Need help picking out a great anemone...

[soulbereaver]

Ok, so I have a 75gal tank, some pretty strong lighting, fairly strong water flow, a very decent filtration system, refuge, and detication, but only a handful of experience.

I'm looking for your suggestions on an anemone that is brilliantly colorful (for an anemone), somewhat hardy (non-expert), and will fit nicely into a 75 gallon mixed reef tank.

I'm not limited to only wanting a BTA for example or anything like that so any species that you feel I would really enjoy, be able to care for, and has a symbiotic relationship with clowns would be considered


Thanks for any suggestions you may have

Craig

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Have you had a bta before? It is always best to start out with a bta when you are new to host anemones. BTA's can be very beautiful. How deep is your sand bed? How long has your tank been up and running? The more mature your tank is the more success you will have on keeping your anemone healthy.

 

[soulbereaver]

I'm new to the hobby. I've never owned an anemony. My sandbed is probably 4-6 inches deep? (90lbs of sand in a 75)

Tank was started with very well established LR (no dieoff). I haven't had hardly any cycle to speak of. Tank is only 2 months, but water quality is great and all harmful params (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite) are 0. No algae is present at all either so those params should all be correct.

Where do I find a good selection of BTA's to choose from? I've never seen one that really caught my attention. I also haven't seen many, that's why suggestions on types and colors and such would be very helpful.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

I would wait a couple more months and do a lot of reading. That way, when ever your anemone does some thing strange(and it will) you will know it is normal.
A good website to read about E. quadricolor anemones is
www.karensroseanemones.com
Anyways..here is some eye candy for you..pictures of btas that I thought were cool looking so I saved the picture.
This color morph is rare..its just an example on how beautiful bta's can be.

This anemone has been already bought by someone.. I loved the colors so I saved the picture.

 

[soulbereaver]

Thank you for that website, very useful and informative, those are amazing anemones by the way!!

 

[soulbereaver]

any other types of anemones that i could look into? for instance, what are LTAs and how difficult are they to keep? what about different types of carpets?

 

[garygb]

LTA's (long tentacle anemone), Macrodactyla doreensis, is harder to care for than a BTA, but easier generally than some of the other host anemones. They need a deep sand bed and will host a few species of clowns, such as clarkii (natural symbiont) and maroons (only in aquariums). I would suggest you get a tank raised, cloned RBTA or GBTA (green). They are the hardiest and play host to lots of species of clownfish.

 

[stagefright13]

If you have very good water quality and lighting an LTA is a great choice. Mainly because they don't tend to move once placed in the sand with some rocks around them to lean on. BTA's are notorious for roaming around. 'Till they find a spot they like. Many times on the back of the rocks where you can't see them.

I'm thinking 90 lbs of sand is about 3 to 4 inches. I have 140 lbs of sand in my 75 which is 5 to 6 inches. But my LTA did just fine in my 29 with that much sand. Even in my 75 my Clarki's have brushed away quite a bit of sand from around the base of the nem. And it is growing like a weed.

My advice is buy the largest anemone you can find. A small anemone has a much smaller chance of survival. And cannot recuperate from small mistakes that you make make. And also can't tolerate clownfish torturing them.

 

[clowns101]

i would do a bubble tip since you are new. thats what i did. they can be very pretty.

 

[soulbereaver]

where would I find a captive cloned/raised bta around northern illlinois? I'm guessing not at a LFS. Are there actual breeders out there, or do i have to ask around till i find a fellow hobbiest willing to part with one?

 

[clowns101]

i would ask around. you never know.

 

[bprice]

Check your local area community on RC. Central Illinois has one, although I think its not very active. I know Chicago has a very active group. If you are close enough, I'm sure someone could hook you up with one up there.

Bruce

 

[garygb]

Also check the "for sale" forum on RC. You can find people (including me sometimes) that have BTA clones for sale that will ship them. My RBTA clones are the toughest anemones I've ever kept. Also, once they find a place on the live rock to their liking, they don't move.

 

[DaveBien]

Soulbereaver, Go on over to the CMAS section (Chicagoland MAS) on RC. We're having a frag swap 0n Sat 25 Oct at the VFW in West Chicago. That might help. Also Rod is in DeKalb and will be at the swap. He'd be a great help.