Marine Depot Forums / TEAM Marine Depot / Marine Systems and Husbandry – by Anthony Calfo / New Carpet / Latest Posts

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Sun, 27 May 2007 10:29:07 GMT

Anthony Calfo (5/26/2007)

A very good clown/anemone chart (at bottom)

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm

see links atop that page for clown species ID too.

Regarding the increase in size for the anemone... it less to do with the color of the light (MH in this case) and more to do with the intensity(reaching the anemone) at the height the lamp sits and/or PAR value of the new light. Lower in either case will make the anemone pan for light (not a great sign)

Well, I thought it was A. polymnus when I got the clown and I think I've confirmed that.

I don't think I made myself clear with the coloring and size. The anemone inflating larger was only present for a day or two and clearly seemed like a reaction to the presence clown. In the time since I made my last post it has gone back to having more compact tentacles and looking "normal". I can assure you the anemone is getting plenty of light with it being almost directly below one of the highest par 250w HQI bulbs over a 12" tall tank. Once the lights come on the anemone is flush with the rock and is not extending towards the light in any way, except for the day or two after the clown started hosting.

Anyhow, thanks for the help and I'll update things once the species tank is completed.

RE: New Carpet

Anthony Calfo — Sat, 26 May 2007 13:19:09 GMT

A very good clown/anemone chart (at bottom)

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm

see links atop that page for clown species ID too.

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:23:16 GMT

Well, my anemone has a new friend. I picked him up on Sun. and he was hosting by Mon. night. I got to watch him take those first "steps" and it was pretty exciting since I wasn't sure if they would hit it off. My heart was pounding as the anemone started to close up a bit, much like he does when I feed it. The little guy toughed it out and was rough housing with the anemone in no time. Since the clown has started hosting the anemone is extending its base a little more and also puffing up a bit more. Also, the MH light is quite white so the combination of that and it puffing up a bit are making the colors a little less spectacular. Any idea why the anemone has reacted like that?

Also, this Clown showed up at the store as a True Percula I was waiting for the a Clown that really struck me, and this guy did. My only regret now is that I didn't get two of them. There may still be a chance that the other two are available, both were smaller and one certainly seemed like the third wheel. Only thing is if they start breeding I'm going to feel the need to try and raise the fry and then I'm looking at two more tanks once I get my species tank set up I think I know what species he is, but I also thought for a bit that my anemone wasn't a Haddoni. So, what species do I have here?

Thanks Again,

Peter

RE: New Carpet

Anthony Calfo — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:36:20 GMT

it could be truly magnificent my friend... and if you have the patience to let if mature for some years, it will be a very unique and precious display the likes of which few other people have the patience and skill to do.

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:45:23 GMT

I also have about 4 or 5 attractive sponges growing in my display (yellow, orange, red, and a couple shades of purple) and two different species of halimeda. Really wouldn't take much besides an increase in the ole electric bill to make it happen. Damn you for putting these ideas in my head!

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:42:18 GMT

Should I decide to go forward with it I had already decided I would try to replicate something similar to this photo. Minus the massive amounts of fish of course. A school of Apogon leptacanthus would be a nice compliment.

RE: New Carpet

Anthony Calfo — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 06:52:25 GMT

A biotope tank with that spare equipment would be magnificent with that anemone, my friend. Make it heavy blue (20K Radium lamp) with some shoaling fishes (microdesmids... see article in my article list, or maybe a unique cardinalfish species... or of course some humbugs being hosted). Seed the rock with sponges you find growing in other hobbyists tanks over time and feed your tank a small bit of phyto daily to spur growth of the sponges in the rocks around the anemone. It could be truly magnificent!

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:32:05 GMT

Well, the Blue Carpet is now sitting happily in his new home, my prop tank. I used a rubbermaid pan and filled is with various sizes of aragonite sand and set the rock in the pan so the anemone's foot is buried slightly. Should he decide to wander, the area with the powerhead and where frags are located are sectioned off with eggcrate. Now I just need to decide where to go from here... I have an extra drilled 65 gallon tank, an extra sump, an extra MH fixture, extra live rock, an older 3' protein skimmer, and an entire basement to spread out in should I want to. I just don't know if I want to have multiple tanks again like I did when I was younger.

On the bright side, should I decide to trade the anemone away I've already got multiple people wanting it without having actively looked for trades.

RE: New Carpet

WarDaddy — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:57:51 GMT

If you do decide that you may not want to keep that anemone, please contact me. I would be interested in talking to you about it. Possibly a trade for a nice Rose Bubble Tip that was Aquacultured.

Regards,
Bryan

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:09:16 GMT

I think I will just move it to my prop tank for the time being and decide if I want to setup the extra 65 gallon I have or trade it away to someone with a more suitable setup. I think I knew it was going to come to this and I justified it by reasoning I could move it to my prop tank if need be. While that will work I'm still limiting myself. Thanks for the advice and telling me what I needed to hear.

RE: New Carpet

Anthony Calfo — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:52:28 GMT

it was a staggeringly bad decision my friend. If stats bear out here... it will not be alive in your care in less than one year, your mandarin will almost certainly be killed if not eaten by this anemone, and it will move within months if not weeks.

I cant think of too many reef species that need a species tank more than Stichodactyla anemones. Adult size a good meter across in short time if its fed well.

I'm afraid to give any kind of advice for this specimen to be kept in a community aquarium... I'm truly at a loss for advice for anything less than asking you to get a dedicated 50 gallon breeder tank (bare minimum) and if not, to please be sure to not put another living anemone in this system.

Another caveat... if it moves and tears or gets otherwise/any way injured (overflow, pump intake, etc) its released toxin will kill every living fish in your system (see my archives under "discussions" in Fav Links for threads on this topic)

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:41:59 GMT

Pics from today, he gladly accepted some mysis and shifted but did not move. He's no longer trying to peek through what an impossibly small hole.

RE: New Carpet

Ike — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:37:53 GMT

By the way... If need be, I will break the rock so I can place it at the bottom of the tank if you think it's too risky putting him closer to the top of the tank. Thanks a ton for any help!

New Carpet

Ike — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:35:26 GMT

Hey Anthony,

I made the mistake of going into my LFS at the right/wrong time A simple stop by to see what they had turned into me spending a lot of money on something that I had no intentions of ever adding to my tank. I'm usually quite good at resisting impulse purchases, but for the first time in many years I gave in... They had a blue carpet that had just been traded in sitting in a bucket. They claimed this anemone was bought very small about a year ago attached to the same piece of live rock it was resting on in the bucket. I couldn't help myself and snapped it up even though I had been holding out for a captive propagated RBTA. I must admit, I haven't owned an anemone in nearly 18 years due to their risks in a non species tank and their poor survival rates. I've been brushing up a bit and reading your anemone links (thanks for those!) and still have a couple questions.

1.) I know anemones are going to move if they don't like their positioning. However, do you think it having been on that rock for so long will increase the likelyhood of it staying put by any significant margin?

2.) I have a Mandarin that I like quite a bit. Do you think they are more likely than most other fish to be snagged by carpet anemones? Is it just a matter of time?

3.) The LFS said it was kept under a combination of T5s and PCs. I have a rather bright T5 setup and would like to start with the rock on the bottom of the tank, though it's proving very difficult due to the size of the rock. How susceptible do you think he will be to bleaching about 15 inches away from the light (6x39w T5 with icecap reflectors)? My plan was to only run 4 of the 6 bulbs for a week or so and then slowly integrate the other 2 bulbs while ramping up the photoperiod a little each day.

4.) Is there a species of clown that most often hosts this type of anemone in nature? Maybe even a shrimp or crab? I would like to give something a try but want to get something that is the most likely to take to the new anemone. I know it's going to be hit or miss no matter what I try...

I have lots of room in my prop tank and I have a feeling he should be in there rather than my display but I just couldn't help but give it a try in the display. Wish me luck!

In his bucket

No flash

Flash

Its foot is attached to the rock on the other side of a hole and it pops it's "head" out on the top side of the rock.