Anemonie help!

[alison]

Hi everyone, All's been well except 2 days ago the carpet anemonie decided to move higher up and sucked himself into the intake tube. I caught it in time, and turned off the intake, and an hour later he backed out, and was ok. He is still on the move though and very sticky, and closed mouth. I have a 55 gal. reef with 220 watts of pc half 10k half actinic 03. All stats are great nitrates just up 5ppm. I have one more anemonie in the tank at the farthest most end of the tank at least a foot and a half away from each other. The other one is a purple sebae I've had for 5 years the other is a yellow carpet I got 2 years ago. I know the carpet is probably just a little pissed off and needs to relax. He unfortunately is making the other anemonie mad, and the sebae is smaller because the carpet is probably sending out stuff 'cause he's upset from the whole ordeal. My question is will he settle down, and stop sending out stuff to make the other anemonie mad, or should I trade him into my local lfs for somethin else? I like him, but my other anemonie is rare, and I like that one more, so that's priority # 1. Thanks in advance for any advice. :happyfish

 

[attml]

There is always a lot of debate about multiple anemones in a system due to potential chemical warfare. I would run carbon heavily over the next few days and see if you can get the carpert to settle down. Just keep an eye on it and if it looks like things aren't going well you probably want o remove it from your system.

 

[scubasteve]

I've never read that carpets can actually release chemicals to damage other corals. They can sting, like most other anemones, but shouldn't be releasing dangerous toxins into the water. I was a little confused by the original post. The carpet has been in the tank for about 2 years? Has it been in the same spot most of that time, and just decided to move all of a sudden? If that is the case it seems unusual. Has anything in your tank been changed lately (new or repostioned powerheads, bulb changes, etc)? Do you directly feed the carpet, and if so how often?

[hr]
Please respect the natural environment that makes this hobby possible. Be responsible and be informed. Support aquacultured/tank raised species.

 

[crazyc]

I’m sorry, this has nothing to do with how your anemones are acting. I was just curious about your lighting. Did you say you have a 55 gal w/220 watts lighting and your anemones were doing fine with the lighting. I have the same amount of lighting for my 55 gal and some have told me that I couldn’t keep anemones. So is it true or not true that I can keep anemones? BTY good luck on your anemones.

 

[edward]

Crazy-I have had no problems what so ever with keeping both carpet and magnificents with relatively the same lighting scheme. Just to be safe, I always feed them a small piece of cut fish about once a week. They are both very healthy and very bright colors.

 

[scubasteve]

From my readings i would agree with edward. For photosynthetic needs i've read 4 watts/gal is the low end of what they can tolerate (which is right where you guys are at). However if you are feeding them meaty foods regularly they should not be so dependent on photosynthesis. Whether they will lose some of their color due to loss of photosynthetic cells, im not sure.

 

[edward]

Magic man-just another example that you go with what works. Mine have been under this lighting for a couple of years as well and still hold their colors and are huge.

 

[crazyc]

WOW......thanks for the info everyone. looks like i can acctually get an anemone after all. i was thinking of getting the sebae anemone. will a maroon or percula host that anemone?

 

[scubasteve]

Well, contradictory to my earlier statement, I did read for the first time today that carpets may indeed be able to release toxins into the water. The same site (not a forum) also stated that carpets and sebaes seem to be very incompatible and do seem to aggitate each other if they sense the other nearby. From what i read i would expect the sebae to lose the battle if they decide to carry on the fight. Hope they can live together OK, but if not you may want to give one back to the LFS.

[hr]
Please respect the natural environment that makes this hobby possible. Be responsible and be informed. Support aquacultured/tank raised species.

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by scubasteve
I did read for the first time today that carpets may indeed be able to release toxins into the water. The same site (not a forum) also stated that carpets and sebaes seem to be very incompatible and do seem to aggitate each other if they sense the other nearby. From what i read i would expect the sebae to lose the battle if they decide to carry on the fight. Hope they can live together OK, but if not you may want to give one back to the LFS.

That statment would support just about all that I have read up it as well.
I find it difficult to believe that a sebae and carpet are doing well in a 55 gallon tank with only 220 watts of PC for that length of time, its simply against what is usually recommended from experienced folks. But we always have to factor in that every system is different, and what works for some may not work for others. Still the sound and reasonable advice is to go with the best lighting that you can afford to try to duplicate what is in nature.
Alison is there anyway that you can provide photos of these two anemones in the same tank, I'd love to see them. I would also like to know how often you change your light bulbs and what type of ballast you are running with them.
Thomas

 

[msd2]

Originally posted by Thomas712
That statment would support just about all that I have read up it as well.
I find it difficult to believe that a sebae and carpet are doing well in a 55 gallon tank with only 220 watts of PC for that length of time, its simply against what is usually recommended from experienced folks. But we always have to factor in that every system is different, and what works for some may not work for others. Still the sound and reasonable advice is to go with the best lighting that you can afford to try to duplicate what is in nature.
Alison is there anyway that you can provide photos of these two anemones in the same tank, I'd love to see them. I would also like to know how often you change your light bulbs and what type of ballast you are running with them.
Thomas
While my lighting is considerably higher I also have a carpet and a long tenticle anemone. No problems at all with them, they both settled at oposites ends of the tank so there is about 2.5 between each other. Both have been in the tank for about a year w/o any problems. You might get them to settle down if you put them on your sandbed. Once I put mine there they never moved since. They also get fed weekly and all seems well. I will attach a small pic, you can see them both in their corners :happyfish

 

[alison]

:happyfish Thanks for all the advice! Both the anemonies have been in the same spot or move very little in the years I've had them. I feed them fresh shrimp, krill, and clam meat, squid, etc...The carpet is now doing much better, and the sebae is doing better. I know you're not really suppost to have more than one for that size of a tank, but I got them before I knew a lot, and now I'm attached. The sebae is the most beatiful anemonie. That is my main concern. The sebae is purple with pink tips. My sebae clown hosts in it. The carpet doesn't host anyone, so I have to feed it directly daily. I got a little perc clown for it but, the perc doesn't host. Both anemonies are settling down now, thankfully. I thought the carpet was a gonner for sure. Thanks again, sorry to post so late, I had a cold. :happyfish -ali
Oh, and I do not reccomend getting more than one anemonie in a 55 gal or smaller, and my carpet is an exception for living on that low of lights, just to let all of you with the questions know. I would only get a long tentacle in my tank, if I knew now what I knew then. Good luck to all of you also. -ali

 

[alison]

:happyfish Oh, and I forgot to mention, but I would love to post a pix but my digital camera needs to get internally cleaned, As for my lights I change them every 6 months, and run my lights for 10-12 hours depending on the season. I feed my sebae every 2 days, and the carpet needs feeding daily. They are both pretty large the sebae is larger, about the size of a small dinnerplate, and the carpet is the size of a large bowl. My carpet's colors are slightly washed out, not as intense yellow as online. I bought it at my local lfs when it was going out of buisness, and it was at deaths door, gaping mouth not sticky, small, and starting to breakdown at the lfs.
I took a gamble, and he's been doin good for a long time now. In the beginning, he moved midway up on the liverock, but then moved back into the sand. He hates the crushed coral. My sebae is a rock, and has never really moved more than an inch. I plan on gettin another 96 watt pc, just have to figure out space. After reading all of the problems everyone else has with their anemonies I think I'm just lucky and I wouldn't try this if I were anyone else. I don't want people to get the idea these anemonies are easy. Both usually require high light and are tricky to aclimate. Good luck to all too.:happyfish -ali