Anenome/ default nano cube lighting

[icepick5587]

Is the lighting in the '06 Dx 24g nano cube (2x36 Watt CF 50/50)enough to house a BTA? I have a spot available for it about 6" deep.

[theop]

No

[icepick5587]

bump

[theop]

You'd need your tank to be well-established first (~3-6 months old) and have signficantly more light. I would recommend one of the 150W MH clip-on lights like the Viper if you want to keep anemones.

[MinibowMatt]

why bump it? The truest answer you will get is NO. If your just waiting or someone to tell you you can do it go ahead and bump it, but the fact is that in that tank you can not keep a BTA. like theop said, you need an ESTABLISHED (6+ months IMO) tank and tons more light.

[Paladin]

I agree, more lighting. FWIW, I have an OG 12g nanocube and I jacked up the lights to 88w PC. I've had a rbta in it that's doing well for over a year-and-a-half. Eventually I'll need to move him when he gets too large.

[laramieh]

I would say that it would be fine. I had one in my stock aquapod after running it for 1.5 months. The anemone has grown and is doing great. It is in the upper third of my tank. I feed it mysis occaisionally but it has actually darkened up since I bought it from the increased zoanthellae. (sp?) Oh and its been living strong for about 6 months since.

[m000240]

I am thinking he bumped it get a more descriptive answer than "NO".

Nothing in this hobby is as simple as yes and no. There are so many subjective factors and variables. I imagine he (like myself for reading this) was looking for peoples experiences, such as laramieh's. That told him, yes, one person can keep one with stock lighting, keeping it in the top of the tank and feed it mysis shrimp. I am sure there are other examples out there of people that couldn't keep one with stock lighting, and more that could, all for many different reasons than just stock lighting. So if it is your opinion that no, you can't keep one that way, recommend a way that you could. That is why people come here, to learn and be educated, if we wanted to be given simple meaningless answers we could get that from the kid working at the LFS counter.

I'll get off my soap box.

[MinibowMatt]

ok.. more specific.

All I can say is that if he searched in this forum, that same exact question has been asked a million times, and the consensus is that BTA's require HIGH lighting conditions, generally MH, and a tank that can support an anemone. With supporting the creature, the tank needs to be fully cylcled/aged, with the reefkeeper totally in tune with his/her system. The reason for a mature system, is to prevent the anemone from wandering too much and ending up in a powerhead, chopped to bits, or stuck to an OF and flooding someones house.
If the OP researched before the initial post, he probably would not have posted. While i understand thats what these forums are for, they are also a valuable archive of info right there for the taking.
All too often this forum supports posts like this because NOOB reefers say that they were able to keep one alive. Well my theory is that these reefers are also the ones who have tank crashes at 6 months and wonder why, or have serious algea issues or other problems. These are the same misleading posts that make people throw tangs and mandarins in nanos too.

How many people here will admit to killing a BTA because they tried to keep one under these conditions? I know if i tried, and it died, I would never admit it.

research = knowledge

[m000240]

I would agree with that totally. However one thing that I have found, that seriously frustrates me, is that reefcentral.com seems to be the home of the most experienced and knowledgeable reefers out there. Granted there are dozens of bulliten boards for reefs out there, but none as wide ranging, thorough and well populated as reefcentral. That is why I have come here, and continue to come her; to gain more knowledge. However it is difficult when as someone who hasn't paid ("donated"?) is allowed to use the search function. I have had at least 2 dozen questions worthy of posting in the last six months, and everytime I have tried to search for the answer I was informed that the search was too busy for me. I ended up finding my answer on other boards.

I agree it is frustrating to have to answer the same question over and over again. If the welfare of the animal is of the primary concern then a better answer would be to post a link to a previous, complete answer, or a link to webpage that describe lighting requirements for anemones. I for one would benefit from something like that, because as I mentioned I can stack up enough stories on both sides of the fence, but have yet to find any concrete description of lighting requirements.

Another question (apologize in advance for hijacking the post) but what about MH makes it suitable for anemones that PC or VHO isn't? is it the spectrum? (can't you get the same spectrum in PC or VHO?) or is it the intensity? (can't you just add more PC or VHO?) Heat output? I understand that not all light is created equally, but all discussions of light requirements I've seen have focused on bulbs used to produce the light, not the actual qualities of the light. That confuses me.

[theop]

Use this to search: http://reefcentral.com/search.php?menu=11

It is the intensity which makes MH more suitable for anemones. It is certainly possible to use any type of light as long as there is enough of it. As for spectrum, MH has the same range of choices as flourescent: most people use 10,000 - 20,000 Kelvin.

[m000240]

That is a great search function, and my new favorite bookmark. Thanks!!!

[m000240]

I also found this while searching around....

BTA (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm)

[Jordan55]

Actually Anemones DO NOT need MH. In fact, sometimes MH is too much.

I have successfully kept a BTA and RBTA under PC's. Now I would not reccomend someone putting one under a few watts of PC.

I have a kept a green BTA under 48 watts of PC in my old nano cube.

I think it is really the prestine water conditions and frequent feedings that keep anemones alive.

I say Icepick- It is possible for you to keep one. However, I would wait for your system to be set up for atleast 3-6 months, make sure you pick one out that you KNOW for a FACT is healthy, and feed multiple times per week (every day or every other day).

Check out "Finding Nemo" here on RC. She has a web page dedicated to Anemones (mostly roses and other BTA's). All the care and requirements for them.

[drpc713]

my tank was about 3 weeks old when i got my BTA... and it could not be more perfect... as long as ur water is pristine u should be fine.. theres no set rules in this hobby.. anything could happen