Anemone Lighting Thread (Warning : Controversy!)

[yearofthenick]

Okay guys, I went to my LFS about 3 weeks ago and they had an anemone tank with about 5-6 anemone's. It was lit by a small single compact fluorescent light and ALL of them had turned white. I asked the store clerk what the deal was and he said they were all healthy and didn't need much light, which baffled me as I had always assumed anemones needed light. I was interested in purchasing one, and asked for him to feed it, which he did, and it snapped shut, catching the brine. It was a bubble tip, and all the tips were properly inflated. I kept shopping and went to check it out a little later and it already opened back up. It's mouth was tightly shut, seemed healthy, so I bought it. The guy took at least 5 minutes getting the foot off the rock - he exercised much care in doing so... even more than I would have. I took the anemone home and he attached to a rock almost instantly - started moving around and settled on a rock in full view - I could not have asked for better placement for this guy - seriously.
Again, it's been about three weeks since we got him, and he's already turning the most beautiful green I've ever seen! I've got him under a 150w HQI and he's healthy and outstretched every day, eats well, doesn't move around.
But look at where this anemone came from... nearly no light, and he had been there long enough to bleach completely white, yet he was healthy and strong from the day I purchased him. The LFS I bought him from said because he's an invert and basically an animal, he does not even require light to survive, just like fish don't require light.
So - explain this to me. Explain why ALL anemone's need either T5's or an HQI when they're doing just as well at this LFS under a single compact fluorescent.

 

[premilove]

well for starters, it was at a LFS. LFS sell organisms, not house them for their entire lifespan so LFS dont really care. bleached anemones are not happy anemones. notice the color change? anemones are mainly photosynthetic. thats why under your MH your nem turned green or what ever you said it was. under the PC lights at your LFS, they were bleached. in the end, your LFS is not trust worthy because they claim anemones do not require light to survive lol. i would never buy from them again.

 

[yearofthenick]

They're a pretty well maintained store, and have given me great deals on great corals and fish, none of whom have died. However, some (NOT ALL) of the corals I've purchased from there could be a little brighter, but I think it had to do with the skethcy lineage from which these corals came. Not to mention that the anemone I purchased from them is gorgeous, and yes, I much prefer him under my 150w mh because of how awesome his coloration is becoming.
I will be the first to admit that if you put me in a dark room for most of my life, it's going to suck. Hell, I'll probably turn white myself. But that doesn't mean I'm going to die. It just means I need light to look more appealing to others, possibly getting skin cancer in the process (but hey, I'm already married, so who needs a tanning bed? heh heh)
The actual anemone is not photosynthetic, but it has formed a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae which grow inside of their tentacles - they harvest it for food.
But Anemone's also have stomachs - for eating - which means they have two sources of sustenance.
Personally, there was a time when all I did was dose my tank with stuff for my anemones to filter-feed.... I never target-fed. But the truth is that these anemones can do either... so if you target feed to sustain them, how crucial is your lighting?

 

[premilove]

it doesnt take long for anemones to bleach, so they could have been at the LFS for a day or two..giving it enough time, from arriving at LFS, to arriving under your MH to survive..the anemone does not need to be fed constantly, nor is it ok to only feed it, and starve ithe zooxanthellae. anemones need light no matter what to survive. with stronger light they will thrive. u are extremely lucky to receive a specimen and have it bounce back so quickly.
what kind of anemone did you get?

 

[roadie996]

An anemone without light is like you without water. You'll be fine for a few days, but you'll soon die from dehydration. At least... that's how I'm looking at it.

 

[spanko]

Here is a short quote from the hawaii.edu site on Zooxanthellae and their relationship to the anemone and coral and why they are needed. The intense light is needed by this algae to survive and algae the anemonoe (coral) does not survive.
"In summary, using light energy, zooxanthellae convert carbon dioxide
(from bicarbonate taken from seawater and the carbon dioxide
produced by cellular respiration of the coral tissue) into
carbohydrates and alanine. These products are then passed on to the
animal tissue which subsequently provides a source of nitrogen
(ammonia) and phosphate to the algae. Without the zooxanthellae, the
coral host would soon suffocate in it's own wastes."

 

[yearofthenick]

Even if it needed light, why does it need only T5 or mh?

 

[nycbob]

most anemones can actually survive under very little light for months. but if the conditions persist, bleached anemones will slowly wither away within 4-6 months depending on the species. anemones get most of its food source from zooxanthellae. spot feeding wont provide the full nutrition. the lfs only has the anemones for 3-4 weeks, so most would survive during this period.

 

[alabama reefer]

There is no controversy in this thread because you are trying to say they don't need light when in actuality all your statements prove they do need light. There is no such thing as a healthy white BTA. You were very lucky yours greened up and did as well as it did in such a short time frame. Every marine biologist that has written about anemones have stated that clown hosting anemone need intense lighting.(PC lighting does not qualify as intense) Although a few species don't need the abundance of intense lighting as others do. Without zooxanthellae(which is bleached) an anemone will die. Your LFS is very wrong about this invert.