Carpet Nem on its way, Need advises

[ousnakebyte]

UPDATE

I do have some concern about the health and behavior of my Nem.

- It'll not attach its foot into the sand bed or rock. It just float on the sand.
- unfortunately, it likes to be in the back facing the rear of the tank (where light is less intense).
- every time I do a water change, it'll attach its foot to the rock. After about a week, I'll release it again.

- The overall health of my tank could not have been any better, as you can see.

Any thoughts and suggestions?

Best

Yes, do the PVC method I described below:

I'm sure you know already, but just in case - S. haddoni are sand-dwelling anemones and will wander until they can find a place to dig in - especially since most sps tanks these days have very little sand or no sand at all. Assuming it arrives in healthy condition, I recommend the following, and this is what I do with all sand-dwelling anemones (LTAs, Haddonis, etc.):

Get a 6-8" length of 3" diameter pvc and glue a cap on the end. Fill the pvc with sand, and once acclimated, prop the pvc tube and anemone upright and allow the 'nem to bury its foot. Once it has dug in, you can easily move it to wherever you think looks nice.

Don't like the look of the pvc tube? Pile rocks around it. Oh, you want it on the side of your tank where you can't pile rocks against the glass? Glue some green star polyps on the tube, and let them take off (trust me... the carpet will keep them in check...) or some beautiful encrusting monti.

I really am surprised that more people don't use this method - it has been a wonderful technique for me for the last 10 years.

Below is a pic of my tank with carpet in the tube and star polyps covering it:

Cheers
Mike

Cheers
Mike

 

[Toddrtrex]

Thing is, if the conditions (( and to me it seems like too much flow )) it still wouldn't stay put, even with using PVC. I have never had to use anything like that -- with keeping S. Haddonis for the last 15+ years or so -- just give them the proper conditions and they should stay in put.

 

[dancewithethan]

What do you have for flow? Is your sig correct for it? For that sized tank (( think it is about 150 gallons, if my conversion is correct )), that is a lot of flow for an S. Haddoni. I would try to turn down the flow for a bit, and see what happens. Any other anemones in there?

When it comes to flow, I have to keep SPS happy. Right now I have 2x tunze nano + a lager one (running at ~ 10-20 % flow) + Tunze nano wavebox + MP40 (also running at ~ 20% flow).

I will reduce the flow for about a week or two and see what will happen.

 

[dancewithethan]

Yes, do the PVC method I described below:


Cheers
Mike

Mike, How do I get the Nem to go into the PVC and stay?

Thanks

 

[ninjazx777]

i used to have 2 mp40 one on each side of my 120gal on short pulse mode and my green hadoni never stayed put he hated the high flow so i removed one mp40 now he stays on the opposite side of the tank from the one remaining mp40 and hasnt moved in a year so I suggest removing some flow or rearanging it so it has a calm spot in the tank

 

[Toddrtrex]

When it comes to flow, I have to keep SPS happy. Right now I have 2x tunze nano + a lager one (running at ~ 10-20 % flow) + Tunze nano wavebox + MP40 (also running at ~ 20% flow).

I will reduce the flow for about a week or two and see what will happen.

You are going to have to find a happy medium -- it might be difficult. However, it can be done, I managed to keep both Haddonis and SPS in the same tank. I used MP10's (( both on a 58 and 75 )) but had to watch how high I turned them up, and had to have them up high on the tank.

 

[ousnakebyte]

Thing is, if the conditions (( and to me it seems like too much flow )) it still wouldn't stay put, even with using PVC. I have never had to use anything like that -- with keeping S. Haddonis for the last 15+ years or so -- just give them the proper conditions and they should stay in put.

Sure, I understand that it could be water quality/flow, etc. But, I had this exact same problem with both a LTA and a haddoni. After staying put for some time, they both started wandering and wouldn't stop. I changed flow patterns, did water changes, tests, etc. In the end, someone suggested the PVC method to me, and since I did that, neither anemone has moved in over 10 years, and I constantly change up to flow on them.

Plus, if you need to move the anemone for whatever reason - it couldn't be easier. No need to gently scrape the anemone away from the glass/rock or worry about a rock slide injuring it - just move the pvc tube with anemone.

I also run my anemones in a sps dominated tank - two MP40s, a closed loop through OM on a Reeflo Snapper, and the return from my Reeflo Dart exits through an eductor.

Mike, How do I get the Nem to go into the PVC and stay?

Thanks

Luckily, I posted that on page 1 too...

Stand the pvc with cap on bottom upright/vertical in the tank with the hole facing up (sand should already be in the pvc). You might need to lean it up against the glass, support it with a rock or two, etc. After anemone is acclimated, place it with its foot down on top of the hole and let it slowly dig in - if the 'nem is small enough, perhaps you can gently "help" it down the tube; it will likely displace some sand that comes out of the tube. After it has sufficiently dug in, you can then lay the pvc tube on its side wherever you want in the tank.

Many pvc caps are rounded on the end, but I have seen a few 3" that are flat, which should help the cause.

Both my S. Haddoni and M. doreensis (LTA) dug down within just a few minutes, but you might need to be prepared to leave it for a few hours, perhaps a day if your anemone is stubborn.


Cheers
Mike

Cheers
Mike

 

[dancewithethan]

Any other anemones in there?

Todd

I do have two other mini carpets in there. Those are doing well, and never move.

 

[dancewithethan]

PVC methods

PVC methods

Mike

Thanks, I have reduced the flow. After a week, if no change, I'll do the PVC methods.