George Patterson wrote:
Long ago, I had an Atlantic anemone. If it wasn't hungry, it would toss
the food aside and I would take the food out of the tank. If a
bubble-tip behaves the same way, it wouldn't hurt anything to try to
feed it more often.

My Ritteri is the only one that doesn't respond immediately to food.
But, it's usually rosy pink and 6" across. I can tell when it starts to
get hungry because it will start closing up at the slightest provocation
including the clown fish that claimed it. I usually give it at least
another week and then feed it (if it's where it belongs). In 2 months
I've had it, I've fed it once and it's showing no signs of hunger.

The rest react immediately to food. You could call it greedy, but they
literally curl up and pull it in. If their bodies are extended, they'll
shrink down to create a larger cavity to ingest the food. They close
up and then cycle through. All look almost necrotic in a day or two,
and then open up again in about 24 hrs after that.

Although food is essential, it also appears to be toxic. I'd be very
careful about overfeeding and error on the side of underfeeding.

Perhaps I'm extrapolating from working with Orchids, but neglect is part
of the equation. Patterns are very bad, and food (water/fertilizer)
needs to be fed as randomly as possible. Even some randomness in the
lighting is good (cloudy days). My Orchids frequently bloom after such
a period of neglect.

I would have to think that an anemone in the wild would go for months
without food during seasonal shifts in the current and water temps. Or,
just plain bad luck. If they live a 100 years in the wild, then that
can't be all bad.

--Kurt

PS- I'll probably eat crow in about a week when my anemonies croak. :-)