Opinions about anenomes

[wickjr]

Okay, I've had my reef set up for about 7 months now. All water parameters test great each time, with a few minor adjustments here and there of course. The corals and other inhabitants I have are flourishing. I have an Ocellaris clown. Am I, or should I say is my tank ready for an anenome? Just looking for some input or experiences on whether to wait or what kind to start with.

[Snelly40]

i know alot of people say a year is the waiting period, however i feel that if your corals are flourishing and you have your bio load under control that 7 months is sufficient time. I got mine at around 6 months and it looks great and you just have to keep an eye on it and your water params. Id say go ahead, they are fun and great to watch with ur clown. Good luck and GO NOTRE DAME

[cheeks69]

It really depends on which Anemones your talking about. If it's hosting Anemones then water quality isn't the only thing to take into consideration. Also keep in mind that Ocellaris Clowns are very picky when it comes to which Anemone will serve as host. What type of lighting do you have ? What are the dimensions of the tank ?

[lcstorc]

Ditto Cheeks as usual. What is your lighting? i made the mistake of gettin anemones too soon with insufficient lighting. I just got mh lights and am hoping they turn around. Also know that they can split on you. I purchased a total of 5 different anemones of 4 different kinds, One died. I have given 5 away. I still have 6. Apparently my poor lighting is what has caused this behavior. Not only that but 2 of the 6 look like hell.
The good news is that I just got MH lights. Hopefully they will turn around for me now that I have sufficient lighting. My other mistake was adding them too early (IMHO).
Anyway, the short version is be sure you have a lot of light and don't be suprised if they clown doesn;t like "that" anemone. That is why I bought so many. I was trying to find one my maroon would pay attention to.
Also there are several charts that show what clown is likely to go to what anemone. It is certainly not a guarantee, but will increase your chances.
Hope that helps.

[JFK_Jr]

I bought a gorgeous neon pink BTA who is doing great... only problem is he found a spot within my reef out of site where he is happy and getting all the MH light he wants.

I'll give him a couple more weeks to come out... If not I'm going to shade his spot and force him to come out!

[wickjr]

My tank is 46 gallon bow, 36"W x 14" Deep x 20" Tall. For lighting I have 234 watt T-5 HO, actinic and 10000K. If an anenome is a good addition, which kinds are good to try with the Ocelaris considering my light and everything.
Hey Snelly, good to see another Irish fan on here. Was starting to think I was alone. Think this is the year?

[KMP]

Lynn, did your maroon clown ever mate up? If so, which anenome did the trick?

[lcstorc]

He loves one of my btas. In fact, he steals food from the others to feed "his" anemone. Unfortunaely my husband managed to sacrifice another maroon to make this happen. He saw one already paired at the lfs and brought home the new clown and BTA. The established maroon killed the new guy before I was able to capture and save it, but ever since he absolutely lives in the bta. Would love to have had it happen a different way, but that's what you get with impulse buys. .
I had a link once that listed what clowns like what anemones. I'll try to find it again and add to this post.

[lcstorc]

Still looking for the link, but this pic just had to be posted. Talk about an anemone.
http://www.divegallery.com/mybuddy.htm
I'm trying to find the chart, but people seem to say that o-clowns are most likely to go for carpets. Unfortunately this is one of the more difficult anemones. Not to mention they get very large and are certainly not cheap. Woodstock lost both of hers and Witfull has 2 so you may want to look at their posts to learn about them.
Meanwhile I am not finding what I want from Google. It must be on one of the other computers. I'll look again later when I need a break from work.

[mempho reefer]

Good advice on keeping an anenome. I wish I'd seen this before I killed two.
Lynn, I think this is the link or one similar to what you were looking for:
http://www.bestfish.com/tips/032698.html

[Witfull]

http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

[lcstorc]

Neither are the one I found before but both would be helpful.
Thanks guys. It was early and I was only half awake.

[burning2nd]

i also just got a clown yesterday, and i feel bad for him cause he doesnt have anywere to sleep.

at night when the lights go off, he just floats around hopelessly. while my cromis's are like "HEY BUDDY COME DOWN HERE" (cause they jet 2 there cave)

[Woodstock]

My black saddle back clowns killed my blue haddoni. Some clowns should be kept without an anemone...

[BoomerD]

Just keep in mind, that a clown doesn't NEED an anemone, nor does an anemone need a clown...yes, it's very sweet when they get together, but neither one NEEDS the other one...

burning2nd, the drive in a clownfish to be hosted is so strong, that most will readily accept a substitute, I've seen them be hosted in corals of all kinds, frogspawn, hammer, even xenia, and mine LOVED "his" power head...
But, even most tank-raised clownfish seem to figure out what that pretty wavy thing is over there...



My TR oscellaris pair


My black oscellaris playing in the "rose garden"...there was up to 5 RBTA's and 1 green BTA in that tank, so he had his pick...yet when the anemone split, he seemed to always stay with the same piece as his "home"...but would visit the others from time to time as well...