The Cave Monster

[miniwhinny]

I just wanted to share my cave monster and ask a couple of Q's. She's about 1 1/2 years old and kept alone - am I correct in assuming she is in fact a 'she'. She's approx 2 1/2 inches long. Should I wait til she's larger to add a juvenile (male) or would it be okay to do so now if I can find a young enough, small enough one. Thanks

Here she is...Miss Grump the Cave Critter.

 

[Arati]

yes she is a she, you can try piaring now.

 

[miniwhinny]

Thanks

I'm going to make an egg crate box with holes small enough for "him" to pass in and out to but too large for her to follow. I'll put a net around it for a day or so so he gets used to it being a safe place and so she can get used to someone new in her space.

 

[garygb]

She is very pretty maroon. Good luck with the pairing, it sounds like you already know maroons aren't the easiest species to pair. She would probably love a nice large BTA if you're interested in an anemone and your set up is conducive to having one.

 

[miniwhinny]

Thanks garygb, she's a great little fish I just love how feisty she is. I can't keep a BTA in this tank - 84 x turnover for SPS - do you think it's cruel to keep a 'nem fish without a 'nem? I could set up a different tank for her but wanted her in this one because she's my favorite fish.

 

[garygb]

I don't think it's cruel. They generally find some object to call their host. I have a GSM, and she's a fiesty thing too. In fact, she bites me if I put my hand too close to her. If you have say a 30 gallon tank and you want to have a species tank, just her (and presumably her mate) and a large green or rose BTA, I don't think you would regret it. Again, I don't think it's cruel to keep a maroon sans anemone, obviously she's content and healthy, but she would prefer having a nice large BTA to frolick in and you would get the rewards of seeing a little bit of nature just as you would find it on the reef (BTAs are the one and only natural host anemone for maroons).

 

[miniwhinny]

garygb,

sorry I'm going to start picking your brain now

I only have three SPS frags so far so it would be really easy to move them from this tank.

I'm presuming if I have water params good enough for SPS (lighting too) then it would also be fine for BTA's...what about water flow? Do nems like a lot of flow? I need to do some big time research now before I go any furthur. I love this fish more than I love my corals but I know nothing about nems. Do they go with zoas I do have a few hitchiking zoa's?

Thanks for any help.

 

[miniwhinny]

just reading up on needs - there's more than enough info here. How far can I go with flow though? What's the maximum turnover rate to keep them happy?

 

[garygb]

Okay, BTA (bubble tentacle anemone), Entacmea quadricolor, is the best starter anemone. From your specs I see you have a 150 watt MH on a 29-gallon tank. That is perfect for a BTA. They come in both green and rose colored varieties. A 29 gallon is actually a perfect size tank for a large anemone and a pair of maroons. In time, you might have your anemone clone (split in half). As far as water circulation, 84X per hour is a lot. I would say 20 or 30 times per hour is enough. What kind of powerheads/pumps are you using?

BTAs like to afix their base to the underside of a piece of live rock. They tend to be pretty stationary once they find their niche, but can wander until that time. For that reason, powerhead intakes need to be covered with plastic screen. Once they find a place, mine only wander in the event of splitting.

I will attach some websites that will provide you with lots more good info. on this species.

 

[garygb]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm

 

[garygb]

The one in the last post is more scientific, this one is informative too and fun to look at:

http://www.karensroseanemones.com/

Enjoy! And ask any more questions you want, me and others on here love talking about anemones;-)

 

[miniwhinny]

thank you I'll go read your links right now.

Here's what I have in my tank

2 x AC50 ph's (270 gph each. 540 total)

3 x Koralia 1's (400 gph each. 1200 total)

1 AC110 HOB (500 gph)

Mj1200 - not sure of the flow here because it's running my remora skimmer.

 

[Henryreef]

Wow that is more flow than i have on my 55. Does that much kick up the sand?

 

[miniwhinny]

No sand Henryreef, it's a BB being set up for SPS (which I'm now rethinking lol) The cave monster seems to love the flow though, she has no trouble swimming anywhere and sleeps in her cave.

 

[Arati]

I have an sps reef with just over 50x flow and my rbta is happy as can be. I just waited until the Nem settled in and place the corals far enough away to alow for the NEM to grow .

maybe im missing something but were do you get 84x?

 

[garygb]

If it were me, I would probably take out a pump or two. BTW, nice tank and lots of spots to make a BTA happy. I'm going to feel bad if you get one and don't like it;-) On Karen's Roses she talks about ways to cover up intakes, even Koralias I believe. I have some plastic window screen that works. It will cut the flow a bit though. Once your anemone is settled in and has been in the same spot without any movement for a while, you can decide if you want to chance removing the screen. Like I mentioned earlier, if it divides, then there is a risk of the clone getting sucked into the pump, as one of the splits tends to move away from the original foothold.

 

[cerobbins]

I would like to point out that clownfish establish their sex through social influences. So if your clown has always been kept alone it still does not have a sex. When or if you add another yours will more than likely be dominant and become the female, but even though yours may be bigger than the typical male it still does not have a sex. It could become a male even though its large if you found a more dominant mate.

 

[garygb]

In Joyce Wilkerson's book, Clownfishes, she says that if a clownfish is left alone it will eventually become female. She says this can happen as quickly as one month. So, for pairing, I would assume that "cave monster" is a female and get a small maroon. I would look for a tank with several maroons and get one of the smaller, less dominants, then you can pretty much bet it is still a juvenile male. Clownfish are males to begin with, "intermediate males" they are referred to. Premnas (maroons) don't live in groups in anemones, but some other species, such as ocellaris, skunks, etc. will live in a group. There will be a dominant female and her mate, and then several intermediate males waiting for one of the dominants to get knocked off. When that happens, the dominant male will become the dominant female and take one of the intermediates as a mate.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

i have over 80x turnover in my sps tank too and my GBTA seems to be quite happy...not sure how happy the SPS will be when th nem grows a littl emore though...it is already crowding one of my favorite acro's...doesnt seem to be stinging it though..

 

[Big E]

If your'e going with an SPS set up be darn sure you secure every coral & frag. Your maroon will try to move them if she doesn't like where you put them. Be prepared for some frustration.

An anenome will help as the territory will be smaller & she'll stick close to it.