Any possible anemone?

[WilliamH2529]

Hey guys I have a fluval 13.5 gallon ive set it up with live rock, live sand, etc keep it at about 78 degrees and salinity at 1.025 sometimes 1.026 as I’m still figuring out how to use my salinity measuring tools correctly. the tank has been stable so I’ve introduced a few snails here and there to begin testing it out but I want to plan for the long run.

My ultimate goal for this tank is to have a little reef in my apartment I can enjoy and the ultimate addition to a reef is an anemone I absolutely want one and was wondering if anyone knows of ones that could live in a tank that size(once the tank is more established down the line) I know bubble tip anemones are cool but from what I’ve seen they get quite big and would eventually out grow the tank. so if anyone has some general ideas or recommendations or if no anemone would work some coral that might be similar but could work would also be happily accepted!

 

[BanjoBandito]

Depends what you want. Rock flower anemones and maxi mini carpet anemones are both suitable for a smaller tank and certain shrimp or crabs will host them. Captive bred clowns will literally host frogspawn and other euphyllia. A small bubble tip anemone with caution and knowing it could blow out long term and will sting any coral in the tank can work. So what do you want? Clowns hosting?? Clowns hosting a nem??? Or just hosting behavior? Difficulty comes into play. A BTA needs much more light, care and tank maturity than the others.

 

[WilliamH2529]

Depends what you want. Rock flower anemones and maxi mini carpet anemones are both suitable for a smaller tank and certain shrimp or crabs will host them. Captive bred clowns will literally host frogspawn and other euphyllia. A small bubble tip anemone with caution and knowing it could blow out long term and will sting any coral in the tank can work. So what do you want? Clowns hosting?? Clowns hosting a nem??? Or just hosting behavior? Difficulty comes into play. A BTA needs much more light, care and tank maturity than the others.

Personally I’d love a clown in the tank but I also don’t want to vastly change the tank it’s the fluval evo 13.5 so I’m fine with waiting for the tank to mature but I don’t want something that’ll murder coral or needs a different light than what the tank has.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Clowns in that size tank can be an issue, depending on the individual(s) you may not be able to keep any other fish in their with them if they decide that's what they want. Had that happen with a pair in a 20 cube display. Sold the pair, got another and the new pair is completely fine with tankmates. Kinda a roll of the dice.

Don't get into anemones expecting them to host clowns, at least not right away. Most clowns like large species, usually the more difficult ones to keep like sebaes, large carpets, and ritteris. Less of them will use bubbletips, LTA's and condylactis. That isn't to say they won't host other things, it usually takes longer and is seemingly at random. Most clowns being captive bred is a blessing and a curse in that regard.

 

[melonheadorion]

i had purchased a bubble tip a couple weeks ago. after about 4 or 5 days, my clownfish has started using it continually. didnt take it long for it to find a good spot to attach itself to either

 

[john92708]

I have a pink tip BTA for about 6 months now in my 14 AIO so it's possible in your size tank

 

[Spare time]

Hey guys I have a fluval 13.5 gallon ive set it up with live rock, live sand, etc keep it at about 78 degrees and salinity at 1.025 sometimes 1.026 as I’m still figuring out how to use my salinity measuring tools correctly. the tank has been stable so I’ve introduced a few snails here and there to begin testing it out but I want to plan for the long run.

My ultimate goal for this tank is to have a little reef in my apartment I can enjoy and the ultimate addition to a reef is an anemone I absolutely want one and was wondering if anyone knows of ones that could live in a tank that size(once the tank is more established down the line) I know bubble tip anemones are cool but from what I’ve seen they get quite big and would eventually out grow the tank. so if anyone has some general ideas or recommendations or if no anemone would work some coral that might be similar but could work would also be happily accepted!

Bubbletips are fine in that size tank

 

[WilliamH2529]

Clowns in that size tank can be an issue, depending on the individual(s) you may not be able to keep any other fish in their with them if they decide that's what they want. Had that happen with a pair in a 20 cube display. Sold the pair, got another and the new pair is completely fine with tankmates. Kinda a roll of the dice.

Don't get into anemones expecting them to host clowns, at least not right away. Most clowns like large species, usually the more difficult ones to keep like sebaes, large carpets, and ritteris. Less of them will use bubbletips, LTA's and condylactis. That isn't to say they won't host other things, it usually takes longer and is seemingly at random. Most clowns being captive bred is a blessing and a curse in that regard.

In a 13.5 I had no intentions of getting more than one clown, for me the draw of the small tank would be the coral and other things like that with just a single clown there to give some movement to the tank.

 

[BanjoBandito]

In a 13.5 I had no intentions of getting more than one clown, for me the draw of the small tank would be the coral and other things like that with just a single clown there to give some movement to the tank.

nothing can beat a concise and organized plan. Make a list of what you want and then go for it. A clown and a BTA in a nano would coexist with some hardier corals. War corals, Duncan’s, toadstools, zoas, etc. when I had my nano setup I had to really wrestle the nutrient levels in it. I was basically doing flood feeds followed by larger water changes. Imma setup my nano again for the kids and plan on doing a rock flower/maxi mini tank with shrimps and crabs that’ll live on or around them. My bigger system is going well but I don’t get to appreciate rock flowers so much in it because they get “lost” in the size and depth of the tank.

 

[BanjoBandito]

What light are you using? That might dictate your stocking choices.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Unfortunately, clownfish are unlikely to be hosted by any anemone that fits in a 13.5 gallon. Instead, I would suggest a group of rock flower anemones. Clowns will not be hosted by them, but there are several shrimp and crabs that will be, like Thor amboinensis and Neopetrolisthes ohshimai. Rock flowers are also easy to care for, cheaper than other anemones, and less likely to sting coral. As far as coral goes, most hardy LPS and some soft corals will do well with the anemones. I hope that this helps!

 

[WilliamH2529]

What light are you using? That might dictate your stocking choices.

The light that comes with the fluval evo

 

[BanjoBandito]

The light that comes with the fluval evo

Without swapping the light, I would steer you towards some of the smaller species mentioned above (rock Flowers, maxi minis) and get sexy shrimp. Maybe a couple anemone crabs. That’s kinda where I’m going with this future nano I’m working on. Smaller tanks allow for lots of interesting inverts that get lost in big tanks and they are a ton of fun to watch. Especially sexy shrimp.