Macrodactyla doreensis

[pasenah]

hi, does anyone have experience with long tentacled anemones (Macrodactyla doreensis) ? what food did the nem find best , what position in the tank did the nem find best? ect ect. any info will be great .

cheers
ben

 

[WDLV]

I had one years back that did pretty well. It planted it's foot beneath the sand on the bottom glass and stayed on the edge of the reef. It ate antthing I fed the fish. Flake food, bits of shrimp, brineshrimp etc.
From what I've seen here, other sites and in person, these are the second least likely to kick the bucket of the 10 natural hosts.
EDIT: The easiest being BTAs (E. quadricolor)

 

[djc1026]

I have an M. Doreensis, going on 7 months now. It stays in the substrate at the edge of the reef and primarily eats from the water column. About twice a week I will feed it shrimp, purhcased from Wal-Mart, it prefers that to silversides.

Dave

 

[pasenah]

thanks guys, are yours in a low flow area? and do yours host clowns?
at the moment my tomato clowns host some star polyps, is there a chance they will move to the nem (i know theres never a guarantee), or do they usually stick to where they are.

cheers

ben

 

[djc1026]

Mine seems to like just enough flow to make it tentacles wave. My marroon is looking at it as I type this. She has "looked" at before, but she has been hovering above it for the past hour, allowing the tips of the tentacles to touch her. So, I've got my fingers crossed. She is partial to BTAs, but loves them to death, litterally.

Dave

 

[pasenah]

has the marroon been in long?

 

[djc1026]

About 10 months.

 

[pasenah]

so youve been waiting a while for this to happen then lol

 

[WDLV]

I had mine for about a year before I had to move and sold it back to the pet store. It was much larger when I sold it than when I bought it. It hosted a tomato.

 

[graveyardworm]

Mine prefers to eat silversides so far its the only thing it eats, I feed it every 2 or 3 days. Its in a relatively low flow area, just enough to make its tentacles wave. I've had it several months, but I had a hell of a time finding a healthy one ( very poor shippers IMO). Currently its hosting a female Clarkii clown with a male in the tank which hasnt been accepted yet. The oral disk is about 8 inches across.

 

[dantodd]

low/moderate flow here. Mines been in the tank for about a year or so. He moved around the tank for quite some time before deciding upon this location. I am actually surprised he is in as little flow as he is.

it's on the sand bed (of course) with his foot wedged under a rock. Lately he's been pushing the rock to the front of the tank and it's just about pushing against the front glass.

 

[pasenah]

its good to hear youve all had good luck with them, thanks for the info.

cheers
ben

 

[graveyardworm]

Forgot to mention mine has its foot wedged under a rock which is slowly moving like dantodd pointed out.

 

[pasenah]

i read a bit about them moving rock and then got home to find it had happend in my tank. my yellow toadstall behind it is leaning the other way now, lol.
i suppose it means its settling in well, which is great.