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

have you ever had a SW tank before?

Yes I have. It has been so long ago, I would have no clue on what to do. I was looking at a 24 gal tank. Would that be ok?

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.

Hi Matt,

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!

Carmie

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

... 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

OK, I exaggerate a little. It was a probably closer to two months, but still suprised me.

Geez! Fish stories!

still, 3-4 inches to a foot in 2 months is still a fast growth rate..

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.. :)

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.. :)

Rob,

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.

Marauder- how is your BTA doing?

Well... The two that are bleached are OK. They seem to be slowly wasting away. My partner decided it would be a good idea to get a new one, and bought a beautiful rose BTA (apparently I had no say in the matter). It is doing well. The only thing is that it has caused the smaller of the two bleached BTA's to start a pilgrimage. It is currently wandering around, stinging the cr@p out of everything in sight. I think it has settled down now.

What kind of lighting are they under?

2x 2 Foot T8 Fluro's. I'm looking at upgrading to T5HO within the next 2 months. I know its technically not enough light for them, but as I said in my other post, they BTA was doing well before the bleaching due to high temperature

ouch, in my experience with my anems of my late tank, they display a pattern thats reconisable, if they wander they aren't happy with certain conditions ie too strong a current, not enough lighting ect. personally, when u can upgrade to at least T5, the 28 or 54w asian units we get here craig are good enough for the job, just try for the quad bulb setups.50/50 spilt of actinc blue/actinc white works well in my option. a few hundred gets u a decent setup, but in saying this, a retro MH with a decent Reflector is the same price. so best leave it to you when ur ready to upgrade.
in the meantime, i gross feed with chopped squid to settle any unhappy anem, just get a clear feeding acrylic tube that fits easy around the amem untill its had time to get the food into the mouth, my female tomato clown was a greedy feeder,even though she ate between all 4 anems and the juices are released from the food , its still not a bbq untill u have the food in your guts if u know what i mean!

The BTA's had been sitting tight for the last 4 months. I'm pretty sure that it was the addition of a new BTA that prompted the smaller of my bleached BTA's to start looking at new realestate. The new one got close to it and it decided to bail out.

Incidentally, last night I came home to see two BTA's floating, up-side-down on the tank surface. Their feet were extended out on the water surface. They have now re-attached to the wall of the aquarium.

Veriann, Can you send me some links to sites that sell lighting. I've looked at the www.reefculture.com.au site and there are T5 retro kits available. My tank is a quarter circle, corner unit. This makes it difficult to find a lighting setup that will fit. Plus our cat sleeps on top of it, so I'm not keen to remove the lid. Kitty would get a nasty suprise when she jumped up...!!SPLASH!!

ur after T5 info and spec only?
i can ask for the list of suppliers and their products from a buddy in the LFS trade if u want, the corner units just mean a slightly restricted lateral space. dont rule out a custom project. ive a sparky friend that can guide me! so if it comes to this i can help you out if you want

OP, i just thought i should mention, that clowns will host other things besides anemones....they will host corals llike toadstool, these are much easier to care for than an anemone

even a plastic cup:D :D

ya knnow, i read that a large shell will work too...i didn't have any luck w/ that

really, depending on the fish u keep, most reef tanks a placidly stocked, so a female clown potentially is at the top of the food chain for aggressive behaviour. its a safe place after lights out that they seek their safety net.

at least from what ive been witness to!

hubby had brought home a long tentacle anemone (not knowing any better).....i don't think ocellaris will host those and it was sick.....so, here i am w/ this huge sick anemone in my 40g and my clown was ignoring it....the LFS did take it back (sold it to someone else :-()

that scared me.....so, i will get her some yellow toadstools.....seems much safer all around......i also read that it is best to put a couple in there together, cause clowns can be really abusive to them

Euphyllia are great hosts for clown fish. When extended, they resemble an anenome for the clown fish and they're anyway a nice addition to the tank! :-)