Anemone help

[d2mini]

99% of the time,the anemone is already dead and decaying before you can see that its dead.Then when you try to remove it,you end up with pieces of dead anemone all over the tank.
Then on top of that.Theres nothing in this world that stinks as bad as a dead anemone,NOTHING.

True that! Been there, done that. Yuck!

I'm watching mine very carefully.
He expands fully every day and contracts and goes to sleep every night. Nice and active.
And he eats like pig! Reacts very quickly.
Also seems to be growing more and more. Waiting for a split...

 

[yote]

You may be waiting a while Dennis.Mine got huge,but never split.It actually took up 1/4 of my old 75.

 

[PufferGuy]

what are some "anemone keeping" tips i should be aware of? I plan on getting my nem this weekend or next weeken

 

[yote]

what are some "anemone keeping" tips i should be aware of? I plan on getting my nem this weekend or next weeken

SLOWLY acclimate it.A slow drip is the best way.
Some folks say to drip for an hour and half or longer.I'd just drip untill the salinity in the bag matches your tank exactly.
Place it a low flow part of the tank and keep a close eye on for the next couple of weeks.

 

[JAG107]

Slow drip but make sure the bag temp stays the same as the tank. Keep the bag in the tank with the lights out while you drip very slowly, the longer the better, up to 2 hours, some do even longer. Definitely waiiiiiiiiit on adding it, the feeling really sucks when it dies, and the smell sucks even worse, just like Yote said.
Boy, where was the anemone police when I needed them? j/k

 

[PufferGuy]

where can i get some step by step directions on how exactly the drip method works?

 

[JAG107]

well, you can use some small diameter tubing with a loose knot to control the drip ( you want drip drip drip, not a stream) and get a siphon going, or use a shot glass and add small splashes every few minutes, or take a fish bag, fill with tank water, poke a little hole in it... there's lots of ways. Some people get fancy and use a medical IV clicker-thingy, (sorry for the technical jargon) thats very precise in controlling the drip speed.

 

[dustin_P74]

get airline tubing and tie it off in a bucket with the nem and the shipping water, to where your getting about 2 drips a second and leave it be for 2+ hours

 

[d2mini]

I have this.
It's cheap and it works like a charm.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~miscellaneous_pisces_pro_acclimator.html

 

[PufferGuy]

a shot glass every 5 min or so would work as well? If so, i wont even bother with anything else.

 

[yote]

The shot glass method works just fine.

 

[Bifferwine]

What others have said about the anemone is right -- in no way whatsoever is it considered an "easy" animal to keep, and in no way whatsoever is it a good animal to put in a new tank! They really need established tanks that are around a year old. And Yote has got it right about when they die. They tend to look normal and healthy for a while, but then they start to go downhill. You think "Hmmm, it looks funny today. I'll check on it tomorrow." But you wake up the next day, and it's too late. It still looks okay, a little funny, but you don't want it to die and kill everything else in your tank, so you decide to take it out. No biggie, right? You go to pick it up, and all of a sudden, it disintegrates into a million little anemone bits right in your hand! They get shot all over your tank by your powerheads, and kill everything else in your tank. The end.

Sand sifting stars also need mature, established tanks. They will starve to death pretty quickly otherwise.

 

[PufferGuy]

So if things look like they are going sour, its best to remove the anemone with the rock out of the water and try to remove it that way... Also, whats in a mature tank that a younger tank doesnt have?? My tank isnt a year old, its like 4 months, but a lot of the rock came from an established tank, and the water came from the reef tanks from our LFS. The sand was from a bag, but it was seeded with a few pounds of livesand from the LFS.

 

[dustin_P74]

a very mature tank as very stable water

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't know if anyone has quite figured out what exactly makes a tank "mature" or "established", but you can definitely see the difference in the types of animals that die or thrive in them. There seems to be a clear distinction around the 10 to 12 month mark as to when more difficult animals do better for some reason.

And removing the rock with the anemone won't work either. Just the movement of bringing it up to the surface of the water seems to make it fall apart to pieces. Believe me, it's only happened at one point or another to about 90% of the people on this site who have tried to keep anemones.

 

[Teixeira29]

I agree with everyone else!! You need to be patient with this kind of hobby!

 

[yote]

The best way to remove a dieing anemone,is stick your hand in a bag.Reach in and grab the anemone,then pull the bag down and around it before trying to actually pick it up.That way you limit the pieces and the smell.

 

[PufferGuy]

another qustion i had was, if you touch the anemone, how bad of a sting is it? Reason im asking is that i might touch it when i transfer the anemone in there...

 

[d2mini]

I've been hand feeding mine which so far consists of taking a wad of defrosted Rod's Food in my fingers and shoving the food inside the nem as his tentacles close up on it. I've felt the stickiness of the tentacles for a split second but haven't actually felt a sting. Last night i tried to use a turkey baster instead for fear of getting stung. Do you actually feel a sting happen? Is it automatic or do they only do it when they feel threatened?

 

[yote]

Anemone stings usually just feel sticky to the touch.The nematocyst usually cant penetrate the skin.
BUT,if you happen to have any cuts on your hands or fingers where they can get past the skin,then you'll know it.Kinda like getting a 1/2" splinter under your finger nail.