the real deal behind the carpet anemone?

[LFS_worker]

Why is it that these wonderful animals have such a reputation of being difficult to keep? I love them but to be honest ... Im scared to add one. Ive also heard that gobies and blennies are not good fish choices with them ... hmmm.

I know that there are different species I'm talking about the short tentacled like the one that Gary M. has/had(?) crispa? maybe ...

Some insite would be helpful Id love to have one..

thanks in advance
Brian

 

[SVXH6]

S. Haddoni(blue) is what Gary M. had i believe.. a H. Crispa is similar to a LTA.. blennies, gobies and smaller fish can easily get eaten by a carpet but so can the clowns that host them.. i believe Haddoni's are IMO relatively easy to care for..there is the S. Giagantea which is extremely hard to keep(get a healthy one to begin woth and your good), Mertensii which is also very hard to keep, and the Adhesivum(sp. totally wrong) aka the pizza anemone which is very very sticky as all carpets are..they like to place there foot under rock and in the sand.. i wouldnt be scared to add one, id go for it.. just be sure its healthy and you should be good to go.. you keep SPS so im sure your water quality is excellent..

 

[LFS_worker]

first ... thanks
"T" I think you told me once the if an anem is not sticky its probably not healthy the same for carpets? How do I i.d. a healthy one?

B

 

[SVXH6]

pm sent

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Re: the real deal behind the carpet anemone?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7568364#post7568364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LFS_worker
Why is it that these wonderful animals have such a reputation of being difficult to keep? I love them but to be honest ... Im scared to add one. Ive also heard that gobies and blennies are not good fish choices with them ... hmmm.

I know that there are different species I'm talking about the short tentacled like the one that Gary M. has/had(?) crispa? maybe ...

Some insite would be helpful Id love to have one..

Anemones (in general) vary greatly in care requirements. Some species are difficult to kill (like Aiptasia) and some are difficult to keep alive (gigantea carpet anemones) in captivity.
Most people that purchase anemones don't research their requirements beforehand- hence the low rate of survival of captive anemones.
Different anemone species have different care requirements, but good lighting and good filtration (protein skimming!) are two basic requirements for all of the fish hosting species. Make sure to read the RC Anemone FAQ.
My LTA was a Macrodactyla doreensis (the sand dwelling LTA) and it never bothered any fishes. My blue Haddon's anemone made short work of my spawning pair of Mandarinfish and it would probably eat any other similar fish.
Sand dwelling anemones are a better choice for most SPS reef aquariums.

 

[LFS_worker]

awesome info ... I see the FAQ's list the 3 categories as
1) difficult
2) more difficult
3) most difficult


Brian

 

[sailfinreef]

i think the biggest problem with anemones is getting healthy ones. I believe that shipping is just way to stressfull for some anemones. they really need good water quality and bright lighting, usually between shipping and sitting in a bin at a store they dont get that.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7568412#post7568412 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LFS_worker
first ... thanks
"T" I think you told me once the if an anem is not sticky its probably not healthy the same for carpets? How do I i.d. a healthy one?

B

I can tell you from experience that S. haddoni are EXTREMELY sticky. You don't want to be doing anything that might cause an entanglement with one, both for the anenome's health (firing all those nematodes isn't exactly stress free), your own health (imagine your whole hand covered in be stings) and your own sanity (you can't exactly peel one off in 5 seconds, it's more like a delicate half hour operation if they grab you well enough.)

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

BTW, I didn't find them challenging, if you met their requirements. I guess it's the same for any creature that people call "challenging" - in the majority of cases, we should probably use the phrase "I didn't understand or meet their reauirements."

 

[dalbrecht]

I've never found my haddoni "challenging" I agree with der_wille_zur_macht that they are extremely sticky and you can't fight them you just have to sit there till they let go (mine only takes about a minute or two) but i've also never been strongly grabbed.

My haddoni has been a very rewarding aspect to my tank and I highly recomend them. The trick is to get a health and sticky one. IT also did a lot better when I added a clown.

 

[LFS_worker]

thanks for the pointers everyone Ill be on the lookout for a nice red or blue haddoni it looks like

Brian