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You want to add some color and movement to your tank while at the same time introducing an organism that will benefit the other marine life in your tank? You might be interested in a Bubble Tip Anemone. These beautiful creatures come in a variety of colors and sizes but the biggest plus is the relationship they can have with species like the Clownfish.
No matter your reasons, these creatures can offer a lot to a saltwater aquarium. As long as you observe the water and ensure proper conditions are being met, you will have a nice aquatic community.
Tools For Acclimating Bubble Tip Anemones To Your Tank
Drip Acclimator
Drip acclimation is the best method of introducing new anemones to your aquarium.
Hang On Container
An indispensable tool for acclimation and many other aquarium tasks.
Bag Acclimator
A great tool for acclimating new anemones right in the bag they were delivered to you in.
Stress Relief
Transporting anemones is stressful for them. Stress relief will help increase their health.
Are Bubble Tip Anemones Easy to keep? Some Things to Consider
Bubble Tip Anemone are not “easy” to care for but with the proper preparation and research, you should have little trouble caring for your bubble tip. The following guidelines should be carefully considered and planned for to make your aquarium a conducive environment for the anemone.
Anemones Move?
Anemone, especially Bubble Tip Anemone, will move around your aquarium, especially when they are first introduced. They want to find a place that fits their needs. The anemone will begin to calm down after it has found a place to settle. Eventually, it will anchor itself and rarely move, again. Always make sure that your anemone is not threatening any other creatures in your reef tank as they move around the tank.
Anemone can be fussy so you must cater to them a little bit. You might have to rearrange your tank a little bit to protect your coral. If your anemone keeps brushing up against a piece of coral, relocate that coral someplace else for its own safety. The coral is not in immediate danger from the anemone but over time it could be killed from the continual stinging of the anemone.
Bubble Tip Anemones can move so it is crucial to make sure that they do not get into your tank’s equipment. It could cause injury to the anemone and potentially cause damage to the equipment. To avoid this, you will need to cover equipment as best as you can. You might need to incorporate foam sponges or other tank safe coverings for the tank’s equipment. The coverings will need to be cleaned and maintained overtime for them to continue to be effective and safe for your aquarium.
Ideally, the anemone will be one of the first things that you introduce to your tank so that you can avoid having to babysit your corals as the anemone finds a spot to anchor itself.
How to Acclimate an Anemone
First, your saltwater tank should be at least 6 months old before you try to introduce an anemone to it. As always ensure that you are inspecting the anemone before you try the acclimation process. For proper Bubble Tip Anemone care, follow the drip method for acclimation. The drip method should be done for acclimating any marine life that might be too heavy for the float method (corals, anemones, and live rock).
When the anemone has successfully acclimated to the water, try to monitor it to ensure that it is not going anywhere that it isn’t getting anywhere it shouldn’t. These little fellas enjoy moving around the tank initially, as they look around the reef for a spot that fits their needs. You can rearrange your tank to cater to the bubble tip or you can try to set your jets at areas of the tank that you would prefer the anemone didn’t try to set up home in. remember to rescue any coral that might be touching the anemone. The anemone will sting and slowly begin to kill the coral.
How Big do Bubble Tip Anemones Get?
Bubble Tip Anemones can grow anywhere between 30 and 50 cm. What this means is that you need to plan and ensure that your bubble tip has plenty of room to grow. They also can become over 80 years old. I hope you are ready to have your anemone pal for the rest of your life. Because with proper care, they are here to stay.
How much light does a Bubble Tip Anemone Need?
Anemones in general can be finicky when it comes to their light levels. The sweet spot for anemone is around 220-350 PAR (photosynthetic active radiation). You may want to invest in lighting that can meet these standards. You should ensure that your anemone gets the light that it needs to thrive. The lighting conditions for your aquarium is just as important as the food that you choose to give your marine life. You need to purchase lighting that will meet the above conditions for a happy ecosystem.
For more information about aquarium lighting, visit Reef Tank Resource’s article to see which brands are the best to look into for your tank.
Bubble Tip Anemone Water Parameters and Flow
Bubble Tip Anemone care can be tricky since they can be picky with their water parameters. You will want to ensure that your saltwater tank is adhering to the guidelines for your Bubble Tip Anemone to thrive.
- Tank size should be around 40-60 gallons at the least
- pH level should be between 8.1 and 8.4
- Water temperature should range between 72℉ and 82℉. Preferably, you will aim to keep the temperature at the median of these two numbers.
- Water hardness should be kept between 8 and 12 dKH
- Specific gravity should be 1.023 and 1.025
If you keep your reef tank within those guidelines your Bubble Tip Anemone will live a happy life.
Flow can be very important for the overall health of your anemones. The trouble can be that anemones can move around the tank on their own. Some people believe that too much flow for anemones will cause them to stretch out and hurt themselves. A lower and more moderate flow will be more conducive to the anemone’s overall health.
Look at Reef Tank Resource’s article on wavemakers to better understand which model might be the best for your tank. Remember whichever model might interest you, you will want to see if you can get covers for the wavemaker you choose.
Feeding Bubble Tip Anemone
The easiest part of Bubble Tip Anemone care is their feeding habits. The anemones can make their own food from the light they absorb, and they can also get food from the fish that take up residency within their tentacles. Of course, this means there needs to be a host present. These food sources are not the end all be all though. Manually feeding is still required for better overall health with this species but it is very manageable. You can feed the Bubble Tip Anemones food like Mysis Shrimp when they are smaller. After your anemone has grown a little bit, you can try various frozen foods like silver slides, squid, or shrimp.
How to Feed the Bubble Tip Anemone
Feeding your anemone is not as simple as throwing the food into the aquarium and walking away. To ensure that your Bubble Tip Anemone can find their food, you should attach their Mysis Shrimp (or whatever you may be feeding your anemones) to a stick and poke its tentacles with the food. The anemone will recognize the food and take it to eat. Feeding should be done 2-3 times a week. Remember as all
Do Anemones Eat Fish
Technically, all anemones eat fish which is why feeding your Bubble Tip Anemone chopped frozen fish is okay. However, since anemones can’t swim, it comes down to the fish to stay away from the anemone. Usually, the little swimmers are smart enough to stay away from the tentacles to avoid the sting.
Selecting a Bubble Tip Anemone
Bubble Tips can add a nice splash of color to your saltwater tank. However, you want to remember to think about where you are buying your species. This species is best if you buy them as aquaculture specimens from a reputable dealer. What this means is that the dealer raised the species themselves and what this often means is that the anemone will adapt to tank life far easier than a wild-caught one.
Often when people think of anemone they think of Clownfish. The two are inseparable in our contemporary consciousness and chances are you would like to introduce Clownfish to your tank at some point or already have and would like them to pair with the anemone. They will host most kinds of Clownfish which makes them an ideal candidate as a fire time anemone.
How to get Clownfish to Host Bubble Tip Anemone
The best way to get Clownfish to host BubbleTip Anemone is to have the anemone set up before introducing the Clownfish to the tank. When you introduce the Clownfish to the tank you can carefully herd the fish towards the anemone with a stick or something similar. If you are introducing anemone after Clownfish has already been introduced to your tank, you have a couple of options.
You can try to herd your Clown fish to the newly introduced anemone and maybe they will take it. The problem with this is sometimes a Clown fish is already comfortable within the tank and doesn’t see a reason to start a symbiotic relationship.
You can also try to quarantine your Clownfish and reintroduce them to your saltwater aquarium. This is a bit of a hassle but if the fish are removed long enough, they will come back to the aquarium with new eyes. The Clownfish will think the environment is new and be more likely to seek the safety of the anemone. When the Clownfish is reintroduced, it may make a beeline for the anemone but you may also have to guide it towards it, too. If this is the case, remember to be careful to gently guide the fish towards the tentacles.
Are my Bubble Tip Anemones, Okay?
So, your Bubble Tip has closed or its bulb tentacles look a little deflated. Is it okay? Is there a health issue?
Firstly, you should be testing the water quality and lighting to see if there is anything wrong with the tank. If anything is off with the tests. Start to correct the issue right away. If your tests come back fine then it could be nothing. Anemones can close if they are annoyed or are passing waste. You should keep monitoring your species just in case the behavior increases in frequency or severity. If the bulb tips still look deflated for more than 3 or 4 days then something is wrong.
A sign that your bubble tips are ill is that they have detached themselves from the rock they anchored themselves to and are tumbling around the water.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about the Bubble Tip Anoneme, you should be ready to make the best decision as to which one to select and how to introduce it to your aquarium. The beauty of the anemone tentacles can add quite a lot to the overall scene present in your aquarium. As long as you take care to adhere to the specific species lighting, water quality, and food needs there should be few issues.