Mr. Saltwater Tank Friday AM Quick Tip: Don’t Count That Anemone Out Just Yet
Who doesn’t love a sea anemone in a saltwater tank? Their soft tentacles provide motion in your tank and when a clownfish sets up house in one of them, the symbiotic relationship is enjoyable to watch. If you don’t know what to look for, then a sea anemone can trick you as explained in this quick tip.
What about when it turns grey with black spots and starts turning the water cloudy?
I didn’t think mine was coming back from that. ..
Yeah Dan. Sounds like your nem might be dying. Typically when an anemone goes through what Mark is calling a water change, they remain brightly colored. The thing to watch out for that would indicate an anemone might be dying is that it will loose it’s color.
Dan…as Bryan mentioned, it doesn’t sound good for your anemone. Other sign of dying is that the anemone will eject its inside organs. During a water change, the anemone simply deflates.
Hey mark, my BTA uses to be about 15cm across and now for the past year, after moving tanks (upgrade) twice, it has shrivelled up and comes out in about 3 inch. Is it dying or what’s the go with it you reckon? Water is sweet as and so is lighting. It’s hot here in Queensland and I’ve even got a chiller on it. The clowns have given up on it and moved into my Duncan. Any ideas?
This may be a little off the subject you sayd setting up house iv got several clowns and they dont use the anem. Is there a trick to that ? Oooor just let nature take its course????
My hot pink bubble tip was about 5 inches 6 months ago, it was looking rough the past month and a half while it was moved into my other tank for my black clowns… After many water changed and replacement filter media it’s back to 1.5 inches again open and bright pink and white again! (it was down to a half inch blob on the side of my tank glass for a bit). I have thought of moving it back to my reef tank again but don’t want to stress it out again… Good idea or get it in the happy tank it was thriving in? Either way it’s doing better with new media even thou my reading have been pristine!
Wes, i’ve had great luck with putting pictures up in the tank of clown in anems…. Put them where they hang so they can see it threw the glass… Then after at least a week use a net or two and heard them near the anemones… It’s love at first touch/bump… Hence why I moved my hot pink btip in with my black and white clowns…. Good luck!
Hey Wes, you need to check out this compatibility chart for clowns and anemones. I have some tomato clowns and they took to my RBTA immediately but my occ. clown did not. You just need to pick the right nem for the right clowns.
http://www.fishlore.com/clownfishanemonechart.htm
It is really a hit or miss deal. The combinations in the chart improve your chances but there really are no guarantees.
My LTA has shrivelled up and moved a little over from the spot he has been but his mouth is not open. I have been worried about him since it has been a few weeks since he has been fully back to normal size. My clown still hangs with him though.
Are many people cultivating home breed anemones. As this had become common with fish how about anemones? Haven’t heard much about them
I love my condylactis anemone, but it’s not a host type for my clownfish. My girlfriend and I would really love to see our clownfish playing around in an anemone, what species of anemone should I look for?
Does anyone know what type of anemone mark has in his tank in the background of this video?
Jack, looks like a rose bubble tip anemone. Justin, what species of clownfish do you have?
I have 5 RBTA’s and 1 purple-tip Seabae I’ve had them for at least 3 years now. I also have a Maroon clown we call (Demon) that guards them all with a vengeance.. 🙂 I also have a Black Spotted Damsel we call him (Spot) that’s full grown, when the Demon isn’t looking he will snuggle up with one of the RBTA’s. I know Mark doesn’t approve of Damsel’s but you might try one. They do grow up to about 4-5 inches as adults so make sure your tank is big enough.
I think RBTA’s are the easiest to raise, I started with just one and have had as many as 9 of them in my tank. I gave away 2 of them to a friend and sold one to my L.F.S. for $200.00 They also require a lot of room mine are all about 12-18 inches across and anywhere from 1 to 2 feet long depending on their location in the rocks.
Bryan, do you think it is a rose bubble tip? I havent seen one that big before.
I have two of them, i had one and it split, and both are about 1/3 of it.
Jack.. It is definitely a RBTA.. all of mine are at least that big or bigger.. 🙂
My Condy deflates itself. I got upset the first time it did it because I thought it was dying. Then worried I had bad water so I spent a lot of time testing, water changes, and took samples to the 2 fish stores I use (Philly area).
And how about this! My domino damsels LOVE the Condy. Go figure
This is good info Mark
Yeah, what Buddy said. I have had RBTAs that were at least 6″-8″ across in my 90 gallon. However I have a friend that has a 240 gallon and he has had them get up to at least a foot in diameter. That variety of RBTA splits like crazy. I got rid of all of mine because the were splitting and moving all over my tank. The nem that I have now is a rainbow RBTA. It has split 3 times in 3 years and hasn’t moved an inch.
Wow, i had no idea they got that big. How do you do that? Less feeding? I feed mine 2x a week.
I used to feed mine 2-3 times per week. Now I only feed a few times per month. My friend with the 240 gallon never feeds his nems.
No need to feed your nem, especially if it hosts a clown. In fact, Mark has covered this in previous videos I believe. I have never fed mine and it has split multiple times. I’ve had it for over 7 years now and it and its offspring are doing great. The original one hosts a maroon clown that has been with it the entire time. The offspring does not have a clown but I never feed it either and it actually has nicer bubble tips than the parent nem.
Mine Nem always stays at the top on the glass of my tank, and when I do my water change it hangs from where it is mounted and is out of water. I try to be careful and pump the water from the bottom while adding the fresh water to the top. Wish I could get him to move lower in the tank, anyone have any ideas.
I have a RBTA about three inches round that SPLIT in two, ( WOW ) now the two of them are small and dull,
Make sure it doesn’t get close to a powerhead. I would remove if from the glass and put in on your rock somewhere it won’t get a lot of flow. Maybe even turn off your powerheads for a few hours to see if it will stay put. Be careful when removing it from the glass not to damage the foot.
I have a RBTA about 10” when inflated in a 75 gallon reef and the focal point of the tank. It has been very happy for over a year in the same spot. About 3 weeks ago I redid the aquascaping but did not touch it’s rock because it has been doing so well. In less than 24 hours it decided that it wasn’t very happy about the changes that I made to the neighborhood and decided to move next door to the high rise. (Amazing how fast they can move when they want to). Last night while cleaning the glass I everything looked normal and it seemed happy as always. Well this morning when I came in to feed I noticed it had moved during the night and low and behold it had split. The other half seems happy and is fully inflated back inside the rocks.
My question is how often is natural dividing in a tank? I have seen things online for dividing them yourself but nothing about the natural way. Also does this process happen that quickly? Last night it looked as if it were one. This morning a “split personality”!
I would never attempt to split an anemone. Allow this to happen naturally. Anemones are not like coral and should not be cut. As to how often they split, I have had nems that split every 2 or 3 months. The one that I have has split 3 times in 3 years.
Anemones do this now and again. My malu when fully expanded reached 14 inches across. But one day it went down to the size of a fried egg! Fortunately after a few days it sprung back to its normal size.
my pink Bubble Tip has stayed pretty much in the same spot for 6 months. He has now moved to the back wall of my tank right at the water line. How do I do my water change? Is it OK for him to be out of water? He is Right at the top!
Thank you
Lisa…your bubble tip will be fine out of the water for a few minutes while you do your water change.
Thank you. I will try it. I am aiming the flow towards him as I read this might encourage him to move but I need to do my water change so if he doesn’t move I will just go ahead and do the change.