Anemone Jar Inquiry

[RedTxn]

 

The popularity of jar reefs  coupled with the video below is inspiring me to create a desktop biotope with just anemones.  I used to have a bunodosoma cavernata in a 2 gallon while in college but that was almost 40 years ago when undergravel filters were the norm.  In the past decade I have seen others keep condys, rock flowers, bubble tip and even min-maxis in nano tanks, but there is something intriguing about going smaller and trying an anemone in a jar.

 

I came across this article and would like to do something similar but with a different, more colorful anemone. 

https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2017/10/31/when-i-say-aiptasia-you-say-pest-at-pratt-we-say-pet-instead/

 

First choice would be the red beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) but they are impossible to find in the USA.  Waratahs are also difficult to locate and they are cold water, therefore not being considered atm.  So my search is leaning towards majano's...  a green one or one with colored tips would be ideal.

 

The closest marine LFS is about 80 miles away so I really don't have the option of browsing through their live rock in the attempt to find one.  I am currently searching online and the reefing community for a colorful majano, but since most hobbyists kill them on sight my attempts to locate even a single specimen have not been productive.  

 

 

 

 

[Leo_ian]

this was posted almost two years ago aand i want to revive it, i love people doing jar aquariums with an aptasia, copepods, brine shrimp, live mysis, rotifers, macro algae, corals that never die(leathers) sand and coral rubble, beautiful, doesnt need a light, oh you know what for some action, sexy shrimp or a mini hermit, maybe smol snails. or asterina stars (never seen them in my tank if anyone is in singapore hmu) i guess if i ask a shop they will be willing to give theirs to me. oh how about pest mantis, if i can find mine... gorilla crabs, oh small crabs(any tropical species?) i have to go look at saltwater ecospheres now bye!

[Tired]

Those closed ecospheres are inhumane- the shrimp in them only survive because they're very resistant to starvation, and they still eventually starve. The shrimp you usually see in ecospheres are opae ula, which can live up to 20 years in proper care, but only live a few years in an ecosphere. 

 

If you're trying to keep things in a jar, you need to pick small animals that don't need room to move around. Gorilla crabs get large and need some amount of space to move, and mantises are active, intelligent animals that definitely need space to move and build. A pom-pom crab could work in a larger jar. A good option is a porcelain anemone crab, which will host an anemone and not move out of it. Brine shrimp usually need more salt, IIRC. A hermit could be iffy depending on the size, I wouldn't go smaller than a couple gallons- they need space, too. Leathers get too large for jars pretty fast, but could be worth a shot. 

 

As for no light, you'd have to find a way to put it in front of a window without it overheating, but it could work. 

[Leo_ian]

Ooh ok thank you for your advice, so assuming I did one in a mason jar, an aptasia/majano and some macro would be good?

[Tired]

You might have a little trouble keeping enough nutrients in the jar if it was a small one, but sure. I, personally, wouldn't deliberately add any animals to the jar, just whatever hitchhikes in. Maybe a couple dwarf cerith snails if there's plenty of visible algae. Keep the walls clean with a toothbrush, not snails. Most of the animals small enough to go in a regular mason jar would be in danger from the aiptasia, except snails (since they have shells) and worms that stay away from the anemone tentacles. 

 

Really, what you would probably want for a simple, low-maintenance anemone jar is to basically have a houseplant. Like those moss balls people have sometimes. Just a houseplant that's... anemones. People don't keep animals in their houseplants. Animals make things much more complicated.

[Leo_ian]

ok thank you!