to get an anemone or not?

[opiea1c]

I basically have a question/concern regarding both an anemone and one of my clownfish. I have noticed black spots on my clownfish which (after alot of reading) concluded was attributed to my clownfish occasionally "rubbing" on a coral from time to time this action I had never witnessed but just assumed based off others experiencing similar spots. well a week went by and finally last night I noticed my clown attempting to host my button polyps and after watching this action for a while i came back to see he had given up on the polyps for now (too small to sleep on I guess) and he was "sleeping" next to the small frag on the live rock. my question is should i consider getting an anemone (bta seems to be the best chance with compatibility and survivability) to try to curve him from hosting rocks and injuring him/her self?

my pro's would be: wow how awesome is this in my tank (assuming it hosts the bta) the

cons are: already established coral and don't need it's wandering to kill everything in there, when fully grown the fish have met capacity on the tank (bio load) and regardless don't need them getting eaten by the anemone, I have probably 9 baby sea urchins that i fear will eat the anemone (they came on live rock and am trying to get them out...pain in the butt) and are growing fast, all that aside the life of a captive anemone in good health seems to be anywhere from a year and a half to forever so i dunno just looking for some sound advice from those who have been there before me

setup:
75 gallon tank
100 lbs of lr and sand
weekly water changes
6x 56 watt VHO lighting
coralife skimmer
korelia 3 x2 and nano x 2
reefkeeper elite


corals:
xenia
open brain
hammer coral
candy coral
montipora red and green
green starburst polyp
2x mushroom hairy and green spotted
green button polyp

livestock:
yellow eye (kole's) tang
firefish
clownfish x2
orange spotted goby
yellow clown goby
yellow tail damsel
cleaner shrimp
3x peppermint shrimp
and ?? number of snails and small reef crabs (not alot just enough)

ammonia 0
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
temp 79.5-80.2
ph 8.3
salinity 1.26
water changes direction of flow every 4 hours (pumps on timers)

 

[BigAl07]

I don't think I'd add it in your tank. Would be COOL but as you said you're running a risk of it wandering around disrupting a well established tank.

 

[opiea1c]

yeah, thats the way I feel about it, but do you think there is any way that my clownfish's behavior will put it or my tank in any danger (ich outbreak) or any other types of infections? thats my biggest concern with the entire scenario no I don't WANT to risk an anemone it to my tank but at the same time i don't want to risk losing a paired clownfish either

 

[mikelam]

I have a RBTA in my 29 Biocube and it's doing well. I enjoy watching it and my clowns love it. BUT................when it wanders it is a big pain. It has killed a Devil's Hand coral which in turn killed a colony of green zoanthinds as it was dying. Now, when it wanders I have to move rocks out of it's way. Not a good thing.
Before the Nem, my clowns hosted a green stripped mushroom and were quite happy with that. One still goes back to it's 'shroom during the night.
I wish I would have been content with that and not got the anemone.

 

[opiea1c]

ok, my clowns hyper-melaninization has gotten progressively worse since my last post and after much thought and fighting with my instincts and countless late nights studying and reading I decided to opt for getting an anemone though certain steps and precautions have been taken to assist in my decision.

1. all of my corals (as pains taken as possible) were moved to my nano tank for safe keeping just in case the anemone decided to move while finding it's favorite spot

2. all power heads were covered with a mesh veil to prevent (or help prevent) the anemone puree occurrence from happening

3. I watched an anemone for a week after last shipment at my lfs to ensure health before finally getting it

4. the one i had decided on had stayed attached to the same rock for that week ensuring / hoping
A. no chance of foot being damaged by lfs worker upon retrieval
B. that the anemone would have less chance of wandering once in the tank with that same rock it was already established on

5. after all the research and reading I had done leading up to that point picked out what i hoped to be a great spot where it would be happy to not wander around

well a week after purchasing it I am happy to say it eats well (feed it twice but opting for a once a week feeding) and has not once budged from the spot i placed it in, all mesh nets are removed from powerheads and corals are back in the tank (slightly relocated due to the addition though) the only corals I have yet to place back in the tank are the ones that were being hosted by my pair of clowns, their hyper-melaninization is slowly on the decline and though they may never take to the anemone I feel that I have done all I could to attempt to help recreate a environment suitable for their health and continued happiness in my tank and they have the option now the ball is in their court

 

[BigJay]

sounds like you did your homework and have given it , its best chance of survival. Got any pics?

 

[mikelam]

I would leave the mesh nets on the power heads, just in case it does take a walk. There is an old post with pics of a nem damaged by a power head, yuk!
Good luck, nems are so interesting.

 

[Corailline]

Chances are in your favor that the clown will reside in the anemone but it may not. The hypermelinization is not going to hurt the clownfish and it will begin to resolve over time.

Buying a coral with the intent that a clown will reside in it is hit and miss. And anemones will go where they will, trying to keep them in a designated spot in the tank is unhealthy for them.

Putting the picture of a clown residing in a coral or anemone taped to the tank seems a bit odd, but it works.

You sound like you really have it all under control and I applaud your efforts for trying to give your clowns the best environment possible.

One last thing and commom misconception. Clowns do not host anything they only reside. The anemone is the host. Good luck I am sure your clowns will be fine.

 

[lcstorc]

Great job researching and considering your options. The one thing I will mention is that your lights really are not enough to support the nem long term. Other than a light upgrade, seems like you have done a good job with researching and making an educated decision.

 

[opiea1c]

Yeah I was concerned about my lights at first but after some research found most people that had any success at all (considering from what I have read 1 out of every 33 people that attempt to have such a creature even with all the right conditions are unsuccessful) were sitting at a minimum 3 watts per gallon with a bta and I am sitting at 3.5 watts per gallon with my anemone sitting hapily at the top of all all my live rock it seems content there and is starting to develop the bubbles at the tips again.

about the picture on the glass thing I am unable to get a goos clear pic but since the wife is out of town (she can't complain about this being a waste of power) I have downloaded a video of a clown hosting (I know the term is flawed but it has been established this way, yes it bugs me too) a bta and Have it on a loop from my computer in front of the tank, it has been about 20 minutes and where as my clowns completely ignored the anemone before is actually hovering right in front of it now seemingly staring and contemplating jumping in, we will see if this does the trick but i will loop it for the next 24 hours or so (until she comes back) and see if this does the trick.

I have yet to take any pictures since my tank hasn't been presentable (in my mind) since all the corals have yet to all be placed back into the tank/put in a good spot and that goes for alot of my live rock as well. I have my weekly water change scheduled for later tomorrow and we will see how the water and tank looks after that then I will try and take some pictures for you guys

also sorry about the delay on response work has been a headache this week and I have been getting home in barely enough time to feed the fish and take care of the tank before the lights go out (acclimating the anemone to my lights by running them a shorter amount of time) let alone do anything else

 

[opiea1c]

well I will tell you guys now I KNOW why there are so many threads and topics on anemones and why so many of them are titles "what is it doing"? lol, I never thought it would show it's mood so quickly and scare the crap out of me as much as it has, just getting used to it expelling waste even though i knew from reading and pictures what it was doing still freaked me out because I just am not used to it (plus given that any other animal throws up including ourselves it typically isn't a good thing) but also I think i may have to change to 2 water changes a week for a little bit due to me feeding twice a week rather than once a week to try to help it get back to where is should be health wise, read too much about the slow metabolisms coupled with the fact that i KNOW my lfs doesn't feed them and I don't know how long it has been since it has eaten regularly to wait till it shows signs of malnutrition to start it eating good, to so I figure about 3 weeks of mild feedings at 2 a week then slow down to 1 a week (i do feed very manageable pieces of silversides a piece cut slightly larger than the mouth out of the fish which means i get about 3-4 feedings per fish and the head and tail is discarded)

 

[PIMPALA]

Are you an engineer?

 

[opiea1c]

ok, well I have a new set of questions for you guys. It had been so long since I had purchased my lights and done all of my calculations that I decided to re-calculate my lighting output and how many watts per gallon I actually have due to my anemone seeming a little "unhappy" towards the later part of my light timer so here it goes:

56 watts per bulb at 6 bulbs in a 75 gallon tank

56 x 6 = 336 total wattage

336 / 75 = 4.48 watts per gallon 4.5 if you round up

my anemone is sitting at the top of my live rock aprox. 10" from my lights (thats 7" from the surface and an additional 3 1/2" from the surface of the water to the bulbs)

so my question is should I move my anemone a little lower in the tank to see if it seems more content/happy or should I leave it alone and hope it's not too much light for it?

I know everyone including myself is thinking "It will move on it's own if it doesn't like where it is at" but it has yet to move from the spot I placed it is and I am beginning to think it so content on that same rock that it doesn't wish to move from it.

any ideas?

 

[PIMPALA]

I can usually tell by the way someone discusses/lists/types/talks. Its not an insult by any means, I just like to know if i guess correctly. lol

 

[opiea1c]

well you are partially right I was a Civil Engineer in the Air Force for 6 years and been out for 2 1/2 years now, lol

 

[Ericm1205]

Are you an engineer?

i was gonna ask also. too funny.

sometimes people over think these things. i know i have in my tank.
i got a rbta on a whim for my 24g nano. then i upgraded the lights to a 150mh kit with 2 x 27pc actinics and my rbta grew to over 12" then split. then the 2 grew to 8" one split so i sold off 2 and i had one left that is 8" now. i never fed mine at all. i am a heavy feeder and feed mysis and cyclops and the nem does get some of that food every day. i never directly feed it silversides or other food like that cause there is way too many horror stories of people feeding them spoiled food. if you want to feed it, feed it raw shrimp, or other fresh seafood. you could also dip it in sealcon to add vitamins.

my rose bubble anchored itself on the bottom rock in the rear of my rank and stretched to the top about 6 inches to get to the light. i think it is about 5 to 7 inches away from the halide light and it loves it. so i dont think you need to move it lower to protect it. bubbles are more hardy and strong than most think. thats if you have a healthy one. most people get them half dead from pet stores.

what type of lights are you going to get for the upgrade? more PC or a T5 light? i think if you got a 4 bulb T5 hood you will have more than enough light for the nem.

i was gonna suggest a LTA nem for you cause they dont move as much or at all. i recently removed my rbta for a purple lta.

 

[opiea1c]

Current Nova Extreme 48" T5 HO 6 x 56 is my current lighting setup which seems to be great for me, the only coral I have not had success with in there is a galaxea which I had all the way the the bottom to keep it away from anything else (though I think it was actually too much light for it and it would have come back with a little shade over it to let you know my galaxea is doing fine now back in my nano/frag tank)

Did a second water change in two days (i generally do a 5 gallon water change weekly and it keeps everything at zero but decided to do 2 in 2 days not only so it wasn't so much at once but to take care of a little extra that may be going on now that the bta is in there and seemingly happier every day) and started feeding my fish with a turkey baster today. My main idea with that is that:

A. My fish come to the surface less for food since it is unnatural

B. My clowns attribute the baster to food and once comfortable I can lead them ever so closer to the bta and see if they take to it that way

to update you on my attempts playing video clips of clowns in anemones....no it did not work (obviously). I have a dual screen monitor set up on my computer and had not one but two separate screens looping two separate clown fish anemone scenes for almost 48 hours straight with no luck so I will attempt a different approach. One of the clowns is a guy and like all guys we follow food so.....lets give this one a try, I assume this will take me about a week to two weeks to complete so i will keep you guys posted on that front.

Lastly did feed the anemone again today and changed my light settings around so that I could hopefully acclimate my anemone into the lights better in the morning than it had been and it seems to have been a huge success. I do believe my anemone was getting blasted with my lights first thing in the morning when they came on and it wasn't able to adjust fast enough. I had them set on a timer so that is was daylights for 15 minutes then the actinics came on the the daylights went off followed 15 minutes later by the rest 7 hours later. Now the actinics come on 30 minutes earlier than the rest and the actinics go off 30 minutes later than the daylights. Sow the anemone looks to be fuller, healthier, happier, and definitely bigger than before (it probably grew in diameter a full 2 inches from 2 days ago) just from the water changes, food, light changes, and him hopefully becoming used to and fully acclimated to it's new environment.

 

[opiea1c]

as you can see lots of coralline in my tank actinics turned off in these pictures took the turkey baster to the live rock this morning so there isn't usually that much stuff floating around the tank but the orange spotted goby doesn't help much with keeping it down either, he is also the interior decorator for the tank

 

[PIMPALA]

not sure, but from those pics, it looks very bleached. hope it makes it ok.

 

[opiea1c]

yeah it is slowly regaining it's color, the tips are still pink and though you can't tell in the pictures it is not as bleached as it looks, I am sure the feedings are whats bringing it back over light alone considering my lfs (all of them close to me are by no means experts on anemones) had them in a tank with fluorescent lighting only. he only had it a week like that before I picked it up so I partially know what it has been through. As stated though it is starting to regain it's color slowly and is looking better now than it ever has