Adding anenomies

[scuba dude]

Hope someone can answer a couple questions regarding adding anenomies to my current FOWLR tank.

I currently have a 29 gallon biocube that is well established and home to 2 clownfish , a midas blenny , a pink spotted goby 2 cleaner shrimp and a few blue legged hermit crabs.

I have been wondering about adding an anemomie with the hopes the clownfish would bond with it. So heres my questions.

Is this something that I can due without issues?

What type would best suit my current setup and stocking?

Could it sting and cause damage to others in the tank?

Do I aclimate it the same as I would a fish( drip method) ?

Sorry for all the questions but want to be really careful about adding things that might not belong.

Thanks .

 

[furrymurray]

All nems will sting corals and most fish (other than clowns, they are immune to the sting).


The biggest question would be what type of lights do you have? Nems need very good lights.

Also just because you have a nem doesnt mean the clown will host it. There is no guarantee.

 

[scuba dude]

My lighting is either a LED light or the metal halide that came with it.

Recently I have been useing the LED light a little more with the extremely hot weather we have been having since the other seems to heat the water up even more than it has gone up on it's own.

I have read that they might or might not host with it and even if they for some reason do not I figured it would probably be a nice addition and something different to look at.

Is there a perticular type that would be best?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Tkey3425]

What kind of clowns are they?

 

[scuba dude]

They are black and white with the exception of their noses wich are orange , I honestly am not sure exactly what species they are; at first I thought they were saddleback but the stripe goes all the way around and does not look like the saddle I have seen pictured of others.

 

[Tkey3425]

They are black and white with the exception of their noses wich are orange , I honestly am not sure exactly what species they are; at first I thought they were saddleback but the stripe goes all the way around and does not look like the saddle I have seen pictured of others.

Probably ocellaris or percula either way get you a bubble tip anemone. Certain clowns prefer certain anemones. But if it looks just like "nemo" just black instead of orange, it's probably one of the two I stated. Look at the stripes and some pics online and you can tell

 

[scuba dude]

Probably ocellaris or percula either way get you a bubble tip anemone. Certain clowns prefer certain anemones. But if it looks just like "nemo" just black instead of orange, it's probably one of the two I stated. Look at the stripes and some pics online and you can tell

Yes just like nemo just black and white. I have looked a many pictures online and just can't seem to find a picture that looks like them. Very close but not quite. The saddle back has the same marking but the center band on mine goes completly around the body instead of only part way. Thanks again everyone for the help. I'll keep looking though.

 

[Tkey3425]

Ocellaris clown then. Look at green bubble tip anemones or rose bubble tip anemones, magnificent sea anemone, merten's carpet, all show to be compatible with ocellaris

 

[scuba dude]

Great , Thank you.

Will see if I can get out to a few stores this weekend and see what is available.

I assume I aclimate the same as I would a fish , drip method , remove 1/2 the water and repeat for a couple hour time peroid ( low and slow) .

 

[Holygral]

I have to add my thoughts on this, if you really do not what type of lighting you have, then you have not researched and you are not ready to get a nem, sorry, How old is your tank, what kind of lighting and I am guessing that if it came with the set up, it is fish only lighting, It is rare t.hat a package tank kit comes with lighting enough to keep a anemone. led's come in many different forms, power, par ect. Nems need high end lighting, an established 12 months old tank and pristine, stable water conditions, and you appears that you are using tap, your current set up is not capable to keep a nem, I know it not what you want to hear but it is what you need to hear, sorry

 

[scuba dude]

I have to add my thoughts on this, if you really do not what type of lighting you have, then you have not researched and you are not ready to get a nem, sorry, How old is your tank, what kind of lighting and I am guessing that if it came with the set up, it is fish only lighting, It is rare t.hat a package tank kit comes with lighting enough to keep a anemone. led's come in many different forms, power, par ect. Nems need high end lighting, an established 12 months old tank and pristine, stable water conditions, and you appears that you are using tap, your current set up is not capable to keep a nem, I know it not what you want to hear but it is what you need to hear, sorry

Thanks for your input however......
I do know exactly what type of lighting I have. I have a marineland LED light as well as the metal Halide light that comes with the set-up , You meen to tell me that the metal halide is not enough light to support an anenomie If memory serves me correct it is 14000 par. Like I origonally said the only reason for the LED light was to try to keep water temp a little lower. If I run the metal halide set-up I can just turn on AC in the room to help keep tempetaure down.
Tank has been well established for well over a year and water conditions are perfect. The only issue I had was a strawberry crab that most likely came in on some rock and it ate my cleaner shrimp , problem crab gone and shrimp replaced , no problem since then
PH 8.2-8.3
Ammonia o
Nitrates 0
Nitrates very little maybe right around 10
Salinity 1.023
Calcium and hardness I would have to look at my log sheet and see what they were but am certain that they were well within range.

You say tap , do you mean tap water? I am useing DIRO from a filter and mixing it with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals.

 

[Mebbid]

6 months is the standard for an established tank to have a nem.

The metal halide light would probably be sufficient and the LEDs would be iffy, do you know what kind of led fixture it is?

 

[Holygral]

Ok your second post was "I have led or MH that came with the set up", so it seemed like you didnt know which you had, my error, as long as your water parms are stable and you have MH lighting, you should be able to give it ago, but ALL parameters have to be and stay stable, no highs, no lows, including temp, ph and salinity, and remember there are no white nems, just bleached nems Also don't count on Marineland led's to support anything but fish and MAYBE mushrooms, good luck

 

[scuba dude]

6 months is the standard for an established tank to have a nem.

The metal halide light would probably be sufficient and the LEDs would be iffy, do you know what kind of led fixture it is?

6 months , well past that. It was setup in January 2012.

It is a marineland single bright and I didn't figure that it was enough and only use it part time now when metal halide is not being used to help keep tank tempatures down a little. If I run the metal halide I just run the air conditioner in the room to help offset it a little bit. I could just ditch the LED light all together , I have no problem with doing that. Weather supposed to cool down here the next couple days so tank tempature will become less of an issue if any. Right now water is up to 81 degrees from a normal of around 78. I did prop the glass open slightly and temp did drop slightly overnight.

 

[scuba dude]

Ok your second post was "I have led or MH that came with the set up", so it seemed like you didnt know which you had, my error, as long as your water parms are stable and you have MH lighting, you should be able to give it ago, but ALL parameters have to be and stay stable, no highs, no lows, including temp, ph and salinity, and remember there are no white nems, just bleached nems Also don't count on Marineland led's to support anything but fish and MAYBE mushrooms, good luck

Sorry , I probably should have been clearer with the way I had worded things.

All my parameters have been really stable ; my wife says I am OCD when it comes to the fish . My only battle with things not being stable is the water tempature over the past week or so. We are in the middle of a heatwave ( that is supposed to end in a day or so ) and my water tempature is around 3 degrees higher than normal , usually right around 78 and has been hovering around 81 for the past 5 days or so. I did prop the glass open last night and the tempature did drop slightly ; I'll put the AC on in the room tonight and see if it comes down a little more. Once the heatwave goes away things should be back to normal. I could also watch it more closely and if tempature does start to rise again get it under control sooner next time.

Thanks.

 

[Mebbid]

All that being said I would say go ahead and get one! The halide would definitely have to be ran though. If you are worried about temperature try checking out a chinese LED. Highly popular, affordable, and very powerful.

New Dimmable 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Fish Tank White Blue LED Light White US | eBay

 

[Rutrag]

As far as the a specific anemone recommendation, I would go with a bubbletip - either green or rose. The rose are a good bit more expensive, but they are both the same species, and most clowns will accept them as a host. They are by far the hardiest of hosting anemones. You will also gain the benefit that they tend to split and clone themselves, so you end up with trade fodder for corals or cash!

My second choice would be a long tentacle, but they don't ship as well and will get pretty big for that tank.

When you get one, realize they go where they want to be - there's not much you can do to make them go where you want them. For having no skull, they're really hard-headed.