My anemones are not as colorful as these, what can I do to help them be more colorful?

[davocean]

Most of the time I see super bright BTA's or rock flowers and such they are under heavy actinics and or a filter, or over saturated photos.

Your condy will never look like first pic.

 

[wesman42]

A ton of people alter their photos to make colors pop with Adobe Lightroom...

 

[davocean]

Anemones come in different colors
This is Sherman rose bta.

.

This is probably a more realistic and true color of what is probably the same nem as posted in OP's very first pic, this is a nice looking BTA under pretty natural lighting

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Here is my water parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Phosphate0
Calcium 420 ppm
Alkilinity 11 DKH
Magnesium 1260
Ph 8.0

The par on my reef tank is 150 where the top green anemone is. And my lights are 7 1/2 inches above the top of the reef tank. I will post a picture of my lighting.

Here is a picture of the size of the shrimp I feed them. I feed them this about every 1 1/2 days and if they are not hungry they will not eat it.

I moved them around a little bit so yall could see them after feeding them.

This is my lighting.

Here is a picture of the color spectrum, it has 5 blue lights, 3 white lights, and one purple light.

And this is the height above the water that the leds are.

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Lighting depends on your tank size as well. There's also lots of budget light fixtures out there that will work

Maybe later on I would like to have some lights that make my reef tank look something like this(in the picture below), but I can't afford radions or kessils at this time.

Any suggestions on lights that could help show the colors more, something like this, but for less money that radions or kessils?

 

[Captain Quint]

Jeremy Lain Do you have any filtration such as a HOB Aqua Clear 50 power filter?

 

[Jeremy Lain]

Jeremy Lain Do you have any filtration such as a HOB Aqua Clear 50 power filter?

I have a fluval 406 canister filter, but it is being repaired right now. I hope to have it back on there by the next friday. I am being careful about the feedings so I do not put to much ammonia in the water so my livestock doesn't get sick.

 

[Captain Quint]

Here is my water parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Phosphate0
Calcium 420 ppm
Alkilinity 11 DKH
Magnesium 1260
Ph 8.0

The par on my reef tank is 150 where the top green anemone is. And my lights are 7 1/2 inches above the top of the reef tank. I will post a picture of my lighting.

Here is a picture of the size of the shrimp I feed them. I feed them this about every 1 1/2 days and if they are not hungry they will not eat it.
View attachment 869537

I moved them around a little bit so yall could see them after feeding them.
View attachment 869539

This is my lighting.

View attachment 869541


Here is a picture of the color spectrum, it has 5 blue lights, 3 white lights, and one purple light.
View attachment 869542

And this is the height above the water that the leds are.
View attachment 869543

I don't understand how you have no nitrates feeding as shown with no filtration in the picture. Your water looks good with higher spectrum on some and lower on other parameters but doable. I'm confused. Do you do a lot of water changes?

 

[Captain Quint]

I have a fluval 406 canister filter, but it is being repaired right now. I hope to have it back on there by the next friday. I am being careful about the feedings so I do not put to much ammonia in the water so my livestock doesn't get sick.

Good deal. Hope all is well.

 

[DSC reef]

Maybe later on I would like to have some lights that make my reef tank look something like this(in the picture below), but I can't afford radions or kessils at this time.
View attachment 869552
Any suggestions on lights that could help show the colors more, something like this, but for less money that radions or kessils?

It takes a lot more than light to achieve a thriving tank like that. Patience, stability, nutrient export, chemistry, lighting all play a role.

 

[Iona Skye]

Your Haitians are bleached, ie, not enough light = not enough photosynthesis from zozanthelle (sp?) = lighter/brighter colors. Some stores do this on purpose, sadly, so that the nems appear bright & glowy.

The algae in their tissues needs light to grow. As they get healthier with better light, they will be more brownish in natural light. But if you add a good actinic or 50/50 light, you will see your nems glowing faintly in their own unique way. Not like the pic (which was a different species plus specialized lighting). But still very beautiful! Mine glows green. It's so cool.

When I bought my Haitian, it was all WHITE with purple tips like yours. And my other one was lavender. But I take much more pride in having a healthy nem than a "colorful" (aka bleached and starving) nem. Mine started getting tiny tan spots as the zozanthelle started growing back, and the spots continued getting bigger until the nem was a solid pinkish-peachy-tan color.

Good luck! They are beautiful!

PS - Clowns don't host these guys, not sure if you were wanting that eventually but if so, you'll want a bubble tip nem or another hosting species.

 

[Iona Skye]

Also, how are your nitrates zero? I don't think that is ideal. But you might have nitrates present, and the test could be inaccurate. Check the instructions to see if you need to shake the living daylights out of it when you are testing

 

[Iona Skye]

Your Haitians are bleached, ie, not enough light = not enough photosynthesis from zozanthelle (sp?) = lighter/brighter colors. Some stores do this on purpose, sadly, so that the nems appear bright & glowy.

The algae in their tissues needs light to grow. As they get healthier with better light, they will be more brownish in natural light. But if you add a good actinic or 50/50 light, you will see your nems glowing faintly in their own unique way. Not like the pic (which was a different species plus specialized lighting). But still very beautiful! Mine glows green. It's so cool.

When I bought my Haitian, it was all WHITE with purple tips like yours. And my other one was lavender. But I take much more pride in having a healthy nem than a "colorful" (aka bleached and starving) nem. Mine started getting tiny tan spots as the zozanthelle started growing back, and the spots continued getting bigger until the nem was a solid pinkish-peachy-tan color.

Good luck! They are beautiful!

PS - Clowns don't host these guys, not sure if you were wanting that eventually but if so, you'll want a bubble tip nem or another hosting species.

Oh, and you don't have to spend a billion dollars on kessils, but I do think they need more light. (Do keep your eyes peeled for cheap used equipment though! There's always good stuff out there). Here's what I used before switching to t-5's:

Zoo Med Reef Sun 50and50 Fluorescent T8 Bulb 15 Watts, 18-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OYGWZQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rEvZBbP0BPMKQ

 

[turchan]

I might be able to get some different anemones and equipment later on maybe. Can someone talk to me about what kind of anemones have that much color and equipment needed?

Jeremy, where do you live? I have some beautiful anemones that I sell for a fraction of what most others so. It was difficult, but I was finally able to capture their color in this short video clip.


Message me back if you're at all interested.

 

[ca1ore]

Bet those anemone colors you covet don't look like that in person LOL. Most of them look shopped to me.

 

[Shooter6]

I can't afford radions, or kessils at this time. Does someone know of lighting that is not as expesive that can help the colors to show more?

Look at the coral box moon plus lights for a reasonably priced light. They are under 200$. Still need to realize the nems you have are not the right ones for the color you want though

 

[kp1991]

All nems are different in shape size and pigmentation due to that unfortunately theres no way to duplicate what your seeing in someone elses tank to yours you would just have to buy that particular nem but do check for compatibility some nems will sting and kill others fyi... best of luck

 

[laverda]

I agree your anemones looked bleached. Your anemones need more light. I would slowly lower your light to increase the par they are getting.
Also even if you buy a brightly colored BTA it may look very different in your tank. I think all the different names for RBTAs is crazy as they can and will change colors with different conditions. Cloans of one RBTA can look very different in the same tank and in other tanks.

 

[Michael Llabona]

I would like to mention that some of the anemones pictured cost $500-$1500. They are that expensive because they are rare and extremely bright. A basic Rose bubble tip anemone (RBTA) will cost around $40-$60 for a small 2-3 inch nem. A basic RBTA is nice and can glow but still will never look like the pictures posted. It should also be mentioned that the nems pictured are likely in very established tanks with hobbyist who have a lot of experience. Although there are many budget builds out there I feel most people still have a few thousand invested in their tanks (equipment and livestock). I would recommend keeping up with your current tank an take the time learning. Save money and in a year or 2 you can upgrade to what you consider being your dream build. By that time you will be more experienced and know the type of equipment you want.

 

[DSC reef]

@Jeremy Lain heres an example of a standard rainbow bubble tip. This was my wife's nano with cheap current led lights and weekly water changes. The anemones were affordable.