When to add an anemone?

[Vaporm8]

My tank has been up and cycled for two months now, i have a lawnmower blenny, 2 clowns, some shrimp and a coral beauty. the tank was used when i got it so the rock has been in an established aquarium. Do I still have to wait 6-12 months before adding an anemone?

 

[Aquat]

My first anemone was a Sabae and my aquarium was only barely 2 months old. But fully cycled. My friend needed someone to take care of his Sabae and he had no room nor the time. I warned him that my system was very young but he insisted to take the risk.

I drip acclimated it for about an hour before I dropped it in. After about a week, it was comfortably settled. To my surprise, it was healthy! It even took some brine shrimp. It looked so great, he decided to let me have it.

If your system is stable and everything is in check you should be fine. But of course, this was only ONE anemone. Who to say how other species might be react or maybe I was lucky. Who knows. Just to be safe, hold off on the purchase and hopefully some other more experienced reefer might join in.

 

[Vaporm8]

ok. thank you! ill see what some other people say!

 

[zakstrong]

corals and such like anemones are sensitive creatures. They need to have proper parameters.
Where you run into trouble is when you add fish or other non plant critters that produce a lot of waste and require daily feedings. they in turn produce an added bio load on the tank which can cause a spike in nitrate or ammonia in a newer tank.
with corals the concern is more about the condition of your tank and your ability to keep it constant.

so if you are confident that your tank is doing well no algae spikes everything is going swimingly i would say go for it.

the 6-12 rule is really a safe bet rule. with people who are new to tanks. a standard system will have stabilized in about that time.

 

[Vaporm8]

well i have my clean up crew, they do a pretty solid job. I have only lost my blue tang and that was after adding my cuc (he would not come out to eat) . Well maybe ill wait a few more months and see if everything is still doing well.

 

[D-Nak]

the 6-12 rule is really a safe bet rule. with people who are new to tanks. a standard system will have stabilized in about that time.

+1. Most believe that the 6-12 month rule is to get the tank settled. While this is true, I believe that the rule helps to separate beginners and novices. Most will encounter problems within the 6-12 month period and they need to know not only deal with them, but prevent them from happening in the future. These same issues are the ones that can kill an anemone, which likes stable tanks. A dead anemone can take out an entire tank.

That said, some anemones are very hardy. When and if you choose to get one, my recommendation is a Bubble Tip Anemone (BTA) since they can stand up to a lot of abuse and are readily available.

Once you've gained experience from a hardy anemone like a BTA, you can then move onto the more sensitive species. I've gone through 3 anemones with my current set up: BTA -> Ritteri (H. magnifica) -> S. gigantea (photo to the left). Each time I removed/sold the anemone to prepare for the next one.

 

[Vaporm8]

thank you!

 

[dakine586]

I added 2 condylactis anems after a few weeks of starting and they are thriving very well since then.

 

[zakstrong]

^+1
if you are dying for one the condys are really good beginner anemones

 

[dakine586]

They grow huge though so watch out if you want to add a lot of corals

 

[D-Nak]

^+1
if you are dying for one the condys are really good beginner anemones

While I agree that they are great for beginners, it should also be noted that they are not hosting anemones. However, some do host clowns from time to time, but I wouldn't <i>expect</i> it. They may also eat small fish or fish that are weak swimmers.

 

[Saltydrip]

I had a condy eat a damsel. I was feeding and realized I was missing my domino. Saw it insnaired in the condy.

 

[Vaporm8]

haha

 

[moondoggy4]

I had a Domino host in a BTA before.

 

[Squidmotron]

I had a condy eat a damsel. I was feeding and realized I was missing my domino. Saw it insnaired in the condy.

Congratulations on your good fortune.

 

[vansk8r]

I set up my 35biocube,cycled a week and a half. And added 2 anemones(drip acclimation) a
day later and its already growing like a weed!

 

[Frxnchie]

your tank is not established yet, give 6 more months the see how everything is doing, if everything is fine, then you should be able to put an anemone in your tank..