Should I get an anemone?

[stewie24]

Hey all.
Currently have a 55g tank w/ 2x 175 watt halides over it. Its fairly stock w/ corals now, but when I rearrange the rocks, i'll be unloading a good bit of them.
Tank also has a 55 gallon sump/fuge.
Tanks been setup for a year. Water params are fine. One clownfish, 1 yellow tang, 1 lmb, 1 lunare wrasse (which will be caught and removed once I reaquascape)
I was thinking of trying my hand at an anemone.
What i'd like to do is this: Keep most all corals on the one side of the tank, and keep the anemone on the other.
What would be a good beginner anemone that would do well under the lights I have along w/ medium flow? I'd also like it to not get real large (tank is only 13inches wide).
Thanks
Stewie

 

[Amphiprion]

The best option for you sounds like a BTA (Entacmaea quadricolor). They usually only reach sizes up to 12 inches (rarely larger and usually much smaller). They are also well known for their ability to split in captivity, so you may very well end up with more than one.

 

[stewie24]

How agressive are these?
You think it'd do fine under a 2 175 watt 14k coralvue bulbs?
How pristine does the water have to be for these to do well? (sometimes I get lazy on my w/cs even tho I have almost 200 lbs of rock in about 80 total gallons of water).
What type of flow do they like? (high medium or low)?
Thanks
Stewie

 

[stewie24]

bump. come on you anemone fanatics!

 

[David Grigor]

As a beginner, I would stress getting a tank raised/propagated one, being already acclimated to captivity it should be more hardy and less stressed than a wild caught would.

Long tentacle or a bubble tip are hardy and should be able to find one that isn't wild caught. Get with reef clubs in your state. I know here in MN it isn't hard to find propagated ones....

 

[stewie24]

Thanks david.
Do you know much about the behavior of them (agressive?)
Do they like to move around alot? (I had thought of keeping the anemone on one side of the tank and other corals on the other side.
What type of flow to they like?
Thanks
stewie

 

[David Grigor]

There are no easy answers. Basically, if they don't like where they are at they will move generally high or low light or flow will work itself out. However, at night it can potentially cruise all the way to the other side of the tank so no guarrantee you can keep it on one side. If you have other corals in there yes it can be a potential problem for the anemone and the corals. How often it will move is all dependant on your setup. In general once it has settled into a spot it will generally stay unless you do change things around but can starting moving again really at any time. If you have any overflows, powerheads, you need to be sure they are covered with a sponge so that anemone can't get sucked in and damaged when it does move.

 

[BCreefmaker]

this will help you deicde what one to get it tells you about diffiuclty, size, habits, flow required, lighting needs ect.... you just need adobe reader
anemone FAQ