Originally Posted by SJimmyH
I should most likely keep my opinions to myself, but thats not why we come here, is it?
I think its a shame that you should loose so many species that we know we can properly care for to a species nobody in the hobby can.
Would you buy a fish that you know eats coral to live and they not give it coral and expect it to survive? At least you knew what the fish needed to survive and chose not to provide it. Anemones obviously need something we aren't able to provide yet. They die. If you can get 5 years from one it is considered a great success... 5 years from a species we know lives for centuries in the wild.
Ever find a book with all the requirements handy to raise a prized anemone? That's because there isn't one. Nobody (yes, nobody) knows how to keep them alive in an aquarium. I would be interested in hearing how many here have had them and what the average life span in a tank is.
I am surely sorry if I am coming accross harshly. I too tried my hand at them when I was younger. I know the allure. I am not so upset at the reef keeper as I am at the fish sales actually telling the consumer that they need this, and this, and that for this anemone (before it dies anyway). As long as we buy them, they will sell them and all the extra stuff you need to prolong their doomed life.
I am not saying someday we won't figure it all out. Most likely we will, but it will be because someone worked very hard (and most likely spent a lot of money, time, and anemones) to treat his/her anemone like an anemone and not a coral.
It's good to express your opinion but you are misinformed. There are many types of anemones. True that many are doomed in our aquariums but not all are. Even the carpet anemones (there are several different ones) in discussion here are commonly kept with sucess. I agree that true success or failure must be graded over the long term and it's hard to do that when the natural life span is so long. With the proper care, knowledge and research the right anemone can be kept in the right tank.
With that being said myself and another experienced member of my local reef club have passed around a Haddoni carpet that was bought by a less experienced member. I knew the requirements and risks and didn't want it. But... I took it because I didn't want to see it die. I gave it away after I grew tired of it eating my fish. I found someone who was willing to dedicate a 90g to just the carpet and it's 2 clowns. The carpet is now in it's 5th year of captivity that I know of. Like I said, it's hard to compare that to it's life span in the wild but it shows a glimpse of what education and the willingness to do it right can accomplish.
