Single anemone for IM25 lagoon?

[Llorgon]

I have a IM25 lagoon that currently houses a pair of ocellaris clowns. The tank was a mixed reef, but it went through a mystery crash and I have now moved any of the surviving coral to my larger tank. Since I am only keeping the tank running because I want to keep the clowns and they can't go into my other tank, I thought it might be fun to do an anemone tank. I came across a picture of a tank that only had one large carpet anemone in it and thought something similar would be interesting.

Here is what I am working with:
2 x clowns
IM 25 lagoon
MP10
Sicce 1.5
Radion XR30, Gen 3/4 (not sure, came with the tank)

My only previous anemone experience is rock flowers. Anything I get would be shipped in and a quick search for anemones leaves me with the options of:
BTA
Carpet
Long tentacle
Heteractis
Magnificent - This one is a bit expensive since it's from a place that does a lot of QT process before anything is ready for sale.


My plan for the tank restart would be to strip it all down and then add live rock from a LFS. Haven't decided if I want sand or bare bottom. This has just been a thought that came into my head, so no research has been done yet. Mostly looking to be pointed in the right direction on what isn't a stupid/crazy/doomed to fail idea.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Personally, I'd avoid any large anemones. Stick to BTAs, or maybe a single long tentacle. The ocellaris are more likely to use the LTA, but the BTAs will fill the tank completely within a few years and will be somewhat durable once the tank is established. I wouldn't recommend more than one species of hosting anemone in a tank less than about 50 gallons, chemical warfare between anemones can be pretty intense. I also wouldn't recommend restarting, anemones will do fine in a setup designed for corals as long as their needs are met. A restart would also mean that you would need to wait another six months or so before adding an anemone. I might also add in a few RFAs and mini maxis. They won't have anything to do with the clownfish, but they are the best way to add color into an anemone tank. Good luck!

 

[Llorgon]

Personally, I'd avoid any large anemones. Stick to BTAs, or maybe a single long tentacle. The ocellaris are more likely to use the LTA, but the BTAs will fill the tank completely within a few years and will be somewhat durable once the tank is established. I wouldn't recommend more than one species of hosting anemone in a tank less than about 50 gallons, chemical warfare between anemones can be pretty intense. I also wouldn't recommend restarting, anemones will do fine in a setup designed for corals as long as their needs are met. A restart would also mean that you would need to wait another six months or so before adding an anemone. I might also add in a few RFAs and mini maxis. They won't have anything to do with the clownfish, but they are the best way to add color into an anemone tank. Good luck!

I figured anything that gets really large probably wouldn't be ideal. One giant carpet anemone in a tank did look cool.

When you mean more than one species of hosting anemone, do you mean no bta and long tentacle anemone or does that include multiple different bta's for example?

I'm still throwing around the idea of a complete restart, I know the downsides, but the tank was originally only supposed to be a temporary thing then it lasted 3 years before the crash. It's in bad shape right now and doesn't seem to support any new corals. I was hoping using the established live rock would speed things along.

I do like the rock flowers. That's a good idea!

 

[xiongsy]

If only 1 nem I'd do a magnifica or a pink gigantea. So gorgeous but either hard to find a good specimen or $$$$. Just get a small imo. Not like they grow crazy large over night but I wouldn't know. I have two haddonis in a 24 gallon

 

[Llorgon]

If only 1 nem I'd do a magnifica or a pink gigantea. So gorgeous but either hard to find a good specimen or $$$$. Just get a small imo. Not like they grow crazy large over night but I wouldn't know. I have two haddonis in a 24 gallon

I have only seen one magnifica available in Canada and it's pricey and would be shipped cross country. I have never seen a pink gigantea, but those are really cool looking.

2 haddonis in a 24g, I'd love to see that tank

 

[Hooz]

I have BTAs in my Nuvo 10g with a pair of Snowflake Clowns going on 2 years now. I've mixed BTA varieties without any issue, but I don't have any of the crazy expensive "high end" ones.

BTAs and RFAs occupy different areas of the tank, so I have a few of those as well. It makes for a fun, colorful tank.

Add in a couple anemone crabs, sexy shrimp and, if you end up going with sand, a small goby/pistol pair will add some personality.