Should I add an anemone into my tank?

[1clownfish]

Hi all! so I have a 20 gallon long tank that has been cycling for a year and currently has one adult snowflake clownfish and I have been wanting to add A bubble tip anemone into her tank. I had one in thier for a few months but the tank was only a few Months cycled and I still hadn’t fixed my evaporation problem so the water chemistry was all messed up and the anemone started to bleach and unfortunately eventually died and I have tried to add invertebrates since then but every One I have added had died except for a cleaner shrimp which I had for five months he died because he accidentally jumped out of the tank but that is the only invertebrate that has ever survived in my tank and I’m a worried that if I had anemone it will die to. In case you are wondering I currently have zero problems with my tank except for an algae problem which I am trying to fix right now. In my tank I have a hang on back filter with different types of medias and a smaller black filter with sponge media and a heater. I do water changes every month using premixed RODI saltwater from my local fish store which I trust. Do you think I should add an anemone again my tank is a year cycled and has one snowflake clownfish and the tank is a 20 gallon long. Thankyou!

 

[1clownfish]

So thier is one more problem I have been trying to solve for a very long time… so I have tested my saltwater once month every single month since I set up the tank which was a year ago and every single time the ph was normal, nitrite and nitrate were all at zero ppm but the ammonia level was either at 0.25 ppm or 0.50 ppm!!! I have tried everything, every product, I have done 25% water changes every day for a week and it wont solve it and I don’t even know what is causing it! I use premixed RODI water I do a water change once a month and the tank is a year cycled! and thier is only ONE living thing which is a clownfish and I only feed her once a day with 6 little tiny pellets. I have no clue what is causing the ammonia! and it has been like that for a year I don’t know what to do… if you have suggestions please let me know or any products that you think would work. Thankyou

 

[1clownfish]

ph

 

[1clownfish]

Nitrite

 

[1clownfish]

Nitrate…

 

[1clownfish]

But the ammonia… is at 0.50ppm!! This test was taken 15 minutes ago

 

[1clownfish]

I am even using activated carbon for my media and it isn’t doing a thing

 

[1clownfish]

Thankyou for reading if you have any suggestions or questions please ask. Thankyou so very much

 

[1clownfish]

Sorry looking closer it actually looks like 0.25 ppm let me know what you think…

 

[1clownfish]

Let me know if you think I should test phosphates? And was it necessary to test nitrites? Do they matter?? And should I test the salinity? thankyou!

 

[1clownfish]

I was using the api salt water test kit. Should I use the api reef test kit? As well?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

API is good for indication only, but for better precision you should go with a different kit. I would say you have no ammonia, the API kit can sometimes show trace amounts, but if your tank is a year old with fish, then I dont believe there is ammonia.

 

[blaxsun]

Per the other thread, if you're having issues with invert survival your tank probably isn't ready for anemones (which are generally more sensitive).

 

[Goaway]

Tests that are missing.
Salinity ( very, extremely important) - alk - calc - phosphate

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Short answer, No, you shouldn't add an anenome when your tank is killing all inverts.

As for the ammo, you are using a test that will never show you 0. That test kit is notorious for false positives. Test your new sea water, you'll see.

Your tank has been up for a year with one fish and plenty of rock. Unless you add a massive ammonia source, huge bioload increase overnight or something has died, you do not have ammonia in there.

 

[1clownfish]

API is good for indication only, but for better precision you should go with a different kit. I would say you have no ammonia, the API kit can sometimes show trace amounts, but if your tank is a year old with fish, then I dont believe there is ammonia.

Thankyou yes it has been saying the same exact thing for a very long time what other kit would you recommend that isn’t unreasonably expensive

 

[1clownfish]

Tests that are missing.
Salinity ( very, extremely important) - alk - calc - phosphate

Thankyou I have an api reef test kit with all those tests in it I will test it tonight and post the results

 

[Johnnyboy87]

Take a sample to your LFS. Api is unreliable.

 

[1clownfish]

Short answer, No, you shouldn't add an anenome when your tank is killing all inverts.

As for the ammo, you are using a test that will never show you 0. That test kit is notorious for false positives. Test your new sea water, you'll see.

Your tank has been up for a year with one fish and plenty of rock. Unless you add a massive ammonia source, huge bioload increase overnight or something has died, you do not have ammonia in there.

Thankyou, do you know why it is killing my inverts?? I have been trying to figure that out for a while but can’t seem to come up with an answer it could be because i didnt acclimated them correctly I only temperature acclimated them and not drip acclimate. Would that make a big difference?? Also at the time I was not using RODI water I was using tap mixed with salt. I now know that was a terrible idea. At the time I was also battling evaporation. I have fixed all of those problems and the tank is now months more cycled than it was before. Would you recommend I at least try a hardy invertebrate??

 

[littlebeard]

Is that a recent picture? What type of light are you using?. I would wait until you can keep a clean up crew alive before adding anything else.