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In this book it said that there was an internet study done on successful anenome keeping and 89% of the anenomes that lived more than 2 years were in tanks that used tap water and suggests that this is the best way to keep anenomes.
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here is the relevant section...from "Clownfishes", by Joyce Wilkerson. Pg 47:
"Copper, zinc, selenium, iodide, and iron have all been
theorized as essential anemone trace elements. In the anemone survey, only 39% of total respondants used tap water as make up water, but a whopping 83% of the anemones kept alive for 24 months or more, were kept in those tanks. Only 14% kept for
more than 24 months were in tanks using highly purified water from reverse osmosis, (RO), despite those representing 61% of the tanks surveyed. In a nutshell: respondants using tap water for make up were 6 times more likely to maintain anemones for more than 24 months than those using RO water. Four possible explanations come to mind:
1) Tap water contains trace elements needed by anemones. (An exception: chlorine and chloromines in municipal water can be toxic if used before treatment or aging.)
2) Anemones fair better ina nutrient-rich water than in nutrient- poor water.
3) Anemones in tanks using RO water may be sparsely fed- if they are fed at all- as part of a concerted effort to keep nutrient inputs low.
4) Hobbiest's using RO equipment may be employing other higher tech devices that have an impact on anemones, (such as protein skimmers, which reduce trace elements"
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many factors may be involved, not just that tap water may be better for anemones. I don't recall her stating what husbandry approaches were recorded or the actual water quality of each tap water respondent. I think her study was more correlational rather than cause-effect. In other words, the tap water may not have been the actual reason for the success of the anemones. And remember, the study was actually done a few years ago ( I think first publication of the book was in 1996) and I think only 100 people or so took the survey.
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Exactly.......Several things were not mentioned in this recap of the survey...one of the primary things missing IMO is the health of the anemone when purchased or obtained. Collection practices have come along way since this study was completed and published. Remeber that this study was done at least a year before being published and all sorts of stuff have changed since then.
Personally I have a LTA which I've had for almost a year now, (11 months) and I run a skimmer and use RO/DI water. IMO getting a healthy specimen is one of the most important factors in anemone survival. Another is a careful understanding of what these animals require in terms of environment. The BTA and Haddoni carpets are regarded as the easiest anemones to keep, (generally) the LTA's and many others are considered more difficult. And finally, the Gigantea, (S. gigantea) carpets and the Magnificent or Ritteri anemones, (H. magnifica) are considered the most difficult to keep and delicate/stringent on environmental conditions. If you cant provide the environment needed for these animals, they aint gonna make it. That simple. And if you get one that is in bad shape, ( is not eating at the LFS,and has no feed response), odds are it aint gonna make it.
It can be done, and I', certainly not trying to convince you anemones are impossible so don't bother.....
Nothing could be further from the truth...just staing that the study isnt saying everything, that I see some pretty big flaws in what she's saying right there, and that you really need to be aware of what you're getting into w/ these animals.
Reading up on them and doing the research like you are doing is great. Please dont stop. You will have more success and be able to do more in this hobby if you research first and buy later.
Here is a link to the research library forum on anemones, here @ RS. It also has the actual published study on anemones that this is from.
Good luck and happy reading.
Nick