What should NOT be kept with a anemone

Mr Bojangles

New member
Well I have been thinking of this for a while and I have been wondering if there is a definite "NO NO" List of things that you should not keep with a anemone. Such as fish that will try to eat them, fish that will be dumb enough to fall into one, inverts, ext.
 
Generally butterflies and angels. They tend to pick at them or try and eat them. There are certain exceptions but i don't know which they are. Those are the thing that i can think of atm.
 
I have a Copperband Butterfly and it doesn't touch my anenome. None of my fish do. While nobody has ever said fish are the smartest animals, all of mine stay away. I have some gobies too which are pretty small...
 
I also wanted to add, that if you're worried about your anenome eating other tank mates, be sure to feed it on a regular basis.
 
It really is hard to generalise with all anemones. BTAs are probably the most likely to be eaten- peppermint shrimp are one of the most likely eaters as well as angels, butterflies and even some other fish like tangs and rabbits. Being eaten by a fish is one of the less likely causes of death for an anemone though and a host clown will likely do a fine job at protecting it. Having food always stolen is another problem which shrimp, fish and just about everything else in the tank can cause.

I have regal angels, rabbitfish and a copperband butterfly with my magnificas and none of them eat or are eaten by the anemones.

Almost all fish are going to be safe with a BTA as far as themselves getting eaten.

On the other end of the spectrum you would have something like a haddoni carpet which is likely to eat just about any non clownfish in the tank.

Most other anemones are somewhere in between for both problems, but the big issues with anemone death continue to be powerheads/overflows, insuficient lighting, and buying unhealthy specamins.
 
IME: Cowries and large hermits are not good choices with anemones.

I have had a few moray eels learn to steal food from anemones, yep, stick their heads right into the oral cavity and come back out with a treat.

I also have a fox face that has developed a preference for high dollar anemone treats :rolleyes:
 
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