Anenome Questions

[Sham]

Just a few quick questions:

 

What order do I introduce my livestock into the tank if I want to form a symbiotic relationship?

 

Anenome THEN coral fish?

Coral fish THEN anenome?

Both simultaneously?

 

Same question, but for a porcelain crab instead of coral fish.

 

And finally, can I have both 2 anenomes and coral fish AND a porcelain crab in the same tank? If so, then how big should my tank be?

[PupChow]

I'd personally add the anemone at least a week or two before the fish / crab so it has a chance to settle down and find the right spot before being pestered.

[Sham]

Thanks, PupChow! Now, what about having two anenomes in one tank? How big should the tank be?

[emissary]

Perhaps a little bit more background would be helpful? Answering these kinds of questions in a vacuum could easily point you down the wrong path. How long have you been in the hobby? What kind of tank do you hope to be setting up, with what equipment exactly? Sand? Barebottom? Live rock? Eventual stocking goals? There are probably a number of books that would be *great* initial reading material for guiding you if you're interested...

[karavak]

I added my RBTA to the tank after I had clownfish in there. After a couple months the clownfish started to host just fine.

 

After a move when I lost my clownfish I added some new clownfish and they hosted right away. So I'm not sure the order is that critical to success with them.

[PupChow]

Thanks, PupChow! Now, what about having two anenomes in one tank? How big should the tank be?

 

It really depends on what type of anemone you are trying to keep since they may have different requirements - for example bubble tip anemones seems to have no problem settling right next to each other. Any idea which you are researching to keep?

[Sham]

I'm looking more into the clown fish and porcelain crab. Whichever anenomes are cool with each group, I'll pick up the corresponding one. I'm picking up a 175 gallon tank today... I'm hoping that I'm not getting in over my head... But I'm pretty sure I am! heh heh

 

I've been doing a ton of research and I have a book or two that could probably answer these questions for me, but I'm at work and wanted to pick the WAMAS Collective brain.

 

I've been looking at around 40 to 75 gallons, but this opportunity presented itself and I jumped.

 

And I'll definitely have sand on the bottom. This will be more for the coral than the fish, but what fish I have, I want to stand out.

Edited May 16, 2011 by Sham

[OUsnakebyte]

175 gallons will be great. I would wait to add any anemones for at least 6 months, maybe more if this is your first-ever tank. Assuming you have appropriate lighting, water flow, water quality, etc., an anemone - or more than one anemone - can easily happen in that tank. But again, do not add one right away.

 

When it comes time to add your first anemone, I - as would most on this board - recommend a captive-propagated bubble tip anemone - rose or green. They are very hardy and will forgive many mistakes. Personally, I don't think clown or anemone first matters, though as posted above it is nice to allow the anemone to establish itself before adding an over-zealous clown.

 

Re porcelain crabs - depending on the size of the anemone, often the clowns will pester the crab away. There are exceptions, however. I did have a pair of maroon clowns hosting in my blue carpet anemone along with one crab. There was an initial territorial dispute, however, they seemed to work it out eventually, but this carpet anemone is about 14" in diameter. Sometimes it doesn't work though. For these crabs, I would recommend the anemone first, then the crab(s).

 

After you are having success with the BTA, you could try a Long Tentacle Anemone (LTA, Macrodactyla doreensis), which seem to be relatively hardy anemones. There are often very striking purple varieties out there. BTAs will like to attach their foot in the rock-work, LTAs will dig in the sand. If you do not have a deep enough sand bed, then you can construct a 3" diameter PVC tube (about 6-8 inches long) and glue a cap on one end. Fill the tube with sand, place the LTA on the tube, and let it dig its foot down. Then, it should stay put, and you can move the anemone anywhere easily w/out having to tear its foot off and risk injury.

 

Other anemones:

 

Sebae Anemone - Heteractis crispa - similar in care and hardiness to LTAs. Stays in sand.

 

Carpet anemone - Stichodactyla gigantea - likes to climb in the rockwork like BTAs. Very delicate and bad shipper. I would not try until you have MANY years in the hobby.

 

Carpet anemone - Stichodactyla haddoni - will dig in the sand like LTAs, and you can use the same PVC trick. These are very aggressive anemones and will catch and eat fish. I have a blue one in my 120, and I have lost several things to it - corals, snails, fish, brittle stars, you name it...

 

Ritteri Anemone - Heteractis magnifica. VERY delicate and VERY bad shipper. Finding a healthy specimen is usually the hardest part. Don't try until you have MANY years keeping other anemones.

 

There are others, but these are your main Indo-Pacific hosting anemones. Condy and rock anemones are Caribbean in origin and may very well host your crabs (or other shrimp), but the clowns are unlikely.

 

 

On a personal note, I have a green LTA and a blue S. haddoni (carpet) anemone, along with an orange Caribbean rock anemone in my 120. You will hear reports of chemical warfare between species, and it may be true. But I continually run activated carbon in my tank to (hopefully) combat that.

 

Cheers

Mike

Edited May 16, 2011 by OUsnakebyte