experienced BTA owners, i need tips and suggestions

[jenny_rs]

Okay so i noticed the BTA is very common, since it's easier to care for than other anemone's. i was looking through some of the other threads and haven't had much help yet. I currently have a 5 gal (i know this is REALLY small, but i had to downsize for the time being as my parents just decided they wanted to do work in the house ) anywho, I will be getting an ocellaris clownfish once my tank is done cycling and down the road, once i've got my ten gal set up and cycled, i wanted to add a BTA to the aquarium. ok here come the questions....
1. what kind of output on the lighting would i need for a rectangular 10 gal? i want to make sure it gets all the light it needs.
2. what do i feed it? i heard chopped up seafood somewhere but what kind of seafood exactly.
3. would i still need to feed it if the clownfish hosts it? do i need to feed it if the clownfish does not host with it?
any other suggestions would be greatly apreciated!
Jenny_RS :joy:

 

[martinc909]

I'm no expert in anemones. but I think that a 10 gallon is
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too small for an anemone. You need medal halides for an anemone to live happily. Unless you are planning to upgrade.

 

[chunks]

a ten gallon is a bit tight, and it doesnt leave much room for error (whether it be temp, pH, salinity, etc). Ive had a good deal of success raising bta with pcs, but t-5 or mh is the best. Unfortunately, your tank will heat up rapidly with a mh system unless you get a penant and hang it further away from the tank. Not a great idea in my mind
Anyways, BTA do well with silversides, or chopped shellfish or shrimp. Make sure the seafood hasnt been treated with chlorine by giving it a smell or two. A chunk the size of its mouth will do fine. If you decide to go with just pc, you might need to feed it a bit more often, twice a week as opposed to once every week or week and a half with a MH system (often, you dont even need to feed it when paired w/ a clown).
The clownfish might host, it might not, but either way the feeding schedual shouldnt change that much in a tank that small (if youre running PCs). Just watch the clown and see how often the food he doesnt eat ends up in the anemone and base it on that.

 

[jenny_rs]

thanks for the tips, i will be upgrading down the road, so just to be safe, until i do upgrade to a larger tank (probably a 30 gal) then i will be adding the anemone. For now i will be sitcking with replica's just to be on the safe side. and it's a plus anyway because clowns don't need an anemone to survive in the aquarium.