Short tentacles?

[DazedandConfuse]

I have inherited my son's tank. He has gone to Iraq and I'm not sure about a few things. He recently added an anemone. I'm not sure if it is an M. Doreensis or an H. Crispa. I asked the local fish store and they gave me a few different answers; so I hope the pros here can help me out.

My son had planned on parting the tank out until I stepped up and said I would take it. He had already sold the powerheads and the lights; so I am using borrowed ones untilI can replace them.

Here are my questions:
The anemone has very short tentacles. Would this be because it's new to the tank? The tank itself has been set up for over a year with no other anemones. One person at the fish store told me it was because of the lights are not strong enough. Another said it was because the anemone is new and doesn't have a clownfish hosting in it yet. He said that the tentacles will get longer if I add a clown. And the last employee said it's because the flow isn't strong enough or it's starving.

The anemone is in a gentle current. well, I suppose it would be gentle. The flow is enough to move the tentacles and occasionally lift the edge of the anemone. Is that strong enough? It isn't bleached pure white. It's more of an ivory color with purple tips. The mouth is usually closed tight and it seems as if it's attached to the rock (but sitting on the sand). I don't know how to tell how sticky it is without putting my hand into the tank and quite frankly I'm afraid of being stung. I tried feeding it the other day (right after I inherited the tank) it didn't seem interested in the shrimp. Am I feeding it the right thing?
I'm ordering new lights for the tank so I can give back the ones I am borrowing. I don't have a very good picture of it (I had to borrow a camera and I am not a photographer. But here it is. Please let me know what you think may be wrong with it and what steps I can do to correct it.

Thanks!

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

It looks like a sebae aka H. Crispa, an lta wouldn't have that density of tentacles. The tentacles should be a lot longer, so the short tentacles could mean its hungry. As far as food to feed it, you can feed it ..silverside fish, raw tuna, raw shrimp, scallops, mysis shrimp, or squid pieces. Just make sure its food is no bigger than its mouth so cut up its food into small pieces. If you are worried about it stinging you while feeding it (I don't think it will) you can use feeding tongs. Put the food right on its mouth and wait for it to start to pull the food in before you let go of the food. That is how I get my sebae to eat. The way yours looks right now I would feed it three times a week till it starts to look better. Once it starts to have longer tentacles then feed it once or twice a week. I hope you have your SG at 1.025 or 1.026.

Oh btw I found out my sebae doesn't like shrimp. Maybe yours doesn't like shrimp as well. Some people have said their sebae will eat shrimp..I haven't seen my anemone reject food so fast before I tried to feed it shrimp.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

Thanks for the reply. I'll pick up some silversides and tuna or scallops today. I have mysis in the freezer!

 

[DazedandConfuse]

Oops. I forgot to add that my SG is 1.025.
PH is 8.3
Ammonia, Phosphates, Nitrites and Nitrates are all at zero.
And the temperature is between 79 and 80.

The tank has been up for over a year; though it was moved to my home last summer when my son was getting a divorce (his soon to be ex threatened to do some nasty things to it).

It has a Coral Beauty Angel and a Lawnmower Blenny as well as several snails and a few hermits (he started to sell the fish when he found out he was going to Iraq). It also has a birdsnest coral, some zoas, xenia and a couple small kenya trees.

He had sold the lights and the powerheads. So I am in the process of replacing those (using borrowed ones for now). What size powerheads would be good for a 75 gallon tank? I'm not sure how much flow the anemone should have directed on it.

The anemone was just purchased last week by a friend of his who has also gone to Iraq. He said it was from the Internet (so I don't know if it was a private person or a storefront that he got it from). His wife had a fit when she saw it and demanded that he get rid of it. So my son took it off his hands. It's been in this tank since Sunday.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for it, since it has been through a lot. Any advice I get will be appreciated!

 

[garygb]

Yes, it is Heteractis crispa and they do tend to develop longer tentacles when they are hosting a clownfish--percula or ocellaris or clarkii would almost certainly live in it. Your water chemistry looks good, you didn't mention what type of ligthing you ordered, but that would be helpful. Also, dimensions of tank would be helpful, inches deep, long and wide. I suggest you read the anemone faqs at the top of this forum and that you go to WetWebMedia.com and search for sebae anemone on that website. The anemone looks healthy, so you're likely to be successful at keeping it. Once they settle in and have acclimated they are pretty hardy, it's the transit that seems to take a toll on this species. I would try silversides, (I've never had any luck feeding anemones fresh tuna, but you can try), and squid (most everything likes squid--it's like candy by healthy).

 

[DazedandConfuse]

The tank is a standard 75 gallon. 48" across. I'm getting a 6 bulb Tek light (I asked in the T5 Q&A thread for bulb recommendations).

When do you think it would be good to add a clownfish? Would wild caught be more tempted to host in it? Or does that vary by type of clown? I know different types tend to have different personalities (Maroons being more aggressive etc.) So I wasn't sure about their willingness to host.

I'll add squid to my shopping list. Hopefully it likes it, if not I know of a few stray cats who would probably be happy to get it! Do you feed your anemone the squid tentacles or just the white meat?

Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it and I will check out wetwebmedia as well as the faqs.

 

[garygb]

T-5 lighting will be great, 6 bulbs should be perfect. I'm sure the color temperature (Kelvin) of the bulbs recommended in the other thread will be fine.

As far as clowns, ocellaris and perculas are mild-mannered and smaller. I would suggest one of those. As far as the difference between tank-bred and wc, my tank-bred clowns quickly went for my anemones. If you have the choice, tank-bred is preferable because they are hardier and less likely to have parasites or other diseases.

I either get fresh squid at an Asian market, where you get the entire body of the squid or I buy squid chunks in the frozen section of the fish shop. I feed chunks of the body myself.

As someone earlier in the thread mentioned, gently placing a piece right near the mouth will usually cause the feeding response. I wouldn't worry about being stung by this species. It might feel a little sticky, but that's going to be about it. The only place it might cause welts is on the back of the hand or other tender places, but the finger aren't really vulnerable.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

Thanks. I've never touched an anemone before so I wasn't sure just what to expect. I think I need to find out where my son stashed his disposable gloves though just so I don't end up contaminating the tank with anything off my skin.

I called my local fish store. They only have a tomato clown in stock at the moment. But they said they will be getting more clowns in next week. So I think I'm going to have to wait until then before I can add one. at least that will give me more time to try and find out what this anemone is willing to eat!

Thanks again for all your advice. I really appreciate it!

Can you give me a recomendation as to what power heads would be appropriate for this tank? I want to make sure the anemone has enough flow; but I also don't want to beat the poor thing to death!

 

[garygb]

I personally like maxijets as an inexpensive and reliable pump. There is a maxijet modification that supposedly makes a 1200 more like a tunze or vortech. I personally have a tunze and I like it, but if I had it to do over again, I would experiment with the mod (would be a lot cheaper). You can order them online. I think Marine Depot has them, as others do I'm sure.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

Thanks! I'll check it out!

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12081847#post12081847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garygb
(I've never had any luck feeding anemones fresh tuna, but you can try).

Really? That is odd..Are you sure it was fresh and not previously frozen? The bright red tuna or pink is previously frozen and the store has no idea of how fresh the fish really is. You can tell how fresh the tuna is by looking at the color. The color of the tuna must be a dark maroon and no pearly shiney surface. Pearly shiney surface means its been sitting there for a while. I buy my tuna steaks at costco, that is the only place I can find fresh sashimi grade tuna in my area. I give a little to my anemones and they absolutely love it! I get a fast feeding response from all of them. Then the rest goes to me

I use koralia powerheads and found the right type of flow for my 120g tank. two #2 koralia's and two #1 koralia's. The #1's go on the back of the tank and point forward and put one #2 on each side of the tank. Sebaes prefer a moderate water flow. koralia's are nice powerheads. If I had your size of tank I would go with just two #2 koralia's. What ever you choose for powerheads.. Please take pictures of your sebaes progress and show it to us. Good Luck

 

[garygb]

Thanks Christina, when I think back years ago when I tried tuna, I"m sure it wasn't nice and fresh like you describe. It may have even been canned for all I know. I just know that I made a note to self "no more tuna." I think I will look for some that is the nice maroon that you describe and feed it to my anemones.

Out here (Los Angeles) there are Asian seafood markets that have all kinds of unusual stuff. I've found freshly caught mackerel and feed that to my anemones, and they react to that much more quickly than to silversides. I suspect that the quick reaction has to do with higher concentrations of omega-3 that some of the colder water fish have. Fresh salmon also gets a good feeding response I've noticed, especially w H. magnifica. I think anemones also get tired of silversides and appreciate something different--not to have a brain, they can be particular, huh?

 

[DazedandConfuse]

I think I have the pickiest most stubborn anemone in existance!

I tried fresh Tuna, wouldn't eat it
Fresh Flounder, thought about it then wouldn't eat it.
Fresh Tilapia, spit it out
Fresh scallops, these went over the best. At least it held onto the scallops the longest, then refused to eat it.

How long does it take to get one of these guys to eat? The mouth is still closed up tight and it's still hanging onto the rock. Even looks a little fluffier today.

I couldn't get the squid. The Asian market near me was sold out. Looks like I need to go to the local fish store and get some silversides!

 

[garygb]

You might find that putting a small piece very near the mouth will elicit the feeding response. I would use a piece of food roughly the size of a peanut. Also, it can stimulate the anemone to eat by putting a couple of drops of "food juice," i.e., some of the thaw juice etc. from the food into the aquarium 10 minutes or so before you try to feed. Anemones can "smell" minute quantities of food in the water.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

I've been putting the food near it's mouth. It will close around it then goes about rejecting it. But I haven't tried adding any juice yet. I'll give that a try tomorrow.

Is it a little too soon for it to eat? It's only been here since last Sunday.

 

[garygb]

If it's only been in the tank since last Sunday, it isn't odd that it's not eating yet. I've found that if you persist, they will start eating and then it is easy to feed them.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

Lol, I guess I have to be more stubborn than it!

I do have two Clarkii clowns on order. Hopefully they will be in next Wednesday. If not I may have to try ordering online.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Was it a fresh water Tilapia or salt water? I have noticed that mine will some times reject the food if I don't hold the food on its mouth. Hold the food there untill it starts to pull the food in. If it pushes the food away. Then don't give up..keep trying. What ever you do don't force the food into its mouth. You could try wiggling the food on its mouth. I wish you the best of luck getting your anemone to eat.

BTW..if you decide to order online.. www.bluezooaquatics.com They are now having a good sale on clarkii's. They are a great place to get fish and inverts online. Everything I have bought from them has been very healthy.

 

[DazedandConfuse]

I didn't know there was a difference in the Tilapia. The sign said it was from China if that helps any.

I'll keep trying to feed it every other day. I don't want to stress it any but hopefully it decides to eat something one of these days!

I'll have to check Blue Zoo. I'll know by Wednesday if the clowns are going to come into my local fish store or not. Lol, they told me since it was a "special order" I'll get 1/3 off the price. If I go to Blue Zoo, I'll probably end up ordering more than just two Clarkiis!

I wonder how much convincing it will take to get my husband to agree to a second tank

 

[garygb]

Clarks are somewhat aggressive, as you might know. Ocellaris or perculas are more docile. By the same token, Clarks will be hosted very easily in any of the host species of anemone.