First Anemone (Pics & Questions)

[dankolle]

Hey guys...I read your advice and talked to my LFS about getting an anemone. I decided to spring for one after a long discussion with my LFS about it. It has been in there 4 days and has settled into his spot pretty nicely. I am assuming everything is well.

I am feeding frozen shrimp from my LFS. But am wondering #1, if it looks healthy, #2 what technique I should use to feed it, and #3 what else I should do to care for it. The way I am feeding it now is just putting a piece of food down the center and he seems to ball up on himself and puts the food in his mouth...is that the right way to do it?

I purchased two baby Ocellaris Clowns with him and they don't seem to know the anemone is there, or they don't want to host with it yet. I am wondering if it is too small to host...



Sorry for the crappy photo...I'm no photographer!

 

[cxr133]

i just recently added an anemone to my tank with clowns also.

after talking to my LFS .. captive bred clownfish take longer to acclimate to the anemone and sometimes they will not host it at all.

as far as feeding i also feed shrimp but i use a turkey baster and let the tentacles grab the food and bring it to its mouth.

 

[bencozzy]

ocellaris clowns dont naturally host BTA, that being said it could take a few weeks months or never.

has nothing to do with being captive bred.

 

[bencozzy]

1- it does look healthy

2-3 your already doing it the right way

 

[reefman13]

Picture of the anem.

 

[littleshark]

Thats a really nice anemone. What light is it under? If its under 4-6 watts of t5,mh,pc then it should be fine. Feeding seems like you know it. Also feed silversides once awhile. Its gonna take some time for the clowns to find out about the anemone and what it is.

 

[dankolle]

It's under 3 Watts of PC...I am going to be upgrading to 8 watts soon tho. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[garygb]

Yeah, very healthy look BTA there. It will appreciate your lighting upgrade. You will want the anemone to be no more than say a foot from the bulbs--of course it will move itself if it's not happy. Also, with PC's you want to change the bulbs before they are 10 months--8 or 9 would be better. You said this is your first anemone, so this may or may not be useful, but you should cover any pump intakes as the anemone might wander until it finds just the right spot. You can cover the intakes with sponge filters. I suggest you feed small pieces of silverside, squid, shrimp, krill, etc. every 3 days or so. My tank-bred ocellaris went to my RBTA in a few days after I put it in the tank. So, don't be surprised if it takes a little while, but they will likely begin to go in the anemone. If you haven't already found this site, karen's rose anemones is good for providing info. on this species. Her site is all about RBTA's, but as you know, BTA's are the same species and require the same conditions as RBTA's. Very nice anemone, best of luck to you and your pets.