Anemone Reef Safe? Horshoe crabs?

[otrovago]

Haitian reef anemone (Condylactis gigantea) or Pink Tip Anemone are they reef safe?. Also with a tomato clown host it? What do you feed it, LFS said they will eat filter foods.

What about horseshoe crabs?

20 Gal
22 Lbs LR
Skilter 250
65Wtt PC 50/50
1 Watt Moon-lite
20 lbs LS
Rio 400 PH

Tank is still cycling, researching livestock....

Fish Planned:
Dwarf Flame AngelFish
Tomato Clown
Black/White Chromis or a Blennie or Jawfish

 

[RogerMcAllen]

If I am not mistaken, I think they get like a foot or maybe even a foot and a half long. Either way, horseshoe crabs get way too big for a 20.

 

[reefrunner69]

Haitian reef anemone (Condylactis gigantea) or Pink Tip Anemone are they reef safe?

Yes they are reef safe, but they will wander the tank looking for their spot, stinging anything in their way. They will also eat any fish that they can get their tentacles on (reef safe is a relative term).

Also with a tomato clown host it?

Probably, but Condys are not host anemones. There are no clowns that are associated with this anemone and it is possible the Condy could sting and kill a tomatoe, although I don't find it likely.

What do you feed it, LFS said they will eat filter foods.

Anemones should be fed larger meaty foods like silversides or shrimp or krill.

Now all that said, you should not attempt an anemone until your tank has matured for quite some time. Your tank will still be stabalizing the first 6mos to 1 yr and anemones are sensitive creatures.

 

[otrovago]

Thanks for the input, I wont get either one of these for a while anyways, I'm just planning the stuff for the tank. Next week (1month) I'll drop in some dwarf crabs and snails, if water is good of course, than take it from there.

About the anemone is a shame that all LFS and even some online shops sell it as a begginner or easy to maintain species. They are very beautiful and are sure to attrack newbies like me.

Do you see any problems with the fish I have planned?

 

[ReefLady]

Just a note about the Horseshoe crab ~ not only will they get large, but they require a very deep sand bed, will definitely consume all sand bed fauna (leaving you with a dead sand bed), and when they get large, they can get destructive - clumsy, knocking things over, etc. Most eventually starve in a relatively short period of time.

About the fish - they sound okay, though I wouldn't chance the dwarf angel if you are intending to do corals -- especially LPS like Open Brain corals, Bubble, etc.

HTH,

 

[kidafius]

I have a Haition Pink Tip, and i moved it to the top of my rock structure from the sand, as close to the surface as I could. He hasn't moved once, and looks glorious. The reason I moved him is because he was stretching toward the top. 384 Watts PC, 2x10K white & 2x10K actinic.

Also, I used to have a horseshoe crab. He was fun for a while, but usually was out of sight. Anyway, My condi snagged him up like lunch time and tried to eat him. The crab, its not really a crab i think, was spared only by the sharp tail that gouged the anenome's mouth. But, he didn't survive all the stinging.

 

[otrovago]

Flame angels are not reef safe? I plan to start with easy corals such as mushrooms, polyps and leathers, which other ones would you recommend for a marine newbie...

Thanks for the input

 

[ReefLady]

Flame angels are not reef safe?

IMO, no dwarf angels are reef safe. Some people never have a problem with them, but you are always taking on a risk if you decide to place one in a reef tank. They do have a tendency to nip at corals - their favorites seem to be Open Brain Corals, other LPS, and softies with "polyps" like Xenia & Colt.

Other nice "starter" corals are the "Fox" or "Jasmine" coral (Nemenzophyllia sp.), Open Brain (Trachyphyllia sp.), and other LPS.

HTH,

 

[reefrunner69]

My African Flame back almost single finnedly killed any coral in my tank that had a pora on the end,
acropora
Montipora
Pocillipora
etc...

 

[steve-s]

single finnedly

Not to make light of a poor situation, but that was funny...

Cheers
Steve

 

[BillyZ]

LOL