Help With Setup

[blakenkayla]

Okay we are thinking of making a cheaper but nice setup for two clownfish we are thinking of buying.We have an extra 10 gallon tank and we are thinking of using coral sand and seashells for the bottom.Adding some rocks and caves and a white sebae anemone.As for the filteration and stuff i have no idea what is needed ive tried looking it up but had no luck.Is there anything else that will be needed and will it be okay to keep the clownfish in a 10 gallon tank?

 

[STD]

Okay we are thinking of making a cheaper but nice setup for two clownfish we are thinking of buying.We have an extra 10 gallon tank and we are thinking of using coral sand and seashells for the bottom.Adding some rocks and caves and a white sebae anemone.As for the filteration and stuff i have no idea what is needed ive tried looking it up but had no luck.Is there anything else that will be needed and will it be okay to keep the clownfish in a 10 gallon tank?

IMO 10 gallons is too small

For filtration I'd use live rock

I'd forget the anemone they need high lighting and excellent water conditions

 

[blakenkayla]

oh well i just know our local pet store has a clown fish and an anenome in a 10 gallon tank so i thought itd be big enough for them.so what size would we need?

 

[Musho3210]

30 gallons for experianced people, this is for the clown hosting or the larger nicer looking nems, if you wanna start off with nems, maybe a 4ft tank, matured, get maybe 6 months experiance under your belt, find aquacultured specimens, thats a good way to start.

 

[blakenkayla]

so i have to have 30 gallons for the anemone? huh the guy at pet store had both anenome and clown fish in a 10 gallon and said hed been raising clownfish and anenomes for years this way,Is it possible to pull it off?or what if i took the anenome out would the clownfish be okay?because i dont really have space and extra money for a 30 gallon tank because kayla is going ot get a 30 gallon or bigger for some of her fish.And they will only be a limited space.

 

[SkiFletch]

hed been raising clownfish and anenomes for years this way

To me that implies that your LFS owner has a whole bunch of experience in the area of keeping anemone hosting clownfish. Fact remains that anemones are not easy animals to care for. They require exceptionally stable water conditions, significant lighting, significant flow, and a mature tank. Creating a stable environment is significantly easier with a larger tank like a 30g that musho said. Reason being, the extra water volume makes any errors made with water chemistry take longer to effect the tank.

So could you pull it off? Yes. You would have to go painfully slowly and take lots of care and planning to pull it off. A daunting task for a newbie.

 

[Musho3210]

just have a clownfish and no nem, or have a coral that looks like a nem, or have a plastic nem.

 

[blakenkayla]

yea i know that anemones require alot of stuff but i figured it would be better for the clown fish to have a real enviromen not a plastic enviroment. And for some reason i think even though its for experienced people i can do it.As for lighting i got that covered i use to grow tomatoe plants and all kinds of flowers indoors so i have lighting.Major lighting!talking 600 watt hylides and over 1,000 watts total of cfl power.as for water conditions i think i can handle it i have alot of time on my hand right now considering im homeschooled.Does anyone think a beginner could raise one if he did everything right?

 

[SkiFletch]

You just have to go really really slow blake. I'd give the tank at LEAST 2 months after LR is in it to stabilize before adding the anemone. During that time you can get familiar with your test kits, stabilize your lighting and flow situation, become familiar with your dosing and saltwater chemistry, become familiar with testing for salinity, learn how to topoff, learn how your tank evaporates, and most importantly allow your tank to fully cycle and mature a little. When you do add an anemone, I'd suggest a bulb-tip nem (Entamacea quadricolor) as these are the least difficult of anemone to keep.

I do however agree with Musho that there are many other coral derivatives that are MUCH easier to keep

 

[Lynden]

My bubble tip has been in my 33 since the day it was set up. I don't recommend this normally, but if you get good live rock, sand and light, captive bred bubble tips aren't difficult at all. In fact, most people's issue with captive bred bubble tips is that they split too much and overcrowd the tank.

Karensroseanemones.com gives some good info on these. For a basic set-up with just clowns and nems - no coral - I'd recommend a twenty or thirty gallon minimum. I would also recommend a 150 or 175 watt halide, and a Seio or Tunze powerhead, plus mature live rock. It'll cost plenty to set up but you could start introducing captive bred bubble tips and clowns in a few weeks.

Conversely, all wild caught anemones are much harder to keep and can die "for no reason", and indeed this seems to be most anemones' fates in aquaria. However, many species can be captive bred. I got my bubble tip from a guy that breeds both Entacmaea and the larger Macrodactyla in his tank with a large degree of success.

 

[Musho3210]

well good luck with everything, but remember, over confidence isnt a good thing.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Anemones are really cool creatures, what would it hurt to have some patience? The main benefit a clown is going to get from an anemone in a tank that small with no predators is enough comfort to make it want to mate. For starters, I wouldnt feel comfortable putting two clowns in a tank that small. I'm not saying you cant or that they will die, it's just pushing it a little. Putting an anemone in there MAY work out for a while...it's easy for water to go wrong in that small amount of volume. Anemones dont like water conditions changing. They're not hard to kill. If it dies and you dont get it out in time then the clowns will also die. It's a really cute idea but you should really just wait. Remember these are living things you're dealing with, the longer you wait and the more experience you have, the greater their chance of survival is.

 

[Lynden]

Actually many 'experts' suggest that combining corals with anemones is the main caveat. If the person were to have just an anemone and no other cnidarians, in, say, a twenty or thirty gallon tank it could work fine. However, I would like to stress that I can only recommend captive bred host anemones.

Also, the benefits of clownfish living in anemones is not totally understood but they go further than just protection from predators. Clownfish that live in anemones are often immune to ectoparasites and the addition of an anemone can actually cure those diseases on an afflicted clownfish. Most people don't understand that corals do not offer that same benefit, and clownfish will often be even poorer in health than if there were no host at all.

If one has strong lighting, good live rock, and an otherwise healthy system, a captive bred anemone should live fine. Remember that "maturity" is not measured in a scale of time.

Lastly, don't get me wrong. I agree that patience can do no harm. Neither can research.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Clownfish that live in anemones are often immune to ectoparasites and the addition of an anemone can actually cure those diseases on an afflicted clownfish.

research.

Good point, I forgot about that.

 

[blakenkayla]

yeh i knew clownfish had a natural habitat living in an anenome so i wanted a real one for the lil guy.I actually think im just getting one clown fish because at the local pet store they have a amazing one!I think ima buy it on mine and kaylas birthday wich is friday and put it in the 10 gallon saltwater tank i started cycling until christmas and then on christmas ima buy some glass and some silocone and actually make my own to save money.What would yall recommend for full anenome,clownfish,live rock,and coral tank? at least 30 gallons i know but i mean what would be best?