Should i get an anemone

[saltywhit67]

I have a newer 75 gal tank and i am wanted to include a pink hatian anemone in my order of inverts. After reading the description and such they make it sound hard to acclimate. Can someone take me thru these steps. Has anyone successfully ordered and maintained an anemone from this site?

 

[birdy]

Do not get an anemone right now. Anemones are one of the most difficult animals in saltwater to keep alive. They require an established tank (6m-1yr at the least), MH lighting, very good water quality. Even then most reefer's cannot keep them alive very long, a year is considered a long time ( in the wild many live hundreds of years). There is only one type of anemone that seems to do pretty well in captivity and that is the bubble tip, even then you want to wait until your tank is established and you should buy a clone, not one from the wild.
My advise is to wait and get a lot more information about them.
I heard someone say once, that once you know all the reasons you should not keep an anemone, then you can try one.

 

[cprdnick]

Very well put Birdy. I second that explanation.

 

[saltywhit67]

I am kinda experienced so i know the reasons not to get one. I was gonna get this one because it is only 7 bucks. Not a big loss if it does die. I was asking for acclimation procedure and how to maintain. thank you for your time

 

[cprdnick]

Right, watch it, the SWF.com lynch mob is looming around somewhere. Do your research before you buy this thing. You say if it dies no biggy right? Well, let me tell ya something, it WILL die, your tank is not old enough for it. If you can include the term "my tank is newer" it's not old enough. When it dies, not only will it be a waste of an innocent creature to the ignorance of someone that won't listen, but it will also be the demise of the rest of the inhabitants in the tank. When it dies it will release toxins in the water and kill everything in your tank including your nitifying bacteria in a matter of hours.
Do that creature a favor and leave it where it is.

 

[aarone]

Not a big loss if it does die
i dont know you so its not a big deal if you die.
dude thats a big deal to the anemone. just dont get it.
aaron

 

[birdy]

some people

 

[aarone]

they should only need to be floated in the tank for 15 minutes and released onto some LR
Fish_boi,
You are not serious are you? 15 minute float acclimation...that will probably give it osmotic shock...then it will for sure die. If you even were going to get the anemone, i would acclimate it in the tank for about 2 hours minimum by floating the bag and dripping your tank water into the bag as well until it is double the size. Then you may take the anemone out and place it on a LR.
aaron

 

[trickle25]

i would say get it in 4-6 months....when i started i got one and it died in a week....i actually killed about 5 of them before if figure out the right conditions to keep it ...ive had one for about 10 months now....and if you dont buy it and kill it someone else will or it will just die in the pet store in a few months because obviously its not in the ocean any more so its fate is sealed...swf.com isnt here to protect or store marine life its here to make a buck and for people to enjoy the hobby....the other thing that bugs me on here is when people compare fish (pets) dying to people dying .( obviously they havent had someone close to the pass away).and is everyone on here who freaks out about a fish dieing a vegetarian...what about all those cows ...or think of where all those fish sticks come from ? oh and my god those poor brine shrimp they get frozen and fed to fish... this is a hobby ...i my self learned from trial and error....i hight doubt that anyone on here when they fist started didnt kill a couple of fish every month or so...

 

[birdy]

That isn't the point, the point is that many have tried and failed and why cause needless death, If many people have tried something and failed and finally they figure out that it either just cannot be done, or there is a better way to do it, then you would listen to them.
In this hobby we have a responsibilty to wildlife. I know it does no good to tell this to you because obviously you don't care, but it makes me feel better to say it. Mentality just like yours is the reason there are so many exctinct animals and that people look at our hobby as destroying the reefs. I say shame on you.

 

[trickle25]

yes many have tried and failed but he hasnt tried and failed he hasnt had the experience that comes with the hobby when the animal dyes....if people on here actually felt they had a responsibility to marine life they would not take them out of there natural habitat to be placed in glass coffins for our enjoyment ..but we do so ..and yes its ok to buy fish to cycle a tank and have them die during the process but when it comes to other marine life its not ok ?....nothing in a tank lives as long as it should .....and an anemone is no differen...its at swf.com for out enjoyment because we are so responsible

 

[reefnoob]

Trickle, that was one of the best posts I have read yet..... well said.

 

[doodle1800]

Here's my $7 anenome - 6 M old tank - he's doing great as you can tell by his brown color. When I fist got him he was pure white, which means he wasn't healthy at the LFS. So - it can be done, hopefully it'll live long.

 

[doodle1800]

Birdy - I think you're taking his "$7 and if it dies so what" a little differently then he meant it. I don't think he/she means they don't care if it dies. I agree that finding info on a specimen before you purchase it is the right thing, and thats what they're doing. It didn't sound to me that this person was just going to throw an anenome in a tank without having good quality water and knows how to feed it.
just my .02

 

[saltywhit67]

Trickle you have made a ton of good points here. Thanks for that. and doodle thanks for understanding that i did not mean to say it as aarone explained. I have 4x65w 48" pc's ~ is this eneough lighting?

 

[doodle1800]

Originally posted by cprdnick
Do that creature a favor and leave it where it is.

where is that - the LFS?

 

[birdy]

Sorry if I sounded a bit testy last night, it was 1:30a.m. and I couldn't sleep because my husband was snoring so loud the neighbors could hear it .
Anyway, I just hate to see people kill animals that have no buisness being in captivity, if people realized the dismal outlook these animals have and really cared about it, they would stop buying them, if you stop buying them then the LFS's will stop collecting and selling them. There is an anemone out there that does fairly well (the bubble tip), you may have to spend a little more to get a clone, but if it lives and continues to split then the money you spent is well worth it. I just hate to see people throw away good advise and decided that they need to try it themselves. I worked at a zoo for 5 years and I saw first hand what taking animals out of the wild does to the animal and to the animals in the wild. We justified it by saying that we are trying to preserve life in captivity so that when it is extinct in the wild people will still be able to see them, I saw way too many animals die and It just broke my heart everytime. This hobby is advanced enough to know what animals should be kept by hobbiest and which should be left alone. Too many people feel like this earth is there's to stomp on and who gives a care what they kill in their path, and I think that is a shame.
I also agree that you do not have enough light and worse yet your tank is new, wait at least 6 months, upgrade your lights and look for a bubble tip clone, if you must have an anemone.

 

[doodle1800]

Originally posted by Birdy
sleep because my husband was snoring so loud the neighbors could hear it .


haaaa.

 

[birdy]

Yeah, but I got the last laugh, kicked his butt to the couch at 2:00a.m., he doesn't have to take care of twins at 6:00a.m.

 

[jsb]

This is some good reading. I like some good debating. I was actually thinking about purchasing one as well. My tank is about 4 months old. I've been using RO, and my levels have been pretty decent. I just got a second power head for excellent water flow. I just don't know if I have the right lighting, or what wattage I should run. My little boy wants to get a Clown of course, but I thought I should get an anemone before that. The LFS shop said I shouldn't worry about getting one, because most clowns are tank raised anyway. But then again I could ask 100 people and get 95 different answers. Go figure.