nem selection ?'s

Sapooloo

New member
there were 2 big factors in getting me into salt water fish keeping, and one of the big ones was clowns and nems. i have a 90 gallon i have had set up for almost a year. i am now looking into which nem would make the most sense for me. i have false percs i am looking to find a home for, but which home?

im looknig for any advice on what would be the best bet for me. i had been looking into bta's but am a little worried about their penchant for roaming. carpets are gorgeous but when they can grow to 3 feet across im thinking my tank might be on the small side to house one.

So any advice or information you have on the different species would be greatly appreciated. also im wondering how likely i am to lose fish to the nem?

i am looking to set up a mixed reef eventually, but im holding off on the corals until i get the nem in since i have read one of their most active roaming periods is during the introduction period.
 
A smaller gigantea would be my choice.. they don't mind flow it was the fist nem my clowns decided to live in have been documented as occ host and they live in rocks just like a very secure spot for its foot and a good light
 
whats your lighting like? I have a gig in a 65g and its doing just fine. I've never seen a 3 ft one in a persons tank. probably max out around 20" in a tank. Sebae's are also nice and they are sand dwelling which is really nice. My gig roamed on me to the top. Haddoni's keep more to the sand.
 
All anemones will roam to some extent. They may settle down for years in one place, and then suddenly decide to move.

You are better off deciding "sand" versus "rock" anemone to start with and go from there. ALL anemones can get large in captivity so you have to be prepared for it. Shorter tentacle anemones are easier to contain in one area than long tentacle anemones since the tentacles can sometimes stretch 6" or more and sweep around with water flow.

You didn't provide any info about your setup. Lighting is critical. With moderate light you should restrict yourself to BTA's or haddonis. All the other species require bright to extremely bright light.
 
I'd agree with BonsaiNut. I'll also add that BTA's are likely your easiest choice for success with your first nem (assuming all parameters are adequate). While many complain about roaming, if you can understand your animal and why it might roam, they are not as difficult as some believe to keep put.


Here's my thoughts on the matter of wandering BTA's: (copy and pasted from a different thread)

On the topic of a BTA moving "all the time" as some say...I would argue strongly against this statement. In my experience, from reading, and discussions with other people with far more expertise than me, a BTA will remain in its spot if all of its living conditions are being met satisfactorily. There is no benefit to the anemone (risk of being stung/sliced by corals, risk of not finding another rock in the ocean, predatory animals, etc) to "just move around" IF all conditions are appropriate.

Water quality, light, food, Flow, and foot - the five conditions that must be satisfactorily met for all anemones.

Water quality: In the ocean, if local currents drastically change after storms, rivers dump crap into the ocean etc, the nem may want to move to conditions which better suit its liking. In our tanks, however, there are no other areas which have better water - but the anemone doesn't know that. This is my #1 pick for why anemones move without apparent reason. It may even be something in your water which you do not test for - or it may be BECAUSE you just did a water change and didn't match tank water close enough. The anemone is searching for something it just can not find inside a glass box, hence the so called "anemone's just sometimes walk around for no reason". We can't see the reason - so we assume there isn't one.

Light: Lighting in the ocean is quite strong. Far more than our little electrical lights we use. Even on a cloudy day the par is very high - ever had a sunburn on a cloudy day? When you introduce a BTA, you may have a spot picked out that you really want it to go, but it may decide it is too bright or too dim and promptly move. As it gets light-acclimated to your tank, it may move to a spot that is "just right" for its health in the long term. This acclimating and moving to a new home may also cause confusion to BTA's "moving a lot".

Food: Yikes! There is a lot of misconceptions about the "proper" diet for anemones. I did a write-up on RC a while back about the topic: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1835320 A basic summary of that thread is.....assuming a healthy nem, food is likely unnecessary. If you would like to feed, feed small (pencil eraser max) meaty, raw, SW-found foods. Unhealthy nems need more food to gain energy and should be fed more. Feeding leads to faster growth. Feeding can also in some cases overcome less-than-ideal lighting because the food is supplementing the light source. More in-depth information can be found at that link.

Flow: You need to determine the flow requirements of the species of nem you want, and make it match in order to decrease the likelihood of movement. BTA's will like moderate flow, but not too high or too low. Either of those may cause it to move around. Some can be very picky. I know someone who's Haddoni moved across the sandbed after her cleaned a powerhead and replaced it (he thought) in the exact same spot. Apparently it wasn't quite exact. Haddoni's like low flow - if their oral disk is being moved by the current, it's too much and will cause it to move.

Foot: This is my #2 reason why BTA's apparently move without known cause. The foot of most anemones also requires special concern. Some anemones like to bury in the sand, some at the sand/rock interface, and some directly onto rocks. BTA's like to have their foot in a deep crevice, hole, or cave. Basically, it's a safe zone for them to hide in if they need to retract. It's also a way for them to regulate the amount of sun it gets. These deep holes are key to keeping a BTA happy with it's current spot. They like their foot shaded, and head out in the sun.

Hope that's a good summary of what I think about BTA's.
 
BTA's also have a very weak sting and weak spirocysts (sticking cells). Though it is possible to lose a healthy fish to a BTA, it is very rare. Contrast it with S. haddoni, which is a fish eating machine. I wouldn't keep a haddoni in any tank with fish unless it was hosting clowns (to keep other fish away). Even with hosted clowns, I have lost numerous fish to haddonis over the years.
 
Agreed. I've even known one particular green-striped haddoni to eat the clownfish that were hosting it! That particular one stung my friend so hard that when we finally got it peeled off his hand, he had to take a few benedryl and sit down for a bit because he was feeling very lightheaded.
 
thanx for all the info.

as far as rock vs sand. id prolly prefer sand but if the bta is rock and haddoni sand, ill take the weaker stinging cells and pass on the fish eating machine

i had been pretty set on getting some sort of bta, but recently came across one too many roaming bta threads that it made me nervous. i think an lta is out of the question and judging by what uve all said its def not gonna be a haddoni

my lighting is inadequate for a nem atm. just got my taxes back and i am planning on upgrading to t-5's. looking at an ati but i havent decided sunpower or powermodule.
 
If you build an isolated island of rock that isn't touching glass on any side, and you use sand as a substrate, then you should be able to contain the nem to that island for the most part. They can still let go of the rock and float around the tank if they are unhappy enough, but you should be fairly safe with an island.
 
carpets are gorgeous but when they can grow to 3 feet across im thinking my tank might be on the small side to house one.

I think you'd be lucky to have a carpet that lived long and healthy enough to outgrow a 90, much less to 3 feet. :D
 
is gig sting less potent than the haddoni?

also can u get tank bred carpets. considering the survival rates of nems and how long they live in the wild, id like to stick to tank raised ones until im more confident in my ability to provide them with what they need not just to survive but to thrive?
 
I never heard of any tank raised ones other the people tearing down there tanks.. my jem supplier holds on to nems months before selling them.. he has a high success rate. But I feel from me personal touch I have had both that the gig is weaker then haddoni but stronger then a bta
 
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