Anemone Resource

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seffieuk

I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure!
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Anemones

Mysterious and often

misunderstood animals,

come share your

photos and experiences.

More and more of you are

tempted to keep these

amazing creatures, so lets

find out about Anemones
Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur of 1904

420px-Haeckel_Actiniae.jpg
 
Ok, I will start:

Bubbletip Anemones - Bill, Bill Junior and Ben

Powerheads, Anemone killers. Before you buy your nem, you need to do some DIY

I borrowed this idea from another reefer :lol: he does know!


Stream2007-10-200611.jpg


Stream2007-10-200621.jpg


However they are tunze powerheads and I had Koralias. To be honest they were a pain in the butt, but useful whilst the nems found where they wanted to live in the five footer. I haven't used them in a long while as the Nems rarely move more than an inch or so on their bommie. If you get the lving conditions right they don't move far from where you put them.

Another way of nem proofing: - you could just put a pair of tights over the powerhead until the nem settles. If I was doing it again, I would buy loads of those cheap pop socks things and then just change it every day and throw the old one away, its too much of a fuss to wash them out every time!!

I was very worried about touching Bill when I first got him, but now I know that this isn't a problem. When I first put Bill in the five footer he went on to the glass, so i just took a fish slice (don't laugh), slid it under his foot and put him back on the rock - he started to float, so I put my hand over him and shouted for a collander :lol: I put that over him for a few minutes to keep him in place whilst he put his foot down.

Must admit Bill caused me a lot of stress in the Orca 550 when I first got him, I was just so very scared he would move into a powerhead, just like Trods did :crazy: However he flourished in there and never moved once he found his favourite place. He is the biggest reason I bought the five footer, he was getting to about 10 inches!

BTA don't like direct flow, or a lot of flow and they also don't seem to need a lot of light which is just as well because i only have T5s.

I feed them once a week with frozen little fish, occassionaly a prawn - they always take the food :good: I just place the small fish in their tentacles and they then move the fish into their mouths. A few days later they hide in their cave and do a poop. They fold in on themselves, scared the life out of me when I first saw Bill do it and then they poop out their mouths a long stringy line of gunk. I believe they also turn themselves inside out when they are first introduced into the tank - Bill the Green did but Ben the Rose didn't.

I would create a cave (with a lip at the front if possible) with rocks on top and then place him carefully in the cave.

Hosting: my clowns have only just started hosting the nems. They loved my toadstool, but since I moved the toadstool he has fallen out of favour, the nems didn't like him sulking!!

I put Bill in the Orca about six months after set-up, then in the five footer about six months after that (please don't put a nem in a tank any younger). I moved all the stock over to the five footer, plus the lr I had in the 180 litre. Ben the Rose came along fairly swiftly, but I was happy to put them both in what seems a new set-up but which was really just a new tank with old contents, if you get my drift :lol: I now have three nems as Bill split and gave me Bill junior :blink: that was a lovely surprise

moto_0369.jpg


Seffie x
 
I wouldn't recommend pop socks or tights over propeller type pumps, such as Tunze or Koralias. They have no suction, so the cover basically stops all the pump's flow :sad: You need to stick the the wire guards that Seffie posted above for that type of pump IMO :nod: Also, IME, the OUTLET of the pump also needs covering, I had a nem climb into a pump via the outlet hole... Better still, fit Maxijet (or equiv.) pumps and cover the intakes worth sponges. These being impeller type pumps, they can pull against the increased resistance.

Shrimp are a royal PITA with nems, they tend to hassle them and nick their food, or at least Peppermint and Cleaner shrimp are. Dancing shrimp aren't too bad, but crabs fall into the same category of anemone annoyance crew.

All the best
Rabbut
 
I wouldn't recommend pop socks or tights over propeller type pumps, such as Tunze or Koralias. They have no suction, so the cover basically stops all the pump's flow :sad: You need to stick the the wire guards that Seffie posted above for that type of pump IMO :nod: Also,

Very good point :good: wishful thinking on my part I suppose

Seffie x
 
10 denier stockings imo are fine and should not kill the flow on korallia nd tunze pumps. They still have holes in them the same as the guard seffie showed just much finer. Stretch a pair of stockings at 10 denier, you will see lots of fine holes, they have nothing to pull against and are better than sponge imo.

Currently having a new BTA, I have my Seio and Korallia covered with 10 denier stockings, flow does not seem to have altered at all. :hey:
 
Don't have any yet but thinking of getting one soon. Want to get my phosphate levels sorted first though.

Couple of things though:
Always try and get a tank "bred" 'nem. In good conditions 'nems will reproduce and split quite often so tank "bred" nems are fairly easy to get hold of. In the wild 'nems can live indefinitely and they are one of the things that I strongly believe should be left in the wild.

If you are buying a 'nem with the idea of having clown fish host it make sure you get the largest one you can. Clownfish will easily pull a small 'nem apart while hosting it.

You need to have good water conditions and reasonable lighting. T5 light is fine for a bubble tip but still need to make sure you have enough of it (I have x6 t5 tubes and not sure I would want to keep a nem in much less, however Seffie for example has kept a nem successfully under Power compacts).

Definitely make sure you nem proof your power heads. I personally know someone who had their tank wiped out when a large nem decided to go for a walk into their powerhead.
 
There are a few new Nem keepers at the moment, so I thought I would bump this, so that people could add any info or photos

Seffie x
 
Well I have my BTA but also picked up this today

dfafabe2.jpg

Mini maxi anemone, they seem to be becoming more easily found in the uk now.
I chose a darker one to contrast all the greens and reds I have in tank.
 
Hope you are running Carbon - its a risky business to put two different nems in a tank :crazy:

Seffie x
 
Activated carbon pillow and carbon filter screen :)

Here's a write up on them
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mini-carpets-perfect-small-sea-anemones
 
They certainly are a lovely edition to a mature tank :good: shame you dont see them that often :sad:

Seffie x
 
First time I've seen one in the flesh but they are apparently becoming more attainable.
I know one online shop that sells them and a few people on UR have found them.
Mines currently wedged itself between a rock and the sand much like my BTA.
And I thought nems hated sand.
 

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