Requirements for Anenome + Clownfish

[tekknoschtev]

We recently set up our saltwater tank, and we are taking things slow, I just want to know what the requirements are for an anenome and a clown fish or two to go in the tank.

We have a 96W PC light fixture sitting on the 40gal tank. Filtered by a Magnum 350, and 2" of live sand. We are purchasing live rock before we do anything and letting things settle before.

Basically, my mother became infatuated with a percula clownfish that plays in the green carpet anenome, however I am more biased towards a bubbletip. Will either of these survive in the tank?

Thanks for your help.

Steve

[O'Coralman]

Some have success with the carpit...most often it dies. The bubbletip is a much better choice.

[Kabuto]

First you need more light, even for a bubble tip, which requires less than a carpet. You can try to find one that is already hosting and buy both together or get an anemone that is a natural host for the clownfish you get. A BTA is generally a good all around anemone for hosting. I wouldn't reccomend a carpet unless you have some experience. It will also eat other smaller fish and occaisionally clownfish.

[reverai]

Also most anemones seem to well with a mature tank rather than a tank just finished with a cycle. That means tanks months old. In the wild, anemones can live 100s of years but in our tanks most die within a few months to a a few years.

Steve

[O'Coralman]

Thanks for the backup opinion. Its could to see others agree. My clowns hosted an RBTA....till it started moving around all over my coral. Took it back to the LFS....but it thrived and grew. A good choice. I also agree you need more light.

steve

[phil519]

Well I think everyone has covered lighting but another important element is water quality and water flow. The water should be stable and obviously your water parameters need to be as close to NSW as possible. Also if the flow is insufficient or "laminar" - you'll find a moving anemone which may result in death (getting caught in powerhead/overflow).

I just received a condylactis anemone (freebie) and I was really lucky to have it host my maroon. I have about 35x flow and the condi never moved once after I placed it. I don't consider this to be typical - rather I was just extremely lucky. So I'm not advocating buying a condi and maroon! Condis are somewhat easier (versus the pacific anemones) to keep but usually do NOT host clowns.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/buyerny/marooncondi.jpg

EDIT: This is an excellent pinned post with some info for you to read up on...! Clownfish and Anemone FAQ (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=282136)
Good luck.

[tekknoschtev]

I guess it wasnt well stated in the main post. We arent planning on doing this soon, rather, just collecting information for later, minimum of 2-3 months from now.

What would the minimum lighting be for the BTA? Also, what relatively cheap alternatives do we have to getting lighting appropriate for it. The only reason I asked about the green carpet, we saw a maroon playing in it at a LFS, and was just curious.

Also, we will eventually have 2 MaxiJet 900's and the Magnum 350 for water flow, is this enough? What other options do we have?

Thanks for all the helpful information.