In-wall/Behind-wall, 180g peninsula, with a basement fish closet

[New&no clue]

I hope that your beautiful anemones finally find a suitable place for them and for you, according to what I read you have experience with anemones, do you have any recommendations to keep sebae anemone?

I have just some general advice I would give on any anemones. Before buying any type, do a lot of research, specifically where they want to be (sand, rocks, high up, in a crevice), what kind of light they need at their desired spot, and lastly, what type of flow they like. My second piece of advice would be that most varieties will do whatever they want. So be prepared to pick the perfect spot for them, and they go where ever they want.

For example, I wanted to H. Magnifica anemone. They like lots of light, high par, and typically go to the highest point on your rockwork. They like a flat perch and lots of water movement. So naturally, I thought it would end up on this spot indicated by the red arrow. Instead, it is sitting over here at the green arrow. Why? IDK.

 

[New&no clue]

I saw those during that sale! They were priced to fly! Glad you're getting on track; that is truly a series of unfortunate events

After seeing them, I'm sure they were trying to get rid of them because they were too big and outgrowing their holding tanks.

 

[LaloJ]

I have just some general advice I would give on any anemones. Before buying any type, do a lot of research, specifically where they want to be (sand, rocks, high up, in a crevice), what kind of light they need at their desired spot, and lastly, what type of flow they like. My second piece of advice would be that most varieties will do whatever they want. So be prepared to pick the perfect spot for them, and they go where ever they want.

For example, I wanted to H. Magnifica anemone. They like lots of light, high par, and typically go to the highest point on your rockwork. They like a flat perch and lots of water movement. So naturally, I thought it would end up on this spot indicated by the red arrow. Instead, it is sitting over here at the green arrow. Why? IDK.

Thanks for your help, that's right I guess they just move to a place where they fit better, and another question I've always had is this, can I put lighting only in the part of the tank where I would like the anemone to be?

 

[New&no clue]

Thanks for your help, that's right I guess they just move to a place where they fit better, and another question I've always had is this, can I put lighting only in the part of the tank where I would like the anemone to be?

Huh, that's an interesting idea. Do you have other corals you need to worry about? If it were just the nem, I would say why not as long as the flow was good in that area and it has a nice rock with cracks or holes to put its foot in.

 

[Stang67]

The saga continues. I may break this into a few posts as a lot has happened since my last big update in May.

We will start with the bad news. I took a weekend trip, which I do regularly in the summer, and didn't have my tank sitter look after the tank as I was only going to be gone for two days. The tank decided at that point to try and murder itself and take my basement with it. Through a series of unfortunate events, the emergency line leaked again, which caused the ATO to make up the lost water with fresh and drop my salinity down to 1.021. The leaking water eventually tripped my GFCI plug in the basement, turning off the return pump. The return lines back siphoned, which they've never done before, and overflowed my sump, flooding the basement again! I am assuming it was the sudden drop in salinity inverts then started to die, which I am sure spiked ammonia. When I came home, the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the low water level in the tank. I immediately went down to check the basement to find the carpet and concrete floor wet and the lights not working. I got the floor cleaned up, the power back on, the tank refilled, and water cycling. Then I went up to assess the damage to the tank. My large toadstool that was one of the first corals purchased was not looking good, a couple of conches dead, a couple of emerald crabs dead, several of my larger snails, my green Gig dying, the green BTA dead and being eaten by peppermint shrimp, and one of my anthias dead. I pulled the dead out, did as big a water change as possible, changed my carbon, and crossed my fingers. I followed up the next few days with more water changes and slowly brought the salinity back to 1.025/1.026. The Green Gig did melt away over the next couple of days, and the toadstool had to be pulled out. The GHA, which seemed to be receding, came roaring back. The worst part was I was getting ready to go on a ten-day vacation in a couple of weeks and panicked about what would happen then. I did have my tank sitter coming each day while I was gone, so that did give me some comfort. Not to keep you in suspense, everything was fine when I came home, and there were no issues. This was all in June; in July is the comeback.

 

[LaloJ]

Huh, that's an interesting idea. Do you have other corals you need to worry about? If it were just the nem, I would say why not as long as the flow was good in that area and it has a nice rock with cracks or holes to put its foot in.

I don't keep corals but on a few occasions I've seen something like what I described and it didn't look bad at all, I'd like to do it when I get a bigger tank, maybe next year (I hope), I'd just be concerned that some small fish can be affected if they come into contact with the anemone.

 

[New&no clue]

I don't keep corals but on a few occasions I've seen something like what I described and it didn't look bad at all, I'd like to do it when I get a bigger tank, maybe next year (I hope), I'd just be concerned that some small fish can be affected if they come into contact with the anemone.

Yes, that is a concern with anemones. I have only had one fish eaten that I know. It was an Anthias, and she was already not doing well and possibly could have already been dead when the anemone started to eat her.

 

[New&no clue]

On that note, for anyone who was watching to see how my group of Anthias was doing... the answer is bad... very bad.

I started this tank with nine, and I am down to three. I hoped I could curb aggression by having multiple daily feeds from different points, providing lots of cracks, crevices, and hidey holes, and having a large number to spread the aggression. They did well for the first six months, and then it's been slowly declining. They pick a fish, and then they all bully it. As soon as that one is gone, they choose a new one. I've removed several myself once I see them starting to hide and not being allowed to come to get food without being chased. The one that died while I was away, I am sure, was the weakest of the lot and had been being bullied, so she was already unhealthy when the chaos started. And as I said above, one was eaten by an anemone, but I'm sure it was already weak or had already died as sometimes they pick on one without me even realizing, and I've woken up to a dead fish.

So, in conclusion, I would probably not recommend a group of Anthias in a 180-gallon. Maybe they would do better in something larger, or maybe they should be kept as a pair.

 

[Beau_B]

Ooof.

I haven't tried Anthias. I keep staring at groups of Chromis asking... do I feel lucky?

No... I don't.

 

[New&no clue]

Ooof.

I haven't tried Anthias. I keep staring at groups of Chromis asking... do I feel lucky?

No... I don't.

Agreed. This picture keeps popping up in the different fishy forums I'm on and I'm mesmerized by it.

I think I am over groups. I'll stick with singles or pairs going forward. With only a few Anthias left, the tank looks mighty empty of fish. So I think I will take a break from adding anemones and look into getting some fish. While the smaller gobies seem to prefer the sump, maybe I'll add a sanding sifting one. I would love a trigger, but I'm worried about their reef compatibility. Also, perhaps a CBB to eat the outrageous amount of Aiptasia in the tank. But again, I am concerned about their overall reef compatibility.

 

[Beau_B]

My CBB has been pretty good, came from Vance and getting it to eat was a non-issue. Just acan lords are the absolute no-go (as you know!) I haven't tried a clam, and it probably would be a problem.

I've got a fair number of wrasse and I enjoy them. Flashers and Fairies, though they are somewhat short lived.

Blue throat triggers are on my list. I've come close 3x. I'm concerned one might consume smaller fish... opinion/anecdotes seem split and some of my aforementioned wrasses would be an unacceptable loss.

 

[LaloJ]

On that note, for anyone who was watching to see how my group of Anthias was doing... the answer is bad... very bad.

I started this tank with nine, and I am down to three. I hoped I could curb aggression by having multiple daily feeds from different points, providing lots of cracks, crevices, and hidey holes, and having a large number to spread the aggression. They did well for the first six months, and then it's been slowly declining. They pick a fish, and then they all bully it. As soon as that one is gone, they choose a new one. I've removed several myself once I see them starting to hide and not being allowed to come to get food without being chased. The one that died while I was away, I am sure, was the weakest of the lot and had been being bullied, so she was already unhealthy when the chaos started. And as I said above, one was eaten by an anemone, but I'm sure it was already weak or had already died as sometimes they pick on one without me even realizing, and I've woken up to a dead fish.

So, in conclusion, I would probably not recommend a group of Anthias in a 180-gallon. Maybe they would do better in something larger, or maybe they should be kept as a pair.

I'm so sorry about your group of anthias, but you did a great job with the aquascape. Personally I would never try a group of Chromis viridis for fear of uronema, although they are very nice fish of course, I'm a big fan of blue damsels, they are nice and cheap although I have never tried a group, I'm not sure how it would work. You can try getting a CBB and quarantining it for several weeks with various frozen foods so it has less chance of messing with your corals, and maybe place a small piece of rock with aiptasia as a snack so it can kill them in your tank.

 

[New&no clue]

Here is what's been going through my mind this weekend.

How to deal with Aiptasia
Peppermint Shrimp
Pro: easy to find, cheap, if purchasing the right type leaves corals alone
Con: eaten by others in the tank, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia, get lost in the sump, can't reproduce, only eat small aiptasia
Copperband Butterfly
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, pretty fish for the tank
Con: Can go after other corals, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia
Bluehead Kleini Butterfly
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, pretty fish for the tank, not supposed to eat corals
Con: No guarantees it will eat aiptasia, hard to find
Aiptasia-eating Filefish
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, but other fish may pick on it.
Con: Can go after other corals, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia, can go after other anemones(rock flowers)
Nudibranch
Pro: Only eats aiptasia(all sizes), won't go after other corals, can reproduce in a tank
Con: Wrasse will eat them, expensive
Chemical Warfare( Aiptasia X, F-Aiptasia, boiling water, lemon juice)
Pro: No effect on other tank livestock, cheap and always available
Con: Can make the problem worse by stressing aiptasia and having them release babies.

I tried peppermints, and while they took care of the small ones, the big ones were still around, and eventually, the shrimp disappeared. I have found several in the sump, where there is a ton of aiptasia, so they are well fed down there, a couple of others in power heads, and one in my water change pump. Others have just disappeared; not sure if they died or someone ate them. I'm looking at you, Wrasse. I've tried chemicals, and that seems to create more. The fish seem 50/50 on whether they will eat aiptasia and then another 50/50 on whether they will eat corals.

Nudies seem like the best option for eating the aiptasia and not bothering any other corals, but I am sure my Wrasse will gobble them right up, and they are very expensive to be a snack. The only shimmer of hope I see is that they supposedly only come out at night when my Wrasse is buried in the sand.

current overflow condition

 

[Sump Crab]

Here is what's been going through my mind this weekend.

How to deal with Aiptasia
Peppermint Shrimp
Pro: easy to find, cheap, if purchasing the right type leaves corals alone
Con: eaten by others in the tank, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia, get lost in the sump, can't reproduce, only eat small aiptasia
Copperband Butterfly
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, pretty fish for the tank
Con: Can go after other corals, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia
Bluehead Kleini Butterfly
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, pretty fish for the tank, not supposed to eat corals
Con: No guarantees it will eat aiptasia, hard to find
Aiptasia-eating Filefish
Pro: Wrasse won't eat it, but other fish may pick on it.
Con: Can go after other corals, no guarantees it will eat aiptasia, can go after other anemones(rock flowers)
Nudibranch
Pro: Only eats aiptasia(all sizes), won't go after other corals, can reproduce in a tank
Con: Wrasse will eat them, expensive
Chemical Warfare( Aiptasia X, F-Aiptasia, boiling water, lemon juice)
Pro: No effect on other tank livestock, cheap and always available
Con: Can make the problem worse by stressing aiptasia and having them release babies.

I tried peppermints, and while they took care of the small ones, the big ones were still around, and eventually, the shrimp disappeared. I have found several in the sump, where there is a ton of aiptasia, so they are well fed down there, a couple of others in power heads, and one in my water change pump. Others have just disappeared; not sure if they died or someone ate them. I'm looking at you, Wrasse. I've tried chemicals, and that seems to create more. The fish seem 50/50 on whether they will eat aiptasia and then another 50/50 on whether they will eat corals.

Nudies seem like the best option for eating the aiptasia and not bothering any other corals, but I am sure my Wrasse will gobble them right up, and they are very expensive to be a snack. The only shimmer of hope I see is that they supposedly only come out at night when my Wrasse is buried in the sand.

current overflow condition

man that seems like a tough battle. Good luck.

 

[New&no clue]

 

[Stang67]

Hiya. Aptasia I use some kalk paste and a syringe. Every other week or so. Berghias are also very good.

 

[New&no clue]

Hiya. Aptasia I use some kalk paste and a syringe. Every other week or so. Berghias are also very good.

I’m thinking Bergs. I’m going to try to propagating aiptasia, and then gets some bergs.

 

[Stang67]

Ohh they give me the heebie jeebies.

 

[New&no clue]

Getting serious now

 

[Stang67]

Uh oh. I am about there as well.