Can an anemone live in here?

[jpmazzone]

Hi All,
I hope someone that has experience with anemones can weigh in on this one. This is a 50 gallon IM Lagoon AIO. The tank is fully cycled and stabilized. I started this tank with the idea of creating fish friendly habitat and only stocking soft corals. However, I’ve recently started to consider stocking an anemone. I will run 180 PAR at the top of the water column. I can reliably dial this in as I have a PAR meter. It is a bare bottom tank so I have plenty of flow and the tank is exceptionally easy to keep clean. My questions are:

1. Will an anemone be able to settle into this rockscape and if so, where will it likely anchor?

2. What type of anemone would be suitable for a 50 gallon tank with this aquascape?

3. Do you think it would be a mistake to stock an anemone in this tank if I also want to stock soft corals.”?

Grateful for any advice.

 

[Tahoe61]

I would choose an Anemone type that foots in the rock work, such as BTA. Carpets, LTA and Sebae would not be good choices. Condylactis don't routinely host Clowns.
No I don't think it would be a mistake to stock Anemone in a soft coral tank.
I would definitely wait to purchase a BTA Anemone until the tank is roughly 3 months old ( Most suggest a 6 month old tank).

 

[Boehmtown]

Definitely. Although my experience is, it'll go a little smoother if you wait 6 months for the tank to settle in. A bubble tip is the standard for many reasons. I find the green and rose split less and get a bit bigger than the rainbows. I would stay away from the rainbows unless that's all you want. Some of the others require more specialized care. But look at carpets , long tentacles , magnificas, tube. It might be worth the effort and sand if you prefer one of those.

 

[Boehmtown]

This was my green BTA in a 29 gallon. It was most of the tank. It split only once in the last 6 years

 

[Idech]

Wait 6 months and make sure your alk is stable, along with salinity and ca. Mag should follow. BTA don’t like too much flow so put it where it can anchor its foot in a crevice and where flow is gentle and hopefully it won’t move.

Make sure you have protectors on your powerheads.

 

[jpmazzone]

This was my green BTA in a 29 gallon. It was most of the tank. It split only once in the last 6 years

So it looks like if I do an anemone, I shouldn’t plan on any coral then.

 

[jpmazzone]

Wait 6 months and make sure your alk is stable, along with salinity and ca. Mag should follow. BTA don’t like too much flow so put it where it can anchor its foot in a crevice and where flow is gentle and hopefully it won’t move.

Make sure you have protectors on your powerheads.

So will I have to dose mag or Ca? I am pretty religious about water changes so shouldn’t that keep all elements stable? With regard to salinity, I have an ATO which provides stability.

 

[Idech]

So will I have to dose mag or Ca? I am pretty religious about water changes so shouldn’t that keep all elements stable? With regard to salinity, I have an ATO which provides stability.

You should be okay if you do WC but you should test nonetheless. Your corals will eventually need more than what your WC can provide and when we start it’s important to test regularly, if only to understand our tank chemistry.

 

[Boehmtown]

So it looks like if I do an anemone, I shouldn’t plan on any coral then.

It will take some space for sure. It also comes out and goes to sleep so stuff in its way up and down may be effected. But I encourage you to try one anyway. You can get a small one that'll take years to get that big if it even does. But either way you split it. It's going to take real estate away from the corals

 

[tzabor10]

1: anemone are finicky and will go wherever they want. To settle one in you can gently press it against the rock with the back of your hand until the foot attaches. This takes about five minutes. Anemone guards are a must. If a free floating one gets into a wave maker, it will easily nuke your system.
2: rose btas are good. But I have had great success with a clownfish hosting a long tentacle peppermint anemone. Stay away from sebae. Carpet anemones eat fish. Be wary of those.
3: anemones are aggressive. Try placing corals in a way that they can be moved if necessary. Like on a small rock on a bigger rock.
Good luck

 

[jpmazzone]

1: anemone are finicky and will go wherever they want. To settle one in you can gently press it against the rock with the back of your hand until the foot attaches. This takes about five minutes. Anemone guards are a must. If a free floating one gets into a wave maker, it will easily nuke your system.
2: rose btas are good. But I have had great success with a clownfish hosting a long tentacle peppermint anemone. Stay away from sebae. Carpet anemones eat fish. Be wary of those.
3: anemones are aggressive. Try placing corals in a way that they can be moved if necessary. Like on a small rock on a bigger rock.
Good luck

Your tank is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for the advice. I have a while to ponder it. My tank has only been cycled for about two months so I don’t plan to stock until mid summer. I am leaning not going with an anemone now, given the advice from other posts, as I don’t want to test and dose magnesium, calcium etc. the purpose of this tank was to be as simple as possible with all inhabitants being able to tolerate potential swings in parameters. The original plan for this tank is. Single toadstool coral and around 8 different types of zoas.

 

[tzabor10]

Anemone are a commitment IMHO. I have seen them in mixed tanks, but that doesn’t fit my lifestyle. They please my wife, so having them in a second tank wasn’t a problem for her. Despite my cluttered style.

 

[jpmazzone]

Anemone are a commitment IMHO. I have seen them in mixed tanks, but that doesn’t fit my lifestyle. They please my wife, so having them in a second tank wasn’t a problem for her. Despite my cluttered style.

Believe it or not, it is my wife that is pushing for an anemone. I’ll let you guess how many times she has helped with a water change, mix salt, feed while I’m traveling for work, etc!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Hi All,
I hope someone that has experience with anemones can weigh in on this one. This is a 50 gallon IM Lagoon AIO. The tank is fully cycled and stabilized. I started this tank with the idea of creating fish friendly habitat and only stocking soft corals. However, I’ve recently started to consider stocking an anemone. I will run 180 PAR at the top of the water column. I can reliably dial this in as I have a PAR meter. It is a bare bottom tank so I have plenty of flow and the tank is exceptionally easy to keep clean. My questions are:

1. Will an anemone be able to settle into this rockscape and if so, where will it likely anchor?

2. What type of anemone would be suitable for a 50 gallon tank with this aquascape?

3. Do you think it would be a mistake to stock an anemone in this tank if I also want to stock soft corals.”?

Grateful for any advice.

In my experience Anemones do not do well in newer tanks. I would wait until the tank is at least 6 months old.

 

[tzabor10]

Look at you in that picture. You are like the people on the top of the wedding cake. Maintaining a tank is stressful. You want to feed or do a water change. She wants to watch a movie or something. Keeping a spouse happy is very important in this hobby. I can beat Aptasia, nutrients or algae, but I’ll never win against her.
My friend has a gorgeous tank. It sits in the LFS because his wife kicked him out.
I would suggest an anemone tank.

 

[jpmazzone]

Look at you in that picture. You are like the people on the top of the wedding cake. Maintaining a tank is stressful. You want to feed or do a water change. She wants to watch a movie or something. Keeping a spouse happy is very important in this hobby. I can beat Aptasia, nutrients or algae, but I’ll never win against her.
My friend has a gorgeous tank. It sits in the LFS because his wife kicked him out.
I would suggest an anemone tank.

Thank you for noticing! We are a handsome couple indeed! Hahah