food for anemone, flower & Condy

[swlover]

Hi I need some help with my condy and flower/rock anemone. I can't get them to accept food. I have brine shrimp (frozen) & formula one (frozen) anything else I can try? I have a curley Q which loves both and is doing great on those foods. Also my flower wouldn't attach to sand and keeps moving up the rock..so I put him up there on top but he still looks funny. See photo. I'm getting better light system, they are on order and should be here in a couple of days. will he be ok until then? I have a double light system now (which I made myself out of two strip lights on top of glass canopy) Let me know what to feed them please and how often..thanks.

 

[hagfish]

Let the anemone's walk where they want to. If they are floating, just put them in a low flow area so they have a chance to grab on.
Try feeding something that's a little bigger like krill or silversides (no whole probably). If you just got them, I would leave them alone for a little while. Don't move them, and if they aren't accepting food then don't feed them. Just wait a few days.

 

[swlover]

Yes I did just get them about 4 days ago..I will leave him there since he looks better than he did on the sand bed. On a side note my condy (which is in another tank) got stuck in one of my power heads..luck would have it I was home when it happened. I gentaly pulled him out and other than having a few bent tentacles, he is fine. He is now quit wondering and situated himself on a rock..seems he learned his lesson. He did spew brown stuff afterward (I guess it scared the crap out of him!) I know now he was expelling waste..thought that was kind of ironic.
After I posted this the first time..while waiting for an answer I thought I'd try using a hypo to give food..he did accept it and is now happy. The flower had a small amount also with the hypo which leads me to another question..should I clean the hypo after I feed one anemone, and before feeding the second? or does it matter? I know they grab it so I'm wondering if they are sending out the stinging cells to the hypo? Thanks for your answer..this forum really helps me with some questions I can't find any where else. Oh here is my pic of the condy..with his bent tentacles

 

[hagfish]

Hypo? What is a hypo? I assume something to spray some food on them. Again, I would get some bigger food like krill or silversides and just place it on the tentacles by hand. With smaller foods, a lot of it is going to float by the tentacles and you could end up with too much extra food in the tank.
In case you are not aware, the whitish color of both anemone's is a sign of poor health. They don't have much zooxanthelae so they are not receiving the nutritional benefits of them. What kind of lighting are you getting? These don't really require high lighting, but I think it's easier to keep anemone's under higher lighting.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by hagfish
I would get some bigger food like krill or silversides and just place it on the tentacles by hand. With smaller foods, a lot of it is going to float by the tentacles and you could end up with too much extra food in the tank.
These don't really require high lighting, but I think it's easier to keep anemone's under higher lighting.
im sorry but both of these statements are highly misleading and incorrect.
I have done alot of different research in the efforts of saving my anenome .in all of my research not one of these stamement were used as a posative enviroment for any anenome.
if the animal cannot catch the smaller foods to eat ,then it will not be able ingest the larger foods.
anenomes should be fed small peices of foods such as mysis ,phankton ,cyclopseze .chopped meaty foods are also ok but finely chopped is best for easier digestion. silver slides and large peices are not good for captive anenomes they cannot digest the skin and bones of the fish and end up regergitating undigested parts of this fish.larger peices take more time to digest also causing loss of nutrients it needs to be healthy.the smaller the food the easier to digest and less waste will be let back into your tanks
also as far as lighting goes all anenomes except the pest variety aiptasia ect. DO require higher light sources MH to strive in health in a captive enviroment no exceptions for a long life span.yes you may be able to sustane an anenome for some time under less lighting depending on species but you will also have shortened the life span of the animal by doing so.
also you have more than one anenome in your tank this also is not good
the survival of each species is compimized when mixing species in a captive enviroment
each of your anenomes will release toxins into your tank in order to kill off the other species (a form of chemical warfare) some may live longer than other depending on the tank size and filteration of each system but it is inevidable that only one will survive if your lucky.
if you need any other help with this matter feel free to ask im more than happy to help if i can as far as the syringe cleaning I dont think that should be a problem either way ps i give my anenome cyclopseze (liquid life)daily and a mixture of mysis shrimp,phlankton,.finely chopped meaty foods like squid, shrimp,bits of fish(fine sw variety)(shelled) ect.

 

[swlover]

Originally Posted by unleashed
im sorry but both of these statements are highly misleading and incorrect.
I have done alot of different research in the efforts of saving my anenome .in all of my research not one of these stamement were used as a posative enviroment for any anenome.
if the animal cannot catch the smaller foods to eat ,then it will not be able ingest the larger foods.
anenomes should be fed small peices of foods such as mysis ,phankton ,cyclopseze .chopped meaty foods are also ok but finely chopped is best for easier digestion. silver slides and large peices are not good for captive anenomes they cannot digest the skin and bones of the fish and end up regergitating undigested parts of this fish.larger peices take more time to digest also causing loss of nutrients it needs to be healthy.the smaller the food the easier to digest and less waste will be let back into your tanks
also as far as lighting goes all anenomes except the pest variety aiptasia ect. DO require higher light sources MH to strive in health in a captive enviroment no exceptions for a long life span.yes you may be able to sustane an anenome for some time under less lighting depending on species but you will also have shortened the life span of the animal by doing so.
also you have more than one anenome in your tank this also is not good
the survival of each species is compimized when mixing species in a captive enviroment
each of your anenomes will release toxins into your tank in order to kill off the other species (a form of chemical warfare) some may live longer than other depending on the tank size and filteration of each system but it is inevidable that only one will survive if your lucky.
if you need any other help with this matter feel free to ask im more than happy to help if i can as far as the syringe cleaning I dont think that should be a problem either way ps i give my anenome cyclopseze (liquid life)daily and a mixture of mysis shrimp,phlankton,.finely chopped meaty foods like squid, shrimp,bits of fish(fine sw variety)(shelled) ect.
I keep them in seperate tanks now..I have three. a rock/flower, condy and curly q anemone. The lighting I know is in an issue, I'm in the process of getting better lighting. My curley Q loves and accepts frozen foods in small pieces, I do not want to feed silver sides as you have mentioned they can't digest the bones..plus the mess in the tank. The condy is light color because i just got him and he had a tramatic experience with a powerhead...my curley q was the same way and now is a deep pink/tan. I had the liquid life in my hand at the LFS and she (clerk) talked me out out of it..saying it was not nessary, I should have listen to my inner voice and got it anyway. I'm going tomorrow to a few shops in the next city to see what they offer as far as foods..ours dosen't have much of anything and they have NO lighting other than a basic hood light. I'm really stumped as far as the flower, he just dosen't seem to want to eat. The others grab ahold and really go at it..but I will be patient and see what happens. I feed them 3 times a week sometimes more. I have heard so many different stories on feeding them from..once a month, to every day, to a couple of tmes a week. 3 times a week seems good for the curley Q, although he will accept it everyday, he steals pieces floating by that I feed my clowns. I think once a month is kinda cruel, seems like starving them to me?? Thanks for your help...

 

[swlover]

Originally Posted by hagfish
Hypo? What is a hypo? I assume something to spray some food on them. Again, I would get some bigger food like krill or silversides and just place it on the tentacles by hand. With smaller foods, a lot of it is going to float by the tentacles and you could end up with too much extra food in the tank.
In case you are not aware, the whitish color of both anemone's is a sign of poor health. They don't have much zooxanthelae so they are not receiving the nutritional benefits of them. What kind of lighting are you getting? These don't really require high lighting, but I think it's easier to keep anemone's under higher lighting.
A hypodermic syringe..without the needle part. And I just purchased these they were white like that when I got them...the curley q I got was the same color, now he is dark tan/pink.

 

[hagfish]

Feeding once a month isn't starving the anemone if it is under a lot of light. They will get most of their nutritions from the zooxanthelae, which gets it's nutrition from light. For photosynthetic anemone's it is probably more cruel to keep them in a tank with insufficient lighting and assume that feeding it meaty foods will be enough.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by unleashed
im sorry but both of these statements are highly misleading and incorrect.
I have done alot of different research in the efforts of saving my anenome .in all of my research not one of these stamement were used as a posative enviroment for any anenome.
if the animal cannot catch the smaller foods to eat ,then it will not be able ingest the larger foods.
anenomes should be fed small peices of foods such as mysis ,phankton ,cyclopseze .chopped meaty foods are also ok but finely chopped is best for easier digestion. silver slides and large peices are not good for captive anenomes they cannot digest the skin and bones of the fish and end up regergitating undigested parts of this fish.larger peices take more time to digest also causing loss of nutrients it needs to be healthy.the smaller the food the easier to digest and less waste will be let back into your tanks
also as far as lighting goes all anenomes except the pest variety aiptasia ect. DO require higher light sources MH to strive in health in a captive enviroment no exceptions for a long life span.yes you may be able to sustane an anenome for some time under less lighting depending on species but you will also have shortened the life span of the animal by doing so.
also you have more than one anenome in your tank this also is not good
the survival of each species is compimized when mixing species in a captive enviroment
each of your anenomes will release toxins into your tank in order to kill off the other species (a form of chemical warfare) some may live longer than other depending on the tank size and filteration of each system but it is inevidable that only one will survive if your lucky.
if you need any other help with this matter feel free to ask im more than happy to help if i can as far as the syringe cleaning I dont think that should be a problem either way ps i give my anenome cyclopseze (liquid life)daily and a mixture of mysis shrimp,phlankton,.finely chopped meaty foods like squid, shrimp,bits of fish(fine sw variety)(shelled) ect.
Hey thanks for the flame pal. Reguardless, it is pretty common to feed anemone's krill and silversides. And I did suggest high lighting. But the anemone's mentioned are among the lowest light demanding of the photosynthetic anemone's. I believe the curly cue is closely related to aiptasia even.
This person is already trying to feed small foods. It's not working. There is nothing wrong with feeding larger foods that aren't as likely to get blown away by current or just floating away. I don't use silversides, but I do use krill and it doesn't seem to cause any problems. They don't have to feed an entire krill or silverside anyway. You can break a little piece off.

 

[wesa]

When all else fails, try making your own food with the fresh garlic. My little condi eats like a pig when I offer her chunks of homemade as does everything in the tank. I had a different condi that got stuck like yours & had far more damage to the tentacles. Thought that one was a real goner but she bounced back pretty good. Several months later my dogfaced puffer ate her. Guess she just wasn't meant to be.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by Wesa
When all else fails, try making your own food with the fresh garlic. My little condi eats like a pig when I offer her chunks of homemade as does everything in the tank. I had a different condi that got stuck like yours & had far more damage to the tentacles. Thought that one was a real goner but she bounced back pretty good. Several months later my dogfaced puffer ate her. Guess she just wasn't meant to be.
yeop puffers will do things like that

 

[swlover]

Well it always seems when I post questions about FEEDING someone always mentions lighting..Some of you may be aware or not, but in the victorian era anemone keeping was a big hobby for well to do ladies. They didn't have MH lights, big expensive filters, protein skimmers etc. These people kept anemone in fish bowls, stirred the water once a day, changed the water once a week and fed them once a month, beef heart..there are several cases where the anemone out lived their keepers. So you tell me..these are documented cases, not stories. I have went to the library and looked it up. The only reason I asked is because my anemone was being picky, and needed some sujestions, I have since then figured it out with the help of Unleashed. I have been keeping freshwater fish for over 20 years..sw is new to me but basicly the same concept, mimic their enviroment, water, & food, quality are key to all..you could have great lighting but if your feeding habits and water quality is lacking it will die. And please remember there are exceptions to every thing..I have proved that many times over, I have kept puffers with gold fish & betas for 6 years and they not only survived but flourished..like I said fish will adapt, nature is a wonderous thing and keeps amazing me every day. Thank you for all the sujestions.

 

[hagfish]

Originally Posted by swlover
Well it always seems when I post questions about FEEDING someone always mentions lighting..Some of you may be aware or not, but in the victorian era anemone keeping was a big hobby for well to do ladies. They didn't have MH lights, big expensive filters, protein skimmers etc. These people kept anemone in fish bowls, stirred the water once a day, changed the water once a week and fed them once a month, beef heart..there are several cases where the anemone out lived their keepers. So you tell me..these are documented cases, not stories. I have went to the library and looked it up. The only reason I asked is because my anemone was being picky, and needed some sujestions, I have since then figured it out with the help of Unleashed. I have been keeping freshwater fish for over 20 years..sw is new to me but basicly the same concept, mimic their enviroment, water, & food, quality are key to all..you could have great lighting but if your feeding habits and water quality is lacking it will die. And please remember there are exceptions to every thing..I have proved that many times over, I have kept puffers with gold fish & betas for 6 years and they not only survived but flourished..like I said fish will adapt, nature is a wonderous thing and keeps amazing me every day. Thank you for all the sujestions.
The pertinent question is, what kind of anemone's were they keeping? I mean aiptasia and some others are practically unkillable unless you actually try to kill them.
Ron Shimek has stated that it is possible to keep anemone's healthy for long periods with minimal lighting. Seeing how he is an expert who has studied this in detail I believe him. But the key word is that he is an expert. He can stare at the anemone all day and concentrate all his efforts on it if he wants to. The bottom line is that MANY people try anemone's with minimal lighting, even normal output lighting and there are very few examples of success today. I really wouldn't put a lot of effort in trying to duplicate aquariast methods from the victorian era. There are thousands of people keeping anemone's these days and many don't survive, especially those under low lighting. If you try it with low light, you will probably fail as nearly everyone does.

 

[swlover]

Well at any rate, there's alot more stress today than years ago..they go thru so many hands before they get to you that it's a wonder they survive at all. My point here is that everyone is so intent on the lighting for their survival, it's only part of it. And no one starts out an expert, it takes years of failure and success, thats how we learn and the only failue I will experience is if I don't learn from my mistakes.

 

[thomas712]

Originally Posted by swlover
And no one starts out an expert, it takes years of failure and success, that's how we learn and the only failure I will experience is if I don't learn from my mistakes.
Nicely put

But you have to understand people and the way they think. Its almost one of those things that go hand in hand, or like free association.
Say anemone and someone will ask about lights.
Say Sand and someone will say something about pods.
Say nitrates and someone will say nutrients.
Say calcium and someone will say alkalinty.
Go to work and some one will say "Are we having fun yet"
It's inevitable

Thomas