Anemone recommendation please!

[jgvergo]

I'd like to add an anemone to my tank, but I'm unsure about compatibility. Here are my basic tank parameters:

85 gallon DT with a 30 gallon sump. Tank age is ~ 8 months.

Fish: 2 Clowns, 2 Fire Gobis, 1 Coral Beauty, 1 Powder Blue Tang, 1 Dwarf Flame Anglefish, 2 Kaudern Cardinalfish, 1 One-spot Foxface, 1 Yellow tang

Various softie, LPS and SPS corals

Alk 9.0, Ca 425, Mg 1425, Temp 78.0, Ph 8.1, Salinity 1.025 - these are very steady.

I don't want an anemone that will grow very large and dominate the tank. I'd like something that stays small, but is large enough to host my clowns. Of course, I'd like a beautiful specimen too! Thoughts?

Here is a picture of my DT if it helps...

 

[Kswish74]

Go with like a frog spawn, or bubble tip!

 

[gig 'em]

A BTA would probably be the best bet for your tank. They are pretty hardy and will clownfish will host them. The only issue with BTAs is they tend to move around if they are unhappy with their placement. This can lead to some accidental suicide-by-powerhead if you're not around to prevent it. There are lots of beautifully colored BTAs out there. Try and stay away from H. magnifica (ritteri) and S. gigantea carpet anemones, they are incredibly difficult to keep and grow enormous. Haddoni carpets are known to be so sticky that they'll eat any fish (excluding hosting clowns) that they touch.

 

[jgvergo]

I had an LTA and it committed powerhead suicide. I was pretty devastated. I don't want to put another anemone in my tank and have it meet the same fate. Is there any way to prevent it from happening?

 

[JFrar]

not a lot of experience with other anemones. but i've had a happy carpet anemone that hasnt moved much for 5 or 6 years now, might sound weird to some but it's size can be a downside. It streteches 14inches maybe more sometimes. It's also on a dedicated large rock so it has wiggle room, but it's rarely moved an inch

 

[jgvergo]

not a lot of experience with other anemones. but i've had a happy carpet anemone that hasnt moved much for 5 or 6 years now, might sound weird to some but it's size can be a downside. It streteches 14inches maybe more sometimes. It's also on a dedicated large rock so it has wiggle room, but it's rarely moved an inch

Well, it does not sound weird to me. My tankis 85 gallons, but I have a fair amount of coral in it and it is evenly distributed around my tank. I don't want an anemone that gets too big b/c it will probably kill some of my existing coral and the tank won't look "balanced"

 

[gig 'em]

You can keep your powerheads as far from the reach of anemones as possible. You can also get foam guards for the powerheads too, but they will clog pretty quickly and require a lot of cleaning. When I kept BTAs I would keep any rock work at a safe distance from the powerheads so if the anemone ever starting wandering around looking for a new home, it wouldn't be in range to get tentacles pulled in to the power head. Also put an anemone where you think IT will be most happy (BTAs like good light, avg-high flow, and they like deep crevices to anchor they foot in) and keep a close eye on it when introduced. It'll probably move around when first introduced looking for a new home it will like, and when it's doing that is when it's most likely to fall prey to a powerhead.

Most anemone species, BTAs included, can grow fairly large. I had a sherman RBTA that took over half a 50 gallon when fully inflated! Carpets can also get very large. So don't plan to have an anemone anywhere near corals you like, but it's likely they'll get stung or killed when it decides to go on a walkabout.

 

[JFrar]

yup, my tank is 85 gallons and i have a square foot of space for it, it seems lol...for sure lose coral real estate

 

[gig 'em]

Yeah you'll be needing more space for sure. As a reference here's how much space I'm giving my two anemones in my tank:

I also have them in a bowl shaped rock so they don't move out and sting my corals. Mind you these aren't BTAs and a bubble tip would not stay put like these anemones.

 

[bairdimusprime]

from your description of what you're looking for a Bubble Tip is the way to go!
they don't get nearly as big as carpets or mags, and most clowns will take them as their hosts