Bubble tip anenome in biocube?

[Jack_10218]

I’m mostly concerned with the stock lights, would they be powerful enough? My tank is a year and a half old, and it’s been mostly FOWL, but I recently got frogspawn, a few Zoas, some gsp, and a toadstool which are all doing good. I’m getting more into corals, but am really interested in anemones, and think it would be good to get one established now, while I don’t have to worry about it running over a ton of coral. I have a Nero 3 wave maker for flow, and the tank is stable, but would the stock lights be enough? I occasionally feed reef roids, but don’t dose, I use Red Sea coral pro salt which is enough for the corals I have. The only stocking in the tank right now is a fire fish and a sapphire dansal, and a small CUC of 5 hermits, 2 emeralds, and a cleaner shrimp. (Lost other fish and cuc a while ago)

 

[Reffetsevla]

What model Biocube with which lighting? Over the years they've had a few models with various lighting within them. Also what size?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m mostly concerned with the stock lights, would they be powerful enough? My tank is a year and a half old, and it’s been mostly FOWL, but I recently got frogspawn, a few Zoas, some gsp, and a toadstool which are all doing good. I’m getting more into corals, but am really interested in anemones, and think it would be good to get one established now, while I don’t have to worry about it running over a ton of coral. I have a Nero 3 wave maker for flow, and the tank is stable, but would the stock lights be enough? I occasionally feed reef roids, but don’t dose, I use Red Sea coral pro salt which is enough for the corals I have. The only stocking in the tank right now is a fire fish and a sapphire dansal, and a small CUC of 5 hermits, 2 emeralds, and a cleaner shrimp. (Lost other fish and cuc a while ago)

Ive done so in a biocube. Just assure proper lighting, moderate water flow and lower nitrate

 

[Swanus]

First of a little warning. Anemones can nuke your whole tank if they die. Anemones are cool and most people would want one, but its worth thinking over because well.. they just suck in a reef tank.. If you decide to go for it anyway, you will want to make your tank anemone proof. This includes buying the protection thingies for your powerheads. Moderate flow should be enough and your anemone will by itself find its place where the lighting and flow is optimal.

 

[Jack_10218]

What model Biocube with which lighting? Over the years they've had a few models with various lighting within them. Also what size?

It’s a 32 with the stock LEDs

 

[Jack_10218]

First of a little warning. Anemones can nuke your whole tank if they die. Anemones are cool and most people would want one, but its worth thinking over because well.. they just suck in a reef tank.. If you decide to go for it anyway, you will want to make your tank anemone proof. This includes buying the protection thingies for your powerheads. Moderate flow should be enough and your anemone will by itself find its place where the lighting and flow is optimal.

Nuke how? Like spike the tank with their toxins? Or just nutrients like a large fish would?

 

[vetteguy53081]

First of a little warning. Anemones can nuke your whole tank if they die. Anemones are cool and most people would want one, but its worth thinking over because well.. they just suck in a reef tank.. If you decide to go for it anyway, you will want to make your tank anemone proof. This includes buying the protection thingies for your powerheads. Moderate flow should be enough and your anemone will by itself find its place where the lighting and flow is optimal.

Where are you getting this from? Ive sold and kept anemones for over 30 years and never seen one nuke a tank in any manner.
If anemones move towards a power head, there is either lack of light , water flow or both why theyve reached that height. I have 7 anemones in one tank and have no method of anemone proofing as I have a balance of light and flow

 

[mav3rick478]

If an anemone nukes a tank then that means you didn't notice it dying and did not remove the decaying matter but even then most tanks will survive as long as you have proper levels of biological diversity and skimming.

 

[undermind]

Nuke how? Like spike the tank with their toxins? Or just nutrients like a large fish would?

I think he means if it dies

I hear a lot of people talking about that phenomenon but I wonder how often it happens. It hasn't happened to me in 20+ years and I don't think I've had a tank without an anemone.

The main risk with a "nuking" experience I think would be powerheads. But happy anemones don't move in my experience. In my current tank, the anemones I put in haven't moved an inch in years. With the exception of when they split, which causes them to move an inch or two. If one dies for other reasons, you should see it coming long before it happens. Just like anything else.

So.. regarding nuking your tank, I don't consider that a concern.

Regarding your original question, I think a biocube would be totally fine. I've kept them in small AIOs for years.

Keep in mind they can get big sometimes.

 

[Swanus]

Yes i mean when it dies they (depending on the species of anemone) release toxins in the water which can kill other coral resulting in huge ammonia spikes and kill your whole tank. It happens quite a lot actually. Especially when one gets chopped up to your moms spicy spaghetti. Also they tend to break down way faster then normal corals. You dont notice it died in 2 days, the rest of you tank might be gone too. In bigger tanks this is often less of a problem, but especially in a small biocube it is a real danger to consider. Of course it might all be just fine, but might be something to keep an eye on if you do decide to keep one.

 

[Jack_10218]

I think he means if it dies

I hear a lot of people talking about that phenomenon but I wonder how often it happens. It hasn't happened to me in 20+ years and I don't think I've had a tank without an anemone.

The main risk with a "nuking" experience I think would be powerheads. But happy anemones don't move in my experience. In my current tank, the anemones I put in haven't moved an inch in years. With the exception of when they split, which causes them to move an inch or two. If one dies for other reasons, you should see it coming long before it happens. Just like anything else.

So.. regarding nuking your tank, I don't consider that a concern.

Regarding your original question, I think a biocube would be totally fine. I've kept them in small AIOs for years.

Keep in mind they can get big sometimes.

I have a Nero 3 with the fish guard It came with on it, (if you don’t know what it looks like i would look it up) do you think that’s good enough for protection? The only other places it can get is the outflow on the biocube, filter

 

[undermind]

I have a Nero 3 with the fish guard It came with on it, (if you don’t know what it looks like i would look it up) do you think that’s good enough for protection? The only other places it can get is the outflow on the biocube, filter

I looked it up and if the question is whether a nem would get chopped up if it got sucked in, then I'd think it probably would with the included guard. But I also see that there are a ton of other 3d printed ones that would be better protection.

All that said though... I just don't think it's a concern if your tank has the right conditions for the anemone.

When you put the anemone in on day one, it may move a few times. If the conditions are good for the nem, it will settle in and stay put. If they don't stop moving around, then the conditions of the tank aren't right for the nem.

In most cases, even a nem that's moving around is still not necessarily in danger of powerheads, assuming their placement is reasonable. In cases of a nem being extremely unhappy, it may resort to "jumping". In this case it's putting itself in the water column and that's not good. I think this is a desperation move where the animal is trying to get the heck away from where it's at cuz it ain't workin. But I hope that the aquarist has either addressed the conditions the nem needs or has rehomed it by this point. If it truly is as "common" as has been suggested in this thread that a nem nukes a tank, then I think that these are people that aren't paying as much attention as they should.

Anemones are mysterious. There's a lot we don't know about them. Some people are able to grow them like dandelions and others can't keep one happy to save their lives.

I absolutely encourage you to give one a try. Your approach to this has been very thoughtful and careful, so I'm sure you'll do a great job with one. If you were closer I'd give you one of my many nem babies ; )

 

[mindme]

I’m mostly concerned with the stock lights, would they be powerful enough? My tank is a year and a half old, and it’s been mostly FOWL, but I recently got frogspawn, a few Zoas, some gsp, and a toadstool which are all doing good. I’m getting more into corals, but am really interested in anemones, and think it would be good to get one established now, while I don’t have to worry about it running over a ton of coral. I have a Nero 3 wave maker for flow, and the tank is stable, but would the stock lights be enough? I occasionally feed reef roids, but don’t dose, I use Red Sea coral pro salt which is enough for the corals I have. The only stocking in the tank right now is a fire fish and a sapphire dansal, and a small CUC of 5 hermits, 2 emeralds, and a cleaner shrimp. (Lost other fish and cuc a while ago)

Personally I think your tank will be covered in BTA within 3 years if it's happy, which will kill your other coral. I know some people keep them with other coral, but in 32g tank, 3 years is all it would take for the anemone to cover the majority of the rock/space. Probably less time.

And you can plan to take away splits, however even without splitting they can take up the space of multiples. 1 anemone could easily grow large enough to take up the majority of the tank.

I keep a 29g tank with the focus on RBTA. The only thing I put in there otherwise are some xenias and trash palys(I also allow the GHA to grow, but that's another topic). They grow like weeds, so they just take up the space the anemone doesn't.

I think they are one of the easiest things to keep despite their reputation, but they move and they will do what they want to do. You can't glue them where you want them. Once they are happy, they don't move, my original foot is in the exact same place it was over 2 years ago. New splits move around a little, but not very far and they also haven't moved.

Yet, even though the foot doesn't move, where it spreads out to and how is different every day, and even different times of the day. They can really stretch out when they want too.

I just think of them as being best in a specific tank for them.

 

[aggrofish]

I’ve never had an anemone nuke a tank or get into a powerhead. Not to say it doesn’t happen but I think it’s a concern that’s blown out of proportion. I had 2 nems that went through an ATO failure where the heater was in the back chamber of an AIO. When it ran dry the water wasn’t being heated and got extremely cold. Nems hung on for another month but eventually melted away. Still didn’t nuke the tank. They literally just disappeared.

bubble tips can get pretty big, but when they split there’s nothing saying you can’t trade/sell/or give them away.

 

[Jack_10218]

Personally I think your tank will be covered in BTA within 3 years if it's happy, which will kill your other coral. I know some people keep them with other coral, but in 32g tank, 3 years is all it would take for the anemone to cover the majority of the rock/space. Probably less time.

And you can plan to take away splits, however even without splitting they can take up the space of multiples. 1 anemone could easily grow large enough to take up the majority of the tank.

I keep a 29g tank with the focus on RBTA. The only thing I put in there otherwise are some xenias and trash palys(I also allow the GHA to grow, but that's another topic). They grow like weeds, so they just take up the space the anemone doesn't.

I think they are one of the easiest things to keep despite their reputation, but they move and they will do what they want to do. You can't glue them where you want them. Once they are happy, they don't move, my original foot is in the exact same place it was over 2 years ago. New splits move around a little, but not very far and they also haven't moved.

Yet, even though the foot doesn't move, where it spreads out to and how is different every day, and even different times of the day. They can really stretch out when they want too.

I just think of them as being best in a specific tank for them.

To be honest I’m fine with a nem central tank, I don’t really plan on keeping many expensive other corals, mostly softie and a few lps later on, and a bubble tip is really what I would want as a centerpiece for a tank. Also, is there a way to figure out the best placement so it’s less likely they move? I know they move on their own but is there a way to place them in a way to reduce this?

 

[Jekyl]

Where are you getting this from? Ive sold and kept anemones for over 30 years and never seen one nuke a tank in any manner.
If anemones move towards a power head, there is either lack of light , water flow or both why theyve reached that height. I have 7 anemones in one tank and have no method of anemone proofing as I have a balance of light and flow

This

 

[undermind]

Also, is there a way to figure out the best placement so it’s less likely they move? I know they move on their own but is there a way to place them in a way to reduce this?

If you place them where their foot can get into a secure crevice or gap between 2 rocks, and also stretch out into the light, that's a good spot. I also find that they love having the tips of their tentacles just touching the edge of the flow blast of a powerhead or return pump - whatever is strongest. Not IN the flow, but just touching it with the tentacle tips.

One more anecdote... My experience has been that Rose Bubble Tips (red anemones) stay a more reasonable size, but split more. Green Bubble Tips can get enormous but almost never split. I've had a GBTA in a 24g JBJ AIO fill up the entire tank with it's body. That was an anemone tank, period. In my current 100g tank, I have a similarly large GBTA that stretches out to 18" or so most days. They also don't hold their color as well as the RBTA when inflated and huge. My suggestion for you would be a RBTA. They're more colorful and a more manageable size. But if you have one that likes to split, it'll be a handful.

You didn't mention feeding it. There's a lot of misinformation here that they need to be fed a lot, by hand. Big stuff like silversides. That's nonsense and not good at all. Assuming you feed meaty foods daily like frozen LRS for example, you don't really need to directly feed it. Just ensure it's catching food when you do feed. That food will help offset any lack of light intensity from the biocube. But the best thing is to have a clownfish that will host in the anemone. They will dedicate their life to it and feed it themselves, every single feeding. I'm not sure if clownfish are a factor into why my anemones have always been so happy, but I bet they are.