Anemone tank?

[tunicata]

Hey Folks!
I have been gone for awhile between taking a leave of absence from work to finish school and a bunch of other stuff.

I'm back at the school now and am thinking about the next plan for the tank. We've had a lot of bad luck between adults unplugging the tank, unplugging the lights, not following my summer instructions, throwing away rock that I was trying to 'recook' over the summer to kill off the algae, a weird brown growth after trying to use a phosphan reactor, etc....

Anyway, we still have one of the clownfish that was donated a bit ago, some of the hardware, and the spirit.


My new plan will be to have an anemone tank!!!!

I remember camz's tank but I want to make sure I know the kind of parameters necessary, proper lighting, do's and dont's, etc.

It's a 55g tank, it is planted with reef grass from bob1000 (which grows very well), and has snails and 1 clownfish (the larger fish died after the custodian unplugged the tank to buff the floors...during a week break).
Our light just died (lasted 4 years!) so I have a poor replacement up, and will buy another one. I just need to know what light is good for the tank size and depth but considering I want anemones.

Also, can I have 1-2 leathers in a tank that has 2-3 anemones?
What other fish can do well in a tank like this (the clownfish beats up/kills other clowns i have tried to add....)

Any suggestions?

 

[mfisher2112]

That might be a couple too many anemones for a tank that size. They do tend to move around, and will often pick wars with their neighbors.

You'll want strong lighting and a well established bio-system for that many nems, as well as a good skimmer. I'd say you'd need at a minimum 6 or so t5's, but ideally probably metal hallide.

If you've got a territorial clown, anything it's size or smaller will most likely get picked on. How large is the clown?

 

[tunicata]

The clown is now...1.5-2 inches.

If I get 2-3 anemones they will be the only other thing in the tank (other than the clownfish and perhaps up to 3 other fish). So, unless they want to war with each other there is not likely to be any other invert to fight with.
The anemones would start small-medium in size.

The bio load in the tank is quite low. For the past year the biggest waste producer was the single clownfish.

The tank at this point is 4 years old. It has tons of little critters (amphipods), great coralline growth, tiny feather worms, bristles, tiny star fish, etc all growing without my help.

Thinking about the set up of camz's tank, his tank size was not bigger than 55g (though, I do not remember the size of his sump it was not terribly large and had nems growing in there too!!). He also was using PCs when I saw it.



So, considering your concerns and my thoughts about other nem tanks I've seen, I have no problem starting off with 1-2 small nems as the only additional bio load for the tank.

I'll have to think more about the lights....MH feels like much more than necessary. I'll check out the pricing/stats options from used fixtures and price out bulb replacements and make the decision based on that. This will all be out of my pocket so I want the set up to be good but not a drain on me.

I have my old MH that is sitting waiting around for me to get back into the hobby personally...it's 36" though and was pretty expensive....I don't really want to bring it to the school (would build a rack to help it sit atop the tank).

 

[mfisher2112]

I'd say 2 x 175 watt should suffice a tank of that length and height. 150's may not be enough, and 250's would probably be overkill. Each metal hallide bulb, with the proper reflectors, should be ablt to cover a 2' x 2' area of tank, and should pentrate that depth of water pretty well.

 

[TanksNStuff]

What are the dimensions of the tank? It might be cheaper to grab one of the cheap LEDs. It would save on the schools electric bill too.

As far as fish, if you have a good pod population you might want to consider a mandarin or a copperband butterfly.

Good luck with it!

 

[MadReefer]

I think 1 4 bulls, 4 foot T5 fixture would be okay for the nems. If you pile the rocks nicely they will probably move up towards it. I had a RBTA in my 55g with this type fixture but when I upgraded to the 75g it roamed into a PH. I am sure others who have nems now can give you better info.

 

[NikkiT]

Introducing multiple unrelated anemones into a small tank will result in biological warfare.
However, it is possible to keep multiple anemones in the same tank if they are captive raised "splits". What do I mean by this? I mean that you would be looking for one or more anemones that had split from the same parent. For example, my 45g has a rose bubble tip that I got from James (jrwohler) after his anem split, and i believe his anem originally came from Paul's (redfish bluefish) tank. If you want multiple anems for your tank, look for captive splits from the same parent anem. You will have the best luck with those- if your anems "walk" into each other, they won't try to kill each other. I suggest bubble tips.
Also keep in mind that they can get quite large- i have one that is huge, easily 12" x12" when fully open. Keep in mind that if the anem dies in your tank, given the 55g water volume, your tank will likely crash. You will have to be careful with power heads- if the anem gets too close, it will get sucked in and die. Anems don't stay in one spot. Likewise, no heaters in the main tank- anems are dumb enough to fry themselves on a heater. You will need a sump or a fuge to house the heater. I keep both of my bubble tips (in two separate tanks) under t5 lighting; I have one 4 bulb fixture and one 5 bulb fixture, although I have kept the rose bubble tip under both LED and metal halide in the past. Both anems are about 6" below the light, with tentacles extending nearly 2" from the surface of the water. Do you have a skimmer? You should have one if you want to keep anems. They do not tolerate nitrates or phosphates well at all.
Regarding your clown, what kind of clown is it? Have you been trying to introduce it to a small juvinile of the same species?
Clowns are sequential hermaphrodites, going from juvenile and neuter to male and finally to female (although I believe there is still some debate about where female is the terminal sex or if a female can revert to male) it is very likely that you now have an adult female clown. That means you need to introduce a much smaller clown, ideally a juvenile too young to be sexually mature and too small to challenge her authority. . . The smallest fish you can find. Sometimes, you need to provide a safe space for the juvinle to retreat to that the larger fish cannot get into as well.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I agree with everything that Nikki said and Madreefer is correct, also if you get a decent T5 fixture it will be enough if you have some rock for the Nem to go up closer to the light(it will probably want to be up).

 

[The_Codfather]

I got a gbta from Taz that was softball size.. Within a few months it's the size of a dinner plate now.. I only have a 40 breeder with 6x36" t5's

 

[NikkiT]

I got a gbta from Taz that was softball size.. Within a few months it's the size of a dinner plate now.. I only have a 40 breeder with 6x36" t5's

I got an anem from Taz too.
It is the anem residing in my 20g tank
Mine came to me from Taz in august about 3" across, and is expanding fast- it is about 4" already.

 

[tunicata]

Nice, thank you for the information and the examples of different tank environments.
I have decided to simply use my old MH's for now as I do not have the $$ to pour into the school tank.

Is Taz still around in the hobby???

 

[NikkiT]

"Taz" stands for Tazmanian Cowboy, Don, one of the Directors of the club.

 

[tunicata]

I'm sorry, I meant camz!!!

 

[Hawkeye]

I'm sorry, I meant camz!!!

ralph hasn't been in the hobby in I'd guess 2~3 years. The first frag swap I was at with the club was the last time I saw him active. For what it's worth my memory said he used a BANK of 6 VHOs for his 55 nem tank.