Sea Anemones and Lighting for Survival

[snapper1]

Hi all I have a 56 Gallon High column Tank with my Community Fish its 30 long by 18 in wide 25 inches in height.I have some Damsels and 7 clown fish in it and I buy a Anemone for my clowns to frolic in.I have them two months and they disappear under the live rock never to be seen again.Well my lighting is to weak to keep them alive its only 20 watt single 24 inch bulb.Better to learn now then not at all.To all the folks I need help and advice what wattage do I need to insure a sea Anemone survival.I ordered a Glass Top for my Tank at my LFS I thought maybe something with two 65 Watt Bulbs in it would do the Trick.I wont have anything that hangs above my Tank or bolts to the side.The top must be covered because I have a lot of circulaion in the Tank and I wont have Salt all over my Floor from a open Tank.What do you use and does it work what was the price,I am willing to spend about 150 Dollars for new lighting.My Wife and me love to see Clown Fish in our Sea Anemones Help need GOOD ADVICE please thank you.I dont want to fall for a sells pitch need to know what works for you.

 

[Tron87]

I'm sorry but you're going to catch a beating for this one.

If you get 4 of the 65 watt power compact bulbs you might be able to keep a bubble tip but that would be the absolute minimum. And that will be double your bugdet.

P.S. prepare yourself for criticism.

 

[Random Aquarist]

This'll be interesting. Just so you know, it's a REALLY REALLY REALLY good idea to research before you buy.

 

[snapper1]

That is why I am here, researching now

 

[Purple Penguins]

If you want good lighting for an Anemone your gonna have to spend more than $150 you should have more like T5's or Metal Halide if your going to go with PC lighting about 7 watts per gallon. And I dont know it may just be me but Im thinking 7 clowns in a 56 gallon is a bit to many, that is just not enough territory for all of them and upgrading your light to have just 1 anemone in that tank size with 7 clowns is going to cause alot of fighting especially when you end up with several females.

Like Random Aquarist said REALLY REALLY good idea to research

 

[Slakker]

You need to get 5 of those clowns out of that tank. Clowns will not live in a group like that forever in captivity, and eventually the dominant pair will start killing off the others one by one.

Also, for $150, you're probably going to want to just WAIT and gather the funds to pay for the appropriate lighting for your tank. You'll have much happier anemones if you do it right the first time.

Please, don't buy any more anemones until you can support them in your tank.

 

[snapper1]

Can someone give me a price and the product that would do the Trick Thanks for the advice but could you people tell me what you use and the Wattage product.Halogen and T5 is Klingon to me what is a good package and WHAT set up do you have.And I have had 7 clown Fish for over a Year no Deaths at all.

 

[Random Aquarist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9670373#post9670373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Random Aquarist
This'll be interesting. Just so you know, it's a REALLY REALLY REALLY good idea to research before you buy.

Alright, no responses yet so I'll clarify. I'm not a huge lighting expert, so I'll focus on the fish.

1. Damsels, unless paired, are not to be put together in a tank as small as yours. Damsels are very very aggressive and will beat up and/or kill any other fish.

2. Clowns are the same, except slightly less aggressive. They'll still beat up other clowns, but they usually won't pick fights otherwise.

3. Mixing clowns and damsels is bad. I mean BAD. It's a big NO-NO.

4. Researching before buying is critical. If you looked through this forum on any given day, you could find answers to everything. Questions about multiple clown stocking happen every day. Also, this isn't the only place to find info. Just using Google will find you dozens of helpful sites. I'd suggest WetWebMedia.com for further research. We really hate to see situations like this because these are living creatures, so the death of these animals means a lot to us.

 

[Random Aquarist]

Oops. I took a little too long to type.

 

[GSMguy]

mehx2

 

[snapper1]

Okay Random Aquarist since you are without SIN and you like to Throw Stones I guess you never made a Mistake ever when you got into the Hobby geezz .I never realized how perfect you were do you walk on Water to .I came to the pros here because I realize that I am a Rookie and could find out what they use for lighting.But seeing how you know nothing about lighting I dont know why you are answering a Thread about Lighting.I assume you are a Self Righteous Jerk who wants to argue with the Rookie.When you need answers you go to the Horses Head with you I see I went to the Horses ***.You can take your self Righteous Judgement on me and shove it you know where.The way I raise Fish and I what mix WILL NOT CHANGE I DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS IN MY TANK EXCEPT FOR LIGHTING And your self Righteous BS .You have made this personal with your Attacks on me what do you go looking for Fights.You have to much time on your Hands get a life instead of thinking your Dear Abby

 

[Tron87]

I'm guessing that your clowns are proabably really young or your have a chaotic terrotory situation. One can keep many agreesive fish in a tank that is way too small because no single fish is able to establish territiory or dominance because each fish has several others competing for the same thing. It is like trying to climb the corporate ladder but for fish. This works but constantly having to fight for your own and being worried about way too many cometitors is stressful and damaging.

Unless you somehow found magical hippie clowns that just want to be friends, something will eventually give. The have a natural impulse to dominate their territory in order to secure mating rights and food supply provided by the area that they control. You should not have more that two clowns unless your tank is around 200 gallons.


As for lighting, your best options are in the 300-600 dollar range as I understand things. The two most powerful lighting choices are T5 (a type of fluroescent lighting) and Metal Halide(an arcing type of light bulb filled with mixtures of gasses). T5 lighting is limited by bulb length as far as looking for one to fit your tank well. Look into choices at the numerous RC sponsor sights.

If you go metal halide you might want something like one 250 watt bulb supplemented by the light fixture that you describe in your first post. Two 150 watt bulbs would be nice as well and would give you a more even light distribution across the tank. Either way, you will easily have to spend double your current budget.


I'm not too hot on individual fixtures and prices but I am shopping around myself and this should be enough info for you to start on your own shopping trip. Maybe look for used Metal halide sets on the buying forums.

Also, what kind of clowns do you have?

 

[Random Aquarist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9670598#post9670598 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snapper1
Okay Random Aquarist since you are without SIN and you like to Throw Stones I guess you never made a Mistake ever when you got into the Hobby geezz .I never realized how perfect you were do you walk on Water to .I

Actually, I don't think I really have made any mistakes because I haven't setup my first tank yet.

But, as Tron said, you gotta be open for criticism.

 

[Tron87]

People get heated over threads like this because the information that you need to avoid the mistakes you've made is nearly boundless and becomes exponentially more abundant with each passing day.

Older, seasoned reefers can also tend to forget the extremely giddy insanity that overcomes us newbies when we fist start own tanks. They get excited too but there is less mystery and discovery for them so its not exactly the same.

 

[Slakker]

Random Aquarist has spent the last 2+ years researching to set up his tank. I think this makes him more than qualified to give you advice.

We all make mistakes...but the people with successful tanks are the ones who realized their mistake, or took good advice offered to them, before it became a tragedy.

Sure, it's your tank, and they're your clowns, but always remember that they were nature's fish first. Also, if they're captive bred, you have the opportunity to care for and enjoy those clowns because someone before you figured out how to keep them happy enough to breed in captivity. Learn from that.

 

[Random Aquarist]

Excitement? Not so much. More like "Oh my gosh, if I mess up, it's going to kill everything." It's more like horror for me.

Slakker, that compliment really made my day. Thank you.

 

[snapper1]

Tron87 Thank you if I could buy you Beer I would your Comments were correct and Useful to me I will spend more to get the correct lighting.I am open to critism but not from self righteous idiots who have God complexes.Your comments were correct some Disipline correction to me in the right way.I have False Preculas I have seen no agressive behavior toward each other.I have three yellow sebaes the False percs do chase them sometimes.I have had no Deaths in this Tank in 8 monthes and have Had it up and running for over 3 years.Random Aquarist you need some social skills you come off a True Butt Hole get the meaning.

 

[cobra397]

I have the lighting fixture from aquatraders. there cheap but so far i love mine. If money is a concern you can check on one of the MH fixtures they ARE the cheapest around money wise. There is a big thread in the lighting forum about odyssea lights. Im not a seller or anything but did try to save money setting up my 75 gallon. I must say for the price comparison there is no difference.

 

[Purple Penguins]

I think the personal attacks on Random are not cool, people who get into this hobby are proud of the knowledge they learn and share and use to keep strong healthy tanks and have great passion, it is normal for them/us to become upset when coming across a thread such as this, it breaks our hearts when there is needless death of such beautiful creatures that we should show complete respect for, All I hope for is that before the next time you decide to add to your tank you do much more research and many others new to the hobby as well.

 

[Slakker]

So you have 4 Ocellaris and 3 Sebae? Are you sure they're A. Sebae? I often see/hear of other varieties being labelled as Sebae.


Also...I'm not really sure why you find Random Aquarists responses to be so offensive. They're all reasonable, and he's given you some really good tips as far as fish compatibility. Just because it's worked for a while doesn't mean it will forever, you know?

Why put the lives of your animals at risk when you have the power to fix a dangerous situation?