Rose Anemone

[bevo5]

Ok - so I made a mistake and listened to the advice at the LFS....they've never steered me wrong but on this occasion they sent me home with a beautiful rose anemone.

 

Why is this a mistake? Well, I'm about 6weeks in on my first reef tank (stock biocube 29). I've got a variety of other corals and fish that have been doing well (knock on wood) and the guy thought this would be an easy enough step forward. I've been keeping african cichlids for 20+ years so I'm pretty familiar with general water condition type stuff. So I'm not worried about that....

 

It's doing well and captured some food today so seems happy enough. Got him on Saturday.

 

So a few questions...before I just decide to take him back and exchange it for something easier:

-I put his rock in the sand away from other rocks so he doesn't go cruising. It's a medium flow area and he is getting flow. Not sure if it's too much or too little. Is there a general rule of thumb?

-About three hours ago he did something new - pulled away from the rock and really angling towards the nearest other rock. Is this him trying to move?

-He got some of the Reef Frenzy i fed the fish. I'm assuming it's safe for them? What else would you all reco?

 

Here's a photo - it was lights out a couple hours ago so forgive the moonlight blues and he's about 1/2 the size of what he is normally:

 

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[jestep]

You wont be able to stop him from moving if he doesn't like his spot. It's hard to say whether he is planning on moving from this picture though. Obviously their foot is what moves and I don't think I've noticed any correlation with the direction their tentacles are aiming when they do move. I would lean towards unrelated in this picture.

 

As far as nems go these guys are more hardy than most coral. As long as you aren't still in your cycle, he should be fine with normal routine water changes and remotely stable params. With the exception of them completely dying, mine tend to split or move a lot when they're not happy.

[BoxKing]

It looks healthy for now, but it will soon require better lighting. That is under the assumption that the stock lighting isnt sufficient to keep a RBTA at full health. Id get him next to other rock, so that it can move to a position that suits its needs; hopefully the choice will keep the anemone in a highly visible spot in your tank. Feed the nem small bits of silversides, or other small meaty frozen foods. I found that it helps to fees the nem smaller pieces that it fin in its mouth more frequently, than trying to stuff him full for the rest of the week in one shot.

ps... good lighting is a good way to supplementary feed the nem.. I really cant see it doing well without it.

[Tamberav]

Assuming your lighting is capable, I would keep him. They are pretty easy anemones.

 

Putting him on a lone rock won't stop him. Mine has crawled across the sand and up the glass. Sometimes they will also go floating around which is bad... since they can block overflows and get shredded in pumps. He won't stop trying to move until he finds a spot he is happy with.

[CronicReefer]

The biggest warning sign to look for is if he starts turning himself inside out. This can indicate that it may die soon.

[bevo5]

Awesome - thank you all for the tips and advice. He is back to normal today...big and spread out. He captured more of the reef frenzy today, hopefully that's cool. I don't see how it wouldn't be...no way to stop pieces from flying into him. Why do I say HE? ha.

 

I'm looking at upgrading to Steve's LEDs so I might just go ahead and do that. Seems like a smart move so that light is never an issue.

[BoxKing]

^^ Its a whole new world when lighting doesn't get in your way ^^