T5 lighting for Anemones?

[Mavrk]

Well...

BTA's have the lowest light requirements of all clown anemones. Additionally, your anemones are hugging the surface for light. I think there is a big difference between surviving and thriving with these creatures, but whatever. There will always be someone who says "I know what science says, but I disagree based on casual observation".

I noticed that it was up high as well. But that is with T8s. My RBTA stays as low as it can in my 90 gallon with 4 T5s. Yes, I know it is a BTA, but since 90g's are pretty tall, I think that the lights must be strong enough. Yes, things like current also affect position, but there are plenty of places higher up it could be happy with current, etc. It is not lights that prevent me from getting another spp. of anemone, but the fear of chemical warfare (I am not the bravest of people when it comes to my tank).

I do have to say that I am using the Icecap individual reflectors, and this makes a big difference.

 

[Mavrk]

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heres a pic of the nem i was talking about

I would love a yellow BTA. That looks awesome. Nice find.

 

[phender]

ive got 2 BTA's in a 46 and completely agree with phil ive just got them under 2 T8's that are both daylight bulbs, nothing special just regular bulbs, one is about 12-14" across and 4-6" tall and the other is just a baby i got a couple weeks ago and is doing great!

Actually you are not agreeing with me. Notice in my post that I said people were able to keep low light anemones with "4" NO bulbs over their tanks. I don't know what the lumens are on T8 bulbs compared to T12s, but I know the wattage is less. IMO you need more light, probably at least double what you have. I agree with BonsaiNut. That stretching towards the light that your anemone is exhibiting is a sign of it needing more light.

 

[gogators1088]

well idk what to tell yall, i got the thing 2+ months ago and it was quite a bit smaller, and has grown nicely over that time...it isnt always like that in fact its usually hugging the rock but since it was up and looked like the tree from the movie "The Lion King" i wanted to take a pic of it...i also have a smaller one that ive had about a month and it has doubled in size from about 2" around to about 4-5"...im not trying to say that i know everything or anything like that, but so far its worked for me

 

[phender]

well idk what to tell yall, i got the thing 2+ months ago and it was quite a bit smaller, and has grown nicely over that time...it isnt always like that in fact its usually hugging the rock but since it was up and looked like the tree from the movie "The Lion King" i wanted to take a pic of it...i also have a smaller one that ive had about a month and it has doubled in size from about 2" around to about 4-5"...im not trying to say that i know everything or anything like that, but so far its worked for me

I appears to be working because you have started with heathy anemones. Anemones are basically bags of water. Because of all they have been through, there tissues have shrunk. When you first get them they tend to be only a small fraction of their potential size. When you put them in your tank, if they are healthy, they will spend the next couple months bringing in more and more water into their bodies, returning to their natural size. (This is a little different than the shrinking and expanding they sometimes do on a daily basis.)
It will take a healthy anemone a long time (maybe more than a year) to die from lack of light. You probably won't even notice when it starts shrinking. If you don't catch it quickly there tends to be a "point of no return" when even giving more light won't help.
I am not trying to flame you or discredit you, just give some advice based on my own experiments and detailed personal discussions with experienced anemone keepers not just reading articles written by people who read someone else's articles.
If you want your anemones to live more than 2 years(and I am sure you do), you will very likely need to add at least 2 more bulbs to your present set up.

 

[gogators1088]

oh i forgot to mention i am in the process of building a 75 gal reef so they will have 4 T5's on that tank, this is just a temp home till i get the other tank done...