Anemones? or stay away ?

[cb]

I have ahd mine 4 months now and I feed it every other day if I feed it everyday it always purges on the second day. Mine seems happy with the current and the lighting I have it stays in the same general spot with the exception of moving up or down. Sometimes it moves away from the light and other times it moves closer. By the way mine is a Condi.

 

[killafins]

just remember, half the people on this site are not ready for an anenome... there tanks arn't matured enough and there lighting is off...

 

[bas12547]

I have a seabae. IT is about 6 months old and thriving. My only compalint is that it is getting to big.
I feed him krill every two days.
Brian

 

[bwmichael21]

Have you considered a tube anemone ? it is the closest living relative to the true sea anemone. I have 2 that both have split and are well over a year old. They stay were you put them, require not nearly as much light. I have actually sold one back to my lfs cause it got too big for my likening. They are feed some krill once a week, but feed on the brine that floats down daily.

 

[plum70rt]

ok heres the sucess story, although I dont recommend this to everyone, I have had 3 amnemones in my tank for almost a year now, 2 sabaes and a blue carpet, as we speak th blue carpet is splitting, through the year small fish have been lost and some corals stung but I love these creatures, part of the real reef, The same for sea urchins, eat some coral and coraline but thats nature, why the success? I feed them and make sure water is great, Im not big on water changes so light is intense, they rarely move now, I even got one from this site yellow , and has been brought back to a nice brownish color with purple tips,
IMO as long as you know the care and are willing to follow through, anemones are great additions

 

[plum70rt]

when I first got that one,

 

[dboy999]

thanks all...still undecided but thanks for all the opinions...

 

[joey k.]

Wow! I never knew they were considered so hard to keep! I've been into marine aquariums for years but fish only, untill I got a couple of anemones. I have had mine last for 2 years, untill I moved 250 miles & then lost them shortly after the move. I again bought some about 4 months ago & they're going ok.
So now my question(s) is: I have always been afraid to make the leap to corals, are they easier than anemones to keep? & If I do, should I get rid of my anemones? Does anyone here have any good suggestions & or guidelines to sucessfully keeping corals? Also, what are some of the easier corals to keep w/out many problems? obviously, my lighting & water quality are up to snuff so I am just looking for some tips & reassurance from some experienced coral hobbiests.

 

[plum70rt]

well what do you consider up to snuff? do you want some shrooms, soft coral? LPS? or SPS? whats your tank #s on Calcium and Alk?

 

[craig_08]

The short answer to your question Joey is yes and yes. Most corals are easier to keep than anemones regarding lighting and water quality although some SPS is very hard to keep as well. If you are going to try corals you should get rid of the anemones unless you have enough room to devote a part of the tank far away from your corals to keep them as they will sting your coral causing them to die. Hope this will help some. Take my advice with a grain of salt as I am still a newbie although I consider myself very informed.

 

[joey k.]

My calcium is 380 & my alk. around 3.5 I think I will just get rid of the anemones. My tank is 65 gal. I think I'll start w/ something cheap like I saw shrooms & ricordea here at saltwaterfish.com were very cheap. Does that sound adviseable? I figure if I can keep them going for a couple months then I'll go 4 it & spring for something more pricey. I've been useing buffer, liquid calcium & fine filter feeded in my aquarium, anything else recommended?

 

[craig_08]

Joey,
Ricordea and shrooms are super easy to keep. They require low flow and low light. If you were keeping anenomes succesfully than I am sure you have sufficient lighting for these choises and almost any type of LPS (brains, frogspawn, torch, plate, etc.). Do a search on here and read a little bit about the requirements to keep these animals before you make the leap and get rid of the anenomes in loiu of corals. Better safe than sorry. Good luck and happy reefing.
Craig

 

[joey k.]

Thanx so much! I thought I had a good idea on what I should do & you've helped me make my decision to just go 4 it! I'll be giving it a try sometime w/in a week or two.

 

[killafins]

don't just go 4 it, that's the largest problem here. You have to go to the LFS, pick the type of coral you want, drive all the way back and research like h**l... most corals are easier than anenome's... except for the slight few. d_boy... in my oppinion wait a few years. If your unsure, ur not ready. If you are 99.5% ksure, don't get it. There are mixed feelings and the once that claim they have success stories probably didn't do what u r doing... kudos for u.
Plum, although he hasn't had his anenome's long enough to be a success story, he has his own way to do his tanks that just work. I think he has this blue thumb for aquatics or something. He is the one person i feel may be expert enough to care for them.
I just hope you all realize that in the wild they can not only pass your life time but like square it, probably more. So if you were really successful... you better find someone to care for it after you.