tube anemone with LTA

[katarina]

So, I recently read that a tube anemone is not actually an anemone. I know mixing different types of anemones is not a good idea but can I put a tube anemone in my tank with a LTA? I have a 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump. I don't run carbon.

 

[Postal]

I don't see why not.
Make sure to run carbon and place the tube anemone carefully so it won't touch other corals or the LTA at night. Tube anemones can have a reach that is far longer than you might realize.

 

[katarina]

I don't see why not.
Make sure to run carbon and place the tube anemone carefully so it won't touch other corals or the LTA at night. Tube anemones can have a reach that is far longer than you might realize.

Are the dangers the same as keeping a second species of anemone in the tank?

 

[SkullV]

I don't know a whole lot about tube anemones (actually I know very little) but I have heard from various people that they are voracious fish eaters and that their sting packs a very potent punch.

 

[Postal]

I don't know a whole lot about tube anemones (actually I know very little) but I have heard from various people that they are voracious fish eaters and that their sting packs a very potent punch.

Not true at all based on some research I have seen online.

 

[SkullV]

Not true at all based on some research I have seen online.

I'm just going off research I have seen online as well. I'm sure everyone has different experiences, just like with Haddonis.

 

[katarina]

So would I need to worry about chemical warfare as long as they aren't actually touching?

 

[Postal]

So would I need to worry about chemical warfare as long as they aren't actually touching?

Probably no more so than you would between a mushroom or other coral and an anemone. It never hurts to run carbon, regardless.

 

[katarina]

Great. Thanks for all of the info.

 

[rayn]

I have two tube anemones in my 55 with a skunk clown and a yellowtail goby and they are both fine. They will sting the fish is they get to close, but so far no problems.
What color are you looking at getting?

 

[katarina]

I'm not sure. I saw a really pretty purple one here but when I looked at LFS they didn't have much of anything.

 

[rayn]

Here are mine shortly after moving into my 55

I got the purple one first, then got the pink a week later. I have seen a dark purple almost black one that I really like too, if I can make it fit.

 

[SkullV]

These are actually NPS corals and not anemones right?

 

[rayn]

They are nps, true. You have to feed them. Whether you consider them a coral or not??? They can suck themselves in like a nem, they sting like a nem, and they can attach below the sand with a foot or tail of some sort. THEY DO NOT host fish. I believe that is the confusion with these guys.
They have this fleshy feeling tube that you can see in my pic below the tentacles, but then they have the tail that grows under the sand you don't see. That is how they anchor and or move. The outer tentacles are what initially sting the food, then drag them into the inner tentacles that also stig and feed the mouth.
What initially drew me to these guys was the double color. Purple, pink, black with that inner green is beautiful when it is flourest right.

 

[rayn]

Here is a better pic of the fleshy tube from when they were in QT.

Forgot I had one while temp acclimating

Here is proof they can and do move. Look at the pink one.
before

after

 

[katarina]

It was your purple one that I saw. I want it but I am not sure I can have it in a 40 with a LTA.. That doesn't leave room for much else.

 

[rayn]

That might be pushing it. How big is the LTA and where is it located? In QT the purple one was only 6-7 inches, but moving into the 55 it quickly spread out almost 12" at one point. They don't constanly stay that big, but they can get bigger still. I may have to move and place one at each end of the tank at some point.
If your LTA is on one side and you place the tube on the other you might be okay. How deep a sand bed are you running, as they require a DSB to cover themselves in. Also they need to be temp and water acclimated as they can float away when first introduced with the salt differences. Digging a hole in the sand, placing, and covering with sand helps though.

 

[davocean]

It was your purple one that I saw. I want it but I am not sure I can have it in a 40 with a LTA.. That doesn't leave room for much else.

I agree, besides the growth of the LTA, you have to also consider the buffer zone needed between nem and corals, and swim space for fish.

 

[katarina]

My sand bed is 5 inches and the LTA is in the far right corner. The LTA spreads out to about 11" (not just the disk, everything). If I have the LTA on one side and the tube anemone on the other I pretty much can't have anything else and right now I have mushrooms, hammer coral and the soft coral that looks like pink flowers with green centers.uggg I should have bought a bigger tank. lol

 

[davocean]

You may need to make some kind of adjustment down the road, my last LTA grew to 18' in diameter, which I believe is what they are known to max out at.