Reef safe anemones - Aquarium Advice

philly · 11-03-2004, 01:01 PM

i have 2 ocleris clowns in my reef, i want an anemone that wont sting my corals or inverts

i really want one!

i have a 90 [acronym:bb7c229713="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:bb7c229713]. lots of rock and room

malkore · 11-03-2004, 01:51 PM

how new is the tank? lighting? skimmer?

its generally not advised to add any anenome until the tank is at least 6 months old.

xxmoorishmanxx · 11-03-2004, 01:55 PM

off hand i cant think of any true anenomes that won't sting coral, i have a BTA in my reef and have had luck with it for about 2 years now. It has only once moved and stung corals, but i was able to move them out of the way in time. BTA are a good choice [acronym:fd9db1b73c="In My Experience"]IME[/acronym:fd9db1b73c] since they are fairly hardy compared to other anenomes and also because false clowns tend to like them.

Good Luck!

PS i agree with malkore if the tank is new you might want to wait

Jason · 11-03-2004, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malkore

its generally not advised to add any anenome until the tank is at least 6 months old.

why is that?

**lando** · 11-03-2004, 02:46 PM

I do not think you have enough to keep an anenome long-term. If you choose to try one go with a bulb tip anenome. Keep in mind that clowns do not need one to be happy and it is a gamble that they will even pair up.

malkore · 11-03-2004, 03:57 PM

It takes about a year, sometimes 18months, for a reef system to truly stabilize. Anemone's are very touchy to changes in water conditions, and if you're fairly new to reef tanks, you're bound to make a few little mistakes in the first few months. The fish will tolerate these little bumps in the road, but your $40 anemone may not.
Even if you don't make mistakes, the tank will still have to stabilize for at least 6 months before you'll have good odds of keeping the anemone thriving.

Also, if you think you need an anemone for your clowns, you're wrong. They do fine in captivity without one...and a lot of people have found that tank raised clowns will not bond with an anemone...the instinct gets bred out of them.

xxmoorishmanxx · 11-03-2004, 04:16 PM

another thought is that clowns may host other things as well, if u have the light and experiance, you could try a hammer coral, or possibly a finger leather. In my tank i have one clown that hosts an anenome the other hosts a hammer and a toadstool coral.

Wolf · 11-03-2004, 06:10 PM

A friend of mine also has a pair of perculas that have bonded with mushroom coral. It's really neat to watch.

klam · 11-03-2004, 07:29 PM

I agree the the anemone will have a better survival rate if the tank was mature.

Tank raised or captive bred clown fish can take anemones as host, it's really up to the fish on what host they choose. It's a myth that tank raised or captive bred will not take a host. I've heard of wild caught that don't take to anemones.

My ORA captive bred Ocellaris took my BTA as a host.

My captive bred true percs took my BTA as a host.

Edmonton Eskimo · 11-03-2004, 10:32 PM

I agree with you Klam. My captive bred ocellaris didn't have anything to do with my sabae for a couple of months now he is all over it.

11-03-2004, 01:01 PM	#1
philly Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: quebec canada Posts: 251	Reef safe anemones i have 2 ocleris clowns in my reef, i want an anemone that wont sting my corals or inverts i really want one! i have a 90 [acronym:bb7c229713="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:bb7c229713]. lots of rock and room __________________ thx philly

11-03-2004, 01:51 PM	#2
malkore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 6,540	how new is the tank? lighting? skimmer? its generally not advised to add any anenome until the tank is at least 6 months old. __________________ Visit my aquarium pages - see specs on my tanks, and photos of how they've evolved My other passion: TheNinja 500R - updated 9/18/05

11-03-2004, 03:57 PM	#6
malkore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 6,540	It takes about a year, sometimes 18months, for a reef system to truly stabilize. Anemone's are very touchy to changes in water conditions, and if you're fairly new to reef tanks, you're bound to make a few little mistakes in the first few months. The fish will tolerate these little bumps in the road, but your $40 anemone may not. Even if you don't make mistakes, the tank will still have to stabilize for at least 6 months before you'll have good odds of keeping the anemone thriving. Also, if you think you need an anemone for your clowns, you're wrong. They do fine in captivity without one...and a lot of people have found that tank raised clowns will not bond with an anemone...the instinct gets bred out of them. __________________ Visit my aquarium pages - see specs on my tanks, and photos of how they've evolved My other passion: TheNinja 500R - updated 9/18/05

11-03-2004, 06:10 PM	#8
Wolf Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Thomasville, Georgia Posts: 342 Images: 2	A friend of mine also has a pair of perculas that have bonded with mushroom coral. It's really neat to watch. __________________ Tank: 55 Gallon The equipment: Coralife 4x65w (2x10k; 2xActinic), Emperor 400, 2 [acronym:99d01ca68b="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]PH[/acronym:99d01ca68b] The Fish: black maroon clown, neon goby, yellow watchman goby, 3 blue-green chromis, royal gramma, and a yellow clown goby. The Coral: zoos, kenya trees, [acronym:99d01ca68b="Mushroom coral"]shrooms[/acronym:99d01ca68b], leathers, hammer, and star polyps The Inverts: LT anemone, pistol shrimp, urchins, etc. The Janitors: nassarius snails, turbos, hermits, several brittle and serpent stars The Rock: 68# of Keys-12# Base Rock; from [acronym:99d01ca68b="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:99d01ca68b].com

11-03-2004, 07:29 PM	#9
klam Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 730	I agree the the anemone will have a better survival rate if the tank was mature. Tank raised or captive bred clown fish can take anemones as host, it's really up to the fish on what host they choose. It's a myth that tank raised or captive bred will not take a host. I've heard of wild caught that don't take to anemones. My ORA captive bred Ocellaris took my BTA as a host. My captive bred true percs took my BTA as a host. __________________ Paintballs look like bubble gum 14G starphire,150W [acronym:2ed2cd9cf2="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:2ed2cd9cf2]+32W act03,AquaClear 150 [acronym:2ed2cd9cf2="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:2ed2cd9cf2] filter, 75W EboJager, IceProbe chiller, Remora skimmer, closed loop SCWD mag5, auto toper-offer. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lam/banner.jpg

11-03-2004, 01:55 PM	#3
xxmoorishmanxx Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Normal, IL Posts: 1,110 Images: 15	off hand i cant think of any true anenomes that won't sting coral, i have a BTA in my reef and have had luck with it for about 2 years now. It has only once moved and stung corals, but i was able to move them out of the way in time. BTA are a good choice [acronym:fd9db1b73c="In My Experience"]IME[/acronym:fd9db1b73c] since they are fairly hardy compared to other anenomes and also because false clowns tend to like them. Good Luck! PS i agree with malkore if the tank is new you might want to wait

11-03-2004, 02:46 PM	#5
lando Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Savage, MN Posts: 7,669 Images: 46	I do not think you have enough to keep an anenome long-term. If you choose to try one go with a bulb tip anenome. Keep in mind that clowns do not need one to be happy and it is a gamble that they will even pair up.

11-03-2004, 04:16 PM	#7
xxmoorishmanxx Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Normal, IL Posts: 1,110 Images: 15	another thought is that clowns may host other things as well, if u have the light and experiance, you could try a hammer coral, or possibly a finger leather. In my tank i have one clown that hosts an anenome the other hosts a hammer and a toadstool coral.

11-03-2004, 10:32 PM	#10
Edmonton Eskimo Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: edmonton Posts: 676 Images: 17	I agree with you Klam. My captive bred ocellaris didn't have anything to do with my sabae for a couple of months now he is all over it.

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