How soon to add an anemone?

[Formerly Freshwater]

I just finished setting up my first saltwater tank, a 37g. bow front, on Saturday, on Sunday I added fully cured live rock, and today I added 10 tiny Fiji red leg hermits and 2 turbo snails. I really want to put in my clowns and an anemone, but I don't know how long I should wait before buying them. Also, what specie of anemone will even fit in a 37 other than Aptasia? All of the books I have raid have only anemones with at least a min. tank size of 50g's. Thanks!

[Fishie]

I have had anemones with no issues in a 29 g as well...the key is the tank should be well established in a smaller size...

Temp, salinity etc shud be uniform

 

They usually seem to do better as the tank matures ...

Not too much flow and decent lighting helps...

[bbyatv]

Formerly Freshwater,

 

Welcome to the boards. My son, who I think you know, has an RBTA and a couple of black ocellaris clowns set up in a 10g. They do very well. He used to have a pair of clowns in the same set up that started laying eggs. We moved them into a larger tank when he fell in love with the black clowns. As far as time, I would give it a week or two and make sure your parameters are stable. BTAs are pretty hardy and so are the clowns. I would go with Ocellaris Clownfish or True Percula Clownfish. Most of the others can tend to be a little aggressive. Especialy in a smaller tank. Good luck.

 

Bruce

 

I just finished setting up my first saltwater tank, a 37g. bow front, on Saturday, on Sunday I added fully cured live rock, and today I added 10 tiny Fiji red leg hermits and 2 turbo snails. I really want to put in my clowns and an anemone, but I don't know how long I should wait before buying them. Also, what specie of anemone will even fit in a 37 other than Aptasia? All of the books I have raid have only anemones with at least a min. tank size of 50g's. Thanks!

[Coral Hind]

The clowns can go in sooner but I would wait about 3 months on anemone. You need to make sure the tank is fully finished being cycled before adding the anemone. Once you have zero readings for ammonia and nitrite it is safe to add the anemone. I would recommend the E. quadricolor as it is very hardy and tank raised ones are easy to find. What type of lighting do you have?

[Ryan S]

I just finished setting up my first saltwater tank, a 37g. bow front, on Saturday, on Sunday I added fully cured live rock, and today I added 10 tiny Fiji red leg hermits and 2 turbo snails. I really want to put in my clowns and an anemone, but I don't know how long I should wait before buying them. Also, what specie of anemone will even fit in a 37 other than Aptasia? All of the books I have raid have only anemones with at least a min. tank size of 50g's. Thanks!

 

Day 1: Saltwater.

Day 2: Live Rock.

Day 4: 10 Hermits and 2 Turbo Snails.

 

I think you need to slow down... You haven't had your cycle yet and you've added 12 inverts. Hermits and turbo snails need algae to eat and survive. Maybe there is enough on your live rock, but inverts don't usually go in the tank until after the cycle process. I don't know if they will survive the cycle process you're going to have. Your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are going to soar, and that will likely kill them.

 

Someone else can chime in if I am wrong, but I'd remove the inverts right away. And wait at least a month before adding them, and only if your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are all reading 0.

[Formerly Freshwater]

The clowns can go in sooner but I would wait about 3 months on anemone. You need to make sure the tank is fully finished being cycled before adding the anemone. Once you have zero readings for ammonia and nitrite it is safe to add the anemone. I would recommend the E. quadricolor as it is very hardy and tank raised ones are easy to find. What type of lighting do you have?

 

I have a Marineland 12 LED set for the display and a 100 Watt CFL lighting the sump.

[Formerly Freshwater]

Day 1: Saltwater.

Day 2: Live Rock.

Day 4: 10 Hermits and 2 Turbo Snails.

 

I think you need to slow down... You haven't had your cycle yet and you've added 12 inverts. Hermits and turbo snails need algae to eat and survive. Maybe there is enough on your live rock, but inverts don't usually go in the tank until after the cycle process. I don't know if they will survive the cycle process you're going to have. Your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are going to soar, and that will likely kill them.

 

Someone else can chime in if I am wrong, but I'd remove the inverts right away. And wait at least a month before adding them, and only if your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are all reading 0.

 

All of the hermits are incredibly small at about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch, and I plan to feed High-Quality algae pellets until the algae really starts to pick up. Also, the live rock was fully cured and I was told by my local dealer it would be safe to add the hermits and snails to deal with the coming algae bloom..

[SunWyrm]

Even with fully cured rock you'll still have a cycle. I've always had my algae bloom after the cycle is closer to being done and from my experience hermits and turbos wont do much for diatoms. I have heard that nerites and ceriths are good snails for diatom algae though. What kind of hermits did you get? As far as food- the hermits can live off the pellets but I would give the turbos dried seaweed. I'm with Ryan on removing them, they'll most likely die with the high levels during your cycle or starve before you have the correct algae growing. I have heard that nerites and ceriths are good snails for diatom algae though.

 

Not to scare you, just slow down. Where are you located? Maybe someone closeby can assist or maybe even keep your cuc 'til your tank is ready.

 

What is the marineland 12? 12"? single/double bright? reef capable?

If it has the plug on the actual light fixture, be careful as it may rust in the socket. Marineland is being awesome and replacing mine, but it's not very good at handling salt creep and water mist (I kept the feet extended as the fixture did not stretch to the edges of my tank). My advice would be to just check it often for moisture/rust.

 

For the anemone I would wait 3-6 months. Clowns can also host in a number of other corals (and random other things as well!) that look like anemones and aren't as demanding. I would think a bubble tip would be fine if it was the only thing in there as far as corals. Or keep things that are more resistent to anemone stings. Keep in mind they get big. Condy anemones stay small enough for your tank I would think. What else are you thinking for livestock (what kind of clowns, other fish/inverts, etc.)?

 

 

What equipment do you have? Can you tell us more about your tank?

 

 

[Formerly Freshwater]

Even with fully cured rock you'll still have a cycle. I've always had my algae bloom after the cycle is closer to being done and from my experience hermits and turbos wont do much for diatoms. I have heard that nerites and ceriths are good snails for diatom algae though. What kind of hermits did you get? As far as food- the hermits can live off the pellets but I would give the turbos dried seaweed. I'm with Ryan on removing them, they'll most likely die with the high levels during your cycle or starve before you have the correct algae growing. I have heard that nerites and ceriths are good snails for diatom algae though.

 

Not to scare you, just slow down. Where are you located? Maybe someone closeby can assist or maybe even keep your cuc 'til your tank is ready.

 

What is the marineland 12? 12"? single/double bright? reef capable?

If it has the plug on the actual light fixture, be careful as it may rust in the socket. Marineland is being awesome and replacing mine, but it's not very good at handling salt creep and water mist (I kept the feet extended as the fixture did not stretch to the edges of my tank). My advice would be to just check it often for moisture/rust.

 

For the anemone I would wait 3-6 months. Clowns can also host in a number of other corals (and random other things as well!) that look like anemones and aren't as demanding. I would think a bubble tip would be fine if it was the only thing in there as far as corals. Or keep things that are more resistent to anemone stings. Keep in mind they get big. Condy anemones stay small enough for your tank I would think. What else are you thinking for livestock (what kind of clowns, other fish/inverts, etc.)?

 

 

 

What equipment do you have? Can you tell us more about your tank?

 

 

 

The tank is an Aqueon 37 gal bowfront with a Marineland 12LED light as well as a full hood. It has 2 rows of 4 white lights and a row of 4 blue in the center. There is a HOB, CPR brand, 3.7 gallon Model CF2PSS, sump/ skimmer combo with 2 inches of aragonite sand and a clump of hair algae, lit by a 100 watt CFL. One timer is set for 12 hours on for the sump and the other 10 hours on for the main display. There are roughly 35 pounds of cured live rock and 20 pounds of live sand in the main display. There are 10 Fiji red leg hermit crabs, each totaling in with a 1/2-3/4 inch shell. There are two 1inch shell turbo snails, both doing fine, though one keeps getting flipped by my powerhead. The power head, rated for a 60 gallon aquarium, is located at the bottom-left side of the display, pointing slightly upwards to create flow around the central stack of live rock. The heater, located in the sump, is set to 82degrees Fahrenheit. I will post a picture as soon as I can get my camera hooked up.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Formerly Freshwater