sebae anemone...bad idea?

[nemofish2217]

I bought a sebae anemone yesterday for my 14 gallon biocube. The employees at the LFS said that it would do fine. i usually do more research before buying something, but i was buying a clown fish and i guess got caught up in the moment. I've had them before, a RBTA and a couple of long tentacles so im pretty sure i know how to take care of them.

Here's why i think that this might have been a bad idea. Although the employees said that my stock lighting would be strong enough, will it in fact BE enough light? Is this anemone doomed? I do about a 3 gallon water change weekly, and constantly run chemi-pure and purigen.

what do you anemone guru's think? thanks

 

[SEAFLOWERS]

What is the "stock lighting" for a tank that small? I don't even know if putting a Sebae in a tank that small is feasible in the first place, let alone how much light is over it. If you have another(larger) tank I would consider moving it or taking it back to the store. You said it yourself that this was an impulse buy, if the store won't take it back maybe someone in your locale might want to take it.

 

[nemofish2217]

the stock lighting is about 50 watts of pc lighting. this, over the 14 gallons is about 3.6 watts per gallon. I don't have a larger tank, and im not sure if the store would take it back. i might call and ask them. I feel really ignorant... i guess i just "wanted" to believe them when they said it would do fine..... So you are saying that it probably wont make it at all?

 

[xxseawolf]

tank is too small and lighting is not enough IMO. call your LFS and see if you can trade nem for store credit. this site is a great place to learn. in the future you should ask questions here(not LFS-all they want is your money) before you purchase. good luck.

 

[nemofish2217]

i usually do research and im not sure why i didn't listen to my instinct.... ill call them and see if i can take it up there tomorrow. If they wont give me any store credit should i still take it back or see if the little guy makes it?

 

[Musho3210]

buy at least maybe a 70 watt pc (or maybe as many tubes of T5 you can get your hands on and retrofit it) if the store doesnt let you, this will buy you a bit more time until you find that someone wants it.

 

[nemofish2217]

so even if it lives for a while, you are basically saying that after say a month or so it will wither away.... i thought i read something in here somewhere that said that water quality might be more important than light....

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9994067#post9994067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nemofish2217
so even if it lives for a while, you are basically saying that after say a month or so it will wither away.... i thought i read something in here somewhere that said that water quality might be more important than light....

Water quality, stablilty, lighting and flow are all essential in keeping an anemone live long term. Some species of anemones require more or less than the other. The anemone you have is a Sebae which is a common name for Heteractis Crispa or Heteractis Malu. Since lfs's usually carry H. Crispas more commonly, I am going to assume that you have a H. Crispa. Can you provide a clear picture for accuracy?

It can take several months before an aquarist realizes that his/her anemone is withering away. Most anemones only show subtle signs of inadequate conditions in their decline. By the time most aquarists figure out their anemone is dying, it is usually to late. In your case, you have dim lighting. "Stock" lighting usually isn't sufficient enough and since that it is PC lighting, the anemone will not get enough PAR. Not to mention, your tank has little water volume which means that your Sebae will have a limited amount of area to inhabit. Also, your tank isn't stable enough for your anemone especially one that gets big. In small tanks, change happens faster.

My suggestion is to see if your lfs would take it back or sell it locally to someone who has the experience and adequate enviroment for it.

 

[nemofish2217]

here is a pic, thanks for your help.... i hope they will give me some type of store credit...i think they should as it has only been two days...

clear as i could get...

 

[nemofish2217]

its too bad cause i think he is really neat looking....

 

[elegance coral]

Even if you upgraded your lights the tank will never be able to support the bioload of a healthy H.Crispa. If the LFS will not take it back I would start looking for a different LFS. The advice they gave you should be punishable by law. Even if you can't get your money back or store credit you should still give it to someone that can care for it. It will die in your tank. Just write this off as a lesson learned. God knows the rest of us have had to.

 

[55semireef]

Not only did your lfs lead you in the wrong direction. they sold you a bleached H. Crispa.

 

[nemofish2217]

really? he looks pretty brown to me.... i thought when they were bleached they looked more transulcent.....

 

[55semireef]

This is what my H. Crispa looks like to give you an idea of coloration.

\


Your Crispa is only slightly bleached, nothing serious. However, with your lighting, it will bleach.

 

[elegance coral]

This is my little pic of my big H.Crispa. All the white H.Crispas you see have bleached at least to some degree. I have seen them much worse off than yours. In the right environment this anemone should be able to recover, but this won't happen in your tank. I'm sorry.

 

[nemofish2217]

thanks for your thoughts guys. im sorry, not only for my ignorance but also the advice i was given by the lfs guys. i believe they need to give me at least some store credit if they want to keep my business. is this an okay attitude to have?

 

[55semireef]

IMO yes.

 

[marc price]

imo you would be letting them off too easy . you did ask for advice with the purchase . the employes were disingenuous , such execrable service shouldn't be tolerated , it's bad for the hobby and worse for the ecology of our reefs !

 

[jer77]

His seems like its coloration is comming back on the right side of the pic. I've kept many anemones under pc lighting, but at a higher W/gal ratio. What is a problem is that there just isn't enough of it. Plus the tank is just not big enough.

 

[Slakker]

I'm not sure, in this case, that the LFS lied to make a sale...it's quite possible that the people at the LFS just don't know enough about what they're selling to give sound advice...

One of my LFS employees tried to convince me that all clownfish are born female and change to male, and that I should always keep them in groups of three or more to avoid fighting.

IMO, the only real line of defense against misinformation (especially in a hobby where knowledge on proper husbandry is so young) is to do the research for yourself before making the purchase (as you said you normally do), because you can't really trust that those you're asking for advice actually know what they're talking about.

It's sad and unfortunate, as I feel this is one of the main things that gives this hobby the illusion of being so difficult. It's easy to see how people would be discouraged if the advice given to them by those who sell them livestock doesn't work out.