Anenome (sp?)

[BILLYG]

Fairly new to hobby and need advice. I would like to add a couple of clown fish and an anenome (sorry about the spelling) and the local lfs guy told me it would not be advisable to place these critters in a reef tank. He said the anenome would roam around the tank and sting any coral it comes into contact with. When I look at many of the tanks featured on this discussion board I see clowns and anenomes in reef tanks. ANYWAY - should I be concerned or JUST DO IT ?????? any advice from you OLD SALTS will be appreciated

[JennM]

Finally an LFS giving some reasonable advice!

Depends what kind of anemone it is, but the behavior of wandering IS correct. They will wander until they find a place that suits their lighting and current needs, and yes they can and will sting things in their path. Just Tuesday night I saw some damage in a hobbyist's tank caused by a HUGE E. quadricolor that had reached out and touched someone

Having said that it is possible to keep anemones (and you did have the spelling right ) in a reef, but since you mentioned that you are new to the hobby, I'd recommend waiting before attempting one of these creatures. They are generally challenging at best to keep (some are more challenging than others), and it's recommended to have a mature and stable tank before trying one. READ all that you can about them, choose the anemone based on your ability to care for it (lighting, feeding, safety in the tank -- powerheads and intakes covered, etc) and if possible, get a captive propagated one (E. quadricolor or Bubble Tip seems to fare the best in the aquarium, and many specimens split and reproduce). Then choose clowns compatible with that species (Tomato, melanopus, fire clowns, perculas sometimes...Maroons all host in E. quad.)

Hope this helps,

Jenn

[Doug1]

Jenns right, and so was the LFS for steering you away from them at this point. In spite of some people apparent success with them they do have a dismal survival rate in most aquariums.

[julieanne399]

Hi BillyG, While I respect Dougs and Jenn's opionions I have a different one. You know in the past all corals had a dismal survival rate it aquariums and we reefers keep progressing and we have been successful in keeping different ones and even propogate them now . We are even supplying specific corals for reefs in the ocean where some die outs have occured. Our technology and knowledge is getting better and better. I agree with you Billy, I think there is nothing more beautiful than an anemone with its clown fish! I heard all the horror stories and I agree there are lots but I decided to give it a try anyway years ago. I would recommend waiting until you have had at least a year of experience, your tank has matured and doing well, you need to get a anemone book, there are several good ones out there and really learn their lighting and water requirements. They do sting other corals in their neighborhood, so give them space, they will move around if they are not happy and some just move around because they are that type - carpets are notorious for that. My anemones live inspite of me and my bubbletip has just split into two. I am attaching two pictures of my anemones, the bubble tip was just after it split so they are a little transluscent colored in the pic, the sebae was 3 inches when i got it and now is 8.... so give them lots of room. Good luck! Have fun and dont be afraid! Julie

[JennM]

Awesome pix Julieanne!!

BTW....I don't think our opinions are so different...you elaborated a bit on what I said but I think we are of like minds on this one!

Jenn

[Brooke]

Hey Billy-

Be sure to check out some of the anemone threads in our coral archive:
http://www.thereeftank.com/forum/for...daysprune=1000

I've never kept one, so I can't give you any practical advise.

Brooke