Anemone, When And Which?

[HappyGeorge]

The aim of my 3ft tank was always so we could have an anemone but the plan was to wait for at least 6 months to a year. The only reason for asking the question now is I have benefited from picking up rock that was in a mature reef set up for 18 months and managed to get it set in my tank with no die off. I would like to add to the tank but have been advised that it might be wise to put the anemone in before too much else in order to let it wander around the tank without killing everything.
So any reason not too? Lets face it if I had bought the rock fully cured from any retail outlet it probably wouldn't be as mature as my tank now. If the answer is wait, what am I waiting for?

 

[ben1987]

What lights?

How Long has it been running?

How long have you kept it perfectly stable for? Including evaporation!

 

[sorgan]

SEFFIE!!!!!!
Mr George wanna be knowing bout dem der nemoknees!!!!


(ol' sef be knowing all der is to be knowing bout dem nemoknees, nemoknee queen be sef)


Time for bed I think.

 

[HappyGeorge]

What lights?

How Long has it been running?

How long have you kept it perfectly stable for? Including evaporation!

ATI 6 x 39w T5 - I believe Seffie keeps them under T5's. I know some sources say MH only, but whenever anyone on any forum says MH only a dozen people pop up and say "I have T5's and it's fine" or "I have T5's and its 10 yrs old and split many times"

Only been running a month

No fluctuations, I don't have an auto top up but the salinity is stable.

SEFFIE!!!!!!
Mr George wanna be knowing bout dem der nemoknees!!!!


(ol' sef be knowing all der is to be knowing bout dem nemoknees, nemoknee queen be sef)


Time for bed I think.

I shall ask Her Majesty then thanks Sorgan.

 

[lewiss]

Firstly, What anemone? I assume you mean a BTA! In which case yes t5's are suitable, especially if you have 6! I have one with 4xT5's as does Seffie and they are fine!!

Are you stocked up with fish? Or are you going to be adding more in the future. If you will be adding fish this will affect the stability of the water and therefore may cause conditions which could stress the anemone or kill it.

Like Sorgan says though, Seffie is Queen of the BTA!! wait for her reply!!

 

[Morri]

The age of the rock makes little diffrence to be honest the reason you need to wait is to ensure the tank is stable as any tank will fluctate in stats which can kill the nem.

I always wanted a nem but after seeing the results of what they can to a tank if it goes bad I decided to stay well clear

 

[HappyGeorge]

Well I will be adding fish but thought it might be better to add the nem before adding anymore.

As for not getting one, that isn't an option the whole set up was agreed upon based on my wife wanting one.

I am still looking for a decent resource on them, I have been through a dozen or more sites/links and they all just tell me really basic stuff I know already.

 

[Morri]

I have seen people walk into the shop with a bucket of brown water with fish covered in stingers and that was all that was left alive wiping out £1000s of pounds of corals for a £30 nem.

All I would say is follow all the advise and wait a year adding one to soon is unfair on the Nem.

 

[ben1987]

The lighting is fine...I'd say wait though. Til you have a bit more experience of maintaining the params of a stocked tank. If the levels change a nem can go down hill quickly to beyond the point of no return

 

[HappyGeorge]

Ok I'm going to play devils advocate and re-ask the question in my original post. "What am I waiting for", surely the rock and the corals are the only things that can change the water to any degree and they are established so what's going to change?

I have kept tropicals for over 2 years with no changes in water params at all. I have kept the nano, which cycled very slightly and has been at 0 Phos and <5 Nitrates for 3 months. My Reef is at 0 Phos and Nitrates and maintaining pH 8.3, 420 Calcium and .5 temp fluctuation this doesn't seem to be changing and I'm not having any signs that it will. I quarantine everything and have never lost a fish to disease (although I have successfully treated Brooklynella, Ich and Fin rot which were got rid of in the quarantine tank). I run very simple set ups and most of the major crashes I read about are down to someone mucking about with a dosing pump or a reactor. So if a year down the line I am still having no problems and still doing water changes as normal and still maintaining my levels what have I learn't? Is the consensus that I'm not going to get experience of dealing with problems unless something goes wrong or I make a mistake?

Please understand I'm not trying to be awkward and I know people can be stupid, god knows most of the world is stupid. On the malawi forums they tell you, you can't mix Haps and Mbuna, but you can and to no detriment of the Haps. Apparently you also can't raise fry by letting them spit in the tank and survive on what they can grab at feeding time without getting eaten, and they must be fed a special diet, but I made over £150 in the last year from fish that did just that.

Wouldn't it be fairest to put the Nem in a less full tank and let him take his pick of the spot he wants and then add other stuff once he has settled? I have heard of people who insist of moving a nem when it settles because it isn't where they want it, and then moan because it's killing everything, now that's stupid!

 

[Morri]

Your marine stats will change theres a lot more water chemistry to worry about in a Marine than a trop all it takes is a drop in Mag because you have added a couple of LPS and bang goes the nem.

I have seen many times on all of the forums where people have ignored this recomendation just to put a nem and and watch it shrivel up and die.

I frequently see the oh I brought this from shop "xxxx" put it in my new tank but its not feeding now and its mouth is gapping open what can I do?

On the flip side some people are lucky and have no problems but I personaly buy Corals/fish etc. to enjoy I certainly would never take a risk with an animals life just because I was impatient.

 

[HappyGeorge]

On the flip side some people are lucky and have no problems but I personaly buy Corals/fish etc. to enjoy I certainly would never take a risk with an animals life just because I was impatient.

Ouch

What I am trying to do is get an reasoned argument for the "wait". If it's experience and you aren't judged to have it until stuff goes wrong and I am smart (lucky) enough to be able to maintain things. Then in 5 years when I have no problems am I then experienced? I see posts on here by people with thousands of posts who obviously aren't very well read or very bright as out of the blue they suddenly ask a question that anyone with any experience should know.

As my OP says I had, had advice that it may be better to put it in now before I add other things. I'm more than happy to wait but I would be pretty stupid if I didn't ask the question and then everyone said "You wanted to add the Nem before you did that" wouldn't I?

I also have to disagree on the rock front, if rock comes from an established tank then the tank must be mature quicker than live rock that has come from the average shop and has a lot less life on it and therefore less capability to filter your water. I had the rock in this tank in a bath for a week, heated, skimmed and lit and even the bath water had 0 Nitrates and 0 Phosphates after 2 weeks with no water changes, just evaporation top ups. If that isn't mature then what is, most people don't get that from rock they buy.

If I don't add anything until after I have added the Nem, which is my plan. Then in x months time I will still be at the point of stuff after the Nem and getting a crash so that just moves the potential problem forward a few months.

We can all quote posts from idiots, I actually overheard a guy in my LFS complaining because the owner wouldn't sell him anything except test kits. So he went to another shop and bought fish for his brand new tank, the next week my LFS had a Lionfish and a Trigger in there that the bloke had threatened to flush down the loo if he wouldn't take them because they had eaten his clowns and shrimps.

 

[Morri]

Its not the rock that needs to mature its the whole system it takes time to stablise a common occurance in a tank that is cycled is diatoms this can happen anywhere from a week after going live upto 6 months.

The tank could be running perfectly fine then for some reason or another a stat changes and causes mayhem the logic about waiting is after 12 months the tank should be beond these changes.

The Majority of people whom have kept nems will say the same thing the system needs to mature.

This hobby is a lot about patinece and experince nothing happens fast in a marine tank its an expensive hobby at best all I would say is if the general consenseus is to wait then personally I would wait.

There is nothing stopping you adding a nem but you are running a high risk of it dieing.

If you are determined to have a nem the Maxi Minis are a much tougher nem but clowns will not host in them

 

[HappyGeorge]

Ok thanks Morri, wanted ideally to get something that would host. If advice is to hold off then I will stock with the fish I want and just hold of on corals for a while, might even look at a hammer coral instead, people seem to have some luck with those hosting and easier to care for, with no wandering about and the same movement in the Vortech flow.

Just came across a hilarious post on another forum suggesting taping a picture of an anemone hosting a clown onto the side of the tank, and the clown will copy it? Really?

 

[Morri]

Sorry if my info seemed a little harsh I have seen to many nems die and I feel they should be left in the wild Same as Regal tangs (Sold br Garden Centres) and Starfish

If you want clowns to host in something they will host in anything but what you put in for them

A few good options are any Euphylia mine host a frogspawn long polpyed toadstools look good as well. Mine also used to host in my GSP a I know i lot like hosting in powerheads