Just bought a rose bud anemone, need advice

[ocean.mirage]

I just bought a small gaffer 4 days ago. He is only 1.5" in diameter. It is deep maroon, beautiful specimen. My concern is that I placed him in the top of the tank thinking that he would move to a lower spot of his choosing. He didn't. he stayed put right under a 250W MH. Is this light going to be too much for him. He is eating lots, I feed him mysis every day and I feed him a large chunk od shrimp today and he ate the whole thing!

I tried to move him but he shrinks up behind a rock and I can't get at him. He is also so high that when I do water changes, he is exposed to air for 15 minutes. Is this okay, or will it hurt him?

My last question is, I have two tomatoe clowns that are 2-3" in length. They love rubbing up against him, but they are so big. Will this hurt him because they are so big?

Thanx

 

[Lmecher]

As far as the light is concerned, if it is too much, he'll move. Mine is on the glass right at the surface and I just try to do my water changes as quickly as I can. In the ocean they are out of the water for hours with the tide changes so it won't hurt him. Just turn off your light if he is directly under it or you'll cook him. I am not familiar with tomatoe clowns but as a general rule, the anemone should be several times larger than the hosting fish. If they are getting too rough it could injure or possibly kill your anemone. Keep an eye on them and seperate them if you see the anemone showing signs of stress.
Congratulations on the new addition, anemones can be stressful but very rewarding. : )
BTW never heard "gaffer"what does it mean? In the contects of you thread I assume it's anemone.

 

[douglam]

as long as it doesnt loose color i wouldnt worry about the light. im not sure what to tell you about exposing it to air im sure others will chime in. finally, the big clowns can hurt it. the anemone should really be twice the size of the clowns.

 

[ocean.mirage]

thanx, I guess I might have too put him in the QT tank until he grows bigger. how long does that take?

I just meant "Lil" Gaffer. an affectionate term

 

[kurt72]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12288249#post12288249 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ocean.mirage
thanx, I guess I might have too put him in the QT tank until he grows bigger. how long does that take?

I just meant "Lil" Gaffer. an affectionate term

well, im no expert, but i have had my green BTA for over a year now, and it hasn't grown that much.

i don't know about tomato clowns. but my two maroons killed my first BTA. actually they just drove the poor thing into a crevice where it just died. so my next one was 2 1/2 times the size of my clowns. but i am pretty sure maroons are notorious for being rough.

 

[ocean.mirage]

Shoot, it was the only rbta I could find. He is the same length as the smaller clown. but the other is bigger. Should I wait and see... what happens. or will it be too late then. Are there any signs I could look for that would indicate that it is time to move the anemone?

 

[Lmecher]

They will show stress by shrinking or a gaping mouth. When I got my rose a year ago it was from my brother, his split. It was very small appx. 2 inches across. It grew slowly in a month it doubled in size and in 6 months it was 8 inches across. It will grow if you feed it well. For growth feed every 2 days small pieces of silversides, krill, scallops or shrimp. I go a to the grocery store that has very fresh seafood and buy say 2 scallops and 2 shrimp, cut into small chunks and freeze. I always have fresh food for my anemones and plate corals. Whiile it thaws I give it a squirt of selcon, concentrated vitalims. Oh only feed when fully expanded, you will begin to see it's rythem of expelling waste, and expanding again. When it has grown suffieiently you can cut back on the feeding. Only you can make the call whether or not to remove it, does it look like it's happy? Is it inflated or shrunken. If you decide to leave it in with the clowns keep a very close eye on it, you don't want to loose it.
Some people say it's too much work but that's what it's all about a labor or love.
Oh and I love the expression!

 

[iceemn360]

in the future what you might try that i have found to work you can put the rbta in a betta bowl in the tank with some lr in it. this provides the rbta with an ideal attachment site and allows you to move it when needed. Mere is mine that is attached inside a betta bowl.

 

[ocean.mirage]

is the betta bowl upside down or right side up? So do you just look for a bowl that the tomatoe clowns can't fit into?

That is an amazing pic . WOW. Nice anemone.

 

[Daniel.luu]

Beside lighting, does it need to have a high current?

 

[Lmecher]

Bta's love strong random current, well most do.

 

[Lmecher]

Bta's love strong random current, well most do.

 

[ocean.mirage]

that's perfect, I have 2 vortechs pushing 5000-6000gph around the tank randomly. I think the "lil" gaffer is gonna love his new home.

 

[jubjub]

....funny my rtba moved to a low flow area in the tank and has settled in there...

 

[iceemn360]

In terms of flow my two larger bubble get intermittent flow. The betta bowl if right side up. The clownfish dont swim into the bowl since the anemone foot usually is taking up the entire inside. I guess I got the idea since in the wild their bases are normally tucked away into secure/crevice and I thought the small environment inside the betta bowl has just that. BTW its a sight to see a 14" diameter anemone coming out of a 3" betta bowl but it seems to keep them anchored and makes it muuuuuuuuuch easier to move them when needed since all you have to do is move the bowl that the anemone is anchored inside of.

The third smaller anemone can be seen in a betta bowl in this picture when I had kept it in my 125 temporarily. Its the same idea for the other larger anemones. I just hide the bowl with live rock around it and viola.... an anemone right at home and no betta bowl to be seen.