can be sensitive to water conditions so you want to make sure everything is stable and established for a better chance of success. As far as light goes, my guess is you will be ok if you go with a hardier species such as BTA or RBTA. As long as you are diligent in feeding it.
 
they can eat anything from silverside, mysis, etc. it's pretty easy to feed them. Just put the food by it's mouth and the tentacles will grab it and do the rest.
 
Okay.

I had a Sun Coral a while back and it was a pain.

Are anenomes less "high maintenance" than sun corals?

How often to feed?
 
I think three times a week is a lot. I feed a mine about once every week to two weeks a very small (less than a dime) amount. I'm feeding ocean perch at the moment, but use silversides as well. They get a lot of food from their symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae. However, my advice may not be prudent, not knowing what species of anemone we're talking about here. Are you asking about bubble-tipped anemones (genus Entacmaea)?

I'm going to quote directly from Bob Fenner, straight out of The Conscientious Marine Aquarist (T. F. H. Publications, Inc. 2001; pages 349-350):

Anemone nutrition has been and will likely continue to be a contentious subject, with aquarists wrangling over the extent to which captive specimens need to be hand-fed. Here is my advice, which may be controversial: underfeed, underfeed, underfeed! Many anemone losses in captive systems are the result of overfeeding. Some anemones have been kept for years without any intentional external feeding. Many anemones -- especially larger species-- are detrivorous, filterers of small plankton, and use photosynthetic algae. [end of citation]

Another thought for you: Due to my own experience earlier this year, I do not and will not keep anemones and corals in the same tank, although many aquarists do. They are motile. There is a strong chance that they will move at some point, and can damage or kill your coral in the process. I have a dedicated anemone/clown tank and a second coral tank.


Hope this helps. Best of luck.
 
There is a good pdf in the anemone clown forum:

"IV DIET
What should I feed my anemone?
Anemones will thrive on a varied diet, especially if they have healthy zooxanthellae and
are under bright lighting. Though anemones can consume large chunks of food, it is
better (for the anemone and your system) to feed it smaller items more frequently. A
good diet includes fresh or frozen seafood (krill, shrimp, mysis shrimp, scallops) enriched
with reef vitamins (Selcon or Zoe). Additionally, prepared frozen aquarium foods work
well - the gel-bind variety of Formula I/II, etc. Anemones will even eat flake food if they
can grab it â€"œ some anemones will eat a lot of flake if they are located at the right spot in
the aquarium where water flows directly into their tentacles. Try different foods to see
which one your anemone accepts best â€"œ as individuals their tastes seem to vary. Monitor
feeding based on the health of the anemone and understand that your anemone will grow
based on how much you feed it. If you want it to grow quickly, feed once per day. If you
want it to grow slowly, feeding once per week (or less frequently) is fine.
How should I feed my anemone?
A healthy anemone will have an aggressive feeding response. This means that anything
that comes into contact with its tentacles will be seized and consumed. For most
anemones, feeding is as simple as placing the food object into contact with the anemone’s
tentacles (a feeding stick or small wooden dowel facilitates getting the food to the
anemone). A healthy anemone will ingest even large pieces of food in less than a minute.
Some anemones that are weakened or recovering from stress will take longer to eat. In
these cases, you may have to protect the food item from being stolen by fish or other
inverts (crabs or shrimp). Placing an inverted strawberry basket (or other mesh item)
over the anemone during feeding helps give it unmolested time to ingest food."

Link to forum http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1381958
 
Thanks for all the info.

If I go with an anenome for my 2 clown fish, I am not sure what kind I should go with.

Any suggestions? What kinds have you had or heard of that are hearty and will be okay with the lighting and corals I have?

Not looking to name my anenome Paris Hilton, something not high maintenance instead.
 
also remember that different type of clowns host in different anemones. and like I said from what I read..... the clowns might not host in it at all.....
 
Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea, S. mertensii and Entacmaea quadricolor.

Good luck. I'm going to try a carpet or a BTA next.

Jason
 
I dont ever feed any of my anemones.And they just keep getting bigger and bigger and more colorful.I was told that the only time they need fed is when they are beached.because they lose there zooathel( sorry about spelling I dont got spell checker
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Alk consumption low tech/coral tank
Replies
9
Views
163
Uncle99
Uncle99
Abyssopelagic
Multibar Angelfish Harems (In a 75 Gallon Deep Reef)
Replies
4
Views
399
Zionas
Z
L
Equipment help
Replies
8
Views
544
lilredwuck
L
A
Single drain Overflow System for a 55 gallón tank
Replies
5
Views
480
wvned
wvned
A
  • Locked
Single drain Overflow System for a 55 gallón tank ?
Replies
1
Views
368
BrianD
BrianD
Back
Top