to all you doubting flamers :) sebae + 5gal + 8months before/after

[chevegan]

Now I havn't posted here in a long time. I even havn't had the time to go to the local MASLAC meetings. But time goes on and my tanks have grown. Some of you may remember me from a while back but as usuall on this site...lots of new names. Well to cut it short, about 8 months ago i had a 3gal acrylic I made for my wife. In it I had a sebae (about 3in accross at the time). I recieved nothing but hell from a lot of you. But then there were those that said lets see what will happen.

I must say though this is rare, and that Sebaes don't split so therefore ever one you take from the ocean really is one less ot breed in the wild. My success with it might be a fluke. But let me quickly give you the stats. Point being I really don't condone this and would never do it again. I love nature and the last thing I would ever want is to take away from it. Knowledge came to me a bit late about this.

5gal bow front (upped from the 3)
1 125gph powerhead
6lbs live rock with barebottom (both my tanks are BB and therefore my specs are all zero)

water changes? what's that? I keep telling my wife to do them (since it really is her tank) but she gets around to it once every 2-3 months or so.

Lights: 2x18w coralife
that's it. nothing more, no additives nothing. 1 turbo snail and 1 tiny blue leg crab, nothing more. Lots of macro algaes kept in check somewhat, but my wife loves the way they look "especially the bubbly ones) isn't she cute. Ok so here are the before and afters. Any questions? i'll be happy to answer what I can.

BEFORE
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/chevegan/picofulltank.jpg

PRESENT
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/chevegan/cats013.jpg

[chevegan]

just a quick note....there is also some florida ricordia's multiplying to no end and looking amazing. 1 leather you can't see in the pic. Cloves, and various zoos and polys. Also in case you don't know. Sebaes come white because they've been bleached by distributors. The color it has now is because it survived long enough to cultivate the xooxanthila algae that it needs to survive. NO anemone's do NOT need to be fed. In fact in the wild it's once in a freaking blue moon that something happens to drop on them. they are primarily fed by their simbiotic relationship with the algae...like most all corals. Notice to make up for the relativly lower 36watts total pwr the tenticals have to extend fully to cultivate more alage, interesting eh :). also the base pushed all the rocks aside and is attached to the bottom glass. THis guy is huge. right around 12in accross. And I must say beautiful. Very sticky...always a good sign. I can stare at him and marvel for long lengths of time. watching each tentacle move and sway. IT's just a marvel.

[acidlittle]

That is pretty stunning. Kudos 2 you!

Josh

[melev]

Do you still have the clownfish in there? That is one full little nano. :)

[Newreeflady]

Looking.. um, full, lol!

Not flaming at all, and i'm sure you know this, but 8 months is a small amount of time to claim success. It looks good so far, though. I only say this because I did have a BTA go south on me after nearly a year.

fwiw, which isn't much because it isn't my tank, I like the look of the first picture a little better, now the tank is just all anemone. I have the same issue with the BTA I added to my 12g... it is gigantic!

Best,
-A

[Agu]

I was successfull keeping a bta in a ten gallon for two years. IME it's not about water quality, light, or water parameters. Anemones will wander, usually into a pump intake. The pump intake is too close in a nano and I got tired of keeping (and cleaning) sponges on all intakes. Gave away the BTA when it started to wander.

[chevegan]

Yes it is ful lol. But my wife says she loves the anemone as the centerpiece. And man have I tried to convince her otherwise so i can make it a pretty little nano like i first wanted it to be. As for the clown Marc, it didn't survive the move from one tank to the other. It jumped out a couple times freaking out and just didn't recover. So no more fish ever for this tank. Well maybe not EVER i like catalina's, who knows we'll see.

reeflady I agree with you as to the claiming of success. Though with no ditritus (snails I guess) in the tank water parameters are the steadiest I have EVER seen in any tank. No fluctations ever. Hope that doesn't change. Ph-steady 8.2-8.32 gravity-1.0245 anyhow I hope it keeps growing.

[chevegan]

Agu, happy anemones don't wander. Thats a bad sign. PLus Sebaes are nutoriously difficult to keep especially vs a BTA which is a very succesfull reef inhabitant. Thats why i love this tank so much.

[bennyinca]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7471527#post7471527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chevegan
[B] 6lbs live rock with barebottom (both my tanks are BB and therefore my specs are all zero)

Which specs are zero? Do you mean NH4/NO3/NO2?
AFAIK BB does not mean you are not going to get a reading on these.


that's it. nothing more, no additives nothing. 1 turbo snail and 1 tiny blue leg crab, nothing more.

Low bioload. This is more like the reason you do not have a reading on NH4/NO3/NO2, with the amount of live rock / macroalgae you have in the tank.

I am confused, you said you would not do this again, yet seem upset that about feedback you got in the past... I don't know the history of this, but sure sounds like you have some unfinished business :lmao: In any case, keep it up, the tank looks good.

[Agu]

Mine was happy for two years before it began to wander. BTW, my BTA anemone looked just like your "sebae". It wasn't my first anemone, it was this bubbletip anemone,

http://reefcentral.com/members/agu/agu02.jpg


Looks a lot like your sebae.....

[CamBarr]

hey thats a sweet little tank

[chevegan]

Well I feel bad now for taking a Sebae out of the ocean. I knew very little of anemones when I started. Then we had a speaker at MASLAC (lol uhh forgot her name? damn...that anemone marine biologist who's written a number of books on them, any thoughts?) anyhow after that night I felt bad that I got a Sebae and not a BTA which splits in captivity. Sebae's don't even split. They use the old fashion method of eggs/sperm whatever. Thats why i feel bad. And AGU you're absolutly right that anemone looks just like mine. Who knows. My BTA's have always been all bubbly lol. No flaming man that was a nice tank.

Oh and it is the almost zero bio-load that accounts for the zeros in the nH4/NO3/NO2. I really want to put a Catalina in there what do yoiu guys think? Though then feeding would suck.

[melev]

I don't know what kind of fish you are referring to. Is there more to the name, or perhaps a common name? Got a picture of what you want to get?

[Henry22]

Catalina Goby right?

[chevegan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7478596#post7478596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Henry22
Catalina Goby right?

bingo!

[Henry22]

They live in cold waters off the coast of california though. Or at least i Know they live in colder waters.

[nanoreefboy]

catalina gobies are great for nano's just like most small gobies but you have an anemone and it will eat fish if they get into it. the thing you need to remember is that a catalina will just pirch itself on anything and sit there, and it will eventually do it on the anemone. trust me i know because i lost way too much money worth of fish to my blue carpet anemone when i had it

[chevegan]

rofl omg that's absolutly right. ::smack:: shame on me lol. See this is my dilema. The anemone looks magnificent in there but talk about limiting options. He kills everything he touches. Except for the zoos. I don't know the reason behind that, maybe it's because the zoos are coated with a Palio toxin themselves. Whatever the case options are limited. Almost everything in there is carpeting the bare bottom now. So it looks really neat. I have 2 ricordia on the bottom from when the frags were placed there. Anyhow, anyone have any ideas as to what I can place in there safely?

Maybe just an invert? Don't want to put in a clown because I don't a fish that will outgrow the tank. 1-1.25in is max for this tank.

[nanoreefboy]

the problem here resides with the fact that your main thing in the tank is the anemone. the anemone has a foot and can move trust me I know. I had a blue carpet that took 3 months to find his spot then would move every couple months or so. but if you do get more inverts you have to be aware that anyday you could walk in and see the anemone on top of them or killing them with its tentacles. that is the reason that some people will have only anemones in a tank with clowns, because they can kill the fish too. but all in all it is your decision and your tank.
I would recommend a small clown to go in there with it and as long as you dont overfeed and maintain your parameters you should be fine with one. dont make it a maroon clown cause it will get huge though.

[chevegan]

true, hey something just came to me. Well by saying that my wife just read this thread and corrected the dating.

wife : "The Anemone has been in the same spot for over a year"

She has the corresponding dates to prove it lol, women! Anyhow. Yeah i remember he moved for like a month after we got him but hasn't moved since. And in all the research i've ever done it says "a happy anomone is one that stays in it's perfect spot" Apparently they know when the find the perfect amount of light, flow etc. Well anyway any more thoughts as to what I could get?

[imareefer21]

wow dude that thing is a monster now

[ClarkiiClown]

Catalina gobies are cold water- they prefer the low 70's Sweet little fish though

[melev]

Maybe you could get some porcelain crabs. They live in anemones and are very pretty to observe.

[castorpollux]

i would definitely go with the porcelain crab or an anemone shrimp

[chevegan]

porcelain crab, I like it. Now to find a lfs around here that has them

[Agu]

I had a bta that didn't move for over a year, then all of a sudden it got wandurlust and was all over the tank looking for a powerhead to turn it into puree :rolleyes:

imho anemones are not appropriate for small tanks.

[chevegan]

i agree, but what can you do. Especially when even at my most "persuasive" my wife refuses to get rid of it. One thing I have learned from years of past experiences....anything can trigger wandering. Moving a powerhead to a different location. Changing the lights, changing the LR so that it redirects flow in any way. And pretty much ANYTHING that MAY disturb the current state of contentment. So I try o keep that tank as undisturbed as possible.

[Nano's Rock]

How is your anemone doing?

[chevegan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9091708#post9091708 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nano's Rock
How is your anemone doing?

Still awesome. Moved everything to a 12g nano cube. Now he has an anemone crab to host.

[InvaderJim]

new pics?

[sophia101]

Wow, one awesome tank. I PMed you..:) Anyways, update on pics...I would love to see them!

[Doglover_50]

Again, not to rain on your parade, but about that fish (not the anenome). The water at Catalina Island is coooooold--as I'm sure you know living in LA.
Soooo, these are NOT fish that should be added to standard tropical reef tanks. We can predict with high confidence that your goby will appear healthy but will live a significantly shortened life---I think I've read they make it maybe a year in warm tanks. He needs to be in a cool tank of 70-72 degrees. In LA, I bet you could find someone with an appropriate tank for him, OR could get him to a LFS that carries these gobies!

[chevegan]

lol Catalina goby was way in the beginning of this thread. We've moved on. ;)

Anyhow I'll try to post some updated pics tonight

[chevegan]

Ok so basically everything you see in here came in as 2-3 polyp frags. Either from my other tanks or LFS. There are 6 total inhabitants.

1- tank raised perc
1-Blue leg hermit
2- Turbo snails
1-Nassarius snail
1- Porcelain/Anemone crab (you can see him on the tonga branch against the anomone)

I might get a skimmer soon but not sure yet. The anemone finally decided to move to the back corner after the move in to the 12g Nano Cube. I bought 3 ricordia a long time ago and now there is probably a good 13 in there. Tell me what you think.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/chevegan/HPIM1330.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/chevegan/HPIM1331.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/chevegan/HPIM1332.jpg

[melev]

It looks cute.

If you are looking for a skimmer that will fit that tank, check sapphireaquatics.com - Kyle makes some sweet looking skimmers that fit!