Keeping anemones happy and healthy

[Hdhuntr01]

Keep in mind that favorable conditions for SPS are different than favorable conditions for BTAs. That doesn't mean a BTA will not live in a tank that is maintained for SPS. In fact many do keep a BTA in their SPS tank. I am just saying that BTAs thrive a bit better in conditions I would not wish to keep SPS under, such as higher Nitrates.

I do not keep SPS in my BTA tank. The only thing I dose in my BTA tank is Amino Acids. I dose twice a week (when I think about it) and I do water changes of 25% every three months or so. In the tank I also have Mushrooms, Ricordea and Yumas along with some odds and ends of LPS. As you can tell, I am not that concerned with water quality as I would be in an SPS tank. I am more concerned with stability than I am with maintaining certain parameters. But that's just me. My BTAs do very well in this tank and the tank is specifically set up for BTAs.

 

[scubadan206]

I don't care mush for SPS systems with ultra low nutrients. They seem too easy to get wrong even for [experts]. Don't get me wrong, they can be beautiful, but they remind me of vegans or people I see in the organic/gluten free aisle at work. Most of them are too skinny and malnurished. These types that try to avoid ALL bad stuff are the ones that are always sick. Every little problem becomes a full blown outbreak as they have no way of dealing with everyday problems.:crazy1: It's the same with tanks that are too clean. they have nothing to deal with any imbalance. Evey little nutrient spike brings on an algae outbreak of Biblical proportions, and stuff starts dying. I would prefer to have a little bit of algae here and there, and just let it absorb excess nutrients and feed the herbivores. I will have a few SPS items, but only ones that are more hardy. More of a mixed reef with things that move, and anemones are a perfect addition to that ecosystem. I would rather have an overstocked tank where the filtration keeps up with the bio-load, not one that suppresses all the natural processes. That's just me. To each, his own I guess...:artist:
Anyway, thanks all....
Daniel:wildone:

 

[charliet21]

Need some help here. I bought a rose bubble tip over a month ago, and it has been in my 120 display for two weeks. When I first bought it, it looked OK. Kind of like a stressed anemone would after transport. It's been going downhill since. It has not opened up, it has no tentacle extention, and just looks like a glob of snot really. I moved it to a small critter tank thinking the clowns might be pestering it too much, but no change. Alk is between 6-8 Cal is 450, mag is high 1500 for algae control. PO3, PO4 at 0-5. All is good in the tank but I'm concerned. Lighting is 2 Radion gen2 running at 50% on a shallow reef type schedule...
I don't want death in my tank. Could anyone give advice????:headwalls:

The way u wrote this^^
Alk between 6- 8.. thats a swing imo and not right for a nem.
But if ur mag is 1500 to combat aglee ur tank is not ready. And if u have a aglee problem ur phis are higher then u stated. Algee consumes phos. And will give false reading.. just my imo

 

[scubadan206]

I said my alk was between 6-8 because I had not tested it.:debi: I had been ignoring the level since it was once higher than I wanted and I had started carbon dosing. I tested a few days ago to a result of 5-6. I figured my ATO with kalkwasser was maintaining it higher than that, but have begun to bring it up to between 7-8.5. I have been weening the tank off carbon and letting the mag levels drop slowly with no rise in Nitrate levels. I have some hair algae in the tank, but I just leave it for the crabs at this point. I also want something for the [soon to be] bristletooth tangs to eat. My Hannah checker always reads at 0.00 for Phosphate like it just did now. I am well aware that the algae uses up all the Phosphate, so it gives an inacurate reading. That's kind of what I wanted. My sand is clean and white, I clean the glass once a week, and mabey 20% of the rock has short green hair. [Not briopsys BTW.] What do I care..... I guess I'm just saying that I'll try again with an anemone in a while. The [problems] are of my own making, so I just have to pay more attention. I'm suspecting I got a severely stressed example, or that I had a bit of an amonia spike in the Q tank.
Thanks All
Daniel:wildone:
BTW.
Calcium is now 440-450
Magnesium 1400
ALk 7.8-8.2
Nitrate 0-5
Phosphate 0
Vodka .5 mil per day
ATO 5 gal with 8 tsp Kalkwasser 8-10 days
Redsea reef foundation A-B [Lightly]

 

[scubadan206]

Does anyone else find it ironic that a ship full of researchers testing for global warming got stuck in 10 meters of ice.......:lmao: In the middle of the ocean.......:lmao: In summer.......:lmao:
Research finds that.....It's cold out there....:deadhorse1:

 

[scubadan206]

Petco is having their yearly 1$gallon fishtank sale.:bounce2: Very tempting to go by a half a dozen, build some nice sumps, and make some money. Anyone local interested?????

 

[scubadan206]

I just got back from Couracao...:dance:Their were lots of anemones in the shallows. Most were pale yellow or white, some with purple tips(condi's?). They look cool. Does anyone have these in their tank? Are they any different as far as hardiness from RBT? Will they still host clownfish, or just the little shrimp and arrow crabs that I saw all over them?
Thanks.
Daniel:wildone: