Thinking of adding an Anemone

[snslarison]

I recently lost my female percula clownfish of 7 years. Her mate is 5 years old and still with me, but he is looking lonely so I'm thinking of getting him an anemone. I also plan to pair him up again with another perc in the future.

My tank is 75g AGA w/ 20 gal sump. 2x175W MH

The tank is lightly stocked with soft and LPS corals with a couple of SPS up at the top. Other fish include- Yellow tang, hippo tang, LM blenny and a Christmas Wrasse.

My question is what type of anemone should I get? Also any tips you can offer for its care?

I think I will need a larger one because the male perc is pretty rough with the scolymia that he's currently hosting.

TIA

[aiv]

sorry for the loss snslarison. it seems like you have plenty of light for almost any type of anemone from what I've read. I've heard people recommend the bubble tip as a hardy species and a good candidate for a first anemone.

[AquaKnight]

Not sure about a bubbletip, well they are definitely the hardiest of anemones, I've seen a fair share of perculas ignore bubbles for some reason (including my own). If you have room in the sand, a nice long tentacle would look good.

[aiv]

oh for hosting the percula :eek: . I wasn't thinking. I haven't seen many true perculas host bubble tips although it's possible. A sure bet is a sebae anemone, a natural host in the wild, although they're alot more difficult to keep alive than a BTA. Also their are alternatives to anemones like frogspawn and other soft corals. Good luck finding your percula a home.

[hankthetank]

The sure bet anemones for Percs,Ritteri and Carpet Anemones are both difficult to keep and get kind of large for a 75.

[snslarison]

Thanks for the help guys. Keep it coming.

[Tennsquire]

It's can be difficult to add an anemone as they tend to wander before settling in a place that they "like" and do damage to the tank's other inhabitants in the process. There's a recent thread about a guy that actually tried to glue an anemone in the location he wanted it to stay - not a good idea. Not to throw cold water on your plan; it's easier to add one to a tank first, and then add other inhabitants after the anemone has settled in. Just food for thought....

[snslarison]

Tennsquire,

I have very few corals at the moment so the nem will have a decent amount of space to roam. Im not too worried about that.

Thanks.

[dc]

Bummer. How about just getting another percula?

[snslarison]

DC I plan to.

[ahullsb]

I've also heard that you can drill a golf ball sized hole 4-6 inches into your rock, and then place it there. I believe they like to have their foot protected? Just a suggestion. I marine biologist friend seemed to think that it would create less of a chance of it wandering and/or splitting. So far it has worked great for me. I placed my anemone over the hole and it has never moved.

[snslarison]

Thats an awsome idea.