What are some good "First Anemones" for beginners?

[Tinnerito]

I really want to try hosting a school of darwin clowns to an anemome in a 60 gal. What are some good options you recommend?

Extra question: How easy would you consider tube anemones? I have fallen in love with the purple ones my lfs stocks, and them not being photosynthetic actually helps alot in placement.

You could say I technically have experience with anemones if raising aiptasia counts :face-with-tears-of-joy:

 

[liddojunior]

I don’t think they are beginner friendly. I believe they are also mainly cooler water so 72-76

They aren’t natural host to clownfish so would imagine once it gets big enough the clownfish is going to be nem food if it unsuspectingly tries to host.

They aren’t anemones, they are related but they are just a NPS coral that look like anemones similar to calimorphs (mushrooms)

 

[bubbgee]

Rock Flowers but they don't host clownfish, but excellent beginner anemones. Rose and rainbow bubble tips are great as long as your water parameters are good. How old is the tank so far?

 

[Anna K]

I got a sherman bubble tip from @Corals.com and he's been thriving since I started (even survived a move to a bigger tank)

I also second the rfa's even though they aren't hostable. They are so cool!

 

[Tinnerito]

I don’t think they are beginner friendly. I believe they are also mainly cooler water so 72-76

They aren’t natural host to clownfish so would imagine once it gets big enough the clownfish is going to be nem food if it unsuspectingly tries to host.

They aren’t anemones, they are related but they are just a NPS coral that look like anemones similar to calimorphs (mushrooms)

Yes, tube anemones are very small, but I simply just really like the look of them.

 

[Tinnerito]

Rock Flowers but they don't host clownfish, but excellent beginner anemones. Rose and rainbow bubble tips are great as long as your water parameters are good. How old is the tank so far?

Haven't started this one yet, still getting the equipment. I am just planning for the future. I've been creating my stock list, scape, and sump for over a year! I will make sure my tank parameters are stable, and ideal for several months. This will be my largest tank until I can buy my own place to stay, so I really want to take it slow and caredul and make sure I know everything that I am doing.

 

[Tinnerito]

I got a sherman bubble tip from @Corals.com and he's been thriving since I started (even survived a move to a bigger tank)

I also second the rfa's even though they aren't hostable. They are so cool!

I wanted to get tube anemones for their looks primarily. But also some other easy anemone to host clownfish. However I saw someone on the forum who I think said their bangaii cardinals like to perch on their tube anemone. :)

 

[D-Nak]

I really want to try hosting a school of darwin clowns to an anemome in a 60 gal. What are some good options you recommend?

One anemone versus a school of clowns rarely works. A female will become the dominant clown, followed by the dominant male, and the rest of the school will be subordinates. The main pair will most likely defend their anemone and may or may not let the other fish near it. If you want to keep more than two clowns, consider multiple anemones so that the fighting/defending-of-territory is mitigated.

Bubble Tip Anemones ("BTAs") of the same color morph (more on this later) would be a good option. The more common color morphs are very hardy and easy to take care of, and split with some frequency. You might be able to find a fellow hobbyist selling them for cheap or even giving them away. It make time some time for the clownfish to accept a BTA as host, especially if they're not the natural host anemone.

Regarding mixing color morphs of BTAs, some folks have experienced issues successfully housing them together. When starting out, stick to one color morph to avoid problems. As you gain more experience and knowledge, you'll be able to better determine which color morphs you'd like to experiment with.

Two other clownfish-hosting species that I recommend (with a caveat) are S. gigantea ("gig" for short) and H. magnifica ("mag" for short aka Ritteri anemone). They're both hardy once established and can host multiple clowns, especially when they are larger (my mags are 10"+ and oftentimes get bigger) and my largest gig is almost 24" across. The caveat is that finding a healthy specimen is oftentimes difficult with a price point that can be prohibitively high. Newly imported specimens required almost always require a lengthy quarantine process.

 

[Uncle99]

I really want to try hosting a school of darwin clowns to an anemome in a 60 gal. What are some good options you recommend?

Extra question: How easy would you consider tube anemones? I have fallen in love with the purple ones my lfs stocks, and them not being photosynthetic actually helps alot in placement.

You could say I technically have experience with anemones if raising aiptasia counts :face-with-tears-of-joy:

BTA

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Rock Flowers but they don't host clownfish, but excellent beginner anemones. Rose and rainbow bubble tips are great as long as your water parameters are good. How old is the tank so far?

My nano tank clowns beg to differ :)

 

[BryanM]

Lots of controversy over anemones, and requiring mature tanks and such.

I think rock flowers "must" be the easiest, considering I had one as a hitch hiker on my live rock, and it has gone thru hell and back and is still thriving.

 

[Tinnerito]

One anemone versus a school of clowns rarely works. A female will become the dominant clown, followed by the dominant male, and the rest of the school will be subordinates. The main pair will most likely defend their anemone and may or may not let the other fish near it. If you want to keep more than two clowns, consider multiple anemones so that the fighting/defending-of-territory is mitigated.

Bubble Tip Anemones ("BTAs") of the same color morph (more on this later) would be a good option. The more common color morphs are very hardy and easy to take care of, and split with some frequency. You might be able to find a fellow hobbyist selling them for cheap or even giving them away. It make time some time for the clownfish to accept a BTA as host, especially if they're not the natural host anemone.

Regarding mixing color morphs of BTAs, some folks have experienced issues successfully housing them together. When starting out, stick to one color morph to avoid problems. As you gain more experience and knowledge, you'll be able to better determine which color morphs you'd like to experiment with.

Two other clownfish-hosting species that I recommend (with a caveat) are S. gigantea ("gig" for short) and H. magnifica ("mag" for short aka Ritteri anemone). They're both hardy once established and can host multiple clowns, especially when they are larger (my mags are 10"+ and oftentimes get bigger) and my largest gig is almost 24" across. The caveat is that finding a healthy specimen is oftentimes difficult with a price point that can be prohibitively high. Newly imported specimens required almost always require a lengthy quarantine process.

Appreciate the descriptive reply! I had assumed I could keep a bunch of clowns in a nem because I saw some people on here with established anemones that have several clowns in them.

 

[Tinnerito]

My nano tank clowns beg to differ :)

Rock Flowers but they don't host clownfish, but excellent beginner anemones. Rose and rainbow bubble tips are great as long as your water parameters are good. How old is the tank so far?

In my experience, clowns will host almost anything. I have a clown that hosts a small caulerpa plant, and I've seen lots of videos with peoples clowns hosting all sorts of things from algae, to feather dusters.