[Anthony Calfo]

sorry, mate... I have to disagree with the judgement of the clerk that gave you the animal.

I wish to be a good fellow and nice guy always, but I wont pull punches for posterity: not when it comes down to life and death matters with the living creatures we claim to admire.

The clerk not knowing what a creature is was or how to care for it, then giving it to someone else equally uninformed was not conscientious. The least he/she could have done was find someone that did know what it was so that the organism had a better chance of survival, even if acquired incidentally.

And you as a conscientious aquarist should have declined it since you had no adequate idea of its husbandry needs just the same.

I'm not trying to berate you here, my friend. Quite the contrary... I have enough respect for you and the living creatures we keep to talk straight to you.

Now... as far as helping the creature now in your care, you need to know (as mentioned above) that this creatures best chance for survival is a biotope display.

the short story:the crab is easy to keep alive, the hydroid is not so

the tank needs to be open and spacious unlike a typical reef tank. If you put this creature in typical reef aquarium, the unnatural and repetitive contact of the hydroid on the motile crabs back with other cnidarians will be a severe stress to the hydroid and corals it comes into contact with.

A DSB refugium may be a fair compromise here.

The hydroid is a filter feeder on fine matter... dubious if it can be provided for with prepared foods, but give it a shot unless you are willing to culture rotifers and live phytoplankton.

And for future reference, please be more responsible and not take animals into your care that you have no idea how to keep or if their needs can be met at all. I say this with some sadness at the thought that your Janaria is very unlikely to live 2 years if it even sees one when placed in casual/garden marine aquaria.

best of luck,

Anthony