How to add an anemone safely in a reef tank

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Timbits

Man you just never know with anemones eh?? Lol

There you go, that statement pretty well sums it up. As mentioned by more than one responder with experience here, there are no guarantees that an anemone won't move at some point. Might take years, might stay put. You rolls the dice, you takes your chances. If you have valuable coral you don't wish harmed, best to forget about a BTA or start another tank that's dedicated to anemones & clownfish.

Also, while many clownfish may make a variety of anemones their home, certain species of each are natural matches in the wild. A little research there will go a long way. For example, the popular BTA is a natural host to Maroon clownfish. I've had a BTA in my tank since a few months after setting up & have a breeding pair of Maroons calling it their home. The original BTA has split numerous times & the clones have a habit of wandering around. The original stayed on roughly the same perch for years, then decided it was time to make a move. Since the latest move, it has done a great job of killing off some nuisance palys/zoas & a Kenya tree coral that was getting quite large. It also did a number on some montipora caps & my hammer coral. I don't mind too much since I can frag off most of these relatively common corals, but I wouldn't be too happy about having some really high priced sps getting stung to oblivion.

With regard to thinking sand is a barrier, forget it. If a BTA doesn't like where it is, it will simply release altogether & go for a swim until it either ends up in a power head or on another piece of rockwork it likes. A change in water chemistry, temperature, water change and any number of other mishaps can be a catalyst for the anemone to decide it's going for a ride.

[Aquattro]

I tried this once. Lost a few prize SPS and then spent hours removing the nem from a power head. It will move