Anemones, A Word of Caution

[steelhealr]

Caution

Hi...I just wanted to put a post here about a potential grievous mistake that some people may make with their Nano Reefs. Adding an anemone is never a good idea and in small systems should be avoided at all costs unless your expertise is superior. Anemones are animal invertebrates which require near perfect water parameters and lighting. They can live for a long time and grow very large.

In a nano reef system, chances are that the anemones' living requirements will not be met. In searching for 'a better spot', the anemone will be begin to move around the aquarium and wreak havoc. It can kill livestock, sting corals and alter aquascaping. However the saddest thing for both you and the anemone is that the chances of its survival are probably near nil and it's demise will cause you grief. While dying, anemones will give off toxins that are bad enough to, well, as it is said in the forum biz, will nuke your tank destroying everything in it.

If you have an anemone, please take it back to the aquarium. If you feel strongly about have an anemone in your tank, look into some of the bubble corals, sp Plerogyra. Some clownfish may even adapt to hanging out in them. SH

 

[Navarre]

Very wise words SH, Soes anyone know the poor survival rates that these animals have to endure to even reach our tanks? on average, 1 fro every 100 collected will survive to reach the wholesalers. For ever 1 out of 100 sold to lfs, 1 will survive for over 6 months.

Please, plesae, please find a more suitable addition and leave such species for the experts (or even better, in the ocean where they have the best chance of survival

 

[Chac]

I was in a LFS in my area

And overheard a conversation that a completly newbie was having with the owner

Newbie: Can I have a nem in my tank

LFS Owner: Has it cycled yet

Newbie: Yeah added 2 clowns last week and wanted a BTA Nem for them

LFS Owner: Yeah that should be alright as long as you feed it regualary

Off they trotted to the Marine Dept. and scouped a BTA Nem from the tank , LFS gave the guy a Free Packet of Nem food ()

I did ask the owner later when I would be best to add a Nem and was told to give it at least 1 month after the initial cycle,
I questioned this and he said that Nems have a bad reputation but it is all false

Havent been back there since

 

[andywg]

Another word of warning, one of the tanks of the months on a reef forum was an anemone tank and the guy said he has twice lost almost all his livestock (other than nems) when the nems have started spawning and sending eggs into the tank.

So even if you are successful in keeping the nem alive and happy, it can still do damage close to nuking.

HIH

Andy

 

[Great Lakes]

I guess I will just have to take up the other side of the argument then...

Yes, they are a bad choice for a small tank. But I have found that the larger the tank, the more success you will have.

I have a total of fourteen in my tank. The run the gamut from a dinner plate size Seabe, down to a couple of rock anemonies.

The Seabe has been with me for three years now and is as healthy as ever.

Yes, they can cause trouble, but if you have a larger tank, good water quality, and are a concientious reefkeeper, they are a wonderful addition.

GL

 

[keane]

Moral of the story.......

Anemone = An enemy!!

steve

 

[maestro]

My small contribution would be that are a few corals that closely resemble a anemone and will sometimes host a clown fish,

These would include

Long tentacle Torch Coral
Hammer coral
Bubble coral
Or sometimes just the popular toadstool coral will host a clownfish

 

[andywg]

(assuming I can post it here) The page with the point about the nem spawn is here

You can't deny it looks fantastic. I don't like the idea of constantly having to catch them and put them somewhere safer...

GL, I agree that they can look stunning, and as this guy has shown they can be kept. The biggest danger though is the "I want a nemo therefore I must have an anemone" line for inexperienced reefers. I must admit, I fear that before long the line will be "Nemo lived with a puffer so I must have one" and then we are into the world of educating people about puffers (As is having to go on in FW due to the popularity of Dwarf Puffers right now )

Any way, rant over. A good point, well made SH and a very good contrasting point GL.

The answer (as with everything in our hobby) is research, research, research.

Andy

 

[steelhealr]

Andy..thanks for the link. What a great anemone tank. As you can see...K had kept his tank for over 11 years. His experience with anemones is phenomenal, showing what Great Lakes said is totally true...just not for a nano system. Beautiful animals, right? SH

 

[Great Lakes]

Good points on the hopes of Clown hosting for the driving need for anemonies.

I have a Tomato clown that passes on all the nennies I have and spends his time mostly in my Green stars..

GL

 

[andywg]

I was amazed when I looked at the tank. It looks fantastic, and he is obviously someone who has a fantastic setup for the nems.

I would love to keep them, but as Nav points out, the survival rate of those from the wild is woeful, however if I found someone who had managed to breed them then I would rethink

Andy

 

[Navarre]

It is possible to get tank bred anenomes. They are slow to appear at the moment but i firmly beleive this is the way to go.

 

[Jessica13]

Wow... I didn't know that When i was talking to the people at my LFS about my new little marine tank they said that they dont sell their clown fish without an anemone I'll definately have to find something else to hopefully get my clowns to live in. Any suggestions of something a first time saltwater keeper could handle and my clowns would like?

 

[chkltcow]

That's kinda silly, jessica. That's like saying "Well we won't sell our cleaner shrimp without them having something to clean, so you have to buy a Panther Grouper too."

 

[Navarre]

A Sarcophyton (Leather mushroom) makes a great substitute for an anenome.