Thinking about getting a Carpet anemone

[cj10488]

Ok I was thinking about adding a carpet anemone to my tank and had a few questions...

1) I have a few corals in my tank elegance, bubble, toadstool, colony polyp. I am afraid of placing him in the tank and him killing the other corals.. Any suggestions as to how to make sure he doesnt..

2) I heard these can cause severe reactions to humans... how the hell do you place them in the tank..

3) Would my lighting be sufficient.. I have 330watt PC lighting on a 55gal tank.. Or is MH a requirent???

4) Any other questions that I have neglected to ask that I should know about.. I already know that survivability is not that great but I think my tank and I can handle the addition...

Tanks levels
CA 480
alk 3.5
po4 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 2
ammonia free 0
ammonia total .1
Salinity 1.025
Temp 80

All have been extremely stable without much fluctuation

Thx In Advance..
James

 

[e-cat]

i was asking my lfs about them the other day and they said they wont even carry them amy more for the following reasons.1 they get big, 2 they need very intence lights and 3 he got stung by one and his for arm looked like it had the messiles for about a month.

 

[cj10488]

One LFS around here said ohh yeah go ahead and get one it will do Great!!! You dont need to worry about a thing... I have been doing research for about 2 months now on the assorted carpets that Liveaquaria.com offers and I am really close to thinking about one but I really dont like the idea of getting Stung or It killing my corals.. along with the other questions above..

James

 

[e-cat]

im sure some one on hear has owned them before and will have some ansewers for you, theres an lfs around here that would say the same thing even if you didnt have lights.

 

[steve-s]

I would not attempt a carpet with anything less than MH lights, the stronger the better. These guys thrive with MH but do not seem to fair well with PC or VHO for any great length of time. You may also want to reconsider based on tank size. A 55 gal might seem fine now but they do get a very large oral disc. From my own experience, the disc of larger anemone species will grow about 2-3" in diameter a year under optimum conditions.

As to their sting, it can really leave a mark. I have even heard of some being stung so badly that it will leave a small scar after healing similar to chicken pox scars. 8O

Cheers
Steve

 

[Hara]

I have a carpet anemone under pc lighting. It has tripled its size since may. I touch mine all the time and have never been stung. However, I do not recommend them for different reasons...chief one being it will eat your fish.

 

[cj10488]

Hmmmm Thats a tough decision.. The fish that I have in my tank now are 2 Perculas and a Yellow-tail Damsel.. Which should be ok.. Is there a different Anemone that may be less difficult such as a BTA??? I am looking for something to give my tank a more diverse environment... Any suggestions..


TIA,
James

 

[Michel]

Hi,
I have a Macrodactyla doreensis and when fully opened it has a diameter of about 12'' I touch it no problem... However it is so strong that when it moves it has displaced LR so.... But I bought a Clarkii to go with it and the symbiosis is extraordinary....
If someone will give me instructions I will post a picture !
By the way I have NO and it is doing fine !

 

[Michel]

Found it
There you go

 

[loganj]

A friend of mine had a carpet anemone under 130w of PC in a 72g bowfront. It seemed to do well for about 8 months and then shriveled up and died. I would tend to agree with Steve...MH is the way to go.

 

[Michel]

I must admit that my aquarium is only 20'' deep ! I'm probably border lne but it's been a year now so I'll cross my gingers !

 

[Mghslowell]

i have a green carpet anemone here

i have itunder a 260watt pc lighting 6hrs of 10k daylight and 8 hrs under actonic .

is this good enough? my tomato clown founds its new home in it.