taking homeless anenome

[annie p]

A friends sister is taking down her SW and has 2 clowns and an anenome she's wanting to get rid of. She wants them picked up tonite as they are traveling out of state. She's had them well over a year. I need to do some quick research as I never really planned having one of these. Any suggestions? Where would I place it in a 54 g?

[Rue]

How mature is your tank?

You can place the anemone anywhere you like...it will then move to a spot it likes ...

Watch that it doesn't want to get sucked into your overflow...it happens while they're walking around.

Feed it once a week or so. Mysis are probably your best bet. I feed my herd of 6 with a turkey baster. They're so used to it know that they hug the baster (at the beginning they shrank from it - then they learned it is the source of yummy food).

[labnjab]

If I remember right, you just got you tank going again? If this is correct I would advise against an anemone, it wouldn't have a very high chance for survival until your tanks stabilized and matures for at least 6 months or so. Another factor is the type of anemone and what your lighting is.

I feed ours fresh shelled table shrimp cut in half every 3 days

[annie p]

well I guess she'll have to throw it out in the snowbank as she planned then. Sheeeesh..........

[labnjab]

Can the lfs take it? Well how long was ur tank running before the problem and what type of nem is it? Did it go through another cycle? What is your lighting If its a Bubble tip is gonna be a little hardier. Anythings better then a snow bank. I just don't want to see it get thrown out. Maybe you could take it short term until a better home is found.

[annie p]

My tank was up I think in Oct with no problems til the mealfix fiasco. I have no idea what kind it is and I don't think she does either. I check my params every nite to see if my rock is still good, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and trates are around 10 PH 8.4. I'll pick it up tonite and figure out what it is, if I can't keep it I can take it to the store on Sun, I can't see how I would kill it before that, hopefully.......

[travie]

You could be surprised about it dying in a short amount of time. I would try to get your nitrates close to 0 as possible before you acclimate it to your tank. What kind of lighting do you have on your tank?

[labnjab]

Nitrates may be a problem and should be lower. They need them closer to 0. The type is the big factor, as some higher lighting then others. If its been running since October, it may be mature enough if it didn't go through a mini cycle. If your lighting good, it would be ok for short term and possibly long term if you can get the nitrates down

[labnjab]

Darn it, beat me travie, lol

[annie p]

Just a plain single strip light that came with the tank, I never planned on anything other than fish.....

[labnjab]

That's not going to work for very long. At most you could do a day or so just till it can be taken to the LFS. To me it would be 100% better then it sitting in a snow bank and dieing

[rageybug]

I'd imagine it won't make it with your lights but give it a shot. Worst case is the anemone dies and you scored two clowns. It is not going to live in the snow so give it a go. If you have the means, a light upgrade this week would ensure it survives. You don't even need a full light, just a small MH or T5 above the anemone will suffice. If the anemone moves, move the light.

[AABatteries]

Could you get the light from the tank it was in?

[annie p]

I can't tell what kind it is beacause he shrunk up into the rock, had to take the rock with him!! He was living in a biocube 14, with VERY high nitrates. Also scored a huge cleaner shrimp and a peppermint, green chromis and a snail along with the clowns. She had the anemone over a year, so what type of bulb do I need that would be comparable to what is on a 14biocube. They are compacts and my light strip is just a flourescent.

[annie p]

OK after work I'm going to go get a 10,000K VHO bulb. Should work right?

[labnjab]

depends on the wattage

[annie p]

Showed a pic to my LFS owner he said it doesn't have special light requirements, but today I ordered a Coralife compact strip light 2 X 65watt actinic/10000K just to have more options in the future.

[labnjab]

What kind of anemone is it? Most need good light (t-5's or greater) but there are a select few that don't require much light

[annie p]

He didn't give it a name, just said it very common and didn't need special lighting. I have a pic on my phone, but I'm not good at posting them. (I'm at work) :ssmile: If someone could post it for me, send me a pm w/ cell # I'll send it..

[bushwhacker]

i'm posting this pic for annie p
http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n438/bushwhacker_01/anemone.jpg

[labnjab]

It looks like a bubble tip to me, which need at least VHO, but preferably pc or t-5's

[rageybug]

Looks like a bubble tip or some kind of condy. Either way, you LFS needs to read up on lighting requirements for an anemone. I'd say T5 lights minimum.

[annie p]

The new light arrived last nite and just in time. It had looked great all week til last nite, it sure perked up and got it's color back quickly, it ate too. Then my cleaner shrimp comes over and walks all over it, looks like he's trying to beat it up. They came out of the same tank, so what's up with that, do shrimp act like that? He also bats my midas blenny on the head with his antennas.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

My bet is actually on either a Long Tentacle Anemone or Condy. Doesn't look like a BTA at all.