Tube Nems

[StephLionfish]

My LFS has a couple of Pink Tubes, and I want one. I've been trying to find care on them, but I can't find much. So...I have a couple of questions.
1- Can they be in a reef tank ( with reef lighting )?
2- How deep of a sand bed do they need? My tank only has 3". I think I read somewhere that if you fill up a PVC with sand that they will be fine with it as long as it is wide enough for them. ( Giving them a 'deep sand bed' in a tank with only a few inches. )
3-What is the flow these guys like?
4- And how much do you feed them?

Any links would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[CuttleKid]

I will try to answer your questions.

1. Tube anemones are nonphotosynthetic, but they can be kept in any lighting system, even bright mh.

2. I have 2 tube anemones and my sand bed is around 2 1/2-3 inches. They are doing reattach. Also I know from experience with old tube anemones I've kept that they will go onto their side to to adapt to any sand bed with no adverse side affects. You can also put them in a crevice in a rock and put a little sand in there. They will be happy in many situations.

3. They prefer moderate to low flow but one of mine that is inside a rock lives in almost full blast from a power head and it is comfortable there too.

4. Feeding is a very easy and fun process. I feed mine whenever I feed my lions. About 3 times a week. But they can do well catching food from broadcast feeding other fish. I feed mine frozen mysis shrimp and an occasional small piece of krill.


Good luck

 

[StephLionfish]

I really appreciate it!
How about water quality? My tank definitely doesn't have SPS water.. I have LPS and Softies. Are they delicate to slight param swings? Also, what is a bad price? They are small, and I think $70... That seems like a big price tag to me

 

[CuttleKid]

I certainly don't have sps water quality either. I think I have a constant nitrate at around 25 due to the heavy feedings for the gorgonians. I'm sure your water is fine. They can and will adjust to parameter swings. When I had a power outage this year for around 23 hours and lost almost all my fish the tube nems did not seem to be affected. As far as price goes I'm not really sure about that. My first tube anemone was about 6 inches and it was 35 dollars. It is a beautiful orange color. However I bought a tricolor tube nem for 100. It all depends on the color/color variety/color intensity.

Here is an example from The LA DD section that came up today you might be interested in. And hopefully it will give you an idea on price variations.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+10&ddid=144600

I would not rely to heavily on it's recommendation of a 6+ inch sand bed because to most hobbyists that is not a possibility and they seem to thrive in most setups. I believe there is an old thread on here about someone placing them into rock crevices and they formed there tube inside the rock. But they will move until they find there perfect spot but they usually stay close to where you originally place them.

 

[StephLionfish]

I'd love to get a pink one off DD, but the shipping would kill me.
Do you have pictures of yours?

EDIT I'm seeing some on DD 'laying down', while others are upright. Is that something I should look out for?

 

[CuttleKid]

When you say laying down do you mean having their tentacles not sticking strait up into the water column? Because I don't think that has anything to do with health. Please don't take my word as gospel because I am by no means an expert.

 

[StephLionfish]

Yeah. I was just wondering why they did that. Didn't want to buy one like that and it end up dying.

 

[rattler_mt]

i have a dark purple one with a bright green mouth living in a glass for now in my fuzzy dwarf lionfish tank.....planning on making a "liverock" out of an upside down terracotta flower pot with some real live rock glued to the sides and an plexi bottom to make moving it easy if i have to and give it a deeper sand bed without having to make the whole tank that way...

i spot feed mine with a turkey baster the same stuff i feed everything else, it will also eat pellets and catch pods swimming by it....mine seems to like lower flow but doesnt seemed harmed but higher, i also think it looks better with less flow....that particular tank is richer than some of my others with lots of macro algae growth.....the nem seems fine with it....

mine is one of my favorite saltwater critters, i plan on getting more....they seem really hardy and easy to care for and are very showy and impressive.....

 

[StephLionfish]

Thank you for the reply.

 

[slapshot]

Really they are quite easy to care for. They do like to eat and prefer a still to slightly moving environment. I have kept one for many years and now have 4. I have only lost one and I had him in too much flow. Just my experience but.....they have never eaten any fish or anything alive for that matter. I have Petersoni shrimp who lived many months underneath one. They do get big, and will kill any coral within their reach. Lastly mine are in 2 inches of sand. It seems to me that they really just want to be covered as mine have all moves under rocks as you can see. If I had a deeeper bed I suspect they would just stay put. They will eat most anything, mine love Fauna Marin LPS pellets. When they arive it is OK if they have abandoned their tube, they will regenerate a new one. If you get one that wanders around a lot he is probably not long for this world. They really should move very little. DD has very healthy ones as does Cherry Corals. DD's are small but again they grow fast. I hope this helps

 

[rattler_mt]

my purple one is a fair amount darker than yours with the same green mouth.....stunning in person, want an orange one for the contrast, if it wasnt winter i would get the one of DD thats bright orange....

 

[slapshot]

Actually winter is the best time to get them. They live in deep water, down to 50 F. They do better in colder waters rather than warmer so order up!!

 

[StephLionfish]

Will one be OK in a warm reef tank, then?
Thanks for the reply!

 

[CuttleKid]

Yes they will be fine. I'm running my tank around 78 but it does fluctuate to 84 and I don't see any negative responses from them.

 

[slapshot]

They are fine in warm water. They really don't seem to care but I was just pointing out that cooler won't bother them. Cooler is better than warmer so if you were choosing the time to ship now is better than summer.

 

[LeLutinBanni]

What happen if they touch each others ?

 

[slapshot]

If they are the same variety then nothing. If they are different then the war.

 

[LeLutinBanni]

If they are the same variety then nothing. If they are different then the war.

How do you know that they are the same species ? All your tubes seem differents(Color)