anemone for a beginner

[justinl]

Originally Posted by Van-rookie

At the moment I only have a couple of polyps, hawaiian duster, pink duster, 2 clowns, 1 yellow tang, 1 damsel, some snails and hermits.

thanks

bah! i know it wasnt the original question, but a yellow tang does NOT belong in a 29 gal tank. In that tank i would do maybe 4 smaller fish (clown size) and leave it t that in terms of fish.

as for the original question, yeah i would recommend the bta as well. dont expect the clowns to take to it right away to it though... it can often take over 6months for clowns to realize they have an anemone in there at all. when you do buy the anem, make sure it's big enough (considerably larger than both clowns) or else the bta will just get stressed by being hosted by fish that are too big. there was some speculation that captive bred colowns are more reluctant to host than wild ones but none of that was proven. something you can do that might help is to print out a pic of a clown (same species) hosting a bta and leave it by the tank... apparently clowns will see this and might learn from it.

make sure you leave plenty of space between the bta and the other corals.

[Van-rookie]

Originally Posted by justinl

bah! i know it wasnt the original question, but a yellow tang does NOT belong in a 29 gal tank. In that tank i would do maybe 4 smaller fish (clown size) and leave it t that in terms of fish.

as for the original question, yeah i would recommend the bta as well. dont expect the clowns to take to it right away to it though... it can often take over 6months for clowns to realize they have an anemone in there at all. when you do buy the anem, make sure it's big enough (considerably larger than both clowns) or else the bta will just get stressed by being hosted by fish that are too big. there was some speculation that captive bred colowns are more reluctant to host than wild ones but none of that was proven. something you can do that might help is to print out a pic of a clown (same species) hosting a bta and leave it by the tank... apparently clowns will see this and might learn from it.

make sure you leave plenty of space between the bta and the other corals.

wow, attach a picture on the aquarium.... i will remember your advice when i get the bta.

as for the tang....the lfs said its ok to have 1 tang. And I want it so badly....

[digital-audiophile]

Your LFS should not be in business if they said it was ok for a tang in a 29G.

[Mik_101]

Just wonderin what store did ypu buy your tang from?

[howdy20012002]

Tangs need at least 4 feet of swimming space IMO..preferably more.
The LFS should have told you not to put any tang in a 29 Gallon.
It will outgrow it quickly and probably eventually die from the stress of being so confined.
I have a little purple tang - about 1.5 inches in one of my 29 gallon tanks..However, it will be going into one of my bigger tanks when it gets a bit bigger.
there is no way a full grown yellow tang will be happy or healthy in a 29 gallon.
I try not to preach about things like this..but yeah..u are just asking for trouble. I would be bringing it back for a store credit cuz the store should've known better.
OR..better yet...just get a bigger tank..lol
Neal

[Van-rookie]

Originally Posted by howdy20012002

Tangs need at least 4 feet of swimming space IMO..preferably more.
The LFS should have told you not to put any tang in a 29 Gallon.
It will outgrow it quickly and probably eventually die from the stress of being so confined.
I have a little purple tang - about 1.5 inches in one of my 29 gallon tanks..However, it will be going into one of my bigger tanks when it gets a bit bigger.
there is no way a full grown yellow tang will be happy or healthy in a 29 gallon.
I try not to preach about things like this..but yeah..u are just asking for trouble. I would be bringing it back for a store credit cuz the store should've known better.
OR..better yet...just get a bigger tank..lol
Neal

Actually before I post this thread I was already thinking about moving it to my spare tank or sell it

[Matty]

Are you serious about putting the picture up to the tank so that the clowns will learn to host? Almost makes me worry cause my clown was in my tv room across the tv.. who knows what kind of stuff he learned on tv.. gosh I knew I shouldn't have watched those Saw Movies..

Sadly my clown has passed on after 5 years. I am one day considering getting another one.. in a small tank.. what is the real difference of the tomato's.. besides colour? I have always thought that the Maroon coloured ones were beautiful.. I had a Percula.. orange and white.. old fashioned clown

Could a clown live happily in a 12g? Mine was in a 30g.. and he swam around a lot.. even rode the currents of my powerheads that would spin him around my liverock.. he was like a kid at the waterslides.. he would spin around on the current.. then swim back to a powerhead and do it all over again. He seemed happy.. it was funny to watch.

[Drock169]

I've read the minimum size for a pair a clowns is 10G, but its only a suggestion, and assuming you have no other fish in the tank

[NateL]

Hey Matty, I will second the Pic on the tank comment. I have some false percs that were captive bred. For nearly a month they swam at the same point against the glass. I put up a pic of a clownfish in an anemone at that point, and within 2 days they discovered the anemone in their tank.

[Matty]

Wow! I thought more about it.. but I guess in way in makes sense. I assume then that clowns in the wild really only know what is safe to "host" in either from their parents or from observing other clowns in the ocean. It must be an instinct type thing. I assume that some corals and anemones can harm them... so they watch and learn.
It might be a matter then that they don't know how to do it.. but are rather not sure if it is safe to do it... or a combination of the two.