Common host anemones and most frequent clownfish

[thomas712]

I am going to compare this list with others and update it if necessary. I will also start a thread for those of you who have Condis that have hosted your Clowns to see what the most common species is.Bubble-Tip or Bulb Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor), RBTA - Tentacles inflated at tips, with white band and pink tip (usually). Red or pink form called Rose Anemone. Attaches to hard surface."In nature hosts Maroon and Bluestripe clownfishes.
In aquarium the Bubble tip Anemones are the natural host for many popular clownfish species including Clarki, Tomato, Saddleback, Skunk, Melanopus, Bicinctus, Ephippium, Rubrocinctus, and Maroon clowns ocassionally Ocellaris (False Perula), Tue Percula, and other clownfish in captivity."
Can be propagated (splits) in captivity. The best choice for hobbyist aquariums.
Long Tentacle Anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis) - Corkscrew Tenticles red or salmon pink, with veruccae underneath oral disk. Buries column in substrate. Seldom confused. Natural symbionts are Clark's and Pink Skunk clownfishes; in aquarium often accepted by Maroon, Bluestripe, Saddlebac and Tomato clowns, as well.
Purple Long Tentacle Anemone (Heteractis crispa) - Column tough, leathery, and buried in substrate. Tentalces long and pointed, often bright purple in color. Not common in trade. Hosts Clarki, Bluestripe, True Percula, Pink Skunk and Saddleback clownfishes.
Sebae Anemone, Singapore Sebae, Hawaiian Sand Anemone (Heteractis malu) - Column and oral disk uniform pale color, with stubby tentacles usually tipped in magenta. Column buried in substrate. Seldom confused. Hosts only Clarko clownfish in nature, and may host Tomato and Bluestripe clowns in the aquarium. Only host available from within the USA.
Heteractis aurora, Beaded Anemone, Aurora Anemone - Not common in aquarium trade. Buries column in substrate; tentacles with raised, white ridges unmistakable. Only common aquarium clown hosted is Clark's.
Magnificent Anemone, Ritteri Anemone, Red Radianthus Anemone (Heteractis magnifica) - Seldom mistaken. Attaches to hard surfaces in good current and bright light; may wander. Column smooth, often colorful; tentacles always slightly inflated, with yellow or white pigment at tips. Hosts Clark's, Bluestripe, Bicinctus, Ocellaris ("Percula"), True Percula, and Pink Skunk clowns. Not for beginners, difficult.
Carpet Anemone, Haddoni Carpet, Saddle Carpet (Stichodactyla haddoni) - Short and sticky tentacles. Base may be green, brown, blue, or purple in color. Hosts Clark's, Ocellaris, Saddleback, and True Percula clowns.
S. mertensi, Merten's Carpet, Sri Lanka Carpet - Tentacles stubby, knob-like, uniform brown or occassionally bright green in color. Hosts Clark's and Ocellaris clownfishes.
Updated 1/28/05
Updated 2/10/05

 

[thomas712]

Choosing a healthy Anemone
Not my work folks, but I thought I'd place it here for for some of you that are looking to purchase an Anemone.
Many successful anemone keepers attribute their success to obtaining a healthy anemone at the store in the first place. Some species of Anemones can be poor shippers, and they are especially prone to bacterial infection or stress-related damage. A reputable, experienced retailer often takes this into consideration, and has special tanks set up specifically to handle anemones.
What does a healthy anemone look like?
General Appearance
Healthy anemones are full, firm and out in the open. They are not shrunken, soft, or hiding in the rocks, except when going through the process of expelling waste or during the time lights are off. If the anemone doesn’t look “right” to you, trust your instincts and come back to look at the anemone another day to see if it has perked up. Do not buy a sickly-looking anemone in the hopes that it will do better in your system at home.
Color
You should know the natural coloration of the species of anemone you are interested in.
Look for an anemone that is properly colored.
Healthy clown anemones are all photosynthetic creatures, and zooxanthellae is brown in color, so there is no such thing as a healthy non-pigmented anemone. The absence of zooxanthellae is called bleaching, and can be caused by stress to the anemone, or lack of suitable lighting. A bleached anemone will require specialized care until it can grow its zooxanthellae back – a process which will take 3 months or longer even in the best conditions. There are several species of Anemones that are clear or white in color, so it is important to know what their true color is when purchasing them.
Mouth
The mouth of the anemone should be tightly closed. It should not be gaping open (wide open and loose), which is usually the sign of stress. Although Anemones will excrete waste through their only opening, which is also their mouth, thus their mouth can be open at times. It is most important that they are able to close their mouths properly and their are no tears on its body.
Foot
The most important factor of looking at the health of an Anemone is to check the foot (pedal base) of the anemone. It should be whole and undamaged, and should be attached to a rock, the substrate, or the side of the aquarium. Be sure to look closely at the bottom of the foot and inspect it for any tears which will look like a balloon expelling air or white/yellow bubbles or threads that have balled up, which is a sign of repair. Foot lacerations can be deadly to an anemone. If an anemone is attached to a piece of live rock, definitely buy the rock
with the anemone, rather than risk damage to the foot by attempting to remove it. Only an experienced hobbyist should attempt to remove an Anemone from its place on rock or glass.
Feeding Response
Ask the retailer to feed the anemone while you watch. A healthy Anemone will react to the presence of food.

 

[thomas712]

Anemone Anatomy --Tell the doc where it hurts.

 

[thomas712]

Anemone Bleaching
What is anemone ‘bleaching’?
All healthy anemones have a population of zooxanthellae in their body tissues that helps provide nutrients to the host anemone. This algae population is brown in color, and all healthy anemones will have an underlying color tone of light to dark brown depending upon the intensity of lighting under which they are kept, and the size of their zooxanthellae population. In cases of stress or poor water conditions, the zooxanthellae population in an anemone can die or be expelled. This condition is called “bleaching” since a healthy, dark colored anemone can become light and pale overnight. Bleached anemones are white or translucent in color, and lack the noticeable brown undercoloring of healthy anemones. The lack of zooxanthellae puts an anemone at significant health risk, since it no longer has a substantial source of nutrients. However, even badly stressed and bleached anemones can recover if placed in a stable, healthy environment. Daily feedings and appropriate light conditions will help the animal to rebuild its zooxanthellae population and reacquire its normal tan/brownish color over time. This process may take a while – three months is not unusual.

 

[thomas712]

Feeding Your Anemone
Feeding can range from 3 times a week to every 2 weeks. Some aquarists have had success not directly feeding their anemones at all, although the anemones could be catching food meant for fish You can use any of the following types of foods, but remember to try to keep the pieces no larger than the size of the anemones mouth or the size of a pencil eraser.
Mysis shrimp, krill, silversides, clams, scallops, frozen plankton, cyclopeeze, crab, or even some small pieces of fish found at the local meat market. A large bag of peeled and divided shrimp can be obtained from one of the local supermarkets and may last a very long time, and has the advantage of being fit for human consumption. The above foods can usually be sucked up in a turkey baster and gently squeezed into the tentacles surrounding the oral disk, if healthy, hungry and sticky the anemone will grab onto the food and draw it in. In some cases like feeding silversides or krill to carpet anemones you can use a pair of plastic aquarium tongs to place the food into the tentacles of the anemone.
Never use frozen brine shrimp or the dehydrated kind, its nutritional value is almost worthless.
Never force feed your anemone, it will either take in the food or it will not, in some cases it may eject the food after a few hours, do not try to re feed it for a few days, most likely it is simply full and had enough.
Try to remember that most hobbyists will over feed their anemones, imagine what they really would get in the wild. I raise Bubble Tip Anemones and sometimes will go 2 months without having to feed them. Carpet anemones would be a different story, you may still need to feed them on a weekly basis. Over feeding can lead to reduced water quality, particularly around the anemone itself if it expels food often and the food lays idle around the anemones area.
Also remember that feeding is no substitute for improper lighting, it will only delay the inevitable slow starvation in my opinion. The zooxanthellae that lives in the anemone must have light in order to survive and continue its photosynthesis. It is this zooxanthellae that provides the anemone with nutrition.
Liquid foods and target foods may actually be harmful to your anemones directly, and indirectly through degradation of the water quality of the aquarium. I know there are a lot of additives out there that boast that they are ideal for anemones, in my opinion don’t believe it.
You may also try making your own homemade food in an attempt to keep additives and preservatives out of them. This may be one of the best things you can do for both fish and your anemones as well as other inverts.
Here is an article written by Beth about making your own food.
Home Made Food for Fish and Many Inverts
I basically make my own fish foods. You can get a bag of frozen seafood which are sold to make seafood salads, oriental foods, etc., at the grocery store [ask the attendant at the seafood counter] or you can see what is available directly from the fresh seafood counter such as: octopus, scallops, shrimp, squid, clams, etc. Generally, no oily fish, such as salmon, however, if you have a fish that is suffering from Head and Lateral Line Erosion [HLLE], you can certainly target feed the effected fish with small pieces of oily foods a few times a wk [high in Omega3 Fatty Acids which is known to improve many cases of HLLE. Food process** this mix until it is pretty much a "mush" then roll it out on a flat pan in a square shape. Freeze it until it is solid, but not frozen like a block. Depending on how much seafood you have, you may be able to cut this up in a few 4" sq blocks [the size that brine shrimp is pkged in--the non-cube variety]. Do the cutting then place each "block" into a small freezer ziplock for storage [each having their own bag]. You can cut off chunks as needed for feeding. Use Zoecon or minced fresh garlic added directly into the seafood as you food process. If you are also feeding your fish veggies, like seaweed selects, shredded carrots, broccoli, etc., you can, as well, mix this right into the food processor with the sea food. If your fish likes a particular frozen food a lot, go ahead and mix that in as well.
Make sure you wash down your fresh foods thoroughly before mixing and let them drain off excess water before you begin the food processing. No need to add any water to the mix. In fact, I don’t suggest doing that at all.
As far as I'm concerned, home made foods made specific for your type of fish is the way to go, particularly fish that are obviously not healthy. It is easy and cheaper than the watered down foods that are sold for the hobby. Look at the ingredients of any frozen foods sold for the hobby. What is the primary ingredient----? “Moisture”…..yeah, your fish needs more of that, right……….
**I use a small dedicated food processor/chopper that cost me around $12. Excellent just for this purpose.