Anemone Only Tank? How hard is it?

[jellyfish123]

Good morning,
I have had a Waterbox 25 running for 11 months now.
Past few months, due to a family member hospitalization and eventual death, I was not able to look after my tank.
During this time, most of my corals died. I am not looking to give this hobby up but I am considering doing anemone only tank.
How difficult will this be? Are they easier than corals? I've never looked into anemones as people kept telling me "Don't do it man".
But every time I am at an aquarium store, the bubble tips catch my eye more than anything else for sale.
My tank is waterbox 25, no skimmer, fairly high flow and i have one Noopsyche k7 mini for lighting.
I do not dose anything, I do 10% water changes every week.
My questions:
Can I mix different colours of BTA anemones together?
Can I put rock flower nems and bta nems in the same tank?
Can I put some soft corals like zoas, GSP and toadstools in the same tank (they are the current survivors in my tank)?

Thanks!

 

[James M]

Sorry for your loss

Did a softy/bubble tip nem tank for 3 years and did 10% water changes every other month and was so easy to maintain. You can mix RFAs with BTAs, they seem to stay away from each other from my experience.

 

[backbayreef]

My condolences to you and your family. Sorry about the coral loss as well.

Nem tank is super easy - you can read on my nano nem build thread: 25gal, no WC, dosing kalk via ato, no skimmer, no socks.

Given that your tank is 11+mos old, it should be fairly established to support nems.

 

[backbayreef]

Top down view of the tank

 

[Reef Jedi]

Check out my build thread lol I didn’t intend to have an anenome tank however I’ve ended up with a “host”Ie take over. Currently I’m at 36 RBTA’s since a couple more just split. They are very easy to take care of as long as you have good water quality.

 

[Yooper Reef]

I have a 25 water box that started as a nem only tank. I’ve added zoas and random other things from my main tank. I literally only do water changes every 3-4 weeks. I don’t even feed my anemones, just my fish. I have 3 times of bubble tips at the moment

 

[D-Nak]

Answers to your questions:

Can I mix different colours of BTA anemones together?
Yes and no. Some will say they don't have issues. But a noticeable number of folks (too many to just be a coincidence) have had issues mixing different strains/morphs, particularly Colorado Sunbursts ("CSBs") and to a somewhat less extent with Chicago Sunbursts ("CHSBs") tend to be the losers when mixed with rainbows and other colors.

Can I put rock flower nems and bta nems in the same tank?
Rarely have there been issues reported. Should be fine.

Can I put some soft corals like zoas, GSP and toadstools in the same tank (they are the current survivors in my tank)?
There have been reports that some toadstools and BTAs don't mix well, and most attribute it to some sort of chemical warfare. You can use carbon to mitigate this but results vary. I personally would just remove the toadstool if you plan to keep anemones.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@OrionN can give you more information!

 

[MoshJosh]

Sorry to hear about your loss!

Anemone tanks can be fairly easy though definitely depends on the anemones you are planning to keep. But with BTAs, rockflowers, or LTA you should be good. You can keep BTAs and RFA together, and I have seen it done, but anytime you mix nems I would run carbon (according to me research nems can release toxins into the water to fight eachother) and I would not mix together any nems I was not willing to lose. . . Obviously we dont want to lose and of our pets but I mean I would not start mixing priceless or rare specimens given there is a chance something could go wrong. And yes you can keep corals with nems, but again I would not throw and corals into a nem tank I wasnt willing to lose. . . Having a nem take a walk on a $500 acro would be deviated!!!

 

[MoshJosh]

Sorry to hear about your loss!

Anemone tanks can be fairly easy though definitely depends on the anemones you are planning to keep. But with BTAs, rockflowers, or LTA you should be good. You can keep BTAs and RFA together, and I have seen it done, but anytime you mix nems I would run carbon (according to me research nems can release toxins into the water to fight eachother) and I would not mix together any nems I was not willing to lose. . . Obviously we dont want to lose and of our pets but I mean I would not start mixing priceless or rare specimens given there is a chance something could go wrong. And yes you can keep corals with nems, but again I would not throw and corals into a nem tank I wasnt willing to lose. . . Having a nem take a walk on a $500 acro would be deviated!!!

*devastating

 

[dvgyfresh]

It’s very easy , you just need to monitor alk , phosphate , and nitrate in my opinion to maintain an anemone tank. You may need to not monitor anything with a consistent water change schedule with the same salt

 

[Naekuh]

My condolences to you and your family. Sorry about the coral loss as well.

Nem tank is super easy - you can read on my nano nem build thread: 25gal, no WC, dosing kalk via ato, no skimmer, no socks.

Given that your tank is 11+mos old, it should be fairly established to support nems.

do you need a deep sand bed or was that to make your water depth shorter?
I always wanted a nem harem tank.

Also how powerful do the lights need to be? What Par is good for nams...

I love your tank, and love your gigantea... ideally i would want 1 of those and like 7 clowns.

 

[jellyfish123]

Sorry for your loss

Did a softy/bubble tip nem tank for 3 years and did 10% water changes every other month and was so easy to maintain. You can mix RFAs with BTAs, they seem to stay away from each other from my experience.

Incredible, this is great news!

 

[jellyfish123]

Answers to your questions:

Can I mix different colours of BTA anemones together?
Yes and no. Some will say they don't have issues. But a noticeable number of folks (too many to just be a coincidence) have had issues mixing different strains/morphs, particularly Colorado Sunbursts ("CSBs") and to a somewhat less extent with Chicago Sunbursts ("CHSBs") tend to be the losers when mixed with rainbows and other colors.

Can I put rock flower nems and bta nems in the same tank?
Rarely have there been issues reported. Should be fine.

Can I put some soft corals like zoas, GSP and toadstools in the same tank (they are the current survivors in my tank)?
There have been reports that some toadstools and BTAs don't mix well, and most attribute it to some sort of chemical warfare. You can use carbon to mitigate this but results vary. I personally would just remove the toadstool if you plan to keep anemones.

Perfect, this is very helpful! I dont have any toadstools at the moment but I was going to get one. However, plans have changed now, I shall get anemones this weekend!

 

[jellyfish123]

My condolences to you and your family. Sorry about the coral loss as well.

Nem tank is super easy - you can read on my nano nem build thread: 25gal, no WC, dosing kalk via ato, no skimmer, no socks.

Given that your tank is 11+mos old, it should be fairly established to support nems.

Thank you so much! I've been feeling pretty down looking at all the corals closing up and going downhill one after another. Recent water tests indicate parameters are fine again but it was just the fluctuation that probably made them sick and killed them. Your tank and build thread has given me a jolt of spark back!

 

[backbayreef]

Thank you so much! I've been feeling pretty down looking at all the corals closing up and going downhill one after another. Recent water tests indicate parameters are fine again but it was just the fluctuation that probably made them sick and killed them. Your tank and build thread has given me a jolt of spark back!

Good luck and let us know if you need any help! Don’t over-complicate things. If you don’t want to deal with dosing, just a 20% would do.

I just test 3 things: alk, nitrate, and phosphate.

On my big tank with sensitive stuff, I need to pay attention. Otherwise, they are on autopilot!

 

[jellyfish123]

Good luck and let us know if you need any help! Don’t over-complicate things. If you don’t want to deal with dosing, just a 20% would do.

I just test 3 things: alk, nitrate, and phosphate.

On my big tank with sensitive stuff, I need to pay attention. Otherwise, they are on autopilot!

My tank is only 90L, do you think 20% is still the go or should i just to 10% every week? I already test for alk, nitrate and phosphate so im excited to see where this all goes!

 

[backbayreef]

My tank is only 90L, do you think 20% is still the go or should i just to 10% every week? I already test for alk, nitrate and phosphate so im excited to see where this all goes!

I prefer bigger WC than smaller ones. 5G every month or two would be fine.

That said - I’m a bad example since I don’t do any WCs at all, even my same tank size as yours.

 

[jellyfish123]

Thank you everyone! I brought my first anemone home!

 

[The new fish on the block]

Thank you everyone! I brought my first anemone home!

Congrats! It looks great!

Sorry to hear about your loss at the beginning of this thread!


I skimmed through this so I might have missed it.

Do you have any exposed wave makers or filter intakes in your tank? If so you may want to look into getting anemone guards for them.

Other than that best of luck with your anemone tank!