Whats a good anemone for a first one?

[Cantra]

So my aquarium is new but I want to know what would be best so that I can start researching it and finding out what it needs. My aquarium is 20 gallons so I'm not sure if there is any anemones that would fit in it.

 

[jjohnson3]

I would say in a tank of 20 gallons you could get a BTA. This is given that you could sustain optimal water quality and have a t5 lighting unit or better. Hope this helps. The bubble tip anemone(BTA) is a good choice for a beginner wanting an anemone.

 

[Adam Black]

Try Aiptasia.

 

[cioutlaw]

Try Aiptasia.

That was a joke! Do not put aiptasia in your tank.

 

[Adam Black]

That was a joke! Do not put aiptasia in your tank.

That was a joke. I would not even be curious about anemones yet. To fragile.

 

[chrome91]

for a 20g i wouldnt get a anemone, minimum tank size for nems is 55g+

 

[reefmasta]

ive got bubble tips, long tentical, condys and rockflowers. i do absolutlly nothing to them in my 155G and its got PC lighting with 4.5 watts per gallon, 10K bulbs. in my expereince their very easy i have had a couple anemones in my small 24G so a 20G you could do a small guy. just make sure you have proper lighting and keep your Water like anyother reef tank. just a suggestion.

 

[Rue]

for a 20g i wouldnt get a anemone, minimum tank size for nems is 55g+

...tell that to the 8 happily waving their tentacles in my RSM...:hallo:

 

[RockBox]

Mini carpets are pretty cool for a small tank. They are hard to come by where I live though.

 

[lcstorc]

Absolutely not a carpet.
Once the tank is well established and if you have the lighting and parameters then you could go with a BTA.
Keep in mind that they do move and they do grow and/or split so be prepared.
Definitely wait until you see if you can keep the parameters stable for an extended period of time since that size tank a problem can become very big very quickly.

 

[ReefLady]

Absolutely not a carpet.
Once the tank is well established and if you have the lighting and parameters then you could go with a BTA.
Keep in mind that they do move and they do grow and/or split so be prepared.
Definitely wait until you see if you can keep the parameters stable for an extended period of time since that size tank a problem can become very big very quickly.

Absolutely agree with all of this. I'm not sure tank size has a lot to do with the ability to keep an anemone, but rather the lighting, tank parameters, and ability to keep it far enough away from competing organisms.

 

[RockBox]

Absolutely not a carpet.
Once the tank is well established and if you have the lighting and parameters then you could go with a BTA.
Keep in mind that they do move and they do grow and/or split so be prepared.
Definitely wait until you see if you can keep the parameters stable for an extended period of time since that size tank a problem can become very big very quickly.

Mini-carpets = Stichodactyla tapetum, are a miniature species of carpet anemone that mimics ricordea and are very popular with nano tanks. They do pack a potent sting though.

 

[lcstorc]

My reference to size and splitting was about a BTA.
I strongly advise against a Haddoni, Gigantea, or Mertensii carpet for any newer tank and/or aquarist.
These mini-carpets appear to be more like rics since they can be fragged etc where as the others cannot

 

[RockBox]

My reference to size and splitting was about a BTA.
I strongly advise against a Haddoni, Gigantea, or Mertensii carpet for any newer tank and/or aquarist.
These mini-carpets appear to be more like rics since they can be fragged etc where as the others cannot

I just wanted to make it clear that I would never recommend a regular carpet for a tank that size. In fact I don't recommend BTAs unless you are placing an emphasis on them with a pair of clowns. You could throw some xenia, shrooms, gsps, etc... in there and not have to worry too much about the corals.

 

[Jason25]

You could get a flower nem also, they are easy to maintain and require a lot less light.

 

[new reefer 03]

ive got bubble tips, long tentical, condys and rockflowers. i do absolutlly nothing to them in my 155G and its got PC lighting with 4.5 watts per gallon, 10K bulbs. in my expereince their very easy i have had a couple anemones in my small 24G so a 20G you could do a small guy. just make sure you have proper lighting and keep your Water like anyother reef tank. just a suggestion.

dont all nems require atleast T5 lighting?? with an exception of a few, but none that you listed.

im not to talk, but i learned from my tradgedy.