I got a bubble(tip) anenomy(not real sure if the name is right) for my clown fish the other day. I put it in the tank a few hours later he moved himself upside down in a tunnel ceiling and has been there for two days. I am new to salt water (2 months) and probably have no buisness owning one, but i did. It looks healthy enough i just did not expect it would go upside down out of the light. I only have 3.5 watts per gallon so i figure thats ok. Is this normal, or will he just move around alot?
bought a sea anenomy
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ccCapt
SW 20 & Over Club
Can you return the anemome? You are correct in saying you have no business owing one, at least not at this time. 2 month old tank is way to new for it. What size tank? What kind of lights? What is your filtration?
Wizzard~Of~Ozz
Aquarium Advice Addict
While I tend to agree with cccapt. A friend got a Green Bubbletip Anemone and put it into a fairly new (just cycled) 20 Gal and it has since split 3 times and is still growing. (it is almost 2 years old now). I can't comment on the behaviour, but they can be kept in a fairly new tank. I think stable is more important then age.
How did you acclimate it? was it in a well lit tank at the LFS?
How did you acclimate it? was it in a well lit tank at the LFS?
I have a 45 gal. hex tank. 2, 65 watt coralife PCs(actinic,10000k)also a 20 watt 6700k fluresent(alittle over 3 watts per gal.). My filter is a Rena FilstarXP canister, I think its for up to 70 Gal.I have a Prism hang on protein skimmer. LR, i have 45 lbs of that(cured it myself in about 2 weeks before i put it in my tank).I also have 45 lbs of live sand. My water conditions are good with a temp. of 78 degrees. I have 1 green star polyp,1 zoanithoid coral (not sure about the spelling),9 blue and red hermit crabs, 1 lawnmower blenny, and 2 pain in the but blue yellow tip damsels. I did have a clown fish but for some reason he died after two days of looking fine. I seen him this morning he seemed fine, and when i got home 5 hrs. later he was dead. Now for a moment of silence.............OK. Thats a bummer becouse i liked him and yet dont know why he died. Any comment on that.
As far as acclimating the anenomy, i put the bag in the water for 15 min. then added.1/4 cup of my water, and taking some of it out of the bag over about an hours time. Then i just got him out of the bag(in the water) and placed him on a rock. Hope i did it right, and i fed him a syringe of brine shrimp today and he it looked like he took it, but it was hard to feed him and watch him at the same time becouse of his some what hidden position. He looks healthy though, has color and he is opened up. As far as the lights at the LFS it didnt appear to be any brighter than mine Hope this answers some qeustions and gets me some advice.
As far as acclimating the anenomy, i put the bag in the water for 15 min. then added.1/4 cup of my water, and taking some of it out of the bag over about an hours time. Then i just got him out of the bag(in the water) and placed him on a rock. Hope i did it right, and i fed him a syringe of brine shrimp today and he it looked like he took it, but it was hard to feed him and watch him at the same time becouse of his some what hidden position. He looks healthy though, has color and he is opened up. As far as the lights at the LFS it didnt appear to be any brighter than mine Hope this answers some qeustions and gets me some advice.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
What are your water parameters? (Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, pH, alkalinity and salinity?) Just wondering since you had a fish mysteriously die. My guess is that with only a 2 month old tank, and in the "stocking" phase, your water parameters are still not quite where they should be. But without numbers... it's just a guess.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
Did you notice your "2 pain in the but blue yellow tip damsels" harrasing the clown?
In a 45 hex you may not be able to add any new fish as long as the damsels are in there. Any chance of returning them to the lfs for trade?
Please post all the numbers for the ater parameters as Kurt asked. It does seem that you are adding too much too fast. You need to go really slow in this hobby.
In a 45 hex you may not be able to add any new fish as long as the damsels are in there. Any chance of returning them to the lfs for trade?
Please post all the numbers for the ater parameters as Kurt asked. It does seem that you are adding too much too fast. You need to go really slow in this hobby.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hmmm...while I understand your wanting an anemone, I would agree that you have business owning one at this point. I would strongly urge you to take the animal back. Hex tanks presenta unique problem for SW tanks, reefs more specifically. They tend to be deep and offer little surface area for gas exchange (due to the small "foot print"). Both of these can be overcome with proper planning and equipment. First off, make sure there is LOTS of flow in the tank and that the surface of the water breaks or "ripples" by one of the powerheads. You will also need to place one powerhead about half way down the tank to ensure there is good flow to the bottom. Lighting is the other big issue with hex tanks. Due to the depth, you will need stronger lighting to penetrate all the way down to the bottom. This is why the "watts/gal" calculation is no good. 3.5watts or CF lighting vs. 3.5watts of MH lighting is a HUGE difference. To solve this, I would suggest using a single 150-250watt MH pendant light. Honestly...it is the only hope your anemone has on surviving for the long-term.
I too am curious of water parameters...NH3, NO2, NO3, SG, etc.?
I too am curious of water parameters...NH3, NO2, NO3, SG, etc.?
Well i only checked the PH 8-8.2,ammonia-.25ppm,nitrites-0,nitrates-10ppm,salinity-1.022. I do a pwc every 2 weeks. I just got a power head but its just to strong so i took it out to get a smaller one. I figure it was to strong becouse the green star polyp closed up after about ten min. What is to strong anyway ? This powerhead i got pumps 400 gph. It seems way to windy in there. Your right though, i know i need to move the water better, just got the wrong powerhead. I got this tank originaly for sea horses( now thats jumping in there) becouse i read they like tall tanks, and low currents, but i REALLY have no buisness trying them As far as the lights, I took this crash course on lighting becouse not many people know much about lighting in this area. While it is hard just telling people how many watts/gal. without knowing about the tank, height, decorations water condition etc. i thought i read that "the watss/gal. would "generaly" work for up to 22" in height, but it is tricky. I probably wont get a MH(they are expensive to buy and maintain), but i did find 20" PCs with 96 watt bulb. 2 of those and a 65 watt actinic should get me close to 5 watts/gal.I think. The fish dying is still a mystery though. Water conditions should have been ok for the fish, and everything else is still happy and normal, even the anemone. Lfs kept it in a copper tank, could that have contributed maybe. I dont know anything about copper other than to keep it out of my tank. I only bought the anemone becouse i got the clown. I have no real desire to own one of them, i mean he is sort of neat, but not much color,he is just kinda white, alittle light brown with light green tips. Still looks healthy though,open and full(of water). If i could get him out i probably would, but how? He is stuck to one of my bigger more colorful rocks. New lights wont be here till next week so as long as he looks happy(not closed up or shrivald up, or sick looking) i will just keep doing what im doing. I will get a more involved water tester to check my NO3,PO4 levels. The lfs had those testers over in the fresh water area.Are they all the same?
You really need 0 for ammonia. I`m thinking you are about to see a spike in your tank from the big bioload in your tank. Your lighting just is not enough for an anenome. I just wanted to clarify that just because your anenome is splitting does not mean everything is great in your tank. I know your`s isnt splitting but I dont want folks to think that is the sign of a good tank. They also split because of stress also. I personally believe more do it for stress than any other reason. IMO I believe everything is working against the anenome right now. Ammonia, lighting and stability. JMO
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
NH3 is the first indication your tank is not ready for an anemone, let alone any other livestock. YOu really need to get a handle on the NH3 issue to ensure the long-term success of this tank. ZERO is the only option for NH3. If you do not intend on upgrading lighting for this tank you will be for heartache down the road. Seriously...you need to rethink things a bit.
As i mentioned earlier, better yet here is what i have: 45 gallon tank 25"tall X 23" diameter. 2, 65 watt 10000k/actinic PCs and a 20 watt 6700k flouresent light. I am going to; 2, 96 watt 10000k/actinic PCs and a 65 watt actinic. Thats an increase of about 107 watts, for a total of 267 watts, up from 150 watts. i figure that will give me, considering the depth, and all i have is 45 lbs of LR and 45 lbs of LS, i should get a pretty decent watts/ gal. ratio for what i want, which i should have mentioned my intentions from the beginning. Sorry i am a newby on forums. Since my plans are out the window for sea horses for about 5 or 6 yrs. i am kinda in limbo on what to put in my tank. I put the damsels in the tank just to help get my tank cycling. The crabs becouse i dont think they hurt my tank any, and the blenny for algae. I did not plan on keeping the damsels, knowing their temperment, but they aint really easy to get out of the tank without taking out all the rock.the only reason i bought the anemony is becouse i got the clown, the only reason i got the clown is becouse my wife wanted a fire shrimp. I didnt really want a fire shrimp is becouse some are known to hide most of the time. Bottom line, the wife cant go to the lfs any more lol. I was kinda leaning towards sps corals and critters(crabs,shrimps,sand sifters)and stuff like that.More the low to moderate lights things. I will get the anomy out though. Does any body want a green tip bubble anemony? Hope this helps better understand my intensions, that or i am really off on my knowledge on the lighting, let alone the tank
tawolcott
Aquarium Advice Freak
I only point this out so as to help you out and you dont make the same mistake. Putting damsels in the tank for cycling is not a really great idea. It`s not humane either. Read this
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html
as far as the lighting the watts per gallon rule is a general rule and is really becoming outdated with technology. Your lighting lacks intensity which is what is needed for anenome`s. Even using the watts per gallon rule you are not close. I dont say this to be hurtful but so you`ll understand where we are coming from. Your anenome will keep wondering around looking for an area that suits him but he wont be able to find it without proper lighting. You said on your post that you wanted SPS corals and you definitely wont make it on that. Soft corals and some LPS corals will be possible but not SPS. Just keep reading and checking the hobby out and you`ll be OK. We are here to help. No one has said anything to hurt you just trying to help. Also one last thing. I would ditch your LFS as he should have known better than to sell you that anenome. He was looking out to make a sale and not looking out for you. Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
As I mentioned eariler...watts/gal is not really an appropriate measure. It is not the AMOUNT of light that is as important as the TYPE of light. CF has far less penetration power then say MH. MH will penetrate much deeper into the tank because it originates from a single focal point and is more intense then CF. Keep in mind, this is not as much of an issue in shallower tanks with more surface area. Its kind of an "apple and oranges" thing. I am just trying to offer the best advice I can for the type of tank you have. Take it or leave it...just remember that the good folks on this forum do have a bit of experience under our belts. We are all here to help.
I respect all your advice. Heres the good news, I took my anenomy to the lfs. Heres maybe the bad news, the new kid that took it and just plopped it right into the tank, rock and all. If i have to acclimate, shouldent they? I hung around a bit to keep an eye on him, but it didnt do much. Its a bummer day. About MH lighting, I seen a tank with big, bright MHs and it was awsome. You could see the ripple reflections from the lights on the bottom of the tank. It was like looking onto the ocean. All i have is a 45 gal. and i have a wife.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah... they shoulda acclimated it. But then again, they do a lot of things at LFSs that you don't want to do in your tank!
Just FYI, clowns don't "need" anemones - they get along just fine without them. Granted, it's pretty darn cute to see them playing in them, but they don't need them.
Just FYI, clowns don't "need" anemones - they get along just fine without them. Granted, it's pretty darn cute to see them playing in them, but they don't need them.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
The best advice I can offer at this point is to STOP adding anything to the tank. START reading the articles that are now back online and KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS!
A hex tank is really best suited for FO/FOWLR which doesn't need a lot of lighting. There is not a lot of surface area for gas exchange to take place either so you want to keep the tank lightly stocked.
After reading the articles post your ideas for your tank and listen to the combined wisdom you'll get here. When that wisdom is conflicting you either need to ask again (slightly re-phrased), and/or get to know the membership (subject matter experts or SME) from reading the forum postings and trusting some more than others.
With time and patience you will end having an enjoyable experience.
Good luck
A hex tank is really best suited for FO/FOWLR which doesn't need a lot of lighting. There is not a lot of surface area for gas exchange to take place either so you want to keep the tank lightly stocked.
After reading the articles post your ideas for your tank and listen to the combined wisdom you'll get here. When that wisdom is conflicting you either need to ask again (slightly re-phrased), and/or get to know the membership (subject matter experts or SME) from reading the forum postings and trusting some more than others.
With time and patience you will end having an enjoyable experience.
Good luck
Lance M.
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lol. I just read this thread. Everything seems to have been worked out. I agree with everyone on the lighting and definitely with what Cmor just said. You need to do a LOT more reading.
My question is, if you didn't want an anemone, why did you buy it?
And what does having a fire shrimp have to do with getting a clownfish?
Sort of off topic-
Also about the lfs- There should be a large site where all lfs's in the US are listed so 1. you can find a lfs near you and 2. you can rate the lfs's and list comments/reviews, hopefully then those lfs's like the one mentioned will go out of business or fix their problems. Thank God that happened to an lfs near me in Charleston. It was so sad to walk around and see all the dead/dying fish and finally it went out of business.
My question is, if you didn't want an anemone, why did you buy it?
And what does having a fire shrimp have to do with getting a clownfish?
Sort of off topic-
Also about the lfs- There should be a large site where all lfs's in the US are listed so 1. you can find a lfs near you and 2. you can rate the lfs's and list comments/reviews, hopefully then those lfs's like the one mentioned will go out of business or fix their problems. Thank God that happened to an lfs near me in Charleston. It was so sad to walk around and see all the dead/dying fish and finally it went out of business.
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