Anemone help needed

[Fish Wrangler]

I have some questions regarding mostly bubble tip anemones.

1. Would my corals be in danger of being killed it I added an anemones to my tank?

2. Would I have issues with my clownfish because I have 2 pairs of clowns? (ocellaris and percula clowns)

3. What bulbs should I get to support a bubble tip? My frogspawn isn't looking good and I'm afraid it's going to die. I have moved it twice with each time increasing the light, currently its above the blue xenia close to being level with the bottom of the overflow box.

4. I currently have my lights on for 12 hours a day, but I don't have any actinic blue only time like I have seen with other tanks. Is this blue only light necessary for corals? I do have 1 actinic bulb and plan on adding 2 more, if the Fluval bulbs are what I should go with.


Right now it looks like I am going to loose one head of frogspawn, it is closed in on itself and not extending at all. The other 2 heads are extended maybe .75-1 inch which is better than they ever have been for me, lfs I bought it from had LED lighting and I use t5s so I'm hoping it'll come around.

 

[BigKev23]

1. There is the possibility that an anemone could sting your other coral, depending on the coral. I have a bubble tip in with my zoas/palys and they all get along just fine. I have heard of others having a bubble tip stinging and killing their SPS.

2. The only issue I could see is if both pairs of clowns decided they wanted the anemone and didn't want the other pair to have it. But if they are all getting along fine now, I don't see why there would be an issue.

3. What bulbs do you currently have? What kind of fixture do you have?

4. Blue is more for our eyes, but there are definitely some benefits to have some blue as opposed to all white. It all depends on the color spectrum you are looking for. Obviously blue lights make many corals "pop" more than white lights do.

 

[Fish_wiz2]

I have some questions regarding mostly bubble tip anemones.

1. Would my corals be in danger of being killed it I added an anemones to my tank?

There is always that possibility. I've had many different kinds of corals hurt when my old RBTA's and carpets moved around. I lost some corals and some where able to come back.

2. Would I have issues with my clownfish because I have 2 pairs of clowns? (ocellaris and percula clowns)

Depends on who hosts it first. Most of the time it takes a while to get them to host, especially if they're captive bred. You're lucky to have 2 pairs in such a small tank, I couldn't do it in my old 125 as one of my perc pairs refused to host and would fight with the other pair.

3. What bulbs should I get to support a bubble tip? My frogspawn isn't looking good and I'm afraid it's going to die. I have moved it twice with each time increasing the light, currently its above the blue xenia close to being level with the bottom of the overflow box.

Daylight bulbs are what you need, 6500K is best but is super ugly, I'd go for 10000K. Also what kind of T5 do you have? Is it NO (normal output) or HO (high output), NO T5 and even smaller HO T5 fixtures IME are not enough to support an anemone.

4. I currently have my lights on for 12 hours a day, but I don't have any actinic blue only time like I have seen with other tanks. Is this blue only light necessary for corals? I do have 1 actinic bulb and plan on adding 2 more, if the Fluval bulbs are what I should go with.

I don't know if its necessary but I know that deep water reefs receive wavelengths more towards the bluer spectrum. I ran VHO T12 actinic bulbs as a supplement, never as a source of light, so in my experience, no actinic is not needed.

Right now it looks like I am going to loose one head of frogspawn, it is closed in on itself and not extending at all. The other 2 heads are extended maybe .75-1 inch which is better than they ever have been for me, lfs I bought it from had LED lighting and I use t5s so I'm hoping it'll come around.

Good luck! Wiz.

 

[Fish Wrangler]

@ BigKev-

1. The anemone would only sting the coral when its close so I could move the coral so it doesn't get stung right?

2. For the most part the get along now. Being in the damsel family I think leads to a little bickering (old married couple kinda thing) that I see but no fin damage and they all look happy and healthy.

3. Currently I have 4 fluval bulbs. 1 actinic Blue I, 1 LifeSpectrum 6,500k, and 2 Power 18,000k. It's an EnviroGro 6 tube 48" aquaponics fixture. My plan was to change out the LifeSpectrum bulb for a Power bulb, and put 2 more actinics in the 2 empty spots.

4. Does the blue offer enough to make it worth buying a blue LED strip to come on a half hour before the main fixture then turn off when the main switches on, and have the strip come on a little before the main fixture turns out and leave it on for another half hour? I hope that last part made sense..

 

[Fish Wrangler]

Good luck! Wiz.

1. Does it seem like I have the room to support the nem with where the corals are placed now?

2. The lfs I got the clowns from keeps almost all of their clowns in a 4'x4' look down tank so I figured 2 pairs would be good in my 75, guess I am one of the lucky ones.

3. Really the 6500K are what I need? I thought those where for just plants...more reading to do I guess. It is a T5HO fixture, 48" long by 18" wide suspended 1.5" above the trim and ~2.5-3" above the waterline. What would I need to support an anemone MH/LEDs?

4. I was wondering about the blue as a wake up/put to sleep light. When the lights turn off the fish go a little crazy because most of the time the room is pitch black at lights out.

Thanks for the help and advice guys!

 

[Fish_wiz2]

1. Does it seem like I have the room to support the nem with where the corals are placed now?

You definitely have the room, but until you get one and see its personal behavior there's no way I can say for sure. I see a sweet spot on the right of the kenya tree? and occelaris, like the rock has a small dip for the anemone to hook to

2. The lfs I got the clowns from keeps almost all of their clowns in a 4'x4' look down tank so I figured 2 pairs would be good in my 75, guess I am one of the lucky ones.

Yeah the area of a 4x4 definitely trumps my 6x18"

3. Really the 6500K are what I need? I thought those where for just plants...more reading to do I guess. It is a T5HO fixture, 48" long by 18" wide suspended 1.5" above the trim and ~2.5-3" above the waterline. What would I need to support an anemone MH/LEDs?

Nope, 6500K is the closest to the sun and works for both FW and SW. I ran some 6500K Iwasaki metal halide bulbs back in the day and my corals went nuts. But it was the ugliest color I've ever seen. Switched to reeflux 12K and that was a beautiful color. How many bulbs are in your fixture? Does each bulb have its own reflector? What kind of bulbs are you running? T5HO will support an anemone but takes the right setup.

4. I was wondering about the blue as a wake up/put to sleep light. When the lights turn off the fish go a little crazy because most of the time the room is pitch black at lights out.

I liked the effect, but its more important now to have the right light to support your colors than to please your eyes. My fish acted the same but were fine over the years.

Thanks for the help and advice guys!

No problem, just ask away.

 

[BigKev23]

1. You could move corals. Anemones can move a great deal though, especially at night.

3. I don't have any experience with Fluval bulbs. At the very least, I would recommend trying ATI bulbs, as they are a much higher quality bulb and likely have better output. Blue Plus bulbs have a very high par value and give the desirable blue light at the same time.

4. I wouldn't worry about adding a LED strip. Maybe just change up your bulb combo to get the tank color you want.

 

[Fish Wrangler]

Won't the anemone stop moving after a while once it finds its spot?

For the ATI how does 3 Blue Plus, 2 True Actinics, and 1 Coral Plus sound? I'm probably going to wait until the summer before upgrading the bulbs because the one's I have now are only 2.5 months old. If I have to wait for the anemone then I'll wait.

The LED would more so be for a sunrise/sunset kind of feature, I don't think the fish like going from high noon to midnight light wise.

 

[Sparky312]

The nem might move around or it might not -- you really can't predict or control what it will do. But even if it parks right next to a piece of SPS, it won't kill it instantly, you have a couple days to move one or the other.

Totally agree about getting ATI bulbs. When you get quality bulbs like ATI you can use pretty much any combination, its a matter of taste and how it looks to your eye. The combination you suggested would be very blue, but that doesn't make it bad. My advice would be try to find someone with used, old, "expired" bulbs so you can play around with different combos and see what looks good to you. It would be very cheap or free. You wouldn't want to use old bulbs long term on the tank, but it can at least let you see the differences between them

 

[Fish Wrangler]

The nem might move around or it might not -- you really can't predict or control what it will do. But even if it parks right next to a piece of SPS, it won't kill it instantly, you have a couple days to move one or the other.

Totally agree about getting ATI bulbs. When you get quality bulbs like ATI you can use pretty much any combination, its a matter of taste and how it looks to your eye. The combination you suggested would be very blue, but that doesn't make it bad. My advice would be try to find someone with used, old, "expired" bulbs so you can play around with different combos and see what looks good to you. It would be very cheap or free. You wouldn't want to use old bulbs long term on the tank, but it can at least let you see the differences between them

Oh if I have a few days to move someone I can manage that. I was worried about an overnight murder.

I like the idea of trying out some expired bulbs! I could put them on for a few minutes then go back to my fluval ones while the ATI's are being shipped. I know an lfs that uses T5's so I'll have to check with the owner to see which ones they use.

 

[Sparky312]

When you are ready to buy, check out AquaCave, its in Gurnee pretty close to you. Their prices on ATI bulbs are decent and you can pick-up at their store, save on the shipping