A little info. I am setting up my mom's tank. It's a 29 Gallon, 29lbs LR, 4" Sand Bed, 820 GPH from 2 powerheads, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate was a 5-10ppm this morning. Alkalinity is 10 Degrees KH, PH 8.2. Tanks be up an running for about 4 1/2 weeks. Mom goes to LFS today to buy a couple Clowns and the guys tells her to buy an Anemone with the clowns. So she buys this big LTA. Acclimated clowns and the LTA and put them in tank. I know this Anemone likes sand so i let him fall out of the bag on the sand bed. He moved around a bit and is now just sitting in this spot. He will switch position from facing the front the tank to facing the back of the tank and shows no signs of trying to bury himself. Is this normal? I wasn't ready for an Anemone. All the reading I have been doing says no at least until 6 month mark. I really do not want this beautiful specimen to die. It cost her 40 dollars. Any help is appreciated!!
Long Tentacle Anemone, Help please?!
- Thread starter jtroutt19
- Start date
Normally an LTA will start to dig in rather quickly. I would be a little concerned about the nitrate. And, as you thought, 4 1/2 weeks is on the fast side for adding an anemone. Providing it with excellent water quality and only moderate water flow, and proper lighting, will give it the best chance of survival.
Bolivian Ram
New member
Looks stressed. From the pic it looks bleached, what colour is it? They like 4 bulb+ T5HO lighting and Metal halide lighting is even better. Also the anemone was put into the tank too fast. The tank is still too young for any anemone. If you are lucky it'll dig into the sand and expand fully but at the moment it doesn't look too good.
It's up to you really, take your chance and hope it lives while taking into account if it dies it'll kill your whole tank or you can return it to the store.
TBH anemones are hard animals to keep. LTA anemones are one of the "easier" ones but still require attention and proper care. It will out grow a 29 gallon, these guys get HUGE. I know I had one almost take over my 30 gallon tank and had to trade it in to my LFS. If you feel you are not ready for an anemone return it. After 6 months or so go back and get a bubble tip anemone.
It's up to you really, take your chance and hope it lives while taking into account if it dies it'll kill your whole tank or you can return it to the store.
TBH anemones are hard animals to keep. LTA anemones are one of the "easier" ones but still require attention and proper care. It will out grow a 29 gallon, these guys get HUGE. I know I had one almost take over my 30 gallon tank and had to trade it in to my LFS. If you feel you are not ready for an anemone return it. After 6 months or so go back and get a bubble tip anemone.
Thanks for the responses guys. I told my mom not to get one but the guy at the LFS talked her into it. Since I posted the Nem is half way into the sand now. And has opened up more. I will take another pic in the morning and post it. It came from the LFS a whitish color. Under Actinic light it is green. The foot is a nice rich red color. The two Clowns won't leave it alone though is that ok?
Bolivian Ram
New member
^
That is a really good sign.
The 6 month -1 year rule isn't set in stone, the anemone may live yet.
Due to the colour it is most likely bleached. It may recover depending on the lighting you provide. The more intense the better. The clowns may stress it a little while it gets used to your tank and attaches. Preferably you'd want to separate the clowns from it till it establishes itself.
That is a really good sign.
The 6 month -1 year rule isn't set in stone, the anemone may live yet.
Due to the colour it is most likely bleached. It may recover depending on the lighting you provide. The more intense the better. The clowns may stress it a little while it gets used to your tank and attaches. Preferably you'd want to separate the clowns from it till it establishes itself.
Chris Roberts
New member
I really hate Fish stores, The owners are awfull. They allways try to upsell you to something you know nothing about, they dont even know if you have the correct lighting.
They could care less about the animal.
The other day I went in my LFS and i told them one of their clowns had ich. The owner said oh my, I will take care of that right away.
A couple days later I went in and she said " Oh by the way that clown you thought had ich, It wasnt ich just bubbles all over the fins and body of the fish.
LOL by the way i dont buy my fish from them I only use Live aquaria.
They could care less about the animal.
The other day I went in my LFS and i told them one of their clowns had ich. The owner said oh my, I will take care of that right away.
A couple days later I went in and she said " Oh by the way that clown you thought had ich, It wasnt ich just bubbles all over the fins and body of the fish.
LOL by the way i dont buy my fish from them I only use Live aquaria.
saltyair
New member
just leave it alone - let it find it's spot and get acclimatized. dig a hole in the sand near a rock in full light if you want it in a certain spot - than leave it alone let it adjust. anemones will move and inflate, deflate during the day. Keep the paramiters steady and don't add fish for a month or two. anemone that size = to 4 medium fish for bio load. be patient and keep an eye on it. good luck - nice aquarium too.
Bolivian Ram
New member
Get like a small see-through plastic container with holes (small enough so clowns can't get out for water circulation). It should hang onto the tanks rim. LFS usually have these small containers so you can ask them if you can purchase one or where to get one. It will be placed inside your aquarium.
Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0UVskmgTuE
I'd preferably put them in another tank only if it is cycled already.
Thanks alot for all the info. You guys are invaluable. I am working on something right now that I can put the clownfish in, in the tank to separate them. Yeah the LFS she went to told her that the NEM would be good under PC lighting. Shes got one 65 watt 10,000k and a 65w Actinic. I told her she needs to upgrade as soon as possible to T-5. So we are in the process of looking for a deal. The NEM is all the way in the sand now. I tried feeding him today. But he didn't accept it. Frozen Silversides is what i tried. Water Params today are
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
ph 8.2
Alk 10 DKH
SG Just a hair over 1.024. (need to top off)
Again thanks so much for everyones help.
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
ph 8.2
Alk 10 DKH
SG Just a hair over 1.024. (need to top off)
Again thanks so much for everyones help.
Attachments
It's very good that it dug in. provide it with very good water quality with skimming, activated carbon, regular small water changes. Keep sg in the area of 1.026, temp 80-82F, moderate water flow. Wait a couple of days for it to settle in before feeding. Then try fresh seafood, such as a peanut sized piece of fresh shrimp that you get from the seafood dept. at the grocery store. I would not worry about the clowns at this point. They can actually help the anemone settle in and the anemone looks rather large. if the clowns were big, then it would perhaps be advisable to remove them, but ocellaris in a large LTA shouldn't be any problem.
Though that is not an ideal ph, it's not a huge concern. Regular small water changes should be helpful in maintaining an appropriate ph. Also, a good salt mix such as Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, or Tropic Marin should go a long way toward keeping the ph in the 8-8.3 range. Likewise, skimming and good water flow helps, even opening a window (raises the O2 content and decreases the CO2) in the room raises ph--only an option when it's not too extreme outside, obviously.
Turns out the the 7.8 ph is cause from low O2 content in the air in my house. The only mechanical aeration that the tank has is the skimmer. I am trying to figure a way to for the skimmer to use outside air instead of the air in the house. Thought about drilling a small hole to the outside and running the air hose to the out side?
