Help Needed Quicly - Anemone and Clam Question

codered

codered

Member
I'm considering the purchase of a 6 gallon nano cube. My LFS is offering a great deal.
I'm wanting to put an anemone in it, but it only has 3 watts per gallon (18 total watts) lighting. Is this enough lighting for a small clam and an anemone? (Florida Condi)
Also, can both species survive in such a small tank?
CodeRed
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
No on both for two reasons.
1. Not nearly enough lighting.
2. They need pristine water conditions. That is very hard (if not impossible) to maintain in such a small tank.
Do the creatures a favor and leave them out of your tank.
 
watertight

watertight

Member
I've had a bta in my 10 gal nano for 6 months now, with only a 15 watt powerglo tube - It's more than doubled in size, and seems to be doing great. I only bought it because the guy at the LFS told me it'd do fine (Yeah, I know!). Would it die if I left it there? I would have thought it wouldn't have been growing if it wasn't getting enough light?
Anyhow, it's getting moved as soon as I get my 40 gal tank up and running, that's still cycling though, atm....
 
mermaiden7

mermaiden7

Member
I do water changes 2x a week and my water is RO...I have it checked by the LFS and they say that it is great.... So maybe i am doing something right.... :happyfish
 
farslayer

farslayer

Active Member
For those interested there are 24G nanocubes now with 70W MH lighting, so you can have a clam and an anemone :) I may invest in one of these for my son's room. He's only three months, so it's mostly for me, but hey, it's a good excuse to buy one :)
 
watertight

watertight

Member
Originally Posted by mermaiden7
I do water changes 2x a week and my water is RO...I have it checked by the LFS and they say that it is great.... So maybe i am doing something right.... :happyfish
I'm using natural sea water!
 
viper_930

viper_930

Active Member
watertight and mermaiden7, if possible could both of you post a pic of your anemones? I'd like to see how they look under your normal output lights.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by watertight
I've had a bta in my 10 gal nano for 6 months now, with only a 15 watt powerglo tube - It's more than doubled in size, and seems to be doing great. I only bought it because the guy at the LFS told me it'd do fine (Yeah, I know!). Would it die if I left it there? I would have thought it wouldn't have been growing if it wasn't getting enough light?
Anyhow, it's getting moved as soon as I get my 40 gal tank up and running, that's still cycling though, atm....
HEalthy anemones can take up to a year to die from low light. The increased size si because it is straining for light. The growth is misleading.
Looking at your pic, it seems to be a little bleached. It's dying IMO. Hope you are planning on high intensity lighting for your 40 else this creature is going to die within the next few months.
 
watertight

watertight

Member
Here's a better pic, shot tonight - You really think it's gonna die? I won't be able to get it into my new tank till well after Christmas, I used uncured l/r to cycle it, and the ammonia and nitrite are still pretty high.
The new tank will be running 2 coralife fluros and a single mh that I have scored off my father (Don't know what the wattage is yet, my brother-in-law is bringing it over with him when he comes to visit at christmas). Having just forked out $600.00 for the tank and cabinet, plus all the extras I've put in, along with Christmas, I'm pretty much broke now till the new year

 
murph

murph

Active Member
You may have a shot with a Florida condi with that lighting. Problem is its an anemone and they just don't do well in enclosed systems in general although as stated some people do have success with them.
There is a quite a bit of available reading on anemones on the web and almost as many different opinions on there viability in the aquarium as pages that will pop up when you type the word into your search engine. All the factors are discussed including lighting but my hunch is anemone survival has a lot more to do with how and when it was captured and what it may or may not have been exposed to in the various holding tanks before arriving at the hobbyist tank.
If you have your hart set on it I say go for it. They are inexpensive and there struggle for survival in the enclosed system has already begun and there chances with someone like you who is taking the time to ask questions and do some research are far better than the majority of casual tank owners who will buy on a whim or the advice of a salesmen.
I would suggest however that you opt for some low light soft corals. More expensive but in the long run much less stress and your odds of success are greatly improved. Check out the photo section of this forum and take a look at peoples coral "gardens" it makes for a stunning display.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Note to others reading this: DO NOT keep anemones under such low lighting as described above. IF, and I do mean IF these anemone's pictured live over 6 to 12 months they will be the abnormal, not the normal. If a healthy anemone is purchased it can take a long time to die... success with anemone's can not be declared until after 12 months IMO. Please seek the advise of Thomas and the other experts in the "Clownfish & Anemones" forum before purchasing any anemone.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Oh boy.
Folks, anemones are photosynthetic animals. They must have proper lighting for them to survive. At least the hosting type do. Like many I even tried years ago with 80 watts of normal output lights and almost killed my BTA. Its like sticking a plant in the closet and hoping it will live. Of course it won't.
15 watts of NO lighting will only be a sure death of an anemone over time. Please consider giving the anemone away, upgrade lighting, or take it back for store credit.
Thomas
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
The thing is what you rarely hear is the people who failed. We have some here, but for the most part, FAR more people fail in this scenario than succeed. And anything less than a year is not the best example anyway.
 
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