Feeding anemone video

[Lyscer]

I took some video of me feeding my anemone to see if there is something that you guys do differently. Please tell me what I can improve on (portion, method, etc..)

Sorry for the large size, I'm still trying to figure out how to shrink video.

http://www.aquaaddict.org/downloads/BubbleTipAnemone.mpg
(4.4Mb)

 

[TOURKID]

ouch they sting u know!

fill a cup with a wee bit of water, defrost the food in it (a 1/3 or 1/4 of a silverslide fish is a better meal for it, more meaty, you can buy a pack of them frozen)

anyway, once the food is defrosted in the cup of water, suck it all up with a turkey baster and then holds the baster real close and blow gently. it will get all the food.

if your using a piece of silverslide, tongs usually work. silverslides dont float as easy as shrimp

 

[Lyscer]

THe package of food that I got said it was silversides... Maybe I got baby ones? From what everyone says it sounds like silversides are actual fish and these look more like shrimp. Thanks for the info

 

[TOURKID]

yep. silverslides are fish.

 

[Lyscer]

wow! Mine must be itty bitty baby ones. I will definately look for larger ones. Thanks for the picture. And how many of those things do you feed an anemone? How often?

 

[dantodd]

My BTA eats 2 or 2.5 of the big ones every 2 or 3 days. My LTA gets 1 or 2 at the same time. They're a little bigger than your BTA.

 

[IslandCrow]

What you were feeding looked more like mysis to me, but it was pretty hard to tell. I guess silversides start off as babies, though. I sometimes feed my anemone by hand too. I don't think their sting can generally penetrate human skin, but I have seen pictures of a couple people with what looks like a nasty rash from anemone stings. I wonder if that's some sort of alergic reaction or just an especially potent anemone.

 

[TOURKID]

lyscer... my bta can only eat about 1/3 of a regular sized silverslide right now, any bigger and it will spit it out. danntodds anemone is the size of a dinner plate

islandcrow.. my lfs told me (so use your own judgement) that during harvesting and shipping they sting so much that by the time we get them, they are kinda worn down, but the longer they are in our tanks the more built up it gets and the stronger and more painful the sting.

havent had to deal with that tho! a yellow polyp stung me... really really hurt. broke the skin too....

 

[gsxrguru2]

Why don't you guys feed regular old shrimp to your anems?

 

[dantodd]

my LTA isn't too crazy about them, he prefers fish to shellfish. My mantis, on the other hand, rejects fishmeat.

 

[Leo10988]

They eat just like mine.

 

[gsxrguru2]

oh, so its not that shrimp aren't as good as silversides for them then right?

 

[dantodd]

I think that there are more fatty acids in the fish but I suspect that whatever he likes is good for him.

 

[IslandCrow]

Yeah, I probably should have suffixed my comment about hand feeding my anemone with "don't try this at home". Like I said, I've seen pictures of people who have indeed been stung by anemones. A couple of the books I've read say that anemone stings generally have little to no effect on humans, but I guess the real question is. . .

Are ya feelin' lucky, punk? Well, are ya?

 

[TOURKID]

A hermit fell into my bta today (its on a rock that sticking out) anyway, I watched the hermit freak out and pull his way out, then he sat on a rock shaking (the whole shell was shaking!) for at least 5 minutes and then he kinda limped away... think he def. got a shock.

Monitored the hermit.. hes ok.