Anemone Cube

[NanoHuman]

Looks like a pretty good start. I'd love to have a nem like that but no room! Considering one of the mini ones that live aquaria carries.

[Delphinus]

Carpet looks great! Can't wait to see the tank once it's up and running.

[ponokareefer]

Sounds like an awesome set up! I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea. Are you concerned that the gigantea will outgrow that size of tank?
Also, right now I just have a MJ1200 but will be upgrading to a larger pump once I get the anemone. Did you consider getting the MP10, or was it even out yet when you got the tunze stream?

Love the pictures! If I hadn't already bought the RSM130, I would have loved to have set up a system like you are doing!

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by NanoHuman

Looks like a pretty good start. I'd love to have a nem like that but no room! Considering one of the mini ones that live aquaria carries.

I had a mini one a few years back and it was pretty nice. Mine wasn't a crazy color but was cool to watch it split very often.

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Carpet looks great! Can't wait to see the tank once it's up and running.

Thanks Tony for the encouragement/reassurance that this set up should work. You were one of the two who made me feel it was worth trying without a sump and skimmer

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

Sounds like an awesome set up! I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea. Are you concerned that the gigantea will outgrow that size of tank?
Also, right now I just have a MJ1200 but will be upgrading to a larger pump once I get the anemone. Did you consider getting the MP10, or was it even out yet when you got the tunze stream?

Love the pictures! If I hadn't already bought the RSM130, I would have loved to have set up a system like you are doing!

I was thinking of an MP10 and may end up "upgrading" to one eventually because I think the anemone may really like the more random flow but for now I just went with the nano stream. I find they are quieter but I am comparing it to the MP20 I had before and maybe the MP10 is quieter. This system is all about minimal equipment and silence.

I don't think it will outgrow the tank. Even if it were to get the full 20"x20" footprint of the tank, they don't lay out flat. I will have one pillar of rock in the back left corner and the rest of the tank is open for it to grow. We'll see though, it may end up outgrowing the tank.

I don't feed the anemone at all (clowns do though) because I am not looking for it to grow any faster than it already does which isn't really all that fast.

Does anyone know how long they take to grow "full" size? Or do they just keep growing and growing but at a slower rate as they reach a certain size?

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

Does anyone know how long they take to grow "full" size? Or do they just keep growing and growing but at a slower rate as they reach a certain size?

Seems hugely variable by individual or maybe lighting plays a role. Mine have not really grown bigger than 10" or so and I've had the green for like 5 years now and my purple just about a year and a half. I feed them like crazy too. Maybe with brighter lighting they'd be more apt to grow.

I've saw one monster at a LFS that grew to 24" but started off allegedly at 8" or so and took 5 years to get there. I don't know anything about the tank it came out of though.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Seems hugely variable by individual or maybe lighting plays a role. Mine have not really grown bigger than 10" or so and I've had the green for like 5 years now and my purple just about a year and a half. I feed them like crazy too. Maybe with brighter lighting they'd be more apt to grow.

I've saw one monster at a LFS that grew to 24" but started off allegedly at 8" or so and took 5 years to get there. I don't know anything about the tank it came out of though.

Hmmm...mine must have started at around 7" or so and I measured it at approx. 12-13" the other day. I don't feed it at all but its always been under 250 MH. I do however feed my fish VERY heavily so actually its probably getting quite a bit of food.

[lastlight]

That's a beautiful nem and a detailed brain dump by Tony. Looking forward to more and welcome back to the realm of the tank journal Justin!

Where on earth are you doing your cutting? You have a parkade there don't you?

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by ponokareefer

I'm in the process of trying to get a Haddoni due to their smaller size, less demand for light and a better record for keeping them alive than the gigantea.

Actually haddoni's get way larger than gigantea's. Don't let the name fool you. Interesting history lesson coming right up! (Yes I am a nerd!) Anyhow, S. gigantea's were first described (ie. "discovered") by European biologists in 1775 from specimens found in the Red Sea. At the time this was the largest anemone anyone had seen, or at least compared to the coldwater species commonly found around Europe. Apparently it wasn't for another 120 years or so that S. haddoni was described (1893) so for a while it was the biggest anyone knew about.

Anyhow in short, S. haddoni gets way larger than S. gigantea. You don't see too many gigantea's over 20"-24" and in the case of 24" these are the absolute giants of the species. S. haddoni on the other hand I think tops out around 30" or so.

(Reference: Daphne Fautin, http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html )

On the topic of light, for the most part maybe haddoni's prefer less but I would say they are really about the same. I keep my gigantea's under 175w and they do OK. So it's not like gigantea is a huge light demanding monster. Conversely, haddoni's still need some light so I'd guess they are actually about equivalent. The brighter coloured haddoni's will require strong light to keep the colour. Haddoni's come in a larger range of colours than gigantea's - and are capable of some stunning colours. A bright green haddoni will out-green a bright green gigantea (but you can't beat gigantea for the shag carpet look). I've never seen a red gigantea but man can haddoni come in the most amazing red.

But that said ... gigantea's have a horrendous record of adapting to captivity (many simply don't), and haddoni's have a horrendous record of eating just about anything they feel like. Either one is a carefully measured choice.

Sorry for the thread derail GSP! It's not often I get to do a brain dump on my favourite topic so please forgive me.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Actually haddoni's get way larger than gigantea's. Don't let the name fool you. Interesting history lesson coming right up! (Yes I am a nerd!) Anyhow, S. gigantea's were first described (ie. "discovered") by European biologists in 1775 from specimens found in the Red Sea. At the time this was the largest anemone anyone had seen, or at least compared to the coldwater species commonly found around Europe. Apparently it wasn't for another 120 years or so that S. haddoni was described (1893) so for a while it was the biggest anyone knew about.

Anyhow in short, S. haddoni gets way larger than S. gigantea. You don't see too many gigantea's over 20"-24" and in the case of 24" these are the absolute giants of the species. S. haddoni on the other hand I think tops out around 30" or so.

(Reference: Daphne Fautin, http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/intro.html )

On the topic of light, for the most part maybe haddoni's prefer less but I would say they are really about the same. I keep my gigantea's under 175w and they do OK. So it's not like gigantea is a huge light demanding monster. Conversely, haddoni's still need some light so I'd guess they are actually about equivalent. The brighter coloured haddoni's will require strong light to keep the colour. Haddoni's come in a larger range of colours than gigantea's - and are capable of some stunning colours. A bright green haddoni will out-green a bright green gigantea (but you can't beat gigantea for the shag carpet look). I've never seen a red gigantea but man can haddoni come in the most amazing red.

But that said ... gigantea's have a horrendous record of adapting to captivity (many simply don't), and haddoni's have a horrendous record of eating just about anything they feel like. Either one is a carefully measured choice.

Sorry for the thread derail GSP! It's not often I get to do a brain dump on my favourite topic so please forgive me.

Not at all. Please add any info like this to the thread that you can.

I don't know a heck of a lot about these anemones and want to keep learning. I just got really lucky with this one as it turned out to be very tough. Its been through a mini crash in my old tank and didn't show any signs of stress. When I have moved it from tank to tank in the past (and left it in a bucket for over an hour) it stayed mostly expanded and after acclimation completely expands within minutes. It doesn't seem to mind fluctuations in temperature or small salinity changes although I wouldn't want to push it too far!

From what I hear, most are nearly impossible to keep but if you can get past the year mark, they are very tough anemones. I don't know how true this is.