Lighting for anemone

[class clown]

I'm pretty much burned out from trying to absorb as much info as possible about reef lighting, esecially for keepipng anemones. I found this post from a few months ago by "cveach":
"In a 30 Gal reef you could use a 2 tube 48inch ballast to produce 220watts of light as well as a full spectrum. With VHO lighting there are choices in color for the bulbs; Actinic 03: Blue bulb for caring anemone's you will need a Actinic 03 bulb in a 2 bulb systsem. 50* 50: 50% blue 50% daylight 50* 50 light would be my recomended 2nd bulb in a 2 lamp setup. The Blue light penatrates water much better and I have found it is required for keep Anemone's"
Now, if I'm interpreting this correctly, it means that I should have a 2-bulb setup consisting of one Actinic 03 blue bulb and one 50/50 bulb (50% blue, 50% daylight), correct? Is the blue in the 50/50 the same as the Actinic 03 blue bulb? This would mean that I would have a total of 75% blue and 25% daylight, correct? Is this the best setup for keeping an anemone? Any other options? I also need some guidance on what the "K" means (as in 10,000K, which seems to be the most popular choice). I have a 29 gal. tank that measures 30" long by 12" deep with an oak canopy and I'm thinking about installing a retrofit kit with two 55 watt bulbs (110W total). What lenght should I use? Oh yeah, also, PC or VHO? What's the difference?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Browsing through the many mailorder companies and bb's just confuses the hell out of me. Thanks.

 

[adrian]

Yes, lighting can be very confusing If you want to keep an anemone in your 29 I would suggest either 2-4 75 watt VHOs with a 1:1 actinic:full spectrum bulb ratio, or a single metal halide, either running a bulb with a high kelvin rating (10-20K) or a blub with a lower kelvin rating (55k) with two normal output florescents with actinic bulbs. K=kelvin which is a measurement of color spectrum, a 55K bulb gives of a yellow to white color, where as a 10K gives of a crispe white with a little blue, a 20K gives of a lot of blue. The blue end of the spectrum is important for photosynthetic coral, more so for those coming from deeper water. VHO stands for very high output, these bulbs put out about twice the intesity of normal florescent bulbs and require a special ballast to run them. PC or power compact is also a type of florescent that requires a special ballast, these bulbs, IMO, have porr color quality, although they are very intense. Keep in mind that lighting is not the only thing an anemone needs, it also needs to be fed quite frequently and demands good water quality. I hope I did not confuse you any further HTH

 

[zachary]

On this same line, how often do you need to feed an anenome? I feed mine silversides now and he loves them. But I'm wondering how often people feed theirs. Thanks

 

[eric18]

lighting doesnt matter for anenomes all they nbeed is alot of protien its been proiven reently and plus mine prrof its under a rock and has been alive for a year i feed it silversides once and a while and its doing great

 

[adrian]

Yes, certain people on the web have made a statement that light is not important to anemones, while this is false, you can keep it alive if you feed it enough, of course the anemone will be bleached because the zooanthellae will leave due to the lack of light, but they can survive. If your keeping anemone without proper lighting you should feed it alot to make up for the loss of energy created through photosynthesis, if it has adequate light feeding every 2-3 days will be fine. Of course the more you feed it the faster it will grow. HTH

 

[peasly1]

for my 30 gal. I have a 36 in.florecent compact..110 wtts.w/2 anenomes for about 1yr I think its made by GE.been great but causes a little more alge on glass front..also anenome must be fed for that I have a marron clown for the host water temp 77-78 enjoy..

 

[silent bob]

i have 2x65 pc electro light kit on my 29 and it works great, i have a atinic on the back and 10,000k on the front, it's light spectrum is amazing and is as good as any vho, which SUCK by the way

 

[class clown]

So what exactly do you feed an anemone (and what are silversides)? Also, has anyone ever kept a sebae (pink-tipped) anemone succesfully (and by succesfully I mean a year or more)? I read and article on the web which stated that no one, not even public aquariums, have been able to keep a bleached sebae anemone for more than 8 months. So if one of you has been able to keep an anemone that has expelled its zooanthellae algae (bleached) for more than a year by properly feeding it, please let us know how! Ironically, this hard to keep anemone is the cheapest, most commonly available to the aquarist, and most widely accepted by all clownfish, which is why I gotta have one.

 

[bluewater]

I don't think "1 year" would be called
successful.
Considering the lifespan of anemones in the
ocean are "hundreds of years".

 

[class clown]

Originally posted by BlueWater:
<STRONG>I don't think "1 year" would be called
successful. Considering the lifespan of anemones in the ocean are "hundreds of years".</STRONG>
That's true. But I figured that if someone out there has a sebae anemone that's been living in captivity for more than a year without its algae, then he or she must be doing something right because the anemone survived the 8 month time frame that seems to be the limit of bleached sebaes. Many people sometimes keep a bleached sebae anemone for a few months and even watch them grow, thinking they are doing a good job but not knowing that their anemone's days are counted.

 

[t4stock]

3 questions on lighting/feeding specs: I have a 90-gallon, and I just added a medium-sized Long Tentacle and a small Hatian Pink-Tipped (I believe is how Tullock refers to in it one of his books I used as reference).
My lighting is as follws -- is this adequate?
2 x 65W Blue Actinics
2 x 175W 10,000K MH.
As an aside: I broke on MH and have subsequently ordered two replacements. Interestingly, though, my Long Tentacle has moved to the side WITHOUT the working MH on his fourth day in my tank? Waht do you make of this?
Feeding -- How often for direct feeding?

 

[peasly1]

1 yr may not be success but thats how long these have been kept so far,which is a little better than 1 wk or 1 month and they are getting huge,above I've listed my lighting,which also is for my 15 mushrooms,and 8 -10 fish,3 shrimp 4 snails 5 red legged hermitts in a 30 gal.The anenomes get nice size pieces of krill

 

[zachary]

Class clown,
I had the same problem trying to find out what silversides were. I was told on this BB to use them, but couldn't find them on the web. I ended up finding them at a LFS that sells frozen fish food. They are little(1 in) silver fish that my bubble tip anenome devours. I started feeding them about one month ago and the anenome looks much better and has grown about 20%. Someone mentioned above that their anenome moved away from the stronger light, mine did the same thing. I upgraded to pc and it moved into a cave. I posted a few questions about this at first because I had heard that anenomes like at least 6w per gallon and I only moved up to just over 3w per gallon. Alas, I just chalked it up to the unknown and am happy that it and it's tomato clown are happy.

 

[adrian]

Why would you want to keep a bleached anemone for any amount of time? Bleached=unhealthy and half dead... Their zooxanthellae is there for a reason. Anemones usually have two spots, a spot that is well illuminated, and a shady or "chill" spot, they will move between both, no one is really sure why they do this, but it is normal. You can also get bigger silver sides, 3-4", which is what most use, the smaller ones wont hurt, but it easier to feed one big one vs. a bunch of smaller ones. Most people who have long term success with anemones have adequate lighting and feed frequently, every other day or every three days. One year is not long term, its not bad, but like said above anemones are pretty much immortal in the wild. Some that keep anemones for long periods of time that suddenly die are probably due to feeding not being increased to compensate growth. IME metal halide lighting is a must to keep an anemone coloful and healthy, you can keep one bleached, according to dr.ron they can live a normal live span if fed enough, but why would you want to?

 

[class clown]

Truth is I DON'T want a bleached anemone. But it seems as if that's all you're going to get if you choose to buy a sebae/pink-tipped anemone (at least eventually). That's why I want to know if there is a way to save them even if they are bleached. From what I've read in a few articles on the internet, over 95% of them expell their zooxanthellae in captivity and are doomed no matter how healthy they look. Very few hobbyists know this. Unfortunately, sebaes are the most common and inexpensive anemones available and sell quite well. Another sad fact about the careless collectors and LFS in this hobby and the misinformation they provide customers to make a quick buck.

 

[adrian]

Class clown, Ive never heard of this I can see a lot of anemones bleaching while being kept at an LFS or during transport from the wild to the LFS, but would it not be possible for the anemone to regain its zooxanthellae once in the proper conditions. The hatian pink tipped anemone, are you talking about a Condalactus sp?

 

[class clown]

Adrian, I've read this in a few articles. Here's the most recent one I've read: http://www.actwin.com/fish/species/anemone.html (don't worry, this doesn't link to a commercial website). It says that it's hard for the pink tipped anemone to regain it's algae. However, I just checked and the pink-tipped anemone they talk about does not include condylactis, so I apologize if I caused any confusion. I'm trying to find another interesting article that pretty much backs this one up, and even states that a few anemomes have become extinct because of over-collection.
[ October 23, 2001: Message edited by: Class Clown ]

 

[reddog]

I'm new around here, so my opinion probably doesn't mean much but I'll give it anyway. I have a 75 gal. tank which I have kept a bubble-tipped anemone under 4x40 watt tubes. As far as whether or not my anemone is bleached, I wouldn't know because I'm not sure what that looks like. I have had this particular anemone for over six years in this same tank.
I am considering going to VHO on my system. Anyone have suggestions on acclimating or whether or not this is a bad idea? Thanks

 

[adrian]

Class clown, if this is true, that sebaes and the hatian pink tips you refer to, often bleach and are hard to keep long term, which I dont doubt, why not try a long tentacle or a bulb tip anemone, or is it only the sebae and pink tip your after?

 

[up north hermit]

Reddog:
I went to VHO and my bubble tips look fabulous, you won't BELIEVE the color you will see. Shortly after, my BT split, so I guess they like the light! (I now have three.)
I caution you however, acclimate them SLOWLY. Adding it all at once would be like going to the beach on the first day of summer and staying out there all day with no sunscreen after being indoors all winter. Go SLOW.
HTH
Hermit