devildog999
That Guy
I have had a couple before and always just let the food I fed every other fish be what they ate and they did fine but want to know what kind of foods I can direct feed them.
Thank you
Thank you
Anemone feeding
- Thread starter devildog999
- Start date
Urchinhead
New member
PE Mysid and depending on the size of the anemone silversides. Silversides can range from small 1/4" square cubes to the whole fish. Feed the anemone one piece at a time, wait until the piece is fully consumed and the tentacles are back open then give another piece. Continue this until the anemone spits out the last piece given. Feed between 1 and 3 times a week.
This will lead to a happy healthy anemone.
If you want to try to keep it in one place associate the place with being a good food source by feeding more heavily and often this, in my experience with BTA's will keep them somewhat in the same spot even if it isn't exactly what they like.
Also be prepared for a large anemone. you don't specify what kind you are thinking about but I had my most recent BTA get up to over 12" in diameter in about a year with 3 feeds a week of silversides. I also had her split 3 times in that timeline because of the feedings which was a nice bit of change for me since she was a rose with green center and white highlights.
Here are photos of her. She was a rescue. I don't recommend this option as the success rate is very low and recovery can be very time consuming and allot of work.
When she came in:
Going into the main tank after spending time in a hospital tank. This method can work to keep them initially in the spot you want them *IF* you make sure there are no gaps they can squeeze of out!
Her right before I took down the tank:
She wasn't fully open here but still about 9" or so.
FTS right before I took the tank down due to a major remodel in the house. She and the tank went to a good home with a marine biologist friend of mine. She took up that whole corner and I had a real problem with the acans next to her eating her.
This will lead to a happy healthy anemone.
If you want to try to keep it in one place associate the place with being a good food source by feeding more heavily and often this, in my experience with BTA's will keep them somewhat in the same spot even if it isn't exactly what they like.
Also be prepared for a large anemone. you don't specify what kind you are thinking about but I had my most recent BTA get up to over 12" in diameter in about a year with 3 feeds a week of silversides. I also had her split 3 times in that timeline because of the feedings which was a nice bit of change for me since she was a rose with green center and white highlights.
Here are photos of her. She was a rescue. I don't recommend this option as the success rate is very low and recovery can be very time consuming and allot of work.
When she came in:
Going into the main tank after spending time in a hospital tank. This method can work to keep them initially in the spot you want them *IF* you make sure there are no gaps they can squeeze of out!
Her right before I took down the tank:
She wasn't fully open here but still about 9" or so.
FTS right before I took the tank down due to a major remodel in the house. She and the tank went to a good home with a marine biologist friend of mine. She took up that whole corner and I had a real problem with the acans next to her eating her.
Toddrtrex
Premium Member
I would avoid feeding silver-sides. A couple of us have had issues with them -- lost an H. malu to using silver-sides. I use both PE mysis and frozen (( thawed )) krill.
IMO/E, feeding anemone until it "spits" the food back out is a good practice. It is a good way to foul the water and has the potential to foul the water inside the anemone; it takes energy to digest food. One is better off using small pieces, as opposed to big pieces, easier to digest.
IMO/E, feeding anemone until it "spits" the food back out is a good practice. It is a good way to foul the water and has the potential to foul the water inside the anemone; it takes energy to digest food. One is better off using small pieces, as opposed to big pieces, easier to digest.
Urchinhead
New member
Interesting you had a problem with silversides Todd. What specifically was the problem? And the feed to spit came from a couple of sources but again your point is interesting and something to consider that hadn't occurred to me.
As to Krill... I was advised against it due to the hard shell. That said PE Mysid is by far the best bang for the buck in my mind. Silversides were for when she got too big and I didn't have enough time to sit there and feed one after another.
As to Krill... I was advised against it due to the hard shell. That said PE Mysid is by far the best bang for the buck in my mind. Silversides were for when she got too big and I didn't have enough time to sit there and feed one after another.
bues0022
New member
I'll agree with Todd on this one. While I've never had a nem die from food, I've seen more than a few people who have lost one right after feeding silversides. The idea with avoiding them is two-fold.
First, it's far too large. Feeding should be pencil-eraser sized or smaller. It's quite rare from what I've read for a wile hosting anemone to ever get a large bolus dose meal. Anemones quite honestly can't help taking into their mouths whatever sticks to their tentacles. They don't know it's a large silverside vs. smaller bits of food. They lack teeth (obviously) to chew, and then that large piece of food takes a tremendous amount of energy to break down. Do the "chewing" for the nem by chopping up the food giving it larger surface area for a more effective digestion process.
Second, The process of getting a silverside from the catch to your nem is not nearly as controlled as food from the grocer. It's entirely possible for the frozen fish to go through multiple freeze-thaw cycles allowing bacteria to gain a foot-hold on the fish. Combined with the large size and long digestion time the bacteria can kill an otherwise healthy anemone in a remarkably short amount of time.
IF I feed, it's small meaty frozen food made from things I buy at the grocery store. Feeding isn't necessary hardly at all assuming good water quality, lighting, health of nem, etc. unless you want it to grow faster.
First, it's far too large. Feeding should be pencil-eraser sized or smaller. It's quite rare from what I've read for a wile hosting anemone to ever get a large bolus dose meal. Anemones quite honestly can't help taking into their mouths whatever sticks to their tentacles. They don't know it's a large silverside vs. smaller bits of food. They lack teeth (obviously) to chew, and then that large piece of food takes a tremendous amount of energy to break down. Do the "chewing" for the nem by chopping up the food giving it larger surface area for a more effective digestion process.
Second, The process of getting a silverside from the catch to your nem is not nearly as controlled as food from the grocer. It's entirely possible for the frozen fish to go through multiple freeze-thaw cycles allowing bacteria to gain a foot-hold on the fish. Combined with the large size and long digestion time the bacteria can kill an otherwise healthy anemone in a remarkably short amount of time.
IF I feed, it's small meaty frozen food made from things I buy at the grocery store. Feeding isn't necessary hardly at all assuming good water quality, lighting, health of nem, etc. unless you want it to grow faster.
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