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.

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)

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Anthony Calfo

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.

Anthony Calfo