Condylactis Gigatea or Florida Condy

[thomas712]

I am going to attempt to write out something in order to help others know more about a commonly purchased anemone that, well might very well be wrong for your tank and some reasons why. I am comparing a few articles on the net as well as some feedback by our own members here.
Condy Anemone - Condylactis gigatea
Also known as: Condy Anemone, Atlantic Anemone, Haitian Anemone, Florida Condy, and Golden Anemone.
First off lets start out by telling you that-- Unlike other anemones, the Condy Anemone does not have a relationship with any particular fish, and it is unusual for any type of clownfish to form a symbiotic relationship within them. Why? because the Condylactis is from the Atlantic Ocean It is found throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, in lagoons or on inner reefs, as individuals, or loose groups. And our beloved clownfish are from the Pacific Ocean which means that the two don't know that they exist and this is why they do not share any normal symbiotic relationship with each other in the wild.
You would have as much of a chance having your clownfish host in a harry mushroom or leather coral, Xenia or star polyps.
Point is the chances are slim that any clownfish will host with the Condy, though it has been known to happen.
Another point I would like to tell you is that Codylactis as an Atlantic anemone would prefer to have tempratures a bit cooler than we normally run our reef tanks..ie 72 -78 degrees only.
There seems to be the age old debate about lighting with regards to this anemone. Some say they take strong lighting while others say that they are less light demanding like the Bubble Tip Anemone.
I like to call this anemone a tumble weed anemone as most of the time in LFS tanks I see them floating or spinning around the tank, almost never attached to anything.
Also some articles say they prefer a sand substrate while another states it prefers the rocks. My opinion on this having had two in my day years ago would be the sand substrate. But I have heard about them being on the rocks as well.
Crazy how many articles I have seen on these Condy's that contradict each other. Remember LFS and other online advertisements will always paint themselves in the best color or situation. Always do your research first.
It has been reported that clown fish living in this type of anemone also have problems with skin diseases.
I would like to hear from some of you that have kept condy anemones, please share your experience even if it was a bad one. Tell us what kind of lighting you had and what the behavior of the anemone was like.
Most of all I would like to hear if you had a clownfish pair up with a condy and what type of clownfish it was, so I can get a list going of what type might accept the Condy anemone.
Thomas

 

[brigmanj]

I have what was sold to me as a atlantic anemone from the local fish store. Dont know if that is a condy or not. When I got him he was a white with a hint of purple tint to him. Now he is huge and shrinks once a week to poop. He eats almost anything that i have tried feeding him. I feed him krill or formula one vhp most of the time. I do use iodide in the tank every othe day. Back to the question ay hand. I first had a black sebae host in him.Then I lost him to a powerhead sponge coming off. After that a xanthurus took shelter in it until I got a tomato clown that kicked him out. He now lives in the xenia I have.

 

[clarkiiclo]

I have a large Condy- my first anemone. It has never left the rock we originally set him on.
Ocassionally he will do a circle around the rock and then heads right back to the same spot.
I have a Clarkii clown(wild) that hosts with him. The condy never seems to be stressed about it. The Clarkii feeds him well.
I picked up a little perc not too long ago hoping he would take to a small bubble that was on another rock. No such luck. So I purchased a small green bubble. Before the perc even had a chance to see the GBA the Clarkii had taken it over.

Now he hosts both! He will run back and forth between the two. Sometimes he sleeps in the Condy, somtimes the GBA. The poor little perc is homeless(sort of). He likes my big toadstool.
I will see if I can get a pic of him in both anemones.

 

[xnikki118x]

I had a maroon clown host a condy/haitian anemone. They were both lost, along with all the livestock in my tank, due to an ammonia spike from a bad cleaning decision on my part.
Now I have another condy/haitian, and it's always big and happy as a clam except for when my cleaner shrimp bothers it. I have an oscillaris clown which doesn't host it.
I had flourescent lights for both, and I recently (last week) upgraded to PC lighting. Also, I keep my temperature at about 79-80 during the day, 77-78 at night.

 

[7archer7]

free diving for lobster has given me plenty of opportunity to view these fascinating animals in the wild. normally, they are quite conservatively colored; mostly pail/white with purple tips. they seem to be most abundant in about 9' of water. and they seem to park themselves in small holes in the rock so as to only expose their tenticles. i have not had one yet, but they are really cool to watch in the wild.

 

[newbiereef]

i had a florida condy and i have 2 tomatoes that hosted within hours. thought id share this tid bit of info

 

[powers]

I also have a condy that has been host to a maroon clown. It has not moved from its spot. I run pc lighting and my temp is about 80 - 82 degrees.
Leslie

 

[poop_head]

I also have a Condi and a Gold Striped Maroon Clown(Wild Caught) that love each other. The water temp is around 80-82. I have 4x65 PC lighting. I believe that the condi was a little bleached at first but he is starting to pick up a cream color now. It did take about 2 weeks for them to take to each other. I always here people say it is extremely rare and stuff, but it seems like it does occur.

 

[speg]

I know it's a old post first of all!
Secondly, I have witnessed tomato clowns hosting condys twice.

 

[nanocuber7]

i have seen those condi anemones in the wild in the florida keys. they are everywere. in some places you cant put your foot down without stepping on one. and i dont see how they live out there when you compare how brright our metal halides bulbs are when they are close up. to me it looked like they were living in pretty dim lighting from the sun.

 

[parameat]

I have a pink florida condi... no clownfish yet for him to host. I have a florescent light, just a cheap one that says it's good for corals till I order my orbit lights... he never really moves from his little crevice in the rock, and is a big eater. My peppermint shrip like to annoy him though. I hope he'll host the maroon pair I ordered...

 

[37g joe]

Well my condi use to be only under 17 watts of light in my 37 gallon (was told this was alright but after doing research now have a 130 watt pc lighting but the condi was under the 17 watts for about 6 monthes maybe i was lucky) Now no clownfishes have made my condi a host but my anenome crab loves the condi he even moves the condi around the tank and always returns to the condi if he goes searching for food. my condi perfers to be on rock work as long as the crab does not move him. I have had him get sucked into the power head twice I very gently remove him and with in days he is back to normal. he eats almost any food I give him I even fed him a small gold fish that my sister inlaw was trying to get rid of it was pretty cool to watch.