Anenome

[jmsandy]

Does anyone have a suggestion for an anenome for my 54 corner gallon tank w/ compack flour. lights? I have two true percs which I want to host it..

The LFS guy told me that those are the hardest to get to host an anenome

 

[ChrisRD]

Captive propagated BTAs are probably the hardiest, least light demanding option for a hosting anemone. E. quads are not the natural host for percs, but they will often take to them in captivity...

Personally, I would stick to a captive propped E. quad because I don't like the idea of taking host anemones from the wild (most of which perish in captivity).

JMO...

 

[IslandCrow]

I wouldn't put an anemone under CF lights. It's simply not enough light for any of the hosting species of anemones. If you upgrade your lighting to quality T-5s or Metal Halides, you'll be good to go. You also want a mature tank. Up and running for at least six months is commonly suggested. If this is your first tank, I'd suggest waiting at least 1 year. Even the easiest anemones require an experienced reefkeeper for a high chance of success.

I can't remember off the top of my head what a percula's natural host anemone is. E. quadricolor (i.e. bubble tip anemones) are probably a good bet, but I'd suggest looking up their natural host. There's never any guarantee that the clownfish will take to the anemone, but that will certainly give you your best chances.

 

[ChrisRD]

I've never done it myself, but I've seen several examples of E. quads successfully kept under lighting that is far less intense than what most hosting anemones would require (including compact fluorescents).

Some of the natural hosts of the percs would include H. magnifica, H. crispa, S. gigantea, and S. haddoni and I would recommend avoiding all of these as they are all notoriously difficult to keep and unlikely to survive long term in captivity. IMO the haddoni is probably the most "keepable" of that group, but not without experienced care and better lighting...

Joyce Wilkerson's book on clownfish is a great resource for more detailed info on this stuff...

HTH

 

[IslandCrow]

I've heard a few success stories with BTAs kept under less than optimal lighting, but those seem to be a very small minority.

That's a great book suggestion by the way. It's one of my favorites.

 

[brandonberry]

Here is my 20g anemone tank with only 2 36w cfs. It has been going for several years now. I even had a S. haddoni in there for over a year and it grew quite a bit. I will say that the anemones in this tank need more supplemental feeding to stay healthy than the ones I keep in my tanks with stronger lighting.

Recent picture with RBTA in there for over a year and growing (somewhat slowly) and Condylactis thriving with clown hosting in it:

Older picture with S haddoni:

 

[IslandCrow]

Like I said, you can always find success stories, but a small portion of people succeeding (whether by luck, skill or more likely a combination of the two), is not good justification to recommend that course of action. Brandonberry, it's certainly good to hear that you have a healthy anemone, but CF lighting simply is not ideal for an anemone.

 

[brandonberry]

CF lighting simply is not ideal for an anemone.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one then. Luck has nothing to do with it. It is all about providing the proper water quality, nutrition and lighting. When water quality and nutritional needs are well met, lighting can be scaled down some. That being said, I have no doubt that if I had 2 55w or 2 65w CFs on that tank above the anemones would thrive just as well as they would in many tanks with mh lighting. I have some of these same anemones in tanks with mh lighting and, as it is, really cannot tell a big difference in the growth rates. I will say that the GBTA that I used to keep in this tank grew much faster and split more often than the RBTA, but that has been my experience with them under other types of lighting as well.