Need Quick Help W/ Anenome

[Cinder01]

Just bought a new long tentacle anenome today. I aclamated him for 25 min or so and then dropped him in but he wont seem to ancor himself and he keeps floating all over in the current.

I call the LFS an they said I should have aclamated him longer but he may drift around awhile until he finds a spot he likes. Is this true?? They also said not to worry unless he dos this for a week??
I have a 55 gal with 260 watt lighting Coralife Compact 2 blue 2 white. Is this enough or too much??? Anything I should be doing to help him ancor. OH they said he would like it best on the sand in the botom not up on the rock??

I use Kent suppliments: Iodine, Calcium, Stronium or something like that, and a few others. Any other items I need. I also have a few spotted mushrooms and zenia. I have ahd the tank for a little over a year.

[Radcast2]

Yes you should have acclimated him longer IMO. At least 1hr IMO on a slow drip.
I feel you have enough light but not 100% sure.
The only thing you can do is try to straddle it with your hand (glove wearing hand) and just push it onto a piece of the rock and hold it there until it anchors. It may take a few minutes but should be okay. Once it anchors it will move to where ever it wants to.

[brianlena2000]

The LFS was correct. LTA's will anchor their foot in the substrate/sand bed. They will often do this at the base of the rocks in captivity.

Your lighting should be fine for an LTA.

[Unfair Advantage]

Shut off your PH's for a few hours. That might help it settle in.

[Cinder01]

ok, ok he has found a home. Not exactly where I wanted it but in a pretty cool place. He'll probably move tonight anyway. I was just freaking out. I am suprised though that the clown fish are not playing around the Anenome yet. Thats the whole reason I got it. I just got them today as well and they are also probably just trying to aclimate.

Yeah he did anchor right next to a rock down in the sand bed. What does he eat. I use DT's will that be enough?

Another question, how much current is too much for a zenia?? It seems to be happy where I put it but sometimes it get wipped around.:rollface:

[Radcast2]

he'll need food like mentioned above, Krill shrimp, brine/mysis shrimp, squid. Are the fish tank raised. if so they may take a few days before the get in. My clown took about 1 week before she started hosting in my BTA

[Cinder01]

Man he seems to be happy now! He has spread out all over the place and his trunk is completly under the sand and rock.

What would be a LTA's favorite food?

How long until my clown fish play around the LTA?

May the clowns never use the LTA?

Anything I can do to increase the cances of keeping the LTA around for awhile?:confused:

[Cinder01]

I did some more reasearch and got a few of these questions answered but your input would be great!!

[BLUESMAN]

Your clownfish might never host in your LTA...depending on spiecees. Some clowns perfer certain Anemones. What kind of clowns do you have?? Blue

[Cinder01]

True percs I was told. One looks lighter than the other though so I can't be too sure. Tank raised I know.

Still no luck feeding the LTA. He looks so healthy and spreads out in the light and then shrinks up alittle at night. He found himself a nice place to chill but will not eat. I tried Krill, and brine shrimp. I am having a hard time getting the food down to him...He will hold it for awhile but then let go???????:mad2: :confused:

[Coraline]

Give it time... you only need to feed them once or twice a week. As far as time, there have been people here who took em weeks or months before it hosted a clown. I know of at least one person whose clowns never got close the the anemone..but that was a BTA. So give it time... it might happen any day..it'll be cool to watch it happen.

[Cinder01]

A guy I talked to yesterday while buying a Hippo Tang said the Hippo tang may be the ticket to get the clowns going. Before the Tang I had nothing in the tank that was a treat or intimidating to the clowns so they had no reason to use the anenome for protection??

[Strandedthinker]

Take a turkey baster and blow some chopped up brine or krill at him

[cyclgrl]

Don't go for the hippo tang. Your tank is a bit small for a larger one which might intimidate the clowns.

I have an LTA, and it eats all sorts of food...silversides, shrimp, formula 1, scallop, etc.

Just remember: the more you feed it, the more it will grow. I feed mine 2-3 times a week.

Whenever my LTA decides to move his foot, he is less inclined to want to eat. Since yours is just settling in, I would just wait another couple days and try to feed again. Don't worry to much about it.

Finally, about the clowns, be patient. If you do have true percs with a M. doreensis, then they might never host in it. They are not a known pair in the wild or captivity according to Wilkerson's book. However, I have a tomato clown that took to mine, and that isn't a known pair either.

It took my tomato a full month to start hosting in my LTA.

[Cinder01]

Hippo fits in just fine!!

[jpiaskowski]

I had the same problem. Only I have 2 tank raised ocellaris that would not go in my LTA. At the time I had enough room in my tank to put a large acrylic tank thing. And when I say large acrylic tank I mean the biggest lizzard / hampster / bug cage. The ones that have the handel on top with the plastic window/ door, and the whole top is a screen. You can get them at petsupplys plus. Anyway I put the LTA and the fish and a pice of rock in the tank on the bottem of my big tank. About a week later they were in the LTA so I took the door off the top of the cage and they stayed in. Later I moved the LTA and the clowns went right with it. I am a rather newbe so I dont know if its right I just know it works. The flip side I would think is if the fish really dosent go with the anemone, there probably lunch.

[Cinder01]

I just had a thought for all those who want a clown Anenome combo. Just buy the ones that are already together at the LFS. I bought my clowns from a LFS by my house but there are two big salt water stores close by that always have Anenomes with all different types of clown already paired up!! I should have thought of that before I bought the two clowns I did. Or maybe part of the fun is introducing a life time friendship!! HA HA

[Radcast2]

Originally posted by Cinder01
Just buy the ones that are already together at the LFS. only 100% way you know the clowns will host in it? FYI My tank raised goldstripe maroon clown took about 1 week before he/she went to my BTA. AHHH gotta post it again...
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/26534GSM_hosting_in_BTA_edited_.JPG

[Flipturn88]

I also have a Goldstripe Maroon who loves her anemone. I bought them as a pair, so she found the anemone immediatley once I acclimated both. When I feed the anemone (frozen raw shrimp that's been de-thawed ), she grabs the chunk and puts it in the anemone's mouth. It's pretty cool actually.

~Kayla

[hwynboy]

Originally posted by Cinder01
True percs I was told. One looks lighter than the other though so I can't be too sure. Tank raised I know.



Color has nothing to do with telling the difference between true perc and ocellaris...their color has a lot to do with the foods they are eating as a diet. The only reliable way to tell the difference is by the eyes...well the ring around the eye.

[Cinder01]

Yeah I didn't mean the color could tell just that one looked different than the other but I was told they were the same, true percs. Still no host, I'll be patient. Great pictures!!

[Kurant]

Yes it can take a while to host, My clowns took almost 7 months with the anenome in the tank, then I woke up one day, and wallah, they were together in the Anenome. Been gravy ever since. Except my female maroon is quite aggressive, I vacumm my substrate every time I change water, and she will come and nip at my hands/arms pretty often, does it while feeding as well.

BTW, the Hippo won't last long in a 55, and if it does, it could stunt the growth, and damage the fish internally, a 55 4-foot tank is entirely too small for a hippo, IMO. Just so you know, you will most likely have to get rid of it eventully.