Carpet Anemone thriving

[nuff2000]

Hi all,
A while back I posted about my carpet anemone, telling about the injury I caused when a hermit became part of the anemone's anchor. I tore a 1/16" diameter piece out of the anemone's base. All response to this on other BB's told me it was doomed. It has now been almost 2 months and the anemone could not look better. It eats voraciously anything that falls into it including one hermit crab, a horseshoe crab, and silversides or whatever. It expands to over 10" and is just beautiful.
I have a 55gal that I'm cycling now, and have 400w MH lighting. The 55gal sits next to the tank the anemone is in and the anemone strains to reach the more intense lighting. Yes, it will be going to the 55gal when it is cycled.
Just thought you would like to know that not all anemones fail in the home aquarium.
Thanks
David

------------------
Don't think so much...It takes all the fun out of life!!

[Larry M]

Hi David--Welcome to the board. That is good news about your anemone, how long have you had it?

------------------
Larry M

Visit Reef Stores.com (http://63.75.34.139/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi?) The liaison between hobbyists and on-line retailers.

See my tanks at Northern Reef (http://www.reefcentral.com/northernreef/index.htm)

[nuff2000]

Larry,
I've had the anemone for about 4 months. When I found it at the LFS, it was a dark green color and only about 2" across, huggin the top of their tank, as close to the light as it could get.
After being under the MH for about 3 hours, it was over 7" across and had lost almost all of it's green coloration (I thought). After the MH went out and the actinic alone was on, the green was evident.

I hope to keep it alive for a looooooong time. So far so good.

------------------
Don't think so much...It takes all the fun out of life!!

[Aquaman]

nuff2000,

You could feed that baby every day if you want, Dr Ron has several types of anemones and advocates copious feedings.

I have a 3+ year old Haddoni in a 25gal tank, this anemone was in a 55gal with 2 175watt MH lights and grew quite well. Right now it is only under a pair of 55watt PC's until I change the lighting on my 125reef then she will have a 175 MH to grow under.



[This message has been edited by Aquaman (edited 05-17-2000).]

[horge]

You keep feeding that badboy and it might just outlive YOU, injuries or no :)

Congratulations.

[nuff2000]

Horge,
I feed it once a week, and if it outlives me, then I will have something to put in my will!!! lolol
It is still straining to reach the more intense lighting in the 55gal tank, a full 30" from the anemone.
Thanks for the support guys
David

------------------
Don't think so much...It takes all the fun out of life!!

[nuff2000]

Aquaman,
Glad I'm not the only one who can keep an anemone alive. I only hope that I get as good results as you have sir.
Mine has even been injured and recovered quickly and without incident. I plan to move the anemone over to the 55gal tank soon. I want to let things settle after adding what I have over the past two weeks.
david


------------------
Don't think so much...It takes all the fun out of life!!

[coralhound]

very cool, nuff

CH

------------------
Please BUY captive bred marine life...
My website: Moon Tide Reefs (http://www.qis.net/~ckkuehn)

[nuff2000]

Sorry to bring this back to the forefront, but I wanted to fill you in on the latest.

The carpet is still with me, over 12" across now, eats well and often, and seems to appreciate the addition of the clark's clowns. ( yeah I know, imagination....always did have a good one! LOL). The tank is now almost 1 year old, and I have been skimmerless for the last month. No ill effects noted.

The anem has survived two injuries in my tank, the latest one, over two months ago(Ithink), where it was stretched at the base, when one of the rocks it was attached to fell. It is now on one rock, firmly attached.

Keep your fingers crossed for me gang!!!

david

------------------
Patience is the one commodity that we, as reefers, need the most
of, and the one we
cannot buy!!!!!

http://www.geocities.com/nuff40

[serranus]

Glad to hear about your anemone. I have one, I think it's a hybrid between S. haddoni and S. gigantea, it has characteristics of both. Anyway it was at the LFS for nearly six months and was still alive so I figured it must have been one that was shipped well so I got it. When it first came in it was a sort of pale green, but the color completely faded by the time I got it. I have it in a 75 gallon under almost 400 watts of PC lighting and it is doing very very well. I didn't feed it much for a while, since I have heard from some that it is not good to over-feed them, big mistake. With regular feedings it has taken off! I think whoever said not to feed them was a dufus, but anyway I digress. I have had it for about five or six months and it is recovering its green color. It is huge and gorgeous. I want to get some tank raised clowns for it soon. Wish me luck.

------------------
"Imagine a live coral reef in your living room! It sounds fantastic but it can actually be done; and as more people experiment with it so much more will be learned about it that someday it may be a commonplace thing." Robert P.L. Straughan, 1969

[nuff2000]

Serranus,

Congrats on the anem. They are neat critters aren't they? I agree on the feeding thing. They are an animal, and most animals need to feed. I feed mine once to twice a week, or more depending on the size of the morsel I feed. It eats pretty much all I give it, but does not care for mussel meat. It spit that out right away.

Adding clowns to an anem only increases their 'neatness' imo. My female loves to dive head first into the anem, and the anem responds by shrinking slightly and then expanding again. This aciton occurs within a couple of seconds. Funny to look at the anem and see just the mouth and nose of the fem clown sticking out!

The male clown is still banned to the xenia.

Keep us informed and updated on the anem. Best of luck to you. How big is it now that it has been in a good home? Watch the sting, it can be "irritating" to say the least.

david

[clwnphish]

Has anyone here kept a magnificent alive for a while??
i saw a couple at some LFS and they are gorgeous :D i know they are hard to keep but has anyone had good luck with them, I was thiking of trying one in a 125 under 2x400 mh's, but i dont wan tit to dye,but i think clown fish diving in anemones look so cool, i had a buble tip that split in a 10 gallon, but they got sucked up by powerheads:(

[Dan]

Clwnphish,

I have a magnifica anemone (purple base). In over 25 years of keeping marine aquaria, I have only tried this anemone on 2 other occasions. They did not fare well. The one I have now was in excellent condition in the LFS, so I decided to try it. Feeling cocky over my long term success with bubble anemones (up to ten years). This magnifica has been thriving for 8 months now. That is not considered long term for anemones. Success should be measured in years. However, it shows no signs of shrinking or demise. I believe this one will be a long lived specimen. Most aquarists will steer you away from this species. Some would even flame you for considering it. I will tell you my thoughts and experience. You must make your own, responsible decision.

First, try to get some experience with other anemones. Bubbles or haddoni would be my suggestion
Second, I believe purchasing a very healthy specimen is critical. Fully inflated, tentacles reaching, no tears, especially in the base. Look for a good "tan" (zooxanthellae). Slightly sticky tentacles.
Third, feed at least three times a week, but not too much at one time. When I have fed too much, most of it is regurgitated undigested. You'll see what I mean. I use market shrimp, scallop, fish, and pet store prawn and squid.
Fourth, excellent water quality and lighting should go without saying.

Mine is perched on a rock, about 8 inches below a 175 W, 10,000 K MH, with a VHO URI actinic white and a VHO actinic (9 hrs. MH, 11 hrs. VHO). It is inhabited by 5 A. nigripes clowns. Using the base diameter as a growth guide, it has grown about 1 to 2 inches since I purchased it. I do not know if that is just fuller expansion since it first got settled or if it is actual growth. Only time will tell. I placed it on a rock up high in a shallow tank (33 gal long: 48"L x 12"W x 13"H). Since it cannot sense any surrounding rock or glass it has remained there. I believe if it was touching something else it would move around in order to try to climb up. That seems to be their tendency.
Read a lot. And think about it carefully. Good luck.

Dan

P.S. I also use an aquaclear 301 blowing over the surface. Not directly at it, but directed about 2 inches above. It ripples the water surface and tentacles very well.

[Edited by Dan on 10-05-2000 at 05:14 PM]

[jk1]

I have a magnifica as well, bought it from a LFS about a year ago. It does not have a purple base, unfortunately, but it does have a nice greenish tint to its tentacles. I have 2 true percs with it, and the percs actually spawned about a week ago, it was really cool.

It is perched on a rock that is close to the surface, I have 2 250w MH and 2 VHO actinic bulbs, I feed it about 3-4 times a week with either silversides or prime reef cubes. I also have a seaswirl that is directly behind it. It has grown about 4-5 inches since I bought it, it is the centerpiece of my reef.

In order to keep these alive, I think you have to first get a healthy one (hard to do), have really strong lighting with a perch close to the surface, and a strong current. Also, feeding is important.

Many at the LFS are already doomed, probably why there is such a low success rate with keeping these alive. Also, people don't provide the right home, not enough light or current. We'll see how long I can keep it alive.

[JSM]

Nuff2000,

What kind of carpet do you have? I have a bright green Mertens that's about 6-7 inches across, he's under 2x250w 12k's, has a mated pair of wide-band clowns living in him, but he's a very picky eater. What do you feed yours? Or anyone with carpets for that matter, what does yours eat? I know they prefer fish meat and not crustaceans. Ron S. recommeded I feed it Gamma foods Lancefish but I can't find it around here and the place he told me to get it from said they'd ship it and never have. I've been giving him silversides and he seems to like it ok, but I'd like to give him other things too. So what do you all feed? My bubble tips are not picky at all, they'll eat anything, wish the carpet were not so picky. Thanks for your help.

Janna