Let's get an Anemone 1st

[Blue_June]

Well..... I been think and I really want to get a blue or Green Carpet Anemone..... I heard so many things about them good and bad.... I wanted to get one 1st so it can find a spot in the tank..... without knocking over stuff..... But I do have some crab and snails in there..... Will they be alright..... Plus I still try to catch them damn damsels......I hope the carpet get them.....Do anybody know if a maroon clownfish would host it are should I skip this idea.... and let it host a toadstool

[doctorthompson]

How old is your tank? Don't consider a carpet unless your tank is at least 6 months to a year old (and I'd say at least 4-5 months of decent water quality).

How big is your tank? I've got a green carpet (Stichodactyla haddoni) that's nearing it's one year anniversary in our 75 and will soon need a larger tank (and possibly it's own tank, I haven't lost any fish yet... but these things are voracious eaters). It was a badly bleached specimen, barely 7 inches across when I got it, but after a year of being fed properly (read: at least a tablespoon or two of ground/mashed fresh food every night) it is around 12-13" across and still growing -- and this is at the very bottom of a 75g tank with only 2x65W power compacts (although they are both 6700K so I tend to get fast growth from anything that is even mildly photosynthetic).

Damsels are WAY too big to feed to any reef anemone, they'll be spit back into the water with 90% of the flesh on their bodies not digested and send your water quality down the tubes (and thus, possibly the anemone as well). If you don't have anything else in the tank just take out the live rock to catch the damsels, keep the rock in your water change bucket or tub the next time you do a water change so it doesn't dry out and toss it back in when you've caught the little devils -- I admit I considered feeding them to ours as well, but managed to catch them before putting in the anemone and they now live happily alone in what has become a small xenia and sarcophyton farm tank in the basement!

[Blue_June]

I guess i skip the carpet for now....and let my tank age alittle more.....

[doctorthompson]

I guess i skip the carpet for now....and let my tank age alittle more.....

Probably a good idea. Other anemone-like invertebrates might be an option for you though. Contrary to most aquarium literature, a young tank is a great environment for many "early colonizer" species of coral such as Xeniids, mushroom corallimorphs, and many leather corals (check online or at a local library for actual species names, especially if you're aiming to emulate a specific biotope or reef region). On rare occasions, clowns have been known and witnessed hosting in all of those species in home aquariums.

FWIW: maroon clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) in the wild is only ever seen hosting in one species of anemone: the bubble tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). Bubble-tips are typically hardier than carpets, and much easier to find for sale, but I'd still give the tank at least 3 or 4 months to mature (if not longer) before considering a bubble tip -- which is plenty of time for you to read up on them and learn what you'd be getting yourself into regarding husbandry and common problems.

Good luck with the tank!