S. haddoni

Fishfreak218

New member
I have heard mixed reviews on this.. some places say its not a very difficult anemone to keep while others say that it is very diffcult.. so whats the deal? is it or isnt it a very hard species to keep? I have my eye on a blue on at the LFS who is very healthy and has been there for weeks... tia
-josh
 
Anemones are not a beginners animal to start with, but according to surveys and other sorts of data collection, BTAs (E. quadricolor) and S. haddoni are the two least demanding. I think the confusion comes from the fact that Giant carpets (S. gigantea) are one of the most demanding anemones to keep and most people don't know there is a difference. They have just heard that "carpets" are difficult.

Even though S. haddoni is not the most difficult anemone, it come with some other drawbacks. They have been known to catch and eat fish in your tank, especially tangs, dwarf angels, gobies and blennies. Some clownfish species do not always readily accept them as hosts.

You should probably give the Anemone FAQ at the top of the main page a quick read before making your decision.
Or I could quit being lazy and give you the link.
http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf
 
^^^ Hear him, hear him! Words of wisdom.

S. haddoni has lower light and lower water movement demands than many other species. Perhaps because of these lower needs, it tends to wander less than many other species as well. I have had a S. haddoni nearly burn itself in half from a water heater, and completely recover. Generally, I consider them "moderately" challenging once established in an aquarium.
 
i read it... thats where i heard they were of the easier anemones (and yes i do know that they arent for beginners)
thanks VERY much for all your help... just to run it by you guys my set-up is
30g. cube
150w MH and 130w PC
custom sump/fuge
2.5" deep sandbed (is this deep enough)
Mag 7 return (through a 1/10 HP chiller)
Maxi-jet 600 (is this enough flow?)
does this sound good to you guys?
thanks very much.. also i know that they like to be on the sand but should i put there foot near any liverock or just on the sand?
is the sandbed deep enough? i wanted to do pink skunk clowns.. i know it isnt a natural host but do you think they will work?
do i need more flow w/ the Mag 7 return and the MJ 600??
thanks guys
-josh
 
The sandbed is deep enough. You might consider putting your live rock in a horseshoe shape and put the anemone in the geometric middle of the tank. It won't outgrow your tank so quickly if you start him in the middle, but it will probably out grow your tank.

Haddonis don't need a ton of water movement. The Mag 7 and MJ 600 should be enough. If you can put the MJ on a timer to go on and off every 30 seconds or so that would be better than just a constant stream. Make sure you cover the MJ intake screen with a sponge. Haddonis have been know to wander into powerheads.

I have seen pink skunks in blue carpets and they look stunning, but there is no guarantee that they will accept a haddoni. Unfortunately, it just depend on the individual fish.
FWIW: Haddonis with longer, "looser" tentacles seem to be accepted more often by non-natural symbionts than haddonis with short, dense tentacles, IME.

For example, check out my "red house". Unfortunately neither of these anemones are with us anymore, but the blue haddoni with longer, less dense tentalces was accepted almost immediately by percula and orange skunk clowns(not natural symbionts). The lime green anemone with short, dense tentacles was only accepted by naturally symbiotic clowns. IME, there may be two "forms" of haddoni, I haven't seen one form changing to the other over time, maybe others have. The two types of tentacles don't seem to be related to color.
 
thank you VERY much.. that was helpful^
ill deffinatly try and make a U shape out of LR and put him in the middle.. thank you guys VERY much
and i wil get a wavemaker to set the MJ at intervals.. mayb ill add another one and put it on the wavemaker also....
also those are some very nice anemones on ur home page..
also i know about its not a garuntee that they will host..
maybe il just go with a Clarkii instead...
 
I had great luck with black A. polymnus with my carpet. However, some other people reported that these fish are detrimental to their carpet. I got mine when they were small, only 1.25 inch or so in lenght.
 
Back
Top