Good Afternoon,
After reading this thread and everyone’s posts it appears that most everyone participating has some knowledge of the difficulties associated with certain species of delicate anemones. Although the scientific community and aquarists alike have made incredible progress over the last decade regarding the care and husbandry requirements needed to successfully maintain some of the more challenging marine organisms, there is still a lack of understanding about the behavior and requirements regarding Anemones in a captive environment. All of us here on RC as well as enthusiasts and professionals can only hope that someday soon, through our observations and interactions in caring for anemones in the home aquarium, we will all have a better understanding of each species exact care and handling requirements so that they may be successfully maintained on a long term basis in the home aquarium.
All of the staff at our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility in Rhinelander Wisconsin, along with Steve Krogh- the operations manager and myself, are responsible for the care and husbandry of the Divers Den animals in our facility. We are very fortunate to have compiled a staff of some of the hardest working and most dedicated individuals that have a passion for the animals we are so fortunate to care for.
As the Director of LiveAquaria my primary job is to acquire the healthiest animals available in the trade, and develop best practices guidelines and procedures pertaining to acclimation, husbandry, handling, packaging and shipping of the livestock that enters and leaves our facility in Wisconsin. I have worked in the marine livestock industry my entire working life, and have handled thousands of anemones from around the world. All of this experience over the last 26 years working in retail, wholesale/import export, then on to designing and overseeing the operations of our facility in Wisconsin is applied to how we handle and care for the animals in our facility.
As most of you know who have already posted in this thread, when looking at all of the species of Anemones available from the Indo Pacific, South Pacific, and the Indian Ocean, Entacmaea quadricolor is one of the more durable Cnidarians, and can tolerate the stressors of harvest, post harvest handling, holding, shipping, acclimating, and adaptation into our home aquariums. Next on the list of anemones that are relatively hardy, or more tolerant and adaptable includes both Macrodactyla doreensis followed by Stichodactyla haddoni when they are maintained in the appropriate aquarium environment with pristine water chemistry, proper water flow, intense lighting, and the proper substrate depth and composition. ALL other species of anemones are far more challenging to maintain, even when these Cnidarians are in the hands of biologists at public aquariums. Cryptodendrum adhaesivum, Heteractis crispa, Heteractis malu, Heteractis aurora, Stichodactyla tapetum, Stichodactyla mertensii and finally Stichodactyla gigantea and Heteractis magnifica being the least tolerant to environmental changes during anytime throughout the long chain of custody starting with their harvest and ending in home aquarium.
The health and well being of all the aquatic life in our facility is my primary concern, and we work diligently to purchase quality animals, and then provide the best possible care for them once they are in our facility. We have very strict handle procedures for all of the animals, and anemones and other invertebrates are no different. For anemones, we start by trying to source these animals from reputable suppliers, that have years of experience in the trade. Obtaining quality anemones that have been harvested and handled properly before export to the US is critical, as this is normally the time when problems can start that seriously compromise the health of these delicate organisms.
When shipments of anemones arrive to us from overseas exporters or from importers in the US, we start by acclimating the animals to temperature by the normal method of floating them in the system where they will be housed. After their temperature is stabilized we then drip acclimate anemones, keeping each species separated in their own acclimation vessel. Once the new anemones are acclimated, each species is placed in its own segregated section of a dedicated raceways that is 6’ long x 3’ wide x 16†tall. Each segregated anemone section has its own return port so each species is supplied with filtered water; along with a supplemental hi flow pump with protective screens to supply the proper water flow to the animals. Each segregated section has the proper substrate in composition and depth along with live rock fragments or coral rubble when needed to try and replicate their natural environmental conditions. Lighting consists of two double ended 250 watt halides over each six foot raceway. Anemones that require the most intense light are located in the area directly below the suspended fixture, where species that are more adaptable and require less intense light are maintained in the offset sections of each raceway. All new anemones are adapted to this lighting over varying lengths of time which is determined by their coloration and behavior, through the use of multiple layers of egg crate material, or egg crate that is covered in nylon screen or mesh when needed.
Filtration consists of a 12’ x 2’ diameter Foam Fractionator with Ozone Injection through a 1gram Ozone generator controlled by a dedicated electronic system monitor and controller. The filtration system also incorporates one 12’ x 10†diameter Fluidized sand bed for biological filtration and all of the filtered water is temperature controlled by a 2hp chiller, and runs through multiple industrial nylon 100 micron filter socks that contain either carbon or poly filter media, before it is returned back to the raceways though the use of a 2 hp pump.
Care and husbandry during and after photo intensity adaptation involves closely monitoring and inspecting the animal’s behavior and health. We feed anemones a diet consisting of fresh finely chopped seafood such as grouper and raw shrimp, as well as offering them PE Mysis Shrimp, lobster eggs, and enriched brine shrimp. After several weeks or even months later for some animals, when the anemone is ready for sale, its then carefully transferred to an adjacent raceway on the same system, and is photographed for the Divers Den under the exact same lighting where it was maintained previously. Photographing anemones can be challenging and oftentimes, it takes multiple tries before it can be uploaded to our web site. It is not our intention nor desire to try and hide any feature about any of the animals we offer in the Divers Den, but rather photograph them in a timely manner, to the best of our ability, so they are accurate representations of the exact animals the customer receives when they purchase aquatic life listed in the Divers Den section of the LiveAquaria.com web site.
Once sold, the packaging procedure we follow for anemones is very similar to the successful methods that have been utilized by exporters and distributors for many years, but we incorporate twice to three times the quantity of water and increase the bag sizes and box sizes for every anemone we ship to reduce the likelihood of water fouling during transit while helping to maintain a more stable temperature. It is our philosophy that the cost of packaging materials and the weight of the package, which oftentimes costs us significantly more than what we charge our customers, is justified as the quality and well being of the animals takes precedence over breaking even on freight.
Successfully maintaining some of the more challenging species of anemones is difficult for even the most skilled aquarist or public aquariums. Environmental changes and stressors have an influence on each individual person’s success or failure rare when keeping anemones in the home aquarium. It is my hope that we keep progressing forward at a rapid pace in the hobby, so that we all can learn more about these fascinating animals. Sharing our success stories which detail the specifics regarding the aquarium setup and husbandry practices with one another benefits the hobby, the marine ornamentals trade, and the scientific community. All of us here on RC that maintains anemones in our home aquariums, can contribute to the better understanding of the animals we are so fortunate to care for. I hope this better conveys our attention to detail and explains the level of care we provide these animals, so we are able to offer the healthiest aquatic life to our valued customers. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith
