What kind of anemone should I be getting?

[DalPal25]

Hey everyone, I have a bonded pair of phantom clowns and I would like to know what kind of anemone I should get that has the best chance of it hosting the clowns. I know there's no guarantee but I don't want to buy an anemone that has little to no chance. Thank you!

 

[TherealplexiG]

BTA, you need good lighting and water para though!

 

[Chrisfish]

How long has your tank been running? I agree a BTA is a good choice I have two and both my clowns love them.

 

[DalPal25]

How long has your tank been running? I agree a BTA is a good choice I have two and both my clowns love them.

About two months.

 

[TherealplexiG]

What's your water parameters? 2 months is fairly new. I would wait for at least six months before putting one. You may also need sponge to cover powerheads. Medium to high flow and rest all the basic stuff.

 

[Chrisfish]

+1

 

[Smite]

When you do get one I'd suggest placing the clowns and bta in an acclimation box. I've had horrible luck getting clowns to start using the bta as a host in anything over 25g, specifically captive bred/ designer clowns.

 

[mochaclownlover]

A bubble tip is a good choice for a first anemone, but you need strong lighting and staple parameters. As mentioned above, you should wait at least six months before adding an anemone

 

[Leslie Tabor]

When you do get one I'd suggest placing the clowns and bta in an acclimation box. I've had horrible luck getting clowns to start using the bta as a host in anything over 25g, specifically captive bred/ designer clowns.

I had great luck but I was patient. It took about 3 months for my blacker ice pair to show interest in my RBTA but one day...BAM! And now I rarely see my clowns because they are always in my nems. We are already putting these animals under stress in captivity why force them into a behavior if they dont want to? Oh and my tank is a 120gal, so way bigger than 25g.

 

[Smite]

I scan see that point. I never really thought of it as forcing a behavior but more of triggering an instinct or natural behaviour.

Not sure a captive bred clown fish would be stressed in captivity as that's all it knows. I think a temporary, smaller housing to help it find its natural "safe spot" would pay off with a lifetime of security for the clown fish.

I only mention it because I regret not taking the time to do that with my current pair. I've waited closer to 6 months so far with this pair. A year without aucces on my previous 66g. The nem found its spot while my clowns sleep in my Sunny Ds half a tank away.

Edit: my current system is 100g so not that large at all

 

[Smite]

Sorry double post

 

[Valkyrie]

Noob question: when ya say strong lighting, what are we talking about? I run a 24" Coralife 50/50 T8 17w for no other reason than because. But I've since decided that I need a BTA for my two clowns and probably should get better lighting.
TIA!

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I scan see that point. I never really thought of it as forcing a behavior but more of triggering an instinct or natural behaviour.

Not sure a captive bred clown fish would be stressed in captivity as that's all it knows. I think a temporary, smaller housing to help it find its natural "safe spot" would pay off with a lifetime of security for the clown fish.

I only mention it because I regret not taking the time to do that with my current pair. I've waited closer to 6 months so far with this pair. A year without aucces on my previous 66g. The nem found its spot while my clowns sleep in my Sunny Ds half a tank away.

Edit: my current system is 100g so not that large at all

Valid point on the captive bred clowns, however if we are going with that than we probably shouldn't expect them to host a nem if they have never seen one? Since they don't "need" protection really in our tanks. I guess it is personal preference. I may have gotten lucky but I went into it knowing the clowns might not host and that was acceptable. I gotta say though the feeling when they did was INCREDIBLE...I just wonder if it would have been so amazing if it wasnt by natural choice? I wish you luck whatever you decide! However, like I said, I rarely see my clowns now so if you like watching them run around the tank a nem hidey spot is a double edge sword! Lol

 

[Amoo]

First questions that should be asked here is what kind of lighting do you have, how old is your tank and how much experience do you have as a reefer? You already said tank is 2 months old, pretty new to be honest for a Nem.

 

[DalPal25]

First questions that should be asked here is what kind of lighting do you have, how old is your tank and how much experience do you have as a reefer? You already said tank is 2 months old, pretty new to be honest for a Nem.

I have AI Prime

 

[Amoo]

that's two of the three answers

 

[DalPal25]

that's two of the three answers

Oh I'm sorry, I already answered that previously in the thread. It's been running for 2 months which is also how long I've been in the hobby.

 

[themcnertney]

Wait till at least 6 months to a year then pick up a RBTA or GBTA. Make sure your lighting is adequate.

 

[Amoo]

Oh I'm sorry, I already answered that previously in the thread. It's been running for 2 months which is also how long I've been in the hobby.

As a new reefer, the 6 month to a year rule is generally given to people who are newer to the hobby so they can learn how to properly maintain and balance their tank before they hop on the anemone train which is a whole different animal. You're free to do as you please, but I usually try to convince newer folks to spend 6 months with their tank, and during that time do as much research as you can on the type of anemone you want, then take the leap.

You need to be able to tell from the way your nem is acting, if it's happy/unhappy and why. That's really hard to do when you don't truly have a good understanding if your overall system is happy yet.

Hope that helps.

 

[DalPal25]

Just to be clear, I wasn't thinking about purchasing one. In the future for sure but I'm far from ready to jump over to the fish store and buy one. Just wanted to gather information and ideas. Thank you all for the knowledge and help.