Minimum requirements for RBTA and breeding clownfish pair

[cpreefguy]

What size tank are you going to be putting everything in?

[JimD]

The anemone wont like it at all but the clowns wont have a problem. I have a bta in a 29 tall with a 96 watt quad pc and its seems just ok. Im fixin to change over to either a 70 or a 150 watt halide soon so Im sure ot will be much happier. Pc's just suck all around. MHO.

[JimD]

Nope, he doesnt have the trademark bubble tips, neither does my three RBT's, they used to a while back thn lost them, I think because the bulb is most likely weak, even with a new bulb I doubt its strong enough to satisfy the anemonies requirements. PC = kiss your bubles good bye. lol

[Ross]

Yeah, if you put him under PC's he wont do nearly as well, anything less than a mh is really no good for them. Minimum tank size, i'd say you could get away with a 10g, throw a little 70-150w halide over it and your good to go!

[brewercm]

MY RBT's bubble tend to come and go. Haven't figure it out yet but it seems to have them more so after a good feeding. Does that make since to anyone either or have they seen the same. Mine is under 250 watt DE Hamiltons 14Ks and 2 VHO actinics.

[Ed]

anything less than a mh is really no good for them.

I beg to differ.

I have a huge BTA under T5HOs that is thriving. In fact, it has nearly doubled in size since I bought it (from a fellow who had it under halides). A pair of Percula clowns host in it and are as happy as can be.8)


Josh,

How about a 24" or 36" wide tank with T5HOs? (20H, 30L, 30BR etc.) Plenty of light and plenty of space for the clowns. Mine seldom venture more than a few inches from the BTA. :)

-Ed

[betiuminside]

Well I have a Sebae Anemone under PC lights and she has double her size over 3 months. I am impressed, I thought she would die with in a month. Anyways.. good luck.

[Ross]

Ed, has he split? I ask because i had mine under a 400w halide and he split every single month, without fail. I have seen lots of people keep them under less lighting but have never seen one under vhos, t5s or pc's do as well as mine did under the halide. Not saying they won't live, they just won't do as well.

[matt]

If I understand the situation, you currently have a RBTA and the clowns in a large tank with the 250W 14k phoenix, right? Since the phoenix is a DE bulb, isn't the light in a mini pendent? Am I right so far? Why not just get a smaller tank and use your pendent on it? I just set up ( about a month ago) a 60 corner tank with this same light; I love it, maybe the best combination of PAR and color I've ever seen for a MH bulb. If you do decide to let your anemone/clownfish go, I'd definitely be interested as I was thinking I'd have clownfish/anemone habitat as the focus of my tank. As far as tank size goes, as long as they're not maroon clowns, probably one of those 30 cubes would be about as small as you'd want to go, maybe with a sump/skimmer. A 40 breeder might be perfect.

I know for a fact that most green E. quads are not particularly high light anemones and I had one very successfully in a 10 gallon under PCs. It outgrew the tank pretty quickly and I ended up giving it away. I kind of doubt that the rose colored morph would really *need* high light, but yours may be pretty well used to it and could complain under lower light. What kind of clowns are they, percs?

[Ed]

Josh,

I think you would be fine with 24" T5HOs. A 20H is only 16" tall. If you had the space, I personally would choose the 30 long or 30 breeder and use the more common 36" bulbs. I run 8x39W (4 per side) 36" bulbs on my 180g. I not only have the BTA, but also SPS, LPS, Leathers, and a Crocea that all do very well with these lights. I use 2 6500K "daylight" bulbs that I get locally from the light bulb store for ~$10 each and 2 actinics. Just added the new UVL (formerly URI) Super Blue actinics and they are awesome! Stop by and take a look the next time you're in Austin.

[JimD]

Splitting isnt always a sign of good health, it can be an indication of stress, thats why you hear people say that their anemone split following a move, new tank settup, etc. etc... If your anemone was splitting once a month, theres a possibilty it was reacting in survival mode due to some source of irritation. T-5's in my opinion would be a much better alternative than Pc's. Pc's usable life span is about 4 months and are expensive to replace. Ed, does your BTA have the bubble tips under the T-5's? It also depends on the origin of the specific species, some come from deeper waters, some shallower, blah blah blah.

[Richard]

What kind of clowns?

[Ed]

Splitting isnt always a sign of good health, it can be an indication of stress, thats why you hear people say that their anemone split following a move, new tank settup, etc. etc... If your anemone was splitting once a month, theres a possibilty it was reacting in survival mode due to some source of irritation. T-5's in my opinion would be a much better alternative than Pc's. Pc's usable life span is about 4 months and are expensive to replace. Ed, does your BTA have the bubble tips under the T-5's? It also depends on the origin of the specific species, some come from deeper waters, some shallower, blah blah blah.

Jim,

I agree with you on the splitting, my thoughts exactly. T5s not only have a much longer lifespan than PCs, but also have a lower initial bulb cost. Better reflectors are available for T5s as well. Yep, it sure does have bubble tips under the T5s. :D

[blueboy]

are the bubble tips(or lack thereof) an indication of health? it seems to me that smaller BTAs show the bubbles more often than larger ones IME.

[Ping]

I have a RBTA in your old 20L. It has a Current 130W PC fiixture. I changed the bulbs at 1 year. It has grown well, with bubles, about halfway up the tank. The only downfall I have found with the PC's is the BTA's dull color.

[Ross]

My anenome was doing awesome, he wasnt splitting because of stress, he was splitting because he was under good lighting and i fed him every few days. :-)