Anemones and why you should wait.

[eamike261]

I've heard it's much better to get the anemone BEFORE all your expensive corals because it has a high likelihood to move around at first and kill your fancy stuff.

I'd like to understand if the bias towards waiting a 6-12 months is more about the new reefer waiting that long or actually letting a tank cycle that long.

On that note, what exactly are the "parameters" swings that people are concerned with during the first 12 months of a tank setup that somehow doesn't matter for delicate corals and other inverts? Are you referring to ammonia/nitrite spikes? Or some other type of swing? Ammonia/nitrite spike is the only thing I can think of that has anything to do with duration the tank is setup. Even then, when a tank is set with well established live rock (that has very minimal die off) shouldn't it be stable pretty fast? It has been seen commonly that tanks don't always go through a significant noticeable cycle if the live rock is well established.

 

[Coral Passion]

This might be controversial.

IMO anemones are relatively easy to keep and are generally more tolerant to Kh swings than LPS and SPS.

My advice would be that if you are new to reefing is stabilize your nitrogen cycle and salinity as these are the most likely issues in a new system and most likely to kill live stock. Then start off with soft corals first and if they do well then move onto a few LPS. If you can keep LPS, your tank will be perfect for an anemone.

 

[Coral Passion]

I've heard it's much better to get the anemone BEFORE all your expensive corals because it has a high likelihood to move around at first and kill your fancy stuff.

I'd like to understand if the bias towards waiting a 6-12 months is more about the new reefer waiting that long or actually letting a tank cycle that long.

On that note, what exactly are the "parameters" swings that people are concerned with during the first 12 months of a tank setup that somehow doesn't matter for delicate corals and other inverts? Are you referring to ammonia/nitrite spikes? Or some other type of swing? Ammonia/nitrite spike is the only thing I can think of that has anything to do with duration the tank is setup. Even then, when a tank is set with well established live rock (that has very minimal die off) shouldn't it be stable pretty fast? It has been seen commonly that tanks don't always go through a significant noticeable cycle if the live rock is well established.

I reckon 6-12 months is more to do with building up the experience and knowledge to keep the tank stable and less to do with generally stability issues. In my experience the 6-12 months excuse is nothing to do with tank maturity but more to do with a reefers maturity.

If they weren't dedicated to the hobby they would have probably given it up after 6-12 months and hopefully not have kill an anemone in the process.

 

[mta_morrow]

HOW TO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF KEEPING YOUR BUBBLE TIP ANEMONE WHERE YOU WANT IT. (And maybe others!)

I am adding this bit of experience in this thread after some discussion with, and permission from the OP, @Crabs Mcjones.

I have been very fortunate since I started reefing in 2015 to have my bubble tips stay exactly where I wanted them to be in each of my 2, very different displays.

I cannot guarantee what I have done will work again for me, or anyone else. But I do believe it can give you a good chance at keeping one where you want it.

My first reef was an IM30L. Space was limited, and I wanted a nem and clown fish to be front and center.

After reading every possible thread and watching videos for hours, I decided to focus on 4 things I learned that bubble nems seem to favor.

1-a nice hole or crevice to plant their foot in and be able to retract into.

2-adequate flow.

3-strong lighting

4-food!

Here is a pic of where my first nem resided for 2 years until I had to tear it down to move. (Old, not so great pics)

What you can’t see is the hole in the rock where it’s foot is planted, but it is there! I chose that rock, for that spot, for that reason.

You can see from the FTS, it is getting plenty of unobstructed lighting.

For flow, I had an adjustable Tunze pulsing from a back corner to the front middle glass where in would gently bounce back onto the nem.

And lastly, food. I always feed my nems the same thing........Atlantic salmon, soaked overnight in selcon.

We eat salmon every other week or so at home. Prior to cooking, I cut a 1/4” x 1/4” x however long, strip. Then I cut that up into 1/4” cubes, into a ziplock baggie and freeze. Once a week, I get a cube out, soak in saltwater and selcon till the next evening and then feed.

The nem above in that tank stayed there for 2 years. To me, that means he was happy with everything and knew that spot provided everything it needed:

Security, light, flow, food.

I knew my current tank would have a nem as well, so I built a spot where I wanted it to be.

I knew my gyre would be on the right side, so I planned for the nem to be on the left to receive good flow.

Again, the rock had a big hole, about 1” in diameter and depth.

It’s up high for good, unobstructed lighting, and it would get fed.

Earlier than expected, a good friend gave me a baby nem that recently split off from a huge, beautiful bubble tip.

The nem was maybe as big as a quarter fully opened when I got it.

I turned off the gyre, and into the hole he went!

An hour or so later, I turned the gyre back on and it was pretty obvious it was attached. It’s still in the same spot.

Here are a few pics, and I will try to get some better ones and replace these.

Nem is in the upper left.

I feed it every 7-10 days, salmon and selcon. In 4 months, it hasn’t moved, and when fully opened its about 4” vs smaller than the crab when I got it.

A general observation.

My fist nem had indirect, gentle water “movement” around it. It tended to have short tentacles and big bubbles. “See my avatar”.

This nem gets serious water flow from the gyre, and it tends to have longer, skinnier tentacles, but still bubbles are present.

Again, this has been my experience, albeit a planned one. It has worked so far.

I am simply trying to give it what I believe it wants.

So far, so good!

Mike

 

[NY_Caveman]

This may seem silly to some, and not trying to hijack, but it seems like a good place to mention it. I have seen this referenced a couple of times recently and thought it worth writing.

Never glue your anemones down. They are not corals. You may not want them to move, but glue is not the answer. Thank you.

 

[Zonly1]

Sad that this even has to be mentioned.

 

[JBKReef]

Just to keep the thread going for any of those who have anemone issues (like I did) this thread helped me bounce my nem back to health. Its amazing to see where it has come from since the start. Thanks to the community for bringing this guy back from the brink.

6 months ago:

Today:

 

[Crabs McJones]

Just to keep the thread going for any of those who have anemone issues (like I did) this thread helped me bounce my nem back to health. Its amazing to see where it has come from since the start. Thanks to the community for bringing this guy back from the brink.

6 months ago:

Today:

That is an amazing recovery! Please feel free to share what you did to bring it back

 

[JBKReef]

That is an amazing recovery! Please feel free to share what you did to bring it back

I'm not sure if my case will be beneficial to many mainly because I had the opposite problem most reefers had. My system had been established for about 3 months when I introduced my anemone, the system was stable however it did not have anywhere near the bioload required to keep a healthy nem. My nitrate and phosphate were both near zero, I was attempting to maintain a refugium but at only 4 fish in a 93 gallon cube I did not have the necessary bioload to maintain a diverse water column. It just took time, developing the microfauna, and increasing the biomass.

As of yesterday my nitrates were still under 2 ( more than likely under 1) and phosephate was around .04, I try to not over feed but keeping the numbers above zero is what I found to keeping my corals and livestock happy.

In addition I started to soak all food in selcon and give the nem a shot of mysis or reef roids 2-3 times a week. I dont feed anything large because I feel it stresses the nem out to digest something so large.

 

[Muttley000]

@JBKReef did the crab come with your nem or did you add it? I have several nems now and really want to try this.

 

[Katrina71]

@JBKReef did the crab come with your nem or did you add it? I have several nems now and really want to try this.

They are awesome!

 

[JBKReef]

@JBKReef did the crab come with your nem or did you add it? I have several nems now and really want to try this.

He came with... through thick and thin (literally) he was steadfast and hung around. I keep wishing my clowns will move into the anemone but very happy with the crab occupying it for now.

 

[JBKReef]

Nem was looking particularly happy tonight, thought I would share it with the ones who helped keep it alive...

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Great read @Crabs McJones!

 

[MamaP]

Anemones and Why You Should Wait
​

When is the proper time to add an anemone to your tank? Right away? 1 month? 4 months? WHAT!? A YEAR YOU SAY!?

That is correct. In most instances it is better to wait 8 months to a year before adding an anemone to your tank. And here is why:

A tank is first started with rock, sand, and saltwater. That tank needs to cycle before adding any livestock to it. This we all know. But what you may not know is even after your cycle has completed your tank is going to go through many different changes. Parameters are going to raise and decrease (some even dramatically). You’re going to see algae come and go, and find all kinds of new and exciting hitchhikers. Not only that, but if you are a new reefer and are just getting your toes salty, there are many mistakes you’re going to make. It’s just the nature of the hobby. Don’t feel bad as there are mistakes that even expert reefers make. It’s our nature.

With that being said, anemones are extremely sensitive and generally cannot handle the parameter swings of new and maturing tanks. A new or maturing reefer may add one to the system and find that the anemone looks good to begin with, but as time progresses it starts looking bad; inflating and deflating, closing up, losing its tentacles, losing its color. You may also notice that the anemone won’t pick a spot and keeps releasing its foot and floating around the tank. This could potentially be due to a number of things:

1. Parameter swings

2. Parameter out of acceptable range

3. Insufficient lighting

4. Anemone isn’t getting along with neighboring coral

5. Handling (when you want it to attach in a certain spot, but it doesn’t and you keep moving it back to that spot)

6. Starvation (could be correlated with insufficient lighting depended on the circumstances)

With the exception to insufficient lighting, all the other potentials listed above are common of new and maturing tanks.

When an anemone dies it releases toxins into the tank that could potentially wipe out all your other inhabitants and coral. Avoiding that by waiting is the best thing you can do for your tank and inhabitants.

How do I know if my tank has matured? Aside from the time, other indicators that your reef is mature enough would be water quality stability. No swings or shifts in parameters after several weeks. Also you haven't observed any random outbreaks of algae that you cannot explain.

I hope that this info is found useful to those thinking about an anemone.

Remember that in this hobby nothing good happens quickly, only bad things. Take it slow, and let your tank mature before adding your anemone and your inhabitants will thank you.

@Crabs McJones Thank you for this awesome write up. I do have some additional questions not addressed, though.

What are the recommended params for a nem tank? And which ones matter/don't matter?
Temp?
SG?
pH?
Ca?
Mg?
dKH?
NO3?
NO2?
NH3?
PO4?
Anything else?
Also, what are the recommended LED lighting settings, i.e. UV, various blues, cool white, red, green?

I ask because I just got my first nem last weekend; a rainbow BTA, and I want him to be healthy and happy. He's in my former frag tank that currently has 2 osc. clowns, a modest CUC, reef rock, and LS. It's a 20g long with a Fluval HOB multi level filter, a nano power head at each end (with intakes covered with netting for his safety), and an AI Prime 16 HD mounted about 18" above the glass top.

I know I've told you before, but it's worth saying again, I appreciate all of you that share your wealth of knowledge with us in the reefing community! ♡

 

[JBKReef]

Just wanted to touch base on this thread. I've always enjoyed the progress and recovery of my Nem. thanks to the advice from this thread.

April 2018

July 2020

 

[nastronaut]

@Crabs McJones Thank you for this awesome write up. I do have some additional questions not addressed, though.

What are the recommended params for a nem tank? And which ones matter/don't matter?
Temp?
SG?
pH?
Ca?
Mg?
dKH?
NO3?
NO2?
NH3?
PO4?
Anything else?
Also, what are the recommended LED lighting settings, i.e. UV, various blues, cool white, red, green?

I ask because I just got my first nem last weekend; a rainbow BTA, and I want him to be healthy and happy. He's in my former frag tank that currently has 2 osc. clowns, a modest CUC, reef rock, and LS. It's a 20g long with a Fluval HOB multi level filter, a nano power head at each end (with intakes covered with netting for his safety), and an AI Prime 16 HD mounted about 18" above the glass top.

I know I've told you before, but it's worth saying again, I appreciate all of you that share your wealth of knowledge with us in the reefing community! ♡

Per reading the entire thread, you can deduce most of this information.

They all matter: stability.

Phos and Nitrates are important to provide adequate nutrition.

As one person said, consider what it takes to keep LPS happy and healthy, then ensure you're able to provide adequate nutrition and stability to your anemones.

Lighting - the care guides I've referenced touch on 220-350 par, but that can be quite relative. For corals, blue is quite imperative in my research, but people here seem to highlight either maximum light and or a position where the anemone can self regulate it's positioning in your lighting setup.

Disclaimer: I'm not an anemone keeper yet and still rather new to reefing but am expanding my coral collection and may be venturing into anemone very soon!

There's another really awesome care guide on aquarium store depot. I hope to reference the information there and here primarily moving forward.

--

Thanks so much for the thread and sharing experiences everyone, it's a great resource for those of us looking to get started with anemones to be able to reference the setbacks and successes of others - and insights from veterans.

 

[NomadRVLife]

I disagree almost entirely. Commercial Tank Operators place Anemones & Corals in tanks as old as 7 days. If your totally new to the hobby or your tank is in cycle or algae bloom, you need to wait. If you know what you are doing and can provide proper conditions, food, lighting, etc, waiting is literally a joke. How do they build an aquarium tank and open it the next week with a full coral reef, aquatic animals, etc. There is no magic or signing of a devils book to make this work, its called experience. There is chemicals such as Prime & Stability that will help boost these efforts. Let me know if you disagree, but this is all opinions after all.

 

[NomadRVLife]

Look when you really think about it, Petco has anemones. Do you really think their tank params are perfect? Do you think they don't have param swings (Dead fish when you visit)? Example proven. Now go to the LFS. They get anemone shipments in and plop them in... Yet they don't instantly die.. Bioloads won't be good for an anemone by itself with a young tank, but you could always feed Pods, Phyto, etc.

 

[CjAmaryllis]

Anemones and Why You Should Wait
​

When is the proper time to add an anemone to your tank? Right away? 1 month? 4 months? WHAT!? A YEAR YOU SAY!?

That is correct. In most instances it is better to wait 8 months to a year before adding an anemone to your tank. And here is why:

A tank is first started with rock, sand, and saltwater. That tank needs to cycle before adding any livestock to it. This we all know. But what you may not know is even after your cycle has completed your tank is going to go through many different changes. Parameters are going to raise and decrease (some even dramatically). You’re going to see algae come and go, and find all kinds of new and exciting hitchhikers. Not only that, but if you are a new reefer and are just getting your toes salty, there are many mistakes you’re going to make. It’s just the nature of the hobby. Don’t feel bad as there are mistakes that even expert reefers make. It’s our nature.

With that being said, anemones are extremely sensitive and generally cannot handle the parameter swings of new and maturing tanks. A new or maturing reefer may add one to the system and find that the anemone looks good to begin with, but as time progresses it starts looking bad; inflating and deflating, closing up, losing its tentacles, losing its color. You may also notice that the anemone won’t pick a spot and keeps releasing its foot and floating around the tank. This could potentially be due to a number of things:

1. Parameter swings

2. Parameter out of acceptable range

3. Insufficient lighting

4. Anemone isn’t getting along with neighboring coral

5. Handling (when you want it to attach in a certain spot, but it doesn’t and you keep moving it back to that spot)

6. Starvation (could be correlated with insufficient lighting depended on the circumstances)

With the exception to insufficient lighting, all the other potentials listed above are common of new and maturing tanks.

When an anemone dies it releases toxins into the tank that could potentially wipe out all your other inhabitants and coral. Avoiding that by waiting is the best thing you can do for your tank and inhabitants.

How do I know if my tank has matured? Aside from the time, other indicators that your reef is mature enough would be water quality stability. No swings or shifts in parameters after several weeks. Also you haven't observed any random outbreaks of algae that you cannot explain.

I hope that this info is found useful to those thinking about an anemone.

Remember that in this hobby nothing good happens quickly, only bad things. Take it slow, and let your tank mature before adding your anemone and your inhabitants will thank you.

I got my bubble tip anemone before I knew this advice. I had my first tank set up for about 4 months before it was added. Added a rock flower anemone a month or two after.
They are both alive and well. What I didn't expect is how massive they grow and how quickly they do so. They haven't moved or split, so that's good.
My parameters have been stable for a good while. They survived a slight dino outbreak at one point, but I was quick to do the work needed to get rid of them.
But, I was unaware they were extra sensitive. I will definitely keep an eye on them over the next 6 months or so and pull them out if they get sick or start melting. Haven't lost any corals yet and I don't want to.