Finaly starting to put life in my tank. But i've got a few Q's about my new fish +...

[r4esh]

Okay so I have a 29g tank with a couple of pounds of LR, but not a whole lot. I let my tank cycle for a few weeks until I brought home a mated pair of percula clownfish. My tank is a little empty at the moment and they didn't seem all that happy just simming back and forth throughout the tank. So I decided I'd liven the whole envirmonet up a little bit by adding a bubble anemone. It has only been in the tank for about a day but it doesn't appear that my fish have shed any interest into it. ONCE i saw my smaller clown rub against it, but he freaked out and swam away from it. I have only had my fish for a few days, and i've been feeding them frozen brine shrip. I also have been feeding the bubble anemone the brine shrimp. I feed the bubble anemone by taking a plastic surenge and squirting the brine shrip above it.
My questions are, I don't know how much exactly to feed the fish, because I'll put like enough that they can complely consume in about one minute, but they still seem hungry because if I add even the slightest bit more they gobble it up. Will they just keep eating and eating if i keep feeding and feeding? or well they only eat until they are satisfied/ full. How will i know if I am over/under feeding? Second was what's the deal with the bubble anemone? The guy at my LFS said that my clowns would LOVE it. Also how much should I be feeding it? is it possible ot overfeed it? The bubble anemone isn't too big or anything, but I saw a fish at the LFS settling down in it befor it bought it.
Thanks in advance for answering my questions I greatly appriciate it.

[r4esh]

*bump*
Also right now I jsut have the typical lighting that came with my "starter" tank. Idk what kind it is, but I imagine that it is fairly cheap and inifective. It's very bright, but should I upgrade it to somthing better to keep my bubble anemone alive?

[Cosine]

I've never had an anemone but can offer a few things I've heard.
- they aren't the easiest creatures to keep and like a mature tank
- the bubbletip is the hardiest from what I hear
- I don't think that percs host naturally in a bubble tip
clowns don't need an anemone in a tank
I'd get some VHO or PC ligting on there. I don't think halides are necessary for a BTA.

Go get more variety of food for your fish. Brine isn't the best.
there's lots of good options in frozen food and other.
well hope some of this helps.

[Doug1]

Not wanting to come off as the heavy here BUT , your tank is too new to support an anemone, The lighting that came with it is probably not near enough to support an anemone, and anemones are not animals that are suitable for most beginners. Clowns do notneed to host with anemones to be happy, on the other hand anemones are specialized animals that we don't understand the wants and needs of. Bubbletip anemones( E. quadcolor?) are among the hardiest but no guarentee, personally the only way I would have an anemone is if it was a cloned daughter that had a sucess history in captivity. I would never buy a live caught anemone from a store, collection and transport can be very hard on these animals, and given the fact that a single anemone in the wild can host several generations of fish and other commensural animals, I don't think they should be harvested at all for the pet trade.
You are starting out, and I appreciate the fact that you found us here and posted. Please don't take this as an attack on you personally, its tough when you get into the hobby and get a lot of conflicting info or worse, the shop you deal with sells you anything. Trust me, I have had my share of disasters, thats why so many of us here spend so much time trying to get new people past the begining phases.
At this point I would strongly suggest seeing if you can return the anemone, then do a lot of reading this forum, esp the archives relating to anything you are remotely interested in keeping, and before adding anything else come up with a plan for the tank. What you want to keep, will a 29g be adequate, and design the system around the animals you gotta have
you can set up a nice 29g tank and not spend a fortune, but trust me, you can invest a lot of wasted $$$$ on a 29, been there , done that.
Having said that, Welcome to TRT, hopefully we can get you past the new reefer blues with your wallet and sanity intact, OK maybe your wallet

[r4esh]

I really enjoy the anemone, but u really think i should return it? Would if i went out right away and invested into much better lighting like somthing like 2x65w PCs? would this little anemone survive then? you really think it will die off now, regardless of what i feed it or anything? I understand that they might be difficult to start with, but even if i go out right away and invest into better lighting and all taht it still wont survive?

[Cosine]

I dunno for sure what would happen
However I know it is tough to return it but you can always get another one down the road when the tank is more mature

[r4esh]

Originally Posted by Cosine

I dunno for sure what would happen
However I know it is tough to return it but you can always get another one down the road when the tank is more mature

Yeah, but if i can't return it I would like to know what i can do to keep it alive, cous I'd hate for it to be a waste of 30 bucks...

Also what would u suggest about feeding? I'll get osme more variety of foods for them, but how much should i be feeding my fish + anenome?

[Cosine]

I feed mine blood worms and mysis.
I also have these pellets
you can try a search here for "blender mush"
I'm tired and can't think about names but there's other popular foods that are flake and pellet and stuff you should be able to find some good ideas with a few searches on this site.
New lights should help. you might need to acclimate them a bit as to not allow for a algae bloom or shock anything in the tank.
depending on size of the anemone you could feed krill or try pieces of shrimp or squid from the grocery store
good luck!

[aussiereefer82]

G'day guys,
I agree with Doug, i really think it is to soon for an anenome. If you have to keep it however try feeding it pieces of fresh shrimp with a long pair of tongs a similar. I feed my BTA ( that hosts a pair of black ocsellaris) like this every other day and it is happy as in a poorly lit tank ( i am getting new lights soon).

[r4esh]

As you can see, it isn't a very large anenome. and from what u guys are telling me is that u dont think it will survive. WELL what will it take it keep it alive? what do i need to do to make sure it stay's healthy? lighting? differn't food besides my brine shrimp? what else?

[r4esh]

Originally Posted by aussiereefer82

G'day guys,
I agree with Doug, i really think it is to soon for an anenome. If you have to keep it however try feeding it pieces of fresh shrimp with a long pair of tongs a similar. I feed my BTA ( that hosts a pair of black ocsellaris) like this every other day and it is happy as in a poorly lit tank ( i am getting new lights soon).

Poor lighting? Such as? what are you using? Cous right now I think my tank is just powered by some kind of floresent bulb. If I were upgrading to PC do i need somthing differnt to plug the light into? or can i just use that head and replace my light for a PC? I imagine i need a new cabinate head.

[r4esh]

Eck sorry for post after post and question after question, but back to my orrigonal question, and i know clowns dont need anenomes and stuff, but why is it that they are ignoring the anenome? i saw a clown in it when it was at the LFS, but i havn't seen my fish even really touch it. Will they eventually in time?

[Doug1]

Brine shrimp , unless enriched with selcon or similar has about the nutritional value of diet popcorn, a lot of filler but little nutrition. Shrimp pieces, clam bits or some marine based meaty food will help, I really suggest getting some Selcon to pump up the nutritional value.
For anemones or other mid level light lovers, I would suggest 3-4 65w PC lights or a single Metal Halide setup. Good lighting along with supplemental feeding helps but there are no guarentees, there are just to many unknowns to sit down and type out a how to guide.
Not all clowns will host with any anemone, and some anemones are not at all picky about what fish they invite to lunch, You might want to check out Joyce Wilkersons book and Clowns and Host Anemones, check the anemone archives here, I have saved a lot of good info, good luck

[aussiereefer82]

I currently only have NO flourescent bulbs (2x 10k 2xactinic) i have around 2.5w per gallon. The tank is bright bat could do with more oomph if you get my drift. I am going to be getting 2x96w10k PC and i am going to change my NO bulbs to actinics.

[Cosine]

you'll need to get an appropriate ballast and endcaps and all that stuff to upgrade lighting