Anemone wont stay put

[Tyler438]

I have what I'm told a Condy and a Sabae Anemone. The Condy wouldn't stay put until I put him on top of a live rock closer to the lights, he seems happy now and stays in his spot. The Sabae seems to just float around never digging his foot into the sand. I thought I would put him on the rock and see how he does, He will stay put for a day or 2 then I find him floating around again. Any suggestions?

 

[Uncle99]

Turn off any flow including filters and let him find his own spot.
They dislike being “Placed”

 

[mcgyvr]

Anemones can/will move..

I would caution against turning off any flow for too long as you can create low oxygen problems.. Tanks can't survive long without any flow..

 

[Tyler438]

Anemones can/will move..

I would caution against turning off any flow for too long as you can create low oxygen problems.. Tanks can't survive long without any flow..

The Sabae, just floats around the tank, I put him on top of the rock and he will stay for a bit, other than that the flow just knocks him around in circles.

 

[davocean]

Scoop out a well in sand by base of rocks and bury foot, turn off flow for about 20-30 minutes maybe and hopefully it will set.

 

[tthouston]

IMO, You need re-rockscape again and let the rocks connect together, your anemone has more spaces to move and look for the right place for settlement. If you put your anemone on the island like the picture shown above is very risky, when it wants to move and no place to go, it can float.

 

[Uncle99]

Anemones can/will move..

I would caution against turning off any flow for too long as you can create low oxygen problems.. Tanks can't survive long without any flow..

Nice add, so to more specific, if he has not settled in 2 hours of no flow, there is a problem, perhaps the foot has been damaged...

 

[Tyler438]

Nice add, so to more specific, if he has not settled in 2 hours of no flow, there is a problem, perhaps the foot has been damaged...

My canister filter output moves a good bit, Maybe I could turn the power head off for a few hours and see if he will settle in?

 

[davocean]

Keep in mind the sebae is a sand dwellar, foot needs to be buried in sand

 

[Uncle99]

Keep in mind the sebae is a sand dwellar, foot needs to be buried in sand

I would go with DaveOcean's advice of creating a hole in the sand and see if you can get him just to sit there without blowing over/away, I would agree this is the best advice.

Even with some flow, if there's a spot in the sand where the rocks deflect the current and he will stay, this is a good spot to try. Once he attaches, he then can move to the spot he likes, but must attach, he should not come lose once attached.

Seems this is a common problem with this Nem.

Someone suggested put one of those pint size plastic fruit baskets over it to assist it in staying put, interesting, you can give that idea a thought if he still floats around.

 

[stingythingy45]

This species and its care should only be attempted by the most experienced aquarists.It requires strong lighting, a variety of sandy and rocky locations from which it can choose to live. Most of the time these are half dead when purchased from the local fish store.
Once I tried to save one that a fellow hobbyist had under insufficient lighting.
I failed to get it to survive.

 

[Tyler438]

Well, I dug a pit in the sand beside the rock yesterday and laid him in the pit. I turned off the powerhead and left it off for about 2 hours. I went back to check on him and he looked settled in, turned the powerhead back on and so far so good. He was still there this morning and has spread out pretty nice, half on rock and half on the sand. I'll check on him again this afternoon.

 

[Uncle99]

Fingers crossed!

 

[Icewing726]

Good luck bud, the only time mine hasn't moved was when he got himself stuck in a crevice... I just wish he'd walk in the front of the tank rather than the back...

 

[Tyler438]

As of this morning, he hasn't moved, I think we have a winner!

 

[Uncle99]

Good job Tyler438.
Enjoy your nem!
Like happy endings...

 

[Tyler438]

Good job Tyler438.
Enjoy your nem!
Like happy endings...

thanks, he was still in the same spot this morning, doesn't look like he dug done much but its better than him being blown around the tank. Think I may go get an anemone crab for him. He had one at the pet store living on him and I didn't buy it, I probably should have.

 

[davocean]

I'd let it settle a couple weeks before adding a crab.

 

[Tyler438]

So this bastard is floating around the tank again, he refuses to extend his foot and attach to anything. I have dug another pit by a rock and moved my powerhead down to mid tank pointing up towards the surface. Seems to be less flow where he is now. fingers crossed this works. If not I think I'm going to try the strawberry basket method.

 

[davocean]

Bummer, curious, did you add the crab?