First Anemone

[jon3gmitgt]

Hey guys, just wanted to say hello (first post) and I had a question about an anemone I purchased from the lfs today. First, a couple things.
1. I got this tank about 3 weeks ago from a friend who had it set up for about 2 years.
2. phosphate= 1ppm
ph= 8.2
sg=1.024
nitrate= 15ppm
nitrite= 0 ppm
I was using the master test kit w/ the little cards.
3. The anemone I was told is a red bottom long tentacle. He is really big, mouth is closed, body is firm but he just kind of rolls around the tank and hasn't planted his foot anywhere. Just wondering if it takes a while for him to get a feel for where he wants to sit.
btw, it came with a clown, not sure which but he is a little guy. two damsels and a mandarin dragonet. any advise would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

 

[sepulatian]

What kind of lights do you have? This tank was over 2 years old? It looks like only one piece of LR, a few pieces of new rock and some fake decorations. I may be wrong, please correct me if I am. How much LR is in there?

 

[scoobs]

Think you would have been better off getting a Condylactis gigantea unless you plan on putting a clown fish to host the Long Tentacle.. Those can get really large to but if you don't have decent lighting it will never make it. it takes moderate lighting which you can get from power compacts on up.. They also take a fairly deep sand bed to be happy they will dig the foot into it and anchor.

 

[scoobs]

and get a background makes the tank look better

 

[puffer32]

How long did your friend have that mandrin? You need much more LR for it to survive. Do you have a fuge for pods to reproduce and does the mandrin eat frozen foods?

 

[shogun323]

From the looks of your pictures, it appears that you have standard flourescent lighting on your tank. Without High Output lighting, your anemone will probably survive 6 months or so.

 

[spanko]

Not too long of a post. Good questions.
The tank to me looks like it was set up as a fish only tank. Not much live rock, ecorative additions, basic lighting. You are embarking down a road with the addition of the anemone that will require a considerablt amount of change to go from fish only to including coral inhabitants.
More live rock is needed. Normally 1-1.5 lbs. per gallon of water depending on the porosity of the rock.
It looks like there is crushed coral for the substrate. This is possible in a coral tank but will entail persistant cleaning to counter the amount of accumulated debris that you will get on it. This debris will continously rot and cause water condition problems that you biological filtration may not be able to keep up with. Also depending on what lighting is currently on the tank you may not have enough to do what you are attempting to do.
This is just a starting point for some information on what you are getting into with the addition of the anemone. Please get some reading material on the keeping of a marine aquarium and get yourself aquainted with the role you are taking on.
The Concientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner is a good starting point. Keep posting here and asking questions. The folks here are knowledgeable and eager to help.

 

[trigger11]

Welcome to the boards

And congratz on your new tank.
Here are my observations.
Nitrates being at 15 is going to be on the high side for having corals. The anenome is considered a coral.
From your picture it looks like there is an overflow? Does this go to a refugium? I hope so. As a previous poster mentioned the mandarin is going to need copepods in order to live. Unless you happen to have one of the rare few that will eat flakes.
If you have the funds available I would consider adding more LR. It will help your natural biological filtration system and give you more places to add corals. And my guess is that since you added an anenome you will be adding other corals. BTW, the general recommendation is to practice growing other kinds of hardier corals and then work your way up to keeping an anenome. This just means you will have some extra work cut out for you because you will have to monitor the water conditions often.
At this point I would wait at least 3 more weeks before adding anything new to the tank. The tank needs time to get settled and stabalized from the move. Patience is a must have virtue in the saltwater hobby. This little saying pretty much sums it up, "The only things that happen fast in a sw tank are bad things"
Welcome to the boards and be sure to ask lots of questions. This is a great community here.

 

[essop3]

You should take the anemone back. You don't have the lights for it yet. Put the money into some more live rock.
Welcome to the hobby & Being broke

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by jon3gmitgt
Hey guys, just wanted to say hello (first post) and I had a question about an anemone I purchased from the lfs today. First, a couple things.
1. I got this tank about 3 weeks ago from a friend who had it set up for about 2 years.
2. phosphate= 1ppm
ph= 8.2
sg=1.024
nitrate= 15ppm
nitrite= 0 ppm
I was using the master test kit w/ the little cards.
3. The anemone I was told is a red bottom long tentacle. He is really big, mouth is closed, body is firm but he just kind of rolls around the tank and hasn't planted his foot anywhere. Just wondering if it takes a while for him to get a feel for where he wants to sit.
btw, it came with a clown, not sure which but he is a little guy. two damsels and a mandarin dragonet. any advise would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.
Maybe up the salt a tad, can you add a HOB skimmer? what kind of lighting do you have?

 

[oceansidefish]

I definately agree that you should take him back, looks to me like there may even be reg. colored tank rock on the bottom. Should definately have some more live rock in there if you want to keep corals. I have pirate ships in my freshy tank but would go against them in a SW.
I would definately read up a little more before you start making any purchases. SW is a tricky and expensive habit, even more so when your not ready and you watch your money go down the tube.

 

[kilhullen]

Anemones do move around and tumble until they are happy with their location, but I tend to think with your current setup, this guy won't be happy ever. Better to wait until you get your stock / parameters right and your knowledge up (since this is a new tank to you), and you can get an anemone at that point, when the anemone has a better chance to survive.
Your clowns don't require an anemone, but the anemone requires very specific needs. Not to hark on you, and I know you are getting this from everyone, but no one addressed your question about the tumbling. This is not to say you can't have it, you just have some work still to do.