Anemone Question

[angelo184]

Hi all, I have a Long Tentacle Anemone, very pretty green color, will work on getting a pic up soon, that I had a question about. I was looking on the FAQ for anemones and I wasnt sure how to identify which species my LTA is from. The reason I am attempting to do this is because i noticed that one species only likes to live in the sand bed. I am wondering if mine might be this type because he has yet to attatch himself to a rock in my tank. If anyone could give me some ideas on how to identify which type of LTA he is, that would be great.

 

[andycook]

You don't provide a lot of information. A picture will certainly help.

 

[angelo184]

best shot i could get at the moment. He is laying on his side.

 

[Toddrtrex]

You have a LTA (Macrodactyla doreensis) which is bleached, but I've seen worse. They prefer to be in the sandbed -- usually with its foot attachted to the bottom glass. I suggest digging a hole for it, placing it in there, and putting the sand back around it.

 

[angelo184]

thanks alot, thats just what i was looking for. I think he is bleached cause he has been hiding under the rocks alot

 

[JJFly]

Concur with the above. He's very stressed if not pressing his foot through the sand to get a "foot-hold." Help him out a little. Feed a few pieces of mysis every few days for a couple weeks until you can move up to 1/2 silversides.

Also, what kind of lighting do you have for your tank... how old is the tank.

 

[Toddrtrex]

And to give you an idea, here is a shot of my Purple LTA in the tank and a shot of its foot from within the stand.

 

[angelo184]

Well i dug him a hole in the sand, wow thats not easy haha. The tank is a 15g cube, i have a custom 75g being built over the next 6-8 weeks. so this is just a tank to have till then. water params are fine, and the tank currently has about 4.3 watts per gallon or so of PC lighting. The new tank will have MH's in it. He was doing well in my LFS's store which is PC lighting as well so im hoping he will do fine till he gets moved to the new tank

 

[angelo184]

oh and for food I have been feeding him krill, seems to enjoy it, eats all i give him

 

[angelo184]

update:

Well i woke up this morning and he has dug himself out of the whole i put him in, and is now chilling on top of the sand once again. but he is wide open. my concern is that I had to turn the flow down on my pumps last night so that he would have time to attach himself to the sand that i had buried his foot in. is there a trick to burying the foot that makes it easier? Also I know that anemones will move around till they find a place they are happy in, i assume this means i will have to keep digging him holes in the sand till he stays?

 

[GSMguy]

if he has dug the hole it may want to stay there.

 

[angelo184]

thats just it though, he isnt digging himself a hole, he is just chilling on top of the sand. i mean, he seems happy enough, he opens up, eats and all, he just wont attach to anything.