Starting corals/anemones

[xL4zYx]

Ok, I'm looking for some anemones or corals that don't require a large amount of lighting to start out with. I'm going to upgrade my lighting soon so I can choose from a larger amount. They can't get too large since I only have a 29gl. Tank. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[hartman]

Below are some pics and names. These are good starts and do not require much attention, just light and good water, no direct feeding.

Yellow Polyps
http://www.hartmansreef.com/yellowstar01s.jpg

Different types of buttons
http://www.hartmansreef.com/gbp01s.jpg
http://www.hartmansreef.com/orangezoo-4-7-2002c.jpg

Mushrooms, blue and green strip
http://www.hartmansreef.com/mush01s.jpg

Hope this helps
Hartman

[Will]

Originally posted by xL4zYx
Ok, I'm looking for some anemones or corals that don't require a large amount of lighting to start out with.

there are no easy anemones. they all require too much lighting and its not worth paying hundreds of dollars for lighting to get an anemone so it can live for a year when it could live in the ocean for hundreds of years. ok, so the point is this: steer clear of anemones. they are not good choices for beginners or even experts (except experts with metal hallide lights that are somewhere near a million watts). good beginner coral: Xenia elongata. to have this, your tank better have some degree of stability. xenia hates fluctuations, but if your tank is stable, it will grow like a weed. various types of leathers are nice, but as with xenia, they require really stable systems. temperature is a big issue with leathers and anything above 80 is like tiptoeing on the edge of the grand canyon. some of the smaller lps are nice and dont need a ton of lighting, but the lights should be decent. these include candy coral, blastomoussa, and the like.
fourhand2

[xL4zYx]

Thanks guys.

Hartman, what are the buttons with green, purple, and orange. I like those a lot and I want to do some research on them :)

[hartman]

xL4zYx,


The ones in the middle 2 pics are call <b>"button zoo's"</b>. They come in all colors and it is just what you can get.

The ones in the last pics are
<b>Green stripe mushroom</b>" or wagon wheel mushroom
<b>"Blue/Purple mushroom</b>"

Green one like light and med flow, the blue ones like shaded areas with low flow.

Hartman

[bmcq]

fourhand2 .... are you suggesting that leathers do better at 80 degrees? I have a yellow leather that I have had for about two months ..... it was doing really well. Within the last two weeks I have raised my tank to 82-84 degrees and 1.026 salinity from suggestions on this board. And in the last 2 weeks I have also noticed that my leather is not flourishing as it was. It doesn't blossom under the lights like it did before. Is this temp related or maybe something else?? All parameters are 0, and I use RO/DI for top off.

[Will]

they do better below 80, and even better around 76.
fourhand2

[Will]

sorry, i didn't answer your other question :rolleyes: i'd say it's temp related. i hate to dispute other suggestions you've gotten, but i'd slowly bring that salinity back down to about 1.022 and the temp to about 78 (if that's possible in nc. i know it's pretty close to impossible in sc..).
fourhand2

[bmcq]

thanks for the input ... I'm going to try to bring the temp back down to around 80. It's not too hard to regulate the temps here ... I have an air conditioner thru the wall right next to my tank!!!! Even with 2 175 MH the temp won't reach 82. I have to use my heater to keep the tank even!!!

[Squidman]

I strongly disagree with Fourhand2 regarding the salinity. Natural reefs average between 1.025 and 1.026. I understand that for FO tanks a lower salinity can be beneficial but that's because some parasites can't live as well with the un-naturally low salinity. I agree with his assesment regarding a slightly lower temperature however. Eric Borneman's book on Corals is a wealth of information on this subject. I highly recommend you get a copy if you plan to get into reefing. I was glad that I did. :D

[Will]

it's all a matter of prefernce. i keep my tank at 1.021 and all of the fish, corals, and other inverts are thriving.
fourhand2

[bmcq]

from the reading I have done I agree with the higher salinity ... I am just trying to reach a comfortable temp for the inhabitants of my reef. If only a couple of degrees can make a difference and everything is thriving ..... isn't that the real test of what works!!

[Will]

Originally posted by bmcq
If only a couple of degrees can make a difference and everything is thriving ..... isn't that the real test of what works!!

definately the only truly acurate test!
fourhand2

[pcmankey]

bmcq, I have two thriving leathers and my temp in the summer is 83-86. It may just be the sudden change in temperature that is affecting your leather.

[jellyfish4me]

I have a Beautiful Ultra Orange Flower/Rock Anemone. I don't do anything special to care for it. I used to feed it, but I have 2 clowns that have adopted it as a host. And the baby clown stuffs big huge chunks of food in it all the time. It is in a 125 gal tank with power compact lighting.

There's not a lot of info on this type of anemone when you do a search, but I have asked Dr. Ron about it and he says it is very hardy and they come in many colors and designs. They are quite striking. They don't get very large.

I have attached a picture. The large clown is a huge 4" to give you a idea of how big the anemone is. It is not a natural host to any type clowns, but my 2 clowns don't seem to realize that! As you can see by the pic, there is not much room for the clowns to even fit! But again, they don't seem to care!

It was purchased from www.reeftopia.com if you were interested, only cost $12 for the orange one, or they sell others for $6

[jellyfish4me]

I wanted to add that the this picture was taken at night, I just turned the lights on for the picture.

But the anemone is open more during the day and only the baby clownfish rolls in it during the day. The big clown is busy swimming the entire tank.