1 month old tank with a rock flower?

[LukeSivyer45]

Ive seen at my lfs some rock flower nems but my tanks only 1 month old. I wanted a bubble tip but im definitely waiting but supposedly rock flowers are wayyy hardier. Would anyone recommend getting one now because there hard to get or should i wait?

 

[albano]

Not sure why ‘they are hard to get’?, but I’d suggest waiting.

They should be readily available when your tank is ready.

 

[LukeSivyer45]

Not sure why ‘they are hard to get’?, but I’d suggest waiting.

They should be readily available when your tank is ready.

My lfs never gets them in, I asked and they said it was the first time in like a year since they got them.

 

[Pntbll687]

My lfs never gets them in, I asked and they said it was the first time in like a year since they got them.

It's going to depend on your level of readiness to care for them and knowledge of what they need.

You can put corals in tanks on day 1 and they'll survive, as long as you know what you are doing.

Do you know
1) What they eat?
2) What eats them? You don't want to put them in a tank just to find out another inhabitant has a taste for them
3) What par and spectrum is best for them?
4) Are the lights you have capable of providing that par and spectrum?
5) Are there specific water parameters they need in alk, ca, mg , ph, temp?

Just some things to think about before buying.

 

[albano]

They are almost ‘always’ available from online vendors in Florida, as well as other vendors

 

[FTW-Reef]

They are almost ‘always’ available from online vendors in Florida, as well as other vendors

I have no experience with the vendor below, but was humorous to see an ad with a rock flower immediately following what @albano said...

 

[davidcalgary29]

OP may well be in England, so suggestions for American vendors may well be a little moot.

But yes, you could probably put a rock flower anemone in your tank a month after cycling. I didn't put mine in until about six months after the tank had cycled (and really only so that my sexy shrimp would leave the duncans alone), but the really are hardy creatures.

 

[albano]

OP may well be in England, so suggestions for American vendors may well be a little moot.

Didn’t consider that! There are 2 towns named Kent close to my home, 1 in NY and 1 in Conn.

 

[youcallmenny1]

RFA's are pretty tough and hardy. If you put more than one you may end up with a male and female that will breed and propagate so make sure you like their colors before introducing them. They don't spread and destroy things the way BTA's or worse majano/aptasia would either. Pretty great reef denizen!

 

[BanjoBandito]

I have 4 rocks in my nano...as long as you are broadcast feeding to some degree they'll be fine. The real reason you are told to wait is that nems generally don't like parameter swings and if they die they'll release toxins in the water and then you got a REAAAAAL mess. RFNs are pretty hardy, so if you think you can keep your phos/nitrates and all the other good stuffs in check, go for it. I cycled my tank with coral in it.

 

[BanjoBandito]

Oh one more thing - nems are like sponges, they absorb a ton of seawater, so acclimate it slow....like 2-3 hours. When you put it in cut the pumps and try to place it near the bottom on a rock or rock crevice. They move, but usually not once they are STUCK. They don't need a lot of light and you can scorch them in high lighting, so turn your lights off or add it in the evening if possible. Think of it like this - that nem wants a nice, calm, shady spot where it can be left alone to do it's thing.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Oh one more thing - nems are like sponges, they absorb a ton of seawater, so acclimate it slow....like 2-3 hours. When you put it in cut the pumps and try to place it near the bottom on a rock or rock crevice. They move, but usually not once they are STUCK. They don't need a lot of light and you can scorch them in high lighting, so turn your lights off or add it in the evening if possible. Think of it like this - that nem wants a nice, calm, shady spot where it can be left alone to do it's thing.

I just shook mine out of their bags and into my Evo. Oops!

They also rejected my artistic direction and chose their own spots. One on the sand bed, and the other obligingly on a rock so we can all see how pretty it is. Moon/blue lights really bring out some of their colours.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I just shook mine out of their bags and into my Evo. Oops!

They also rejected my artistic direction and chose their own spots. One on the sand bed, and the other obligingly on a rock so we can all see how pretty it is. Moon/blue lights really bring out some of their colours.

I really coaxed mine into specific spots, and they've stayed mostly where I wanted, but one went rogue and is trying to bury his foot to the bottom of my 4-5" sand bed. :mad:

 

[James_O]

I would definitely need wait. I didn’t get my first coral built my tank was around 3 months old. And even then it was just a small paly colony.

Also don’t get a nem until your tank is mature and stable, as they can’t handle fluctuations in parameters.