Am I really for an Anemone

[Roger30]

Tank has been set up since sept 2013. Everything is stable. Fish are going go. My lps and zoanthids are looking good. Am I really? Want a rose bubble tip anemone.

[btmedic04]

no. most people will say wait at least one year before adding an anemone, especially if its your first. you need pristine water and rock stable parameters otherwise you risk killing it. and when a nem dies, it usually does so when you aren't around to remove it before its nematocysts spread throughout the tank killing everything.

patience my friend! :thumbsup:

[Roger30]

A year! A true test of patience!

[btmedic04]

I feel your pain bud. I started my aquarium 7 weeks ago and have 2 ocellaris clowns that I would love to see in an anemone. there really needs to be a disclaimer when getting into reef keeping. it should go something like this; "some assembly required. patience not included" :lol:

[madweazl]

I dropped the RBTA in my tank at right around 3 months and didnt have any issues. I was using Scripps NSW and did roughly 40% changes every 2-3 weeks.

[Crusinjimbo]

Anything is possible but your probability of sustaining one are slim IME. You really won't reach a state of sustained stability (read maturity) until your tand has stabilized with a bio load, after your struggled through the plague of algae, Aphtasia, and various nefarious critters that have gotten out of proportion. This hobby is great because it isn't easy! Be patient and progress through the perils individually if you can. Love this reef stuff though. Good luck!

[DavidinGA]

I think a year is a bit of a stretch. I say wait 3-4 months.

[shifty51008]

8-10 months is a good rule of thumb, however if you know your tank is stable and parameters are good you should be fine with a BTA after 3-4 months, but deff. wait the 8-12 months for many of the harder anemones like ritteri, carpets, ect.

[Misled]

You may be ready, but your tank isn't. Wait till you've passed the algae blooms and give things a chance to mature.

[Roger30]

I dropped the RBTA in my tank at right around 3 months and didnt have any issues. I was using Scripps NSW and did roughly 40% changes every 2-3 weeks.

Why 40% water change? Does the rbta produce a lot of waste?

[Roger30]

I feel your pain bud. I started my aquarium 7 weeks ago and have 2 ocellaris clowns that I would love to see in an anemone. there really needs to be a disclaimer when getting into reef keeping. it should go something like this; "some assembly required. patience not included" :lol:

I consider myself a patient person but this hobby is truly testing my limits! Love it!

[madweazl]

Why 40% water change? Does the rbta produce a lot of waste?

I didnt use any supplements on the tank of any kind so I needed the larger water changes to keep levels up. I never had better results than with that setup and now I'm in an area with easy access to NSW again so the new tank is being run the same way. The only differences between the 2 is the last setup used a refugium with chaeto and now I'm playing with an ATS.

[hossa81]

My anemone produces a fair amount of waste after i feed him. I have had zero problems with my bta, anlthough he has caused some decorating problems, climbing where i place frags and stuff, and he has caused me to reconsider some things for my tank.

[Boston21]

I got my BTA anemone after having my tank established for close to 8 month's.. still scares me. It does produce some funky waste after feeding it.

EDIT: Doesn't like bright/long hours of light. I had it originally at the bottom of my 20G Breeder/High? (not tall but not a long) under my 120W Tao and it didn't not like it until I moved it into the back of the tank..

[Roger30]

My push to get an RBTA early is so I can learn its behavior before I add more coral.