Condy advice?

[UncleMike]

Hi,

I have a 36 gallon FOWLR that has a half dozen turbo snails, a dozen or so blue leg hermit crabs and an ocellaris clown. The tank is about 2 months "old". I recently added two condy anemones.

I only have a full florescent bulb but the woman who sold them to me told me they don't require high level lighting. She also told me they did not need to be acclimated. When I got them home the one had lost a lot of it’s color but perked up when I put it in my tank (sans acclimation). I have been feeding them the Kent’s liquid feeder. They have been in my tank for about 3 days now. This morning, when I looked at the tank, the one that had lost color during transport looked like it wasn’t doing too good. I know they will move from spot to spot until they are comfortable but the tentacles appeared to be shriveled. Is that normal behavior?

It got me nervous so I started reading forums where others experienced similar issues and the common consensus was that they do in-fact require high level lighting. On top of that some were saying that they require a more mature tank then the one I have them in. The worst part I read was that if they were to die, they could kill everything in the tank when/if they go.

I found someone who agreed to take them off my hands but during the conversation he mentioned they do not require high light and are the easiest anemone to care for. I'm getting conflicting messages as you can see.

So, let me ask you guys...

Do the condys require high level lighting?
Is my tank mature enough for them to survive?
If they were to die, would it kill the rest of my tank?

I’d rather lose $13 worth of invert then start the whole tank over.
Do you think I should get rid of them now or wait and see?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[bigdog1428]

Get rid of them asap ,, ur lighting is not adequate to supplement the anenomes

 

[UncleMike]

Thanks!

That's what my gut was telling me as well.

Side question...
If I were to upgrade my lighting down the road, what lighting would you recommend if I wanted to convert it to a nano reef?
The dimensions of my tank are 30"L, 15"W, 21"H.

I saw a
Nova Extreme SLR T-5 Fixture that is 30" long.
Since I'm a noob, I didn't know if that was sufficient or overkill.

 

[albano]

Get rid of them asap ,, ur lighting is not adequate to supplement the anenomes

Hope that means take them back, or get them to someone that can care for them...I've kept condys under all kinds of lighting, but never just 1 bulb...also WHEN they get fed (not that often) I've used solid foods, like large mysis. The one I currently have is about 7 years old, is still doing good, has been in at least 4 different tanks/lighting, has changed colors at least 3X, and hosted 3-4 types of clowns.

 

[Imbarrie]

Use this as a lesson to research ANY and ALL purchases before you ask a salesperson. If you have a smartphone you can even Google purchases in the store. You were just lied to by the person who sold you those and a quick search can tell you more.

Anemone require significant amounts of lighting. When you say high lighting in this forum people could think you mean multiple metal halide lamps, some consider T5 to be medium lighting, you definitely have very low lighting by comparison. This anemone requires T5 lighting at a minimum. They are also somewhat difficult to keep alive for a long period of time. I tried two as starter nems, one died the other I gave away. By comparison I have a bubble tip now that is thriving. They are also Atlantic anemone and can not share the same tank with a large number of Pacific fish, even clownfish.

All inverts require extensive acclimation periods far beyond any other type of creature. An hour is adequate but some people choose longer. They also dont do well in new tanks because the water chemistry has not settled yet. Further, liquid feeding is best left to people with very mature tanks that can process the food in suspension.

Wondering where you went to buy those. I would say they were taking advantage of you.

The NOVA Extreme would be a good purchase for reef inhabitants. A light with a parabolic reflector would be a lot better though. The PRO series has those but not in a 30" form.

Just take it slow, ask plenty of questions and most importantly research everything. This is a great place for all of that.

 

[UncleMike]

Yes. I plan on giving them to someone who can care for them properly. I may be new at this but I really want to do everything right. I would hate to see anything I get die due to malpractice on my part. I already feel like I screwed up.

I'm fascinated with the hobby but am finding it harder (& more costly) then I ever imagined.

 

[UncleMike]

Imbarrie: "Wondering where you went to buy those. I would say they were taking advantage of you."

This was again a screw up on my part as I purchased them at a PetCo. They were probably more interested in my sale then the care of the animals.

 

[Imbarrie]

Yea, I rescued mine from Petco. One was too far gone and the other turned out fine.
Stay away from Petco, they really need to keep to fresh water and dry goods.
Just keep reading and Googling. This hobby is so much easier today than it was 15 years ago simply because of the internets.