Anemones and other fish

Lisauze · 03/03/2011, 07:12 AM

I was thinking of getting a Saddle (Haddoni) carpet anemone. I was wondering if it could be a danger to my other fish and inverts. Will it kill or eat them? I have 2 false clowns, a yellow tang(I know the tank is small for him but the person I got him from was going to get rid of it one way or another) a diamond goby, a three striped damsel, 2 starfish, a emerald crab, 2 peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, a soft body coral, several different hermit crabs and snails. I am just worried and dont want to introduce something that will hurt my other fish. I have a 55 gallon tank all water parameters normal and a 48 inch long aquarium light with t-5s 2 acenic blue and 2 10,000 watt with reflectors.

kduen · 03/03/2011, 11:00 AM

While the tank maybe big enough for the nem i'm not sure about the lighting. I have no exp. with T5 so i'm sure someone will chime in about that. As far as the nem stinging, killing or eating your fish the possibility is always there. Some people haven't lost any fish to their Haddoni and others (myself included) have lost a few. I have had mine for about five months now and has eaten five of my inhabitants. Three of which were my fault by turning off the lights for the tank and dimming the room lights at the same time shortly after introducing the nem to my tank. The other two were lost sometime in the middle of the night and i'm guessing because they were out looking for a midnight snack and stumbled into the nem. But from reading a lot on here there is more posts about someones Haddoni eating something than there are about Haddoni's not eating anything.

bues0022 · 03/03/2011, 11:38 AM

Merely answering your first question of will a Haddoni eat other inhabitants, yes. They are one of the most notorious anemones for eating other fish/inverts. Many people end up with a small pile of "used" shells right in front. Any other fish or invert should be considered at risk.

Also, just to clarify, you have Ocellaris clowns. There is no such thing as a false clown, the same way there is no such thing as a false lab. I know I'm picky, but I try to reduce the poor terminology perpetuated with the ocellaris species.

Finally, need more info:

how old is your tank?
What are your water parameters, with numbers?
How old are your bulbs? wattage? does each have its own individual reflectors?
What do you have for flow?
can you post a picture of your setup?

Lisauze · 03/03/2011, 03:15 PM

yes they are Amphiprion ocellaris. They are also a mated pair at least I think they are. One is larger then the other and they rarely get far away from each other and the one attacks me when I put my hand in the tank. My water parameters are

Nitrate 0
nitrite 0
ammonia 0
pH 7.9-8.0
temp 77.8
dHK 9
spec gravity 1.022

My tank is about three months old but I got the live rock and fish from someone with an established aquarium so it already had a healthy growth of coralline algae. The light is an odyssea light and it does not have individual reflectors just one behind the lights. I have two 1300 GPH aquarium wave maker powerhead pumps on each end of the tank. The lights a re two blue acentic and two 10,000 watt bulbs that are less then a month old. The only problem I have is a slight green algae problem but I think that is because I had the lights on too long and feed the fish to much. I know have them set on a timer and feed the fish twice a day once after the lights come on and once before they go off. I dont have a good picture yet but I will post one later. The only thing I was really worried about was the anemone eating the tanks other inhabitants. Is there another ocellaris hosting anemone that will not kill the other inhabitants. What if I feed it regularly? Or upgraded to say a 90 gallon tank. (Which I plan to do in the future)

Thanks

bues0022 · 03/03/2011, 03:22 PM

Feeding and upgrading will do very little to curb a Haddoni's potent sting. Additionally, it is generally recommended to wait at least 6 months before housing an anemone. In this case, since your LR came from an already established system, you could possibly go quicker. HOWEVER, if I assume based on your join date and posts that you are new to salt water, I'd still recommend waiting several more months so you learn more about keeping water parameters stable, and really being able to "decode" the signals your tank gives you.

Seeing as how with your lights you are actually on the lower end of lighting, a bubble tip would be a good starting point if kept high in the tank. They are relatively forgiving if you start with a healthy captive bred one. Also, haddoni's need several inches of sand (I fogrot to mention that above). While many other species of anemones look very cool and will host ocellaris, a bubble tip is a very hardy beginner anemone - which would transfer just fine to a 90 gallon should you upgrade.

BTW, kudos to you for asking good questions, and doing good level-headed research before purchasing. It will end far more enjoyable for you (less stress because you know what you're getting into) and cheaper in the long run (no dead anemones)

Lisauze · 03/03/2011, 06:21 PM

Thanks I just dont want to buy something Im just going to kill or have it kill my other inhabitants. Will a bubble tip host the clowns? Also how is it with eating the other tank inhabitants? Also I have a deep sand bed about 6 inches.

bues0022 · 03/04/2011, 09:16 AM

Bubble tips are probably one of the least likely to eat any other tank inhabitants. The only time I've seen/heard ot other things being eating was when the fish was quite sick to begin with (hindsight usually though). I've never had them eat any of my CUC, or actually even heard of them eating a clownfish (yes, I've known haddoni's to even eat a clownfish or 3). Whether or not the clowns will take to the anemone is up to the fish. Many do, some don't. That can be said about nearly any anemone though. A DSP won't matter to the BTA, as it's a rock-dwelling nem.

03/03/2011, 07:12 AM	#1
Lisauze Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 12	Anemones and other fish I was thinking of getting a Saddle (Haddoni) carpet anemone. I was wondering if it could be a danger to my other fish and inverts. Will it kill or eat them? I have 2 false clowns, a yellow tang(I know the tank is small for him but the person I got him from was going to get rid of it one way or another) a diamond goby, a three striped damsel, 2 starfish, a emerald crab, 2 peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, a soft body coral, several different hermit crabs and snails. I am just worried and dont want to introduce something that will hurt my other fish. I have a 55 gallon tank all water parameters normal and a 48 inch long aquarium light with t-5s 2 acenic blue and 2 10,000 watt with reflectors.

03/03/2011, 03:15 PM	#4
Lisauze Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 12	reply to other questions yes they are Amphiprion ocellaris. They are also a mated pair at least I think they are. One is larger then the other and they rarely get far away from each other and the one attacks me when I put my hand in the tank. My water parameters are Nitrate 0 nitrite 0 ammonia 0 pH 7.9-8.0 temp 77.8 dHK 9 spec gravity 1.022 My tank is about three months old but I got the live rock and fish from someone with an established aquarium so it already had a healthy growth of coralline algae. The light is an odyssea light and it does not have individual reflectors just one behind the lights. I have two 1300 GPH aquarium wave maker powerhead pumps on each end of the tank. The lights a re two blue acentic and two 10,000 watt bulbs that are less then a month old. The only problem I have is a slight green algae problem but I think that is because I had the lights on too long and feed the fish to much. I know have them set on a timer and feed the fish twice a day once after the lights come on and once before they go off. I dont have a good picture yet but I will post one later. The only thing I was really worried about was the anemone eating the tanks other inhabitants. Is there another ocellaris hosting anemone that will not kill the other inhabitants. What if I feed it regularly? Or upgraded to say a 90 gallon tank. (Which I plan to do in the future) Thanks

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03/03/2011, 11:00 AM	#2
kduen Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Panama City, FL Posts: 684	While the tank maybe big enough for the nem i'm not sure about the lighting. I have no exp. with T5 so i'm sure someone will chime in about that. As far as the nem stinging, killing or eating your fish the possibility is always there. Some people haven't lost any fish to their Haddoni and others (myself included) have lost a few. I have had mine for about five months now and has eaten five of my inhabitants. Three of which were my fault by turning off the lights for the tank and dimming the room lights at the same time shortly after introducing the nem to my tank. The other two were lost sometime in the middle of the night and i'm guessing because they were out looking for a midnight snack and stumbled into the nem. But from reading a lot on here there is more posts about someones Haddoni eating something than there are about Haddoni's not eating anything.

03/03/2011, 11:38 AM	#3
bues0022 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 2,230	Merely answering your first question of will a Haddoni eat other inhabitants, yes. They are one of the most notorious anemones for eating other fish/inverts. Many people end up with a small pile of "used" shells right in front. Any other fish or invert should be considered at risk. Also, just to clarify, you have Ocellaris clowns. There is no such thing as a false clown, the same way there is no such thing as a false lab. I know I'm picky, but I try to reduce the poor terminology perpetuated with the ocellaris species. Finally, need more info: how old is your tank? What are your water parameters, with numbers? How old are your bulbs? wattage? does each have its own individual reflectors? What do you have for flow? can you post a picture of your setup?

03/03/2011, 03:22 PM	#5
bues0022 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 2,230	Feeding and upgrading will do very little to curb a Haddoni's potent sting. Additionally, it is generally recommended to wait at least 6 months before housing an anemone. In this case, since your LR came from an already established system, you could possibly go quicker. HOWEVER, if I assume based on your join date and posts that you are new to salt water, I'd still recommend waiting several more months so you learn more about keeping water parameters stable, and really being able to "decode" the signals your tank gives you. Seeing as how with your lights you are actually on the lower end of lighting, a bubble tip would be a good starting point if kept high in the tank. They are relatively forgiving if you start with a healthy captive bred one. Also, haddoni's need several inches of sand (I fogrot to mention that above). While many other species of anemones look very cool and will host ocellaris, a bubble tip is a very hardy beginner anemone - which would transfer just fine to a 90 gallon should you upgrade. BTW, kudos to you for asking good questions, and doing good level-headed research before purchasing. It will end far more enjoyable for you (less stress because you know what you're getting into) and cheaper in the long run (no dead anemones)

03/03/2011, 06:21 PM	#6
Lisauze Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 12	Thanks I just dont want to buy something Im just going to kill or have it kill my other inhabitants. Will a bubble tip host the clowns? Also how is it with eating the other tank inhabitants? Also I have a deep sand bed about 6 inches.

03/04/2011, 09:16 AM	#7
bues0022 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 2,230	Bubble tips are probably one of the least likely to eat any other tank inhabitants. The only time I've seen/heard ot other things being eating was when the fish was quite sick to begin with (hindsight usually though). I've never had them eat any of my CUC, or actually even heard of them eating a clownfish (yes, I've known haddoni's to even eat a clownfish or 3). Whether or not the clowns will take to the anemone is up to the fish. Many do, some don't. That can be said about nearly any anemone though. A DSP won't matter to the BTA, as it's a rock-dwelling nem.