I would like to start up a take and just have a few Clown Fish and Sea Anemones. I was wondering what is the min size take i should have, and how hard it would be to maintain? I am also wondering how hard it is to get the clownfish to swim in the sea anemones?
Thanks
Matt
keeping clown fish is not that hard, however, to keep anemones successfully, you need a reef tank setup, as they have demands for high light, decent water flow, and most major and minor "reef" trace elements.
i would recommend the anemone podcast episode to get a bit more information on them.
that said, i would recommend at least a 29/30 gallon tank, setup in a proper "rref tanks setup"
im not sure how much more detailed information you are looking for, but make sure you check out the past podcast episodes as i discuss many of these topics, substrates, water flow, some chemical stuff, filtration, and so on.
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Welcome. I can't add anything to what Rob has said about clowns & anemones but I can tell you that keeping marine fish has certainly changed. I was really into keeping fish only back in the 80's and just recently got back into the hobby. Nothing is the same, not even the proper SG!
While I am relatively new to the hobby, I would recommend larger. This is based on my experience with a Bubble Tip Anemone (BTA).
My tank is approximately 125 L (which I believe is about 33 US Gal). I successfully kept the BTA in that tank for about 9 months, but unfortunately I didn't have a chiller and my tank overheated at the start of summer.
The reason I recommend larger is this: When we bought it, the BTA was about 3 or 4 inches across. Within 3 weeks in my tank it had grown to over 12 inches in diameter and cast a shadow over almost half my tank. This wasn't too much of a problem in my tank, but if the tank were much smaller, it would have been as I would have had no space for coral.
Incidentally, the BTA is still alive now, but it has bleached (refer to my earlier post in the Invert section).
yes, my recommendation of 29/30 was more of a "minimum", sorry, i should have been more specific on that
it is important to plan for growth, while i thing yours had a faster growth rate than normal its still important to think about this if you are going to have other corals in you tank
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I suspect that the BTA was fairly mature when I bought it, but that the water parameters at the store were a bit off. I no longer buy from that store because I tested the salinity of their water and it was pretty high and Ca was all messed up. I suspect this was preventing the BTA from showing off its true glory at the time of purchase.
That particular LFS will remain nameless as I don't like using forums as a whacking stick.
By the way, I have listened to the anemone podcast now and there were several other indicators of poor condition that I now recognise as having been present. Once again I think that theres were as a result of poor water quality, rather than a bad BTA specimen. All signs of poor health disappeared soon after introduction to my tank.
Thanks for the good quality advice you're putting out there for us Rob.
I suspect that the BTA was fairly mature when I bought it, but that the water parameters at the store were a bit off. I no longer buy from that store because I tested the salinity of their water and it was pretty high and Ca was all messed up. I suspect this was preventing the BTA from showing off its true glory at the time of purchase.
this is more likely than it growing that much in that time frame. however, it supports your original point even more.
make sure that you plan for growth..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marauder-m
By the way, I have listened to the anemone podcast now and there were several other indicators of poor condition that I now recognise as having been present. Once again I think that theres were as a result of poor water quality, rather than a bad BTA specimen. All signs of poor health disappeared soon after introduction to my tank.
if you have other good indicators, please dont hesitate to post them as a follow up to that show and/or into a new thread in the anemone forum.
i will never say that i have all the answers, but if we add up all the knowledge of all our members, we have ALOT..
so please dont hesitate to make a new post to supply information, they dont have to be for questions..
thanks again Marauder-m
i look forward to your info..
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I meant that I now recognise the signs of poor health that I did not at the time. The list provided in the Anemone podcast seems pretty complete. I do not have any more to add.
My BTA had slightly insecure footing (by visual inspection) and was not all that responsive when it was taken out of the tank at the LFS. It retracted, but more slowly than I would have expected.
Question... Do you test the water from your LFS to confirm quality, or do you just assume its all good?
ok, im sorry, i misunderstood,.. but, the offer still applies to anyone..
regarding your questions.
i purchase al my fish from a specific LFS, that i know and trust. i have tested the water, but the reality is with the amount of fish that come in and out, a test one week, doesn't mean that it will be the same the next week.
its not optimal, but finding a LFS you can trust goes along way.
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