Yellow African Anemone??

[DeeOooGee]

I decided to finally buy my first Anemone. I went to the LFS and found a
bright yellow Anemone that looked awesome. After some debating I purchased
this one over several smaller long tentacle Anemones.

The other inhabitants in my tank are as follows... One single polyp (came
with LR), a cluster (?) of green mushroom corals, a peppermint shrimp, about
5 blue leg crabs (small) and a larger one that looks like the blue leg
crabs, but isn't (I don't remember what the name was), a firefish and a Tank
Raised Per. Clown fish.

The first mistake I made was not researching the Anemone I purchased ahead
of time. I have since read and believe that the real name of this is
Heteractis crispa. I also believe that this has been dyed!?!. I am so
disappointed. I have read that they will loose the color (which I hope it
does), but also that they usually die after the color begins to fade. Has
anyone else had any experience with these types of Anemones?

The second mistake I made was assuming that the clown fish I had would form
a relationship with it and "feed" it. I know the clown fish may just "hook
up" (for lack of a better term) with the Anemone, but from what I have read
I will still need to feed the Anemone. If anyone has any tips on this I
would appreciate hearing them.

Is it safe to assume that the Anemone will find it's own home and I don't
have to worry about it getting to close to the coral or somewhere else that
may not be the best place for it? I placed it on some of my of my live rock
(about halfway up in the 46 bowed front tank). It is in an area that gets
great circulation, however it is on a slight angle sloping down. Is this a
bad initial place to put him/her/it?

TIA

you guys/gals are great!!!!!!

[Pszemol]

I would recommend reading this:

"Host Sea Anemone Secrets" by Dr. Ron Shimek
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Marc Weiss Companies, Inc. (April 18, 2001)
ISBN: 0966454952
$8.99 at www.amazon.com

It is very condensed, thin but informative.
You can read it during one evening and never
do another mistake with sea anemones... ;-)

[DeeOooGee]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> I would recommend reading this:
>
> "Host Sea Anemone Secrets" by Dr. Ron Shimek
> Paperback: 24 pages
> Publisher: Marc Weiss Companies, Inc. (April 18, 2001)
> ISBN: 0966454952
> $8.99 at www.amazon.com
>
> It is very condensed, thin but informative.
> You can read it during one evening and never
> do another mistake with sea anemones... ;-)

Thanks,

I found it on eBay last night for 4.99 +2 s&h

[Pszemol]

I am sorry to say harsh words, but...

The biggest problem was YOU were not prepared for anemone purchase.
You knew NOTHING about animals and your TANK was dangerous for them.
/open filter intake, etc/

It is very easy to blame everyone else but yourself...
Reconsider and look what was the role YOU PLAYED in this misfortune.

BTW - canister filter in a reef tank???????? Another bad thing...

[DeeOooGee]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> I am sorry to say harsh words, but...
>
> The biggest problem was YOU were not prepared for anemone purchase.
> You knew NOTHING about animals and your TANK was dangerous for them.
> /open filter intake, etc/
>
> It is very easy to blame everyone else but yourself...
> Reconsider and look what was the role YOU PLAYED in this misfortune.
>
> BTW - canister filter in a reef tank???????? Another bad thing...

I agree..



I know that the thing to have is a sump, but I cant afford it right now and
I don't really have a reef tank. a little mushroom coral, a feather duster
and a polyp that came with the LR.

[DeeOooGee]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> I am sorry to say harsh words, but...
>
> The biggest problem was YOU were not prepared for anemone purchase.
> You knew NOTHING about animals and your TANK was dangerous for them.
> /open filter intake, etc/
>
> It is very easy to blame everyone else but yourself...
> Reconsider and look what was the role YOU PLAYED in this misfortune.
>
> BTW - canister filter in a reef tank???????? Another bad thing...

I have to comment on this one final time..

I did know some things about Anemones before I purchased one. I read
through the Reefcentral forum and other places too. I didn't however know
about the particular one I was buying. I know this is a big mistake. I
learned the hard way.

I told the lfs how my tank was set up and relying on them I was reassured
that my tank would be all right. I told them I had a canister filter.

I see it is easy to get some much advice, but often it is conflicting. I
was told by a gentleman that manages Petland that his 75 gallon had been up
for years and he only uses a fluval 404. He said he now (because of how
long it has been up) only changes his water every 2-3 months! I would never
do that, but it just shows that it is easy to get conflicting advice.

What you are saying is that I need to learn more about them, but how do you
do that? I listen to people at the fish stores, I read online and I do
purchase books (thanks for pointing that book out earlier. I'm looking
forward to it), although I never bought an Anemone specific book. It is
hard because I am not an expert and I rely on others help (the people at the
fish stores). I have read enough that I often find that a clerk knows less
than I do or they are giving inaccurate advice. I simply never ask them or
go to them again. I just have problems knowing when it is good advice or
not.

I still think the lfs I bought this anemone is partially at fault. I should
have been told it was dyed yellow. I know what you will say, "You should
have researched it first". I agree and from this point on I will research
the specifics more. I think my biggest problem was relying on store owners
(who apparently keep nice marine tanks themselves) for my knowledge.

Thanks for your advice.. If I liked it or not I won't forget it and I will
try to research more..

[DeeOooGee]

...............\.............\
"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> I am sorry to say harsh words, but...
>
> The biggest problem was YOU were not prepared for anemone purchase.
> You knew NOTHING about animals and your TANK was dangerous for them.
> /open filter intake, etc/
>
> It is very easy to blame everyone else but yourself...
> Reconsider and look what was the role YOU PLAYED in this misfortune.
>
> BTW - canister filter in a reef tank???????? Another bad thing...

ok.. sorry to post again.

I have one final final question


I have my intake about halfway up my tank. How can I make it safer for
Anemones? If the Anemone was on the tanks bottom he couldn't reach the
intake. I am assuming that he floated off the live rock and fell into it!
Would a sponge surrounding the intake help?

thanks

[Pszemol]

"DeeOooGee" > wrote in message news:o08Md.31322$ox3.22845@attbi_s04...
> I have my intake about halfway up my tank. How can I make it safer for
> Anemones? If the Anemone was on the tanks bottom he couldn't reach the
> intake. I am assuming that he floated off the live rock and fell into
> it! Would a sponge surrounding the intake help?

I have a big problem giving an advice how to secure intake of
the canister filter if I do not see the reason to have such filter...

My advice would be to list this canister filter on eBay :-)
For money you can get selling this thing buy some live rock.

This is the only way I can see to asure your next anemone
will not be caught in the canister filter intake.
Anemones wander around until they find the good spot for themselves.
This is very normal and you cannot prevent this by glueing them
to the rock... This is the nature of the beast!

Instead of giving you another lecture I can recomend more books :-)

"Sand Bed Secrets: The Common-Sense Way to Biological Filtration"
by Ron, Dr. Shimek
Paperback: 36 pages
Publisher: Marc Weiss Companies Inc (November, 2001)
ISBN: 0966454960
$8.99 at www.amazon.com

"Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Sal****er Microcosms"
by John Tullock
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Microcosm Ltd (November 1, 1997)
ISBN: 1890087009
$23.07 at www.amazon.com

These books will explain how you can design a safe marine tank
for delicate animals with very efficient biological filtration
using very low cost solutions...

Good luck!

[DeeOooGee]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> "DeeOooGee" > wrote in message
news:o08Md.31322$ox3.22845@attbi_s04...
> > I have my intake about halfway up my tank. How can I make it safer for
> > Anemones? If the Anemone was on the tanks bottom he couldn't reach the
> > intake. I am assuming that he floated off the live rock and fell into
> > it! Would a sponge surrounding the intake help?
>
> I have a big problem giving an advice how to secure intake of
> the canister filter if I do not see the reason to have such filter...
>
> My advice would be to list this canister filter on eBay :-)
> For money you can get selling this thing buy some live rock.
>
would I really need more live rock? I have a 46 gallon with 45lbs of it
already.

thanks for the book ideas. I'll keep an eye peeled for them.

[Pszemol]

"DeeOooGee" > wrote in message news:eb9Md.32372$yY6.27094@attbi_s02...
>> I have a big problem giving an advice how to secure intake of
>> the canister filter if I do not see the reason to have such filter...
>>
>> My advice would be to list this canister filter on eBay :-)
>> For money you can get selling this thing buy some live rock.
>>
> would I really need more live rock? I have a 46 gallon with
> 45lbs of it already.

I do not know. Not every rock is created equal...
Some kinds are heavy some are more light.
Fish need some room to swim, but other than that - more is better :-)

> thanks for the book ideas. I'll keep an eye peeled for them.

Just buy them 3 together and you will get free shipping from Amazon.
You will pay less than you probably payed for unfortunate anemone...

I would recomend reading them all before you buy anything more.

[kryppy]

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 17:20:55 GMT, "DeeOooGee"
> wrote:

>I still think the lfs I bought this anemone is partially at fault. I should
>have been told it was dyed yellow. I know what you will say, "You should
>have researched it first". I agree and from this point on I will research
>the specifics more. I think my biggest problem was relying on store owners
>(who apparently keep nice marine tanks themselves) for my knowledge.


I've never heard of this.

Do people really dye them, and are you sure it didn't change colors
because it was on a death march?

[CapFusion]

"DeeOooGee" > wrote in message
news:eb9Md.32372$yY6.27094@attbi_s02...
>
> "Pszemol" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "DeeOooGee" > wrote in message
> news:o08Md.31322$ox3.22845@attbi_s04...
>> > I have my intake about halfway up my tank. How can I make it safer for
>> > Anemones? If the Anemone was on the tanks bottom he couldn't reach the
>> > intake. I am assuming that he floated off the live rock and fell into
>> > it! Would a sponge surrounding the intake help?
>>
>> I have a big problem giving an advice how to secure intake of
>> the canister filter if I do not see the reason to have such filter...
>>
>> My advice would be to list this canister filter on eBay :-)
>> For money you can get selling this thing buy some live rock.
>>
> would I really need more live rock? I have a 46 gallon with 45lbs of it
> already.
>
> thanks for the book ideas. I'll keep an eye peeled for them.
>
>

You can not prevent any critter to venture about in your tank. You can only
try to prevent by all creative method - net / grilles / pebble etc........

Having any mechanical filter introduce critter trapping inside of it.

CapFusion,...

[DeeOooGee]

"RicSeyler" > wrote in message
.. .
But you need to have a REEF TANK to keep anemones.
Light and water quality make a reef tank and they are
required for anemones.


<snip>

Ok but what is considered good water quality? My water has 0 amonia 0
nitrites less than 10 nitrates good calcium and good alkalinity. Is there
something else I need to test for. (the reason I don't have the actual
numbers for alkalinity is because I had the LFS test it, I don't have that
test kit YET)

My light is 2 96 watt PC.

[Pszemol]

"CapFusion" > wrote in message ...
>> Last Sunday I heard from a guy in a "reputable" LFS
>> to feed tridacna clams with baby brine shrimps...
>> Should I listen to him ?
>
> I do not see anything wrong with this.... if it be chop finely.

:-)))) yah... what kind of knife should I use to chop 400-600um
baby brine shrimps to become 5-20um food particle for clams ?

[Pszemol]

"RicSeyler" > wrote in message . ..
> Could be wrong but I'd think brine would be too large...

You are right. About 20-30 times too large :-)

[Marc Levenson]

Yes, a sponge can go over that intake while the anemone is
on the prowl. Once it is in a spot and stays there, you can
remove the sponge safely.

If you'll look at my closed loop page, you'll note how I
made an intake with a ton of holes, so that if anything
crawled over it, it would have the ability to crawl away and
not be sucked into the intake.

http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

And if you ever have an anemone sucked into the intake of a
powerhead or filter again, turn off the equipment and remove
the anemone & screen as one item, and put it on the floor of
your tank. Many times the anemone can pull itself out of
the intake screen if you give it a couple of days. They are
mainly an inflated sack, so it can deflate and extract
itself if given a chance.

If you see a coral or anemone that looks unusually colorful,
be very wary. Odds are it is dyed. I bought an SPS coral
that was so yellow it looked fake. But it had two acro
crabs living in it, which I figured they would not in a fake
coral. I bought it and brought it home. Within a few weeks
the coral was a totally different color. It has continue to
grow over the past year or so, but never changed back to
that crazy fake color.

Marc


DeeOooGee wrote:

>
> I have my intake about halfway up my tank. How can I make it safer for
> Anemones? If the Anemone was on the tanks bottom he couldn't reach the
> intake. I am assuming that he floated off the live rock and fell into it!
> Would a sponge surrounding the intake help?
>
> thanks
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[CapFusion]

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> "CapFusion" > wrote in message
> ...
>>> Last Sunday I heard from a guy in a "reputable" LFS
>>> to feed tridacna clams with baby brine shrimps...
>>> Should I listen to him ?
>>
>> I do not see anything wrong with this.... if it be chop finely.
>
> :-)))) yah... what kind of knife should I use to chop 400-600um
> baby brine shrimps to become 5-20um food particle for clams ?

You can use "Ultimate Chopper" "As Seen On TV", I use this to chop fruit /
veggie to very fine that eventually become like baby food that you buy from
the supermarket.

CapFusion,...

[CapFusion]

But how do you deal with the Dad screaming at you all the time?!? LOL

Ehhh?

CapFusion,...

[Pszemol]

"RicSeyler" > wrote in message .. .
> Get rid of that canister filter and use a protein skimmer, live rock
> (1.5-2 lb per gallon for Figi type rock and 2-2.5lb per gal for the
> Florida type rock, roughly) to get those nitrates down a little more.

Agree.

> And you need strong (reef quality) light for anemones (150w+
> of PC, VHO or MH lighting)

Not all anemones require strong light. Most of them do not.
They require regular feeding of meety items (fish/shrimps).
I do not have much of first hand experience myself (I have
only one anemone in my small tank) but I repeat here what
I have read in the dr. Shimek book dedicated to host anemones.

[kryppy]

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 17:14:33 -0600, RicSeyler >
wrote:

>No, there are unscrupulous distributors that dye soft corals, anemones etc.
>If you see a very bright green, yellow, lt.blue anemone or any unusually
>bright
>soft coral that it's color is not generally associated with the
>species, it's more than likely dyed.
>
>And they generally don't live very long. If you happen to get one to live
>it will return to a brownish or dull color which is common for a healthy
>anemone.


That really sucks. I'll have to be on the look out!

[DeeOooGee]

"Knowleman" > wrote in message
m...
> DeeOooGee - I just read through this thread and it seems you got some
> pretty critical feedback on this one. The open intake was clearly a
> bit of an oversight on your part but the chances are that your anemone
> would have died anyway.
>
> Before getting my first anemone, I did a lot of research and
> discovered that many specimens just die for no apparent reason. From
> what I could gather, they either settled in fairly quickly or went to
> that great reef in the sky within the first few weeks. The evidence
> says thatr dyed or bleached anemones in particular almost never
> survive that long. I also, however, determined that there were a great
> many success stories also.
>
> Unfortunately, our first attempt, like yours, failed. The anemone just
> kept inflating and tumbling over without anchoring. It was also
> unresponsive to food. Sadly, it died about 3 weeks later.
>
> Knowing that there was a good chance of this happening, we were not
> put off. After checking everything there was to check in the tank
> (which was all fine), we purchased another anemone. This time, we went
> for a species that had a good/better reputation for survival - the red
> bubble anemone. Some reports said that clowns tended to bond with
> these less freely, which is why we didn't go for this variety in the
> first place. However, the anenome found somewhere to anchor within an
> hour and the clowns were happily playing in its tentacles a few hours
> after that.
>
> Four or five months later, the anemone is still flourishing, in fact,
> growing steadily.
>
> If you are pretty confident in your water quality and general setup -
> and cover that intake adequately :-) - I would recommend you trying
> again with the anemone, but perhaps doing a bit more reading up on
> different species beforehand. They are great animals and add a lot of
> charactor to the tank, especially if you have clowns
>
> As for things like feeding, when you see a hungry healthy specimen, it
> is pretty obvious how it all works. Ours smells the food at feeding
> time and its "lips" swell in response. We then squirt a little frozen
> food suspended in tank water in the general area of its mouth using a
> turkey baster. The tentacles then curl around it protecting it from
> opportunistic shrimps as it ingests it.
>
> Regarding placement, you can obviously "suggest" where it should
> anchor by placing it there, but the chances are it will up and move
> and find a place that it is happy with - usually securing itself in a
> cave or crevice so it can retreat right back, which ours does quite
> often. Also, be prepared for it to move around if the water flow or
> other conditions change in the tank. In fact, I swear ours just moves
> for a change of scenery from time to time :-)
>
> As I said, I would not be put off by the failure and the criticism if
> you are fairly sure that your tank is stable and safe. Anemones are
> well worth the effort.
>
Thank you!!!!!