Phosphates good for Anemone?

[ReefFandS]

i was reading a magazine today(from 2009) and it was talking about phosphates and anemone and how when clownfish poo on the anemone it release nitrates and phosphates and those are good for the anemone. here is a quote from the article.


"the waste from fish is rich in nitrogen and phosphates, and these products are crucial to the survival of the endosymbiotic zooanthellea that live within the tissue of the anemone."

every post i read always talks about having phosphates should be at 0. i was wondering why you want your phosphates at 0 and what would happen if you kept them above 0? could you're anemone grow better if you're phosphates were above 0?


Thanks in advance for answers.

 

[NYCBOB]

i am sure its beneficial to the anemone to a certain extend, but u may hv an algae issue along with it. anemone can obtain phosphate through the food u feed it.

 

[no_Wedge]

idk for sure, but nitrates i know they like a little, i had an anemone only tank that i kept pretty dirty, and they split and thrived.

 

[ReefFandS]

idk for sure, but nitrates i know they like a little, i had an anemone only tank that i kept pretty dirty, and they split and thrived.

i saw a video of a guy using LA tap water and there was over 100 anemone's in it. i think if you can keep the algae at a minimum a little bit of phosphates it okay.

 

[davocean]

idk for sure, but nitrates i know they like a little, i had an anemone only tank that i kept pretty dirty, and they split and thrived.

Many have BTA's split and think that is a sign of success, but more times than not it's stressed, and splitting is survival instinct kicking in.
We usually recommend an established tank that has at least 6mo so it's stable and params are in check.
I've never seen a nem suffer or not do well in clean stable systems.

 

[greenbean36191]

The nutrients in the waste fertilize the zoox, but they also fertilize nuisance algae and the phosphate poisons calcification. Unless you're trying to farm anemones and don't care what the tank looks like, you probably want to keep nutrients low for those reasons.

 

[2Addicted]

idk for sure, but nitrates i know they like a little, i had an anemone only tank that i kept pretty dirty, and they split and thrived.

Sorry but I have to disagree. The splits that you were seeing were probobly stress induced.

To the op: Dont try to keep your tank dirty for a nem. Just feed it and it can thrive.

 

[no_Wedge]

but you can tell when an anemone is stressed and when it isn't, if it is stressed it will likely move around, and shrivel up or lose it's color. these did not.

 

[ReefFandS]

Sorry but I have to disagree. The splits that you were seeing were probobly stress induced.

To the op: Dont try to keep your tank dirty for a nem. Just feed it and it can thrive.

okay thank you!

 

[2Addicted]

but you can tell when an anemone is stressed and when it isn't, if it is stressed it will likely move around, and shrivel up or lose it's color. these did not.

How dirty did you keep it?

 

[AquaReeferMan]

Everything is going to utilize some trace of nitrate and phosphate. You just dont want those levels getting out of hand. Once that happens you usually end up with a very green aquarium.

 

[no_Wedge]

it was a 15gal and i did 10% water changes every 2 weeks. phosphates didn't get high, but nitrates would probably be around 5-10

 

[2Addicted]

it was a 15gal and i did 10% water changes every 2 weeks. phosphates didn't get high, but nitrates would probably be around 5-10

You kept anemones in a 15 gallon? The splits were stress induced. Anemones need very stable params to thrive. You cant keep a 15 gallon very stable. Also a healthy anemone would outgrow a 15 gallon in no time. They didnt move because they didnt have anywhere to go.

 

[davocean]

They didnt move because they didnt have anywhere to go.

Agree, and FWIW 5-10 ppm trates is considered fairly low, when I think of a dirty tank I think 30-40 ppm and higher.
Often I've seen BTA's split right after a transfer from new tank params/stress and look perfectly fine.

 

[ReefFandS]

agree, and fwiw 5-10 ppm trates is considered fairly low, when i think of a dirty tank i think 30-40 ppm and higher.
Often i've seen bta's split right after a transfer from new tank params/stress and look perfectly fine.

+1