Acclimating anemones

[Yinepu]

I was talking to someone earlier and they told me that when they acclimate their anemones all they do is a temperature acclimation. They put the anemone into an empty bowl floating in the tank and dump out the water as the anemone expells it. Then just put it into the tank. Has anyone else ever heard of this? He claimed that he has never lost an anemone this way; but I have to wonder how good it is for the nem.

 

[ScubaDiver93]

At my LFS, that i trust and respect, the guy does that and all of his coral looks amazing includin the anemones.

 

[Yinepu]

Did he say why he does it? I'm trying to figure out the reasoning behind it and if it's better or worse for the anemone.

thanks!

 

[unbreakable]

id like to know too. didnt know you could do that

 

[Yinepu]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10605819#post10605819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nietzsche
id like to know too. didnt know you could do that

I guess you can. I'm just not sure how safe it is for the anemone.

 

[phender]

I could understand floating in a bowl and adding aquarium water to the anemone water and then dumping as the bowl gets full. I have read about this method before.

I hope he is not dumping the expelled water into his tanks.

Something else to consider. He says he has "never" lost an anemone with this method. Considering the way anemones come in and the way they are treated before they get to the LFS, there is no way that he has never lost an anemone, no matter what method he uses.

 

[Yinepu]

See, that's what I don't get. right now I have ten anemones that seem to be doing great. But I have lost two in the process of getting to where I am. So I don't see how he could say that he "never" lost one.


And Phender, please correct me if I am wrong: an anemone is basically a "bag of water".. but doesn't it need that water to support what internal "organs" it has? Or at least tank water to help support it? I would think some kind of damage would be done to it if it was allowed to deflate completely while out of the water.

 

[unbreakable]

ive heard when they ship them that before they do so they put the anemone in a bowl and let it expel the water, then place it in a bag with a little bit of water before shipping. but im not sure if thats correct

 

[phender]

Yeah, just the fact that he said that he has never lost one, makes me think he is full of doody.

Yes, they are a bag of water, but they don't actually have any organs. Forcing the anemones to expell their water is a method I have heard of before and I have done it a couple of times with no ill effects, however I have always added new water gradually. I didn't just dump them in the new water.

It should be mentioned that one of the most successful keepers of H. magnifica (in a public aquarium) takes his mags directly out of the bag and puts it into a 5 gallon bucket with water from the new tank and antibiotics. Not even temperature acclimation.
The description of the process is about half way down the page.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=628314&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[marc price]

l remember reading somewhere that abrupt PH changes will cause their zooxanthella to burst.

 

[Haddonisreef]

What about a chane =in salinity? Wouldnt that stress it out?

 

[Yinepu]

thanks for your thoughts on this Phender (and everyone else). The salinity question is a good one and something I have been wondering about as well.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I always drip acclamate,never done temp, and dump thing. Seems this would be more stressful on already stressed anemone.

 

[marc price]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10607705#post10607705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CHARLIE AGUILAR
What about a chane =in salinity? Wouldnt that stress it out?

good question, it's poss. the article referred to salinity and not PH, was going by memory.
i would think, more likely, anemone expelling waste = ammonia = PH drop in shipping water. no evaporation during transit and i'd assume shippers keep their invertebrates in the narrow specific gravity range generally considered acceptable for them.

 

[kirkland]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10604604#post10604604 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ScubaDiver93
At my LFS, that i trust and respect, the guy does that and all of his coral looks amazing includin the anemones.

My fave LFS does this too, not sure on the others. They do this because the anemones are usually so cold by the time they get there, they need heat and also, and this I have seen personally, they are usually bagged and shipped without any extra water. I only temp acclimated our gbta and sebae, both did fine.