The Case of the Floating Anenome

surfrider_75

surfrider_75

Member
Is this normal?

First carpet anenome was introduced to the tank yesterday...after a 90 minute acclimation period using the "drip drip drip" method, it was released into the tank. I tried to place it directly on a rock but it just sort of floated away and drifted in the current. Fearing it would get stuck in the intake for the canister filter, I shut it down for a few hours. The anenome floated until it found a nice spot, in a mild current...right on the side of the glass! So now, thats where it sits...opening and closing at hourly intervals and being kept company by a clown. My question is this: Will it eventually decide the glass isn't the best place and move to a brighter area with higher flow? Or will it simply sit there until I do something about it?

It's quite healthy looking, the foot is FIRMLY attached to the glass and it will periodically open up but it is after all sideways, in a dark corner of the tank next to a chuck of live rock.
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

Well-Known Member
Dude, your tank is WAAAAY too new for any anemone. The basic recommendation is NO anemone for a minimum of one year...Carpet anemones are some of the more difficult ones to keep, and ALL require exceptionally good lighting. (metal halides) You should probably take the anemone back to the lfs and get something different...Remember, anemones in the wild can easily live 100 years or more...we owe it to them to provide them the best possible care...
 
hooterhead

hooterhead

Member
I agree with boomer. Get a credit card or something similar and carefully remove it from the glass. Then take it back ...
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
humm, i dont see anything on how old the tank is? where are you guys getting his tank is too new?

on the anemone it will move around, just what they do. some stick to one spot once happy but most move around all the time. usually they go form a high spot to a low spot and travel back and forth day to day. i think bubbles are the only ones i know of that pretty much stay in one place.
 
DrHank

DrHank

Well-Known Member
Boomer's right! If you don't take it back you're probably going to kill it. You're better off with something else until your tank ages.
 
surfrider_75

surfrider_75

Member
Ok, the anenome is gone. Here is what transpired.

I took it back to the fish store and the guy looked at me like I had horns growing out of my head.

"Who cares how old your tank is...did it cycle? Are your levels at zero and have they been for a while?

Yes.

"Then I dont see what the problem is. The animal doesnt know how long you've had the tank up, it only cares if its need are being met."

Again, the levels are at zero. I have dual 150W Metal halides and a VHO actinic 65W supplement.

"It should be fine...but we'll give you credit if you'd like as the animal still looks perfectly healthy...."

So I took the credit.

On the way home I called two more fish stores. Both said water quality and lighting are the only factors. Age of tank has nothing to do with this.

And finally, I live with a marine biologist. And although he has little or no expertise when it comes to aquariums, his take on this (He studied inverts but primarily octopus) is that as long as the water is appropriate for this species, the pH and salinity are right on, it has plenty of light and a source of food, it will be fine.

But its done. Im trying to listen to people who actually have done this before but everyone seems to have a different "Oh my god don't do that!!!"

So if anyone can tell me what I CAN add at this point, I'd surely like to know. I have a friend with a tank that went up in Feb. and he's chock full of inverts and corals and it looks fantastic. He's the one who told me to add an anenome to begin with.

So..um..help?
 
panmanmatt

panmanmatt

Well-Known Member
The reason we say a year before adding anenomes is that they require not only a cycled tank, but a stable tank. Your tank will go through swings and changes over the next 6-12 months that make it a stressful environemnt for an anenome, especially one as sensitive as a carpet.

At this point I would start off with some easier things such as monti caps, digitata. Or if you want to go the softie route, leathers, mushrooms and zoas are a good choice for a newer tank.
 
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cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Although a tank is fully cycled it doesn't mean it's stable as panmanmatt has mentioned. Your tank is still going through bacterial and chemistry fluctuations that will not easily show up in test kits. Since Anemones are very sensitive to drastic changes in parameters it's important to wait until your tank stabilizes which will take time. Here's some good reading:

Concepts about Nitrification, Stocking Orders, and the New Tank
 
surfrider_75

surfrider_75

Member
Thank you, those explanations make perfect sense.

Is now a good time to add the two fish that will inhabit this tank? (At this point the damsels/chromis are gone and the tank is empty except for a coral banded shrimp, three turbos, 6 hermits.

The two fish I wanted in this reef only tank ;) were and emperor angel and a mandarin goby. At some point after I have an anenome I may add two clowns but thats apparently 6 months away so....

I am in no hurry. If I need to wait longer before adding livestock like the mandarin and angel, I will...but if they will do fine in the tank as it is, I wouldnt mind having them...
 
panmanmatt

panmanmatt

Well-Known Member
The angel will outgrow that tank in short order and emperors aren't known for being reef safe. If you want an angel I would look more towards the centropyge family (ie, flame, coral beauty, pygmy, or any of the dwarf angels).

The mandarin is going to need a mature tank also as it is very rare that they take prepared foods and usually need a rather large pod population to kep them fed. Pods are not plentiful in a new tank.
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

Well-Known Member
surfrider_75 said:
The two fish I wanted in this reef only tank ;) were and emperor angel and a mandarin goby. At some point after I have an anenome I may add two clowns but thats apparently 6 months away so....

I am in no hurry. If I need to wait longer before adding livestock like the mandarin and angel, I will...but if they will do fine in the tank as it is, I wouldnt mind having them...
Click to expand...



Wow...infortunately, neither of those fish would be recommended for a 37 gallon cube tank. IT's too small for the angelfish, and (believe it or not) it's too small for the mandarin...here's why:
The angel will grow to 8" or more, and the tank just doesn't offer nearly enough swimming room, nor can it handle the bio-load of the fish.
The mandarin goby (or dragonet) is almost always an obligate pod eater, meaning they rarely take to prepared foods, and exist solely on the copepods and amphipods that live in the tank. The general recommendation is a 100 gallon tank with a heavy live rock load, and a very stable pod population. It does seem odd that such a small fish would need such a big tank, but in this case, it's not the bio-load of the fish, but rather the food source for the fish. It's rare for one to survive, let alone thrive in any tank smaller than 75 or so gallons. (not unheard of, just rare.)
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
surfrider_75 said:
The two fish I wanted in this reef only tank ;) were and emperor angel and a mandarin goby. At some point after I have an anenome I may add two clowns but thats apparently 6 months away so....

I am in no hurry. If I need to wait longer before adding livestock like the mandarin and angel, I will...but if they will do fine in the tank as it is, I wouldnt mind having them...
Click to expand...
your patient will be measured in this hobby. no mandrine or angel in that tank. is just too small. even in a 100gal with a productive refugium and limited compition for food with lots of LR, mandrine are still likely to die. wait on him till you get into the hobby a little more, they are just to demanding.
 
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cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
surfrider_75 if you have the pacience and are willing to keep the Manderin alone for a while it's possible to train him to accept prepared foods but this will be alot of work, so if your unable or unwilling then this isn't the fish for you. AFA the Emperator I wouldn't recommend it for a 37 gallon tank.
 
kimm

kimm

New Member
Good lord I think some of you might have freaked surfrider out! I have only been doing saltwater for a little over a year and after my cycle (fingers crossed) never experienced any drastic fluc's in my water. With patience and good husbandry, you can obtain stable water quality without having to check your parm's every week. When my tank was 3 months old I added a Cody anemone. It was bleached. After some good feeding, it quickly grew and turned back to it's natural brownish color. I don't recommend Cody anemone's since they will eat small fish and shrimp. Mine kept going after my cleaner shrimp...had to go. I understand everyone's reason for being alarmed at a carpet anemone, everything I have read about them states they are picky and demanding. I think your tank is too small for a carpet since they can grow to great lenghts. Don't be discouraged, just a little patient. I highly suggest lots of reading about the different species of anemones as each are so different. A year later I finally decided to try a Sebae Anemone, so far so good.
 
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cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
The statistics of less than 5% of hosting Anemones surviving more than a few months should be shocking and not suprising when others discourage the purchsing of these animals in new setups :)
 
bluespotjawfish

bluespotjawfish

Well-Known Member
I would add your clowns first. They don't need an anemone to be happy right now. Just make sure you think about compatability between the clowns and the type of anemone you want down the road. I've experienced the loss of anenomes with the new tank, but now my new ones are happy in their own anemone/clown tank. My carpet stuck right in the spot I told it to and hasn't moved an inch since. It was a bit bleached when I got it so I feed it regularly. Next time I would try a place lower in the tank. Mine wedged between rocks right next to the sand, under a rock that has a slight overhang. None of mine liked to sit on the rock.
 
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