Clown and Anemone Tank

[Elliott89]

Hi

After much thought and reading i have decided to use my 24 gallon D&D Nanocube as a dedicated Clownfish and Anemone set-up,before any of you flame me and say i haven't thought it through,i have been doing alot of research on this and i have decided this is the way i want to go with the tank,it is something i have always wanted to do but have never had the confidence to try before.

Stock will consist of simply

A pair of (Wild) True Onyx Perculas and a Rose BTA (i believe the BTA is the simplest nem to take) and it requires the least light.

My tank is just bare at the moment and it only has Liverock in it at the moment because i want to mature it really well before adding anything.

I will post pics of how the tank looks later:)

Thanks

[ickypimp]

Do you think that 72 watts of PC lighting will be sufficient to maintain the BTA long term, also what are you gonna do about system maturity... general advice dictates waiting 12 months before putting a nom in a tank... you prepared to wait that long ??

[Elliott89]

72 watts of pc light should be fine for a BTA as they come from deeper waters anyway,infact they often do better unders PCs as they adjust to them easier,under MHs they often go into hiding and die under the rocks
as the light change is often to much for them.i know people do keep em under halides but its not the best scenario for the nem.

As for maturity i have read lots on the subject and many sites on the internet suggest that 3 months should be adequet,all my rock is well matured as is the water in my system as it came from my previous set-ups.the main thing with nems it seems is finding a healthy specimen in the first place,it makes all the difference!

Elliott

[instantsquid]

under MHs they often go into hiding and die under the rocks as the light change is often to much for them.i know people do keep em under halides but its not the best scenario for the nem.

Apologies, but... what a crock!

When I bought my BTA it was kept under T5's and although it survived, I don't believe it thrived. Now it's under 1000W of metal halides and you should see it! It's at least doubled in size, certainly not down to any difference in my feeding regime but can only be due to the increase in lighting. At the end of the day, it's a photosynthetic organism (i.e. it contains zooxanthellae) and it'll make the most of the increased lighting by growing.

I think an anemone and clownfish tank could look stunning - but I don't believe a 24 gallon tank is big enough to ensure the stability in parameters that the anemone will require.

JMHOOC.

- Ian

[SCOOB]

have to agree with the above. I'm sure you are right in your research, maybe they do come from deeper waters, however my bta hasn't read that book and has by his own making decided to sit pride of place, 3 inches under the water line slap bang in the middle of a 250 watter. either end of my tank is unlit and dark, he likes it up top where i would need factor 30.

[Tristan]

Is this the rose bta you were looking for for a friend?

[Elliott89]

I was never doubting that nems couldn't be kept under Metal Halides,ive seen them kept under mhs with great success and they look stunning:)
all i was saying is that they are also just as happy under T5s

I don't believe it would be impossible to keep a small Rose BTA in my 24 gallon under my lighting,especially if i feed it regulary which i have heard often helps them to thrive.remember a small nem will be the only thing in my tank so there will be no other invertebrates or corals to interfere with it.

Thanks

Elliott

[Elliott89]

No this rose is for me:D

I have been really researching this,its not something i planned overnight.

Elliott

BTW thanks to everyone so far for being constructive

[KeithM]

Elliot, how will you be providing flow for this tank? please remember that unguarded powerheads and anemones do not mix

Also, do you have a reliable auto topup? anemones do not appreciate salinity changes...

[instantsquid]

The other parameter you need to ensure remains stable is temperature. How do you plan to keep this constant?

- Ian

[Elliott89]

Hi Keith

In the nanocube it has a filter section built into the back so there are no pumps in the tank,so theres no worry of the nem getting chopped up.

If i do add any other pumps to the tank i will cover the intakes with filter sponges.To prevent any problems

I need to buy a decent auto-top-up my aquamedic one isn't great.

Thanks

Elliott

[Marc Foord]

elliot

the other thing to consider here is future space in a small tank.

in less than 2 years, my one pretty small BTA has split into 3 - one very large one (the original 'parent' as such) and two pretty decent sized 'babies'.

and that is without actually ever directly feeding these guys either :eek:

(they are under 2 x 250w 10k MHs)

certainly something to consider, as if you are going to be regularly feeding the BTA and the lighting is sufficient, you could end up with a nem too big for that tank in a pretty short period of time IMO

marc

[Elliott89]

Ian:I have had very little probs keeping the temperature stable in this tank as the built in fans prevent the T5's from heating up the water,therefore my temp stays at a pretty constant 26.its more salintiy i have to watch because of the evaporation,but even that i feel i can control easily with an auto-top-up

Marc:Have to admit i never thought about it outgrowing my tank:o
thats kinda the sorta prob u want with an anemone though:D because i can always sell off/trade clones as RBTAs are quite sort after.

Elliott

[instantsquid]

A couple of things -
Firstly, don't be too disappointed if your Percs don't actually take up residence in the anemone. You say you want wild caught ones (not sure why), but there is no guarantee they will accept the BTA as their host.

Secondly, make sure you source a captive bred anemone rather than one that has been ripped straight out of the sea (I'd say the same about the fish to be honest). A second, third, fourth, etc. generation anemone will generally be hardier and better able to adapt to captive care.

Cheers,

- Ian.

[Elliott89]

Thanks for all the advise and feedback guys:)

I will let you know how i get on with it

Can u get captive bred true percs???

Elliott

[gregcope]

Ian,

Any clues on getting a cloned Nem?

[gregcope]

Elliot,

You should be able to get captive true percs - try asking you LFS or TMC or one of the sponsors.

[instantsquid]

Any clues on getting a cloned Nem?
Do you mean, are there any ways to tell if it's a clone? To be honest, I don't know of any. I simply meant that rather than getting one from a LFS where it's history is at best, sketchy - try and source one from another reef-keeper who has had their anemone split a number of times. xxmattyxx has a number in his tank at the moment, that are looking for new homes. :)

- Ian

[gregcope]

Ian,

When every I see an add or reply I am always too late...... Has xxmattyxx advertised, or did you just hear on the grapevine?

[SCOOB]

he is advertising in the livestock section :)