New Print and eBook on Amazon:   Anemone Success Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Red Rose Anemone Hello,<Hi Patrick, MacL here with you today.> I am a lurker of your website and really enjoy all the information it has to give. I am writing you today in concerns to my red rose anemone. I am new to the hobby of saltwater but I have a great amount of experience in freshwater. I have enclosed some pictures of my anemone, I was a little concerned for his health. When I purchased him (about a week ago) he was very tiny in his tank, but when I got him home and put him in mine, he opened up to almost triple in size! I continued to monitor my water parameters and feed him and my feather duster phytoplankton every other day, while I continued to feed my Lionfish and Clownfish krill everyday. Until the last couple of days he seems to have gotten sick or maybe he is dying?<Actually it looks to me like he is digesting food> I am not sure, frankly I am a little scared. My clownfish loves him, as you can see in my photos, and he refuses to leave him. I don't want him to die. So my question is, does what you see in the picture look normal, if not what is wrong and what can I do? I tried feeding him some brine shrimp when he was totally open and he more then happily accepted. But that was two days ago, and he hasn't really opened back up since then. <Does he seem to be disintegrating? Falling apart? It looks more to me like he's drawn in while he's digesting from a good brine shrimp meal.> Please help me, and I am apologize for the lengthy question. Thanks in advance. <Patrick keep a close eye on him but honestly I think you are just fine in this case. MacL> Patrick

Bleached anemone... needs help 9/17/04 Crew, If you would be so kind as to identify the anemone in the attached photo? It appears to me to be a Condylactis, but my Cinnamon clown (Amphiprion melanopus) loves to hang out in it and he is only supposed to like bubble tip anemone (Entacmaea). What do you think? <the anemone clearly is a bleached bubble-tip anemone: Entacmaea quadricolor> It was sold to me as a bubble tip (with the rock). David A. Bidwell <the ID was correct... although this anemone is EXTREMELY unhealthy... bleached of all zooxanthellae and soon to be dead (months) if it does not get some very regular feedings from you - finely minced meats of marine origin several times weekly or near daily. Thawed Mysid shrimp and Pacifica plankton are a good start. Anthony>

How much light does my rose anemone need? Hi Gang: << Blundell here this afternoon. >> I set up an anemone tank (60 gals) and added it to my reef system (common sump) six months ago. Using a DSB and lots of live rock with surfaces available at varying depths and 2-96 watt PC's (daylight plus actinic), I figured I was safe. However after 2-3 months of frequent wandering, my rose BTA has settle in to stay (3+ months) in the left rear of the tank, right at the top. . . where it's 5-6" cumulative vertical-plus-horizontal distance from a measly 28 watt PC mounted to run front-to-back near the sidewall of the tank. The thing is, it's staying there. . . and growing nicely (easily doubled in size). . . and the only thing that seems a bit 'off' is that some of the lower tentacles are as long as 2-1/2". << Wondering if there will be a question coming.  If my rose anemone was staying put and growing well, I think I'd just be sitting back and enjoying it. >> Water parameters are good. . . and diet is for the BTA is varied (formula one, Mysis with Selcon, live bloodworms). The anemone keeps itself 'canted' like a satellite dish toward the available light. I feed a bit heavier than I might otherwise. . . and keep the lighting cycle for that portion of the tank long (14-15 hours) to try to make up for the 'meager' light. Should I be worried? [The BTA is a bright fluorescent orange. . . no trace of green or other colors anywhere. . . if that makes any difference.] << I wouldn't be worried at all.  If he is growing, just do what you are doing.  I believe that many anemones (including yours) will simply move if they aren't getting what they need.  So if that is where he wants to be, then I guess let him be. >> Chuck <<  Blundell  >>

Where to find/buy Captive Bred BTA Rose anemones 8/3/04 I'll be quick. Where can I buy (online) a captive bred/cloned anemone? I don't want to steal a clown fish's! I can't find it on google anywhere. Thank you, Marshall Montgomery <Edie at Tropical Paradise (Cali) has a fine store and is an avid supporter of cultured reef creatures. I was just there months ago and saw a couple hundred Rose BTA there. You can look him up at: http://www.tpaquarium.com/ best regards, Anthony Calfo>

Grr.. Sick BTA <Did these anemones feed regularly in the first month?> However for the past 5 days or so one of them has never inflated beyond half way, and the tentacles have remained all straggly.  It will open a bit more at night, but the tentacles never inflate.  It will not accept food, either.  The second BTA is doing great, eating, growing, etc. <Many possibilities here... not the least of which (no worries) is if it came form a tank with much lower light. Its not an issue of light shock, per se... but under aged lamps, weaker lamps, dirty/dusty lights and canopies/lenses... anemones and corals will swell up and pan for light (giving the appearance of being healthy ironically). Then when they get into better light, they do not need to pan so severely. It is that simple at times.> I did find a small Aiptasia anemone (the bastards) near the BTA.  I'm not sure if it was close enough to have stung it or not, but the possibility is definitely there.  If it was stung, would it be behaving like this? <Nope... they are much tougher than that.> Any way to get it eating and healthy again if so? <Try feeding small amounts of meaty "juice" to the tank at the same time every night. You can condition a feeding response in just a week or two this way. Do it at the end of the day or after the lights go out for zooplankton feeders like this.> My water quality is excellent as of yesterday (0 ammonia, nitrites, less than 5 ppm nitrates, pH 8.3, temp 80F, SG 1.025). <You may want to double check the accuracy of your hydrometer. If this is a plastic job (or handheld refractometer... crap), then I definitely would consider keeping at least one other meter (glass hydrometers are excellent... sparing the need for tabletop refractometers) for periodic calibration.> Lighting is a 150w metal halide and 2 55w PCs (10,000k and actinic).  Water changes are performed at least twice weekly of about 4 gallons <Hmmm... great that you're doing twice weekly water changes but the amount is rather modest/tiny... this will not adequately dilute the undesirables. It would be better to do much larger exchanges.> Also in the tank is a yellow headed Jawfish, ~2" maroon clown, a few xenia bunches, a few patches of green star polyps, a Ricordea (partially shadowed by the LR), and a few gorgonians. <Likely not the issue, but star polyp and gorgonians are very noxious... two of the worst (re: allelopathy) > Anyone have any ideas?  The BTA still has a firm grip on the rock it came on, hasn't move more than an inch, but it's looked half dead for about 5 days now.  It's stressing ME out. <Be patient my friend... and above all - DO NOT move this anemone. A surefire way to kill it :( > Anthony

E. quadricolor concerns 7/17/04 Hey there, I have recently added a bubble tip anemone to my tank 3 weeks ago, and it's habits seem strange compared to the information I have read over the internet.  It seems to thrive in the evening to early morning, but within a couple hours of the lights coming on it shrinks up and its oral disk opens right up and eventually turns inside out (some days).  This has been a constant since about 4or 5 days after it was added to the tank.  I have been feeding it Mysis soaked in Selcon and live phytoplankton every second day, although the poachers get a lot of it. <What you are describing is definitely some kind of stress.  The lighting you list below is probably not enough to maintain this animal, let alone light shock it, so I would suspect a water quality issue.> The first couple of days it moved around the tank, but since then it has been in the same spot about halfway to the surface under an overhang. It is however in a more turbulent area since it is directly behind where the two powerhead flows come together. <Too much current is often an issue, but if the anemone wandered and settled in this spot, I doubt that this is the problem.  Do  keep an eye on it to go on the move again.> Tank Specs: 32 Gallon, 130watt PC 50/50, 2 Powerheads @270GPH/each on opposite sides of the tank, Protein skimmer running 24/7 Temp:81, pH:8.2, nitrite 0, ammonia 0-0.6, salinity: 1.026, 35lbs live rock + 20lbs base rock. <All sounds fine, but your light is a bit low to be keeping anemones.  Also, any detectible ammonia is a problem, I would verify your results on another test kit (preferably another brand).> In the hopes of finding a solution it there is a problem, I'll tell you now the tank is probably overstocked, but since my levels have stayed consistent I have not been overly concerned.  The tank is about 4 months old. Tank Inhabitants: 2 cleaner shrimp 1 fire cleaner shrimp 2 peppermint shrimp 25 various hermits +/ - 25 various snails +/ - 2 ocellaris clownfish (medium) 1 regal tang (small) 1 clarkii clownfish (medium) 1 tube anemone 1 Hawaiian feather duster Blue mushrooms Button polyps Finger leather Plate coral <Waaaayyy too many hermits and snails for such a small tank.  Also, peppermint shrimp can pester desirable anemones.  Button polyps and mushrooms may produce chemicals that will adversely affect the anemone.> The clarkii is only a week new to the tank and has yet to go into the anemone, I added the clarkii hoping that it would keep the poachers away since the 2 ocellaris did not seem to care much for the anemone.  All corals are located well away from the anemone. <Clownfish often take a while to move into an anemone in captivity, particularly if the species don't normally associate in the wild and/or the clowns are captive raised.> Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thank you, Steve <I would suggest observing the peppermints for irritating behavior or removing them regardless.  I would also consider adding more light.  Using small amounts of carbon occasionally will help reduce the chemical competition from other animals.  Although it doesn't have anything to do with your anemone problem, I would also reduce the numbers of hermits and snails to 1/3 of what you have now and maybe considering giving up the hermits all together (too destructive with minimal benefit, IME).  Best regards.  Adam>

Rose Bubble Tip Anemone 7/18/04 Hi, just found this site and I can't believe ALL the practical info one can get just by sitting & reading.  This is very addictive (really, very helpful) for a newbie like me.   <very good to hear my friend> I've inherited a 60 gal. reef tank with several small frags.  It's been up and running now for 9 months.  My tank reads:  SG l.025, pH  8.2, N02 0, NO3 20, NH3 0. Calcium at 430, Alk. 3.2, dKH 9. I've got approx. 90 - l00 lbs. LR, 2" LS and running this with 2 Bak-Pak 2R protein skimmer. <do be sure to stir this sand weekly or have exceptional water flow. Intermediate sand bed depths (1-3" can very difficult to keep in time (not deep enough to be denitrifying and yet too deep to be fully aerobic)>   The tank is also hooked up to an EHEIM 2215 canister filter with bio  filtration. Lighting:  1 175W MH, l4,000K (retrofit) centered, 2 - 96W 03.  Water temp. between 77 to 79. <all good> I would appreciate your help/advice on a few question:     First:  In the last 6 weeks, I purchased a beautiful Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. <if this is a reef tank, please do reconsider keeping this or any anemone in residence. They are a long term risk/recipe for disaster... usually waiting until you go on vacation to die or move about the tank... stinging corals before they proceed to a pump or overflow and clog the port... effectively killing the whole tank in a day or so. This is a common scenario. Moreover, anemones and corals are generally unnatural tankmates and a poor mix together> My BTA  seems to want to eat every day!   <if the pieces are small - minced very fine - then Ok. Else it is regurgitating them at night and still getting little nutrition (hence the hunger <G>)> I'm feeding it Mysis, squid, and shrimp.  The other day I notice for the first time, brown/orange filaments being released from its mouth and then later it shriveled up into its hole and was all stringy.   <yikes!> When the blue 03 light came on, it started to wave slightly.  l hour later the MH lights turned on and the anemone slowly started to revive and inflate and look somewhat full.  Is this normal or is my anemone in trouble? <these were mesenterial filaments from stress (aggression from a neighboring coral or just aggressive corals in the same tank polluting water quality because they sense each other)... or more likely, you gave it a chunk of food that was too large. This can cause damage. Finely minced foods only please> Second:  My nitrates were 10 and now 20, the only thing I can think of making the nitrates go up is possibly a dead cleaner shrimp which I can't find.   <or the regurgitated food every night from the anemone> I've done  2  20% water changes and the nitrates is still at 20.  The LFS suggested I use ALGONE to absorb the nitrates and phosphates.  What do you think of this?   <I would not use or recommend it. Such products are treating the symptom and not the real problem: excess nutrients from lack of water flow, overfeeding and/or poor protein skimmer performance (less than 3-5 cups of dark skimmate weekly)> Third:  Since the canister filter came with the tank, I'm wondering, if I only have a reef tank, and the two reef protein skimmers, can I do something to the canister to eliminate the bio part and just have the sponges in there to filter? <yes... especially if you have enough live rock in the he tank: 1-2 lbs per gallon> Thank you for your help and I really enjoy reading thru the daily info and links. Nemo <best regards, Anthony>

BTA anemones hiding from light? 7/12/04 HEY Anthony, Hope you are doing well these days <getting by my friend... I hope you are as well or better> it has been a little while since I last spoke to you. My question is since we last spoke I had told you that I had converted my tank to an anemone only tank and for awhile both the bubble and the rose were doing fine. Now they both seem to be hiding from the light. <this is not uncommon, although not a good sign and not likely a response to light that is "too bright" - quiet the contrary... read on> I have one that is now almost completely hidden under a rock and another one that has climbed as high in the tank as it can. My first thought about the one that had climbed up high was that it wasn't getting enough light, <this is likely so> but it opens up one heck of a lot more when the lights go out? <because it is a filter feeder... like so many corals, they seek to trap zooplankton that comes out at night. Polyp extension in corals and anemones has much to do with water flow and feeding opportunities regardless of light (or not)> I have only a 20gal. high tank with 130 watts pc lighting and I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong. <keep in mind that anemones do not have sight or the power of reason - if they got shadowed in the wild, they would pick up and keep moving till they found better light/water flow etc. But when one of these params is lacking in an aquarium - they are trapped. The are weak from suffering the lack of the right kind of water flow, light, etc... they wander around the aquarium for X days/weeks looking for it and get progressively weaker> Water parameters are ca,450  alk 2.3meq/l salt, <yikes... the Calcium is getting a whisker too high and that may be a reason why your Alk is so low. Do some water changes here and adjust your supplementation so that it is more even keeled: 375-400 Ca and 10-12 dKH is better is stable and safer nonetheless.> 1.025 nh3-0 nh4-o no2-0 no3<5ppm, photoperiod is about 10 hrs a day.25 pounds of live rock and 3 inches of live sand, protein skimmer is in use and an air stone nothing else is in  operation. please help before I accidentally kill another one of natures most beautiful creations and royally p**s off my two gold stripe maroon  clowns! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP! ALSO I CHANGE WATER ABOUT TWICE A MONTH. Cheers, Todd Biondolillo <I'm also wondering if the lights are too old. Fluorescents are weak by 6-8 months and severely degraded (read: near useless) after 10 months for keeping corals and anemones. This is not just my opinion, alas, but verifiable with a PAR meter. Is this perhaps contributory? Is their dust or salt creep on the bulbs or glass cover severely impeding the entry of light. Have you stopped changing carbon regularly (or never used) and as such... water clarity has yellowed over months? Many possibilities here. Best of luck! Anthony>

BUBBLE TIP DEFLATING Hey guys, <Hey Peter> thanks for the genius help in the past. <You are very kind> I have recently added a rose bubble tip anemone to my 72 gal w/ 100 lbs of LR. I have 4x96W PC lighting. All of my water parameters are good (ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate<3ppm, pH 8.2, Temp 79, calcium ~300, phosphate~0). My question is....the anemone, as expected, has moved around a bit.  The problem is that he always moves to parts of the tank which are in the shade which then causes him to shrivel up nearly to the point of death. <Let me just ask you? Is it possible he's digesting food when he moves? Generally they move toward the light or toward a more favorable current so they can get more food.> I then have to rearrange the entire tank and he fills back up and looks great.  The only thing that I can think of is that maybe the maroon clown that I have is bothering him? <Hmm can't imagine.> Although I have never heard of this. <Me either frankly.> The clown constantly rubs in him.  Any ideas? <I really think it might be the waters currents he's either trying to get in or possibly escape if they are extremely strong. What do you think? MacL>

BTA not so bubbly My bubble tip anemone used to puff up rather large on a regular basis, now   it is mostly hanging down and stringy.  It used to get this mostly when  the lights were out but not as often as now.  Most of the time it is  small and stringy.  There is also a stingy thin hair like film coming  from it or getting caught on it.  I thought it was dead, but it puffed  up and I fed it (which I do 3 times a week). It hasn't moved, well just  about an inch to the left, but has been happy. 50 gallon bow, 70# live rock,  aqua c remora, canister filter.  192 watt PC Coralife light. I think  is enough light!?! <<Hmmm, doesn't sound like much light to me.  I   would be like to see more, or at least the anemone near the top. >> Now,  I feed it Mysis shrimp or krill, chopped up fine. Water : 0 ammonia, 0  nitrite, low to zero nitrates. Fighting to keep phosphates low, but with  water changes, keeping it low. Alkalinity is high, around 20dKH << Wow,  how did you manage that?  Most people struggle with low dKH.  I would  think that could definitely be a problem.   What is the pH? >> which  in turn is keeping calcium around 200 good water flow. what else, I don't  know, is it just been very sleepy lately. Need anymore  info? mark <<  Adam B.   >>
Re: BTA bummed I have used 4 types of salt mix, so I don't think its the salt.  The  test kit shows no alkalinity problems right out of the RO/DI filter plus I used   Salifert and red sea test kits, they both show the same.  So I am thinking  RO/DI but how do I check this, the TDS is about 10 which I thought was  great.  I cant reasonably go out an but another $400 RO/DI system.  Is  there another test to perform to check the RO/DI.  << Very good question.  What I would recommend is looking at how long you've had the filter, and how many gallons have gone through it.  It is possible you just need new membranes.  The other thing to do is to get 20 gals of water from a friend, bring it home, mix it up, and then see what levels you test.  Maybe it is your salt? or your buckets? or something else? >> I have had this for  about 9 months now, maybe I will change all the filters but I really don't think  that would do it.   Also, I have a Corallife light 2x96 watt 36" pc fixture (hence 192 watts) 1   actinic 1 20k. << Oh I see, thanks for clearing that up. >> I don't really like the color though, its kind of drab and  purple/blue. maybe metal halide with VHO is the way to go.  How many watts is too  much 400 watts??? << You can't have too many watts.  I don't think 400 watts of halide is overpowering a 50 gal.  I would go with two bulbs like two 250's or two 175's instead of just one 400 watt bulb.  I think you'll much more enjoy two bulbs distributing the light.  That is what I would do. >> anyway, any input about the RO/DI or alkalinity would help. PS the alkalinity out of the tap is also high. << Well that does lend concern for the membranes again.  I'd still get water from somewhere else and try again. >> thanks dude << You're welcome >> mark <<  Adam B.  >>

BTA lighting Saw a nice bubble tip anemone (Entacmaea Quadricolor - spelling?) at my LFS today, thinking about purchasing it for my reef tank.  One of the things I honestly have never kept is an anemone.  I have a fixture containing 2x 96 watt PCs (1 10k 1 actinic) and another fixture with 2 18 watt PCs (1 6.5k and 1 actinic) in a 40 gallon tank 18" deep. (Massive space constraints at my house :\ )  Would I need to get a metal halide to provide necessary lighting at that depth (was considering this anyway) or should I add another 36 watt PC fixture (which I have spare)? Thanks for any info.  M. Maddox<I don't believe any extra lights are needed here my friend... especially if you take the time to feed the anemone small amounts regularly (say 3-5 times weekly). Do know, though... that those actinics really do little for most coral/anemone growth and should not "count" in any numbers you might be using like a watts per gallon rule. Don't get me wrong, I love them too... and keep them for aesthetics. But they are not the "best" light for supporting zooxanthellate activity. Just a perk/tweak. Anthony>

Bubble Tip Anemone Question I just inherited a tank which contained a BTA.  We have had the tank for about a month and I have noticed the BTA has changed colors and has started to shrivel up.  He just does not look good.  Can you tell me if something is wrong and what do I need to do?  Thanks <Hi, since you haven't told me anything about your system, all I can do to help is refer you to an article about these animals.  Please read over the FAQ's for an understanding of how this system works.  Thanks! Ryan> http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/e_quadfaq1.htm

BTA happiness with light My bubble tip anemone used to puff up rather large on a regular basis, now it is mostly hanging down and stringy.  It used to get this mostly when the lights were out but not as often as now.  Most of the time it is small and stringy.  There is also a stingy thin hair like film coming from it or getting caught on it.  I thought it was dead, but it puffed up and I fed it (which I do 3 times a week). It hasn't moved, well just about an inch to the left, but has been happy. 50 gallon bow, 70# live rock, aqua c remora, canister filter.  192 watt PC Coralife light. I think is enough light!?! <<Hmmm, doesn't sound like much light to me.  I would be like to see more, or at least the anemone near the top. >> Now, I feed it Mysis shrimp or krill, chopped up fine. Water : 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, low to zero nitrates. Fighting to keep phosphates low, but with water changes, keeping it low. Alkalinity is high, around 20dKH << Wow, how did you manage that?  Most people struggle with low dKH.  I would think that could definitely be a problem.  What is the pH? >> which in turn is keeping calcium around 200 good water flow. what else, I don't know, is it just been very sleepy lately. Need anymore info? I have a maroon clown loving it. mark <<  Adam B.  >>

- Using Iodine/dide and Rose Bubble Lighting - Greetings from Tampa, <Greetings from Boca Raton.> I work at an LFS and have some experience with freshwater and FOWLR systems, with little to none in corals ( not that I pretend to have any when anyone asks)(it has definitely given me the right starting point on basic questions of inquiry in troubleshooting), but let me say that with WWM I at least have somewhere to go to do some homework and at least have something to say about things I'm unfamiliar with. <Good to hear.> Quite simply, I am in an eternal state of gratefulness towards this site and all its contents and would have felt a lot less confident/ informed otherwise. So here's a big thank you, now on to the varied questions :) - I've heard some differing opinions on the use of iodine/iodide dosing in tanks, this also happens in the WetWebFotos forums as well where some people swear by its use and others do just fine by saying water changes are enough and using those added into their salt, I also find little information in The Conscientious Marine Aquarist book which keep at the store where only 1-2 sentences are dedicated to it. at the same time I've seen some email responses advocating its use on a daily basis where other staff members would consider it much less important. Anyway, its hard to find literature on this, could you recommend a website or another reading material that is comprehensive on the subject? <None that I can think of, although I'd add Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals to your reading list - some good information there.> At most I'd like to give an informed response to customers to the best of my abilities. at most I understand the basics, utilized by some corals, depreciates quickly, useful for molting of inverts. dosing is needed based on its consumption and is somewhat replenished via the salt, but there's are all somewhat laymen and I kind of desire a little more in-depth coverage of it, any help would be useful. <I'm afraid I don't have a link for you.> also, concerning BTAs, primarily a rose anemone, in your exp have you found any clown that doesn't take to these? <Most perculas and ocellaris won't but there's always exceptions to the rule.> because so far I've found that Clarkiis, maroons, and Sebaes (sp), have all taken to this anemone. and after searching through the FAQs and articles I have yet to find a general specification towards their lighting (I'm assuming VHOs/ halides would be sufficient but would one placed within around 1watt/gal fluorescents be sufficient in any case? <No... they need more intense lighting.> I know these are rather basic but the best way for me to learn is by asking the dummy questions first, at least you can somewhat offset lack of experience in some cases with a plethora of information. thanks for your help (WetWeb + FAQs and everything) I'll be bugging you soon I'm certain Jared <Cheers, J -- >

BTA behavior 5/28/04 I was wondering it you could help me what is happening in my fish tank. The anemone I purchased a week ago wandered around for a couple of days and perched itself on the glass beside my protein skimmer near the surface. I am feeding it shrimp pellets but I haven't been able to tell whether or not it is eating. <you have much to learn about anemones my friend... I have immediate concerns about the lighting (from the anemone loving around), the food being fed... and if (hopefully not) you have other corals or anemones in this tank (bad to mix). Please take the time to go through our extensive archives on this subject at WetWebMedia.Com> Lately it has been deflated most of the day and night. I have 2 Percula Clowns that loved to play in it but because it is deflated they seem sad. It is on the glass so it is not in a very well lit area. I have read that when it digests its food that it will shrink for a couple of days. <hmmm... a matter of hours. And some swell instead. Days would be a concern> It has started to slide down the glass and I am not sure weather something is wrong or it is migrating. I also think that it might be splitting. <this may not be the case> I have included Photos of it. <no pics attached> right now it looks like it is sliding down the glass deflated. Please tell me what is happening. Thank You, Brad Prince <best regards, Anthony>

-BTABM (BTA Bowel Movement)- Hi. Have looked at various articles/FAQs/prior posts on BTAs but not found any similar questions. <Much thanks for looking to see if it's been answered BEFORE asking!> Please help if you can. I started my tank about 3 months ago. I have about 85lbs of Fiji, Tonga branch, and Caribbean live rock and 60lbs of live sand. After tank cycled and several water measurements (temp 80-82F, pH 8.2, spg 1.024, nitrite 0, nitrate <5) I added a "cleaning crew" of various snails, some blue and scarlet hermits, and 3 emerald crabs. Then added over time 2 false Percs, 2 pajama cardinals, 1 royal Gramma, 1 scarlet cleaner shrimp, and 2 fan worms. Then last week I added a Bubble Tip Anemone. The BTA moved around the rocks and found a crevice it seemed to like for its foot and opened and closed on a routine type basis. One of the clowns, the smaller of the two, started 2 nights ago to - after the lights went out - begin to "aggressively" swim in and out of the BTA. In the morning, when the lights came on in the tank, it would stop. Is this normal behavior? Is he trying to form a "relationship?" <You got it, it takes some time for the new duo to get used to each other.> My more serious concern is that yesterday I fed the BTA a piece of krill -- he took the piece and I watched as he ate it. All seemed to go well and after the tank lights went out the clown again did his thing with the BTA. This morning all was well, BTA was open and I noticed a brown object in the BTA -- the clowns ate it and there were then some brown "strings" that looked like webs around/in the BTA. Now he is completely closed -- more closed than at any time I have had him in the tank. Is there a problem I need to be concerned about and if yes, what should I do? <It's likely that it just ejected the waste from the krill, forcefully expelling most of its internal water in the process. This is a reason I don't recommend krill for anemones, since there is significant waste associated with it. If it had not ate, I would be concerned that it may be ejecting zooxanthellae but I think this is a clear cut case of a very regular anemone (no fiber needed here!).> Sorry for such a long note/question, but really could use some help. Thank you -- Sid <Enjoy! -Kevin>

Feeding a Rose >Exactly what do I feed this beautiful rose anemone?  >>I don't exactly know what anemone you're referring to. Please search our site on "anemones". This should help you identify the animal you have, as well as how to feed and care for it. At this point I have to advise you to never buy animals whose care you haven't a clue about. Marina >How do I go about doing so and how often? Do I put the food to its mouth etc...thanks Attiya 

Light Acclimation Problems? hi <Hi! Ryan Bowen with you today> I have a rose anemone and it has a problem that it doesn't have any bubbles on the end of the tips they are more stringy but it seems that he is happy <These come and go, don't count on him having bubbled tips all the time.> I have another question to ask I have a Sebae and he has been bleaching in power compact I recently put him into a halide tank and he is not eating and what should I do to make him happy <Keep offering him foods, hopefully you slowly acclimated him to the new lighting scheme.> my last question is that I have a finger shaped leather and he resembles a branches. When it was at the store it was tall and stretched out (happy) but now that I put it in my tank he is shrunken and not the original white/tan color and instead is purple/gray. It is currently located in the middle level of my tank (which has 175 watt 13,000 k metal halides). we tried putting a powerhead pointing towards it and everything. <Not a great idea- Corals need random turbulent flow. Powerheads, and other direct lateral flows can actually damage Cnidarian tissues.> what is your advice on where to move it or if it requires a heavy or light water flow. <It requires medium flow and light. I would keep my hands off it, and allow it to recover from the shock of acclimation. The next time you're in a shop, take a look at what kind of lighting is used on the animal you're purchasing. The closer you can come to giving him a spot with a similar light intensity, the less stress. Good luck! Ryan> 

Rose Anemone Questions hello <Hi! Ryan with you today> Thanks again for the help. I have a quick couple questions regarding a rose anemone. I have a 70g tall tank (36x18x24) that is doing pretty well. Considering my corals and fish are seemingly happy. I have a Goniopora flowerpot coral that has recently been hosted by my true percula clownfish (this was extremely exciting to see btw) through my observation however this has been someone unfavorable to the coral. The polyps close when she goes in there and does her thing (interesting to watch!). So I decided to get a rose anemone from a LFS. I've read and been told these are the hardier of anemones. <Can be, in the right conditions.> Once it was in the tank after acclimation (I know I know I should have Qt'd but I felt that it was ok to put it in right away). <Good luck with that> Either way once it was in the tank a couple things happened. First it threw up its food and moved to dif location slightly lower than where I initially put it. <Not a great sign> It has seemed to settle in an ideal location for an anemone. I have a rocked that has a Cup shaped ledge in it with a deep crevice which it seems to be liking. Although now I think it doesn't have enough light. I have 4 3ft VHO bulbs above my tank. The high of the lights above the anemone is about 12"-14". I've read that BTAs don't need tons of light but I think it's a little low lit. <yes, should be in the highest part of your tank unless you're using metal halide lighting.> It has eaten some formula one and krill/Mysid prep. It looks healthy but I think it might not do too well. So would adding a 250w MH bulb help out? <yes> I'm assuming yes, this would probably also help out my corals and soon to come corals. <Surely> I've also read Bobs home made food recipe consisting for primarily shrimp. I was thinking of making that and freezing it then I could use a cheese grader and grade food for the anemone. <Perfect> I think it was Anthony suggested feeding anemones shreds of food as oppose to chunks. <Easier to digest, less likely that a fish/shrimp will have the chance to grab it.> Is that true? <Yes, I believe so> Either way the cheese grated food would work pretty well regardless. One of my other concerns is that the clown will not take to my anemone and continue on the flowerpot. <It will take time> So I've since moved the Flowerpot almost directly above the anemone (its far enough away to where they don't touch at all). <Sedentary animals don't like to be moved.> The clown looks somewhat confused. She sits on the other side of the tank still. I hope she sees the anemone and takes to it. <Possible, but it will take time> I've read Bob's book and it's helped my tremendously. I want to read Mike Paletta's book also. Thanks for all the help!!! Chris <No problem! Good luck, Ryan>

-Appropriate set-up for a BTA- Hi, and thank you for your prompt response. My tank dimensions are as follows, 48 X 18 X 24 (90 gallons). I have a sea clone protein skimmer (100 gal rating) <Says the Aquarium Systems marketing department, 20g says Kevin>, penguin 440 power head <Make sure the intake is adequately covered to defer any possible anemone puree to come.>, two 400 emperor power filters ,300 watt heater, 48''-40 watt full spectrum bulb and a 48''- 40 watt actinic bulb in my canopy. <This is unfortunately far from the ideal (or even minimal) appropriate anemone set-up. Until you can provide adequate housing for such critters, I would suggest bringing these guys back where you got them and chewing the clerk out who sold these to you, they should know better than this.> The tank is a year old. PS :If I was to add live rock to my aquarium, would I have to remove all the base rock and just go with live? How much live rock would be required for 90 gallon aquarium? <Here's my suggestions for converting this tank to one appropriate for anemone husbandry. The first step is to upgrade your protein skimmer to one truly adequate for your purposes (Suggestions: AquaC EV-120, Precision Marine Bullet 1, Euroreef, etc. Please do some research on the various brands of skimmers on the market, and also do a little research on the sea-clone, you'll be surprised what you find out.). The second step would be to make sure that you're using water from a known good source, preferably through a reverse osmosis and/or deionization filter. I would then establish a live sandbed if one has not been established and add some cured live rock (50lbs or so to get going, you may find that you don't want more than this, or you may add as much as you want). Once the tank has been cooking for a while w/ the LR and LS, you can take care of the lighting. This is just a quick rundown, so do yourself a favor and search through our copious stacks of articles and FAQ's on keeping anemones and reef aquariums before you make your first purchase, livestock or otherwise. Remember, if you do not remove these anemones to a proper home, they will slowly starve to death, which is going on right now. I hope this helps! -Kevin> Regards, Brent J 

Fun With Anemones! Just thought I'd add to the list of anecdotal stories about Bubble-tip anemone splitting. Given that we are in the summer months, the temperature in the tank has been slightly higher than normal (82, rather than the normal 80). All other factors, lighting, feeding, pH, Na etc etc had all been constant for some time. Well, yesterday we had an unusually warm day and I'd not turned on the sump fan. The result was a balmy 88 degree tank temperature. Nothing looked *too* bad. The frogspawn was deflated and one of the heads was releasing a tad bit of brown mucus (what is that? zooxanthellae?) <Quite possibly...Coral have been known to expel zooxanthellae under stress conditions...Or, it could simply be waste product!> and the anemone was deflated. Well, the next morning I notice the BTA has moved slightly and is in an odd position. By the time I come home, I have two very healthy looking inflated BTAs. They seem very protective of the portion of the oral disk where they split. They constantly had it covered so it was nearly impossible to get a good luck. Of course, I'd do the same if I had an open wound from a recent split. Doesn't it seem as if this would be a slightly easier (and less risky) way of inducing a split in BTAs, rather than the whole "pollute the water and do a water change" regime? Just spike the temp for half a day. Of course, it would be best to hyper-oxygenate the water, just in case. Anyhow, just wanted to get the info out there. <Really interesting stuff! I guess it's a real trade-off between different forms of stress...Heat or pollution! With your attention to increasing oxygenation, I suppose that it is safer to go with the heat...On the other hand, high temperatures can really stress out other animals, too. All interesting experiments, though. Thanks for sharing! Regards, Scott F> Stratos Kotzabassi 

-Bleaching BTA's- Hi all, <Hellooo, Kevin here> I have a major problem. My 1 big rose BTA has split into 3 BTAs <Sweet!> and they are getting bleached in my 60 litre tank. <Not so sweet> They can't feed well because of the torn up mouths but has healed up quite nicely over the few weeks. 2 of them has moved into the top my tank into a dark corner and 1 has settled nicely onto a rock with partial lighting. How do I feed them? <I suppose you'll have to wait until their mouths have healed enough to handle food.> Will DT's live phyto plankton help? <Not directly, but it will help other critters in the tank which could be eaten by the anemone.> they can't eat the Mysis shrimps that I have because their stingers don't work and their mouths are still not quite up to swallowing. Only their tips are a faint pink with most parts of their tentacles being whitish green....Not a good sign I suppose. <Not very good at all, but in a healthy tank they should recover. I'm sure tearing yourself into three parts is quite stressful, and I'm sure I would bleach as well should that happen to me!> Is there anything I can do to restore their colour to the rich rose and also, is there a way to feed them? <You can't force feed them, so you'll just have to keep trying every couple of days until they start taking food again.> Will strong lighting help? <No, not if they're bleached, they won't be able to handle large amounts of light. Given some time, if the tank is in otherwise good shape, I would suspect that the anemones will begin feeding once again and regain their zoo., Good luck! -Kevin> Cheers, Ben Chua (Singapore)

-Bleached BTA clones- Hi Kevin.. Thanks for the information. I shorten the lighting time to about 8 hrs a day ... <I would keep the photoperiod the same, no use getting all the other critters out of their usual day-night cycle.> However I think I am jeopardizing my clams but I think those clams should be all right for awhile. <I'm sure nothing negative will happen to your clams, but I'm sure the sun rising and setting at strange times is rather upsetting to them at first :) > Just another few questions. I think they healed up pretty well but they are still bleached. I managed to feed them mashed up prawns and they seem to be really hungry. However, roughly just how long will they be able to regain their zooxanthellae and be a normal rose BTA again? <Time will tell, no definitive answer here. I'm sure they'll be fine in the interim. Just keep on feeding!> They have been like this for about nearly a month now... Do you need pictures to see how badly they are bleached? <Would be interesting, but regardless they should (keyword: should) regain their proper coloration and symbiotic buddies in due time. BTA's are as hardy as they come, just be patient. Let us know what happens! -Kevin> 

Banged-Up BTA? (Anemone With Whitish Streaks) Greetings Crew! <Hi there! Scott F. with you today!> First let me start by saying how much I enjoy the new Conscientious Aquarist Online Magazine.  A great addition to an already incredible site! <Glad to hear that you like it! Adam and I really want to make it better and better. This is just the beginning! We're lucky to have some great people here to help us make it all happen! Look for next issue in July, and monthly starting next year!> Now for my question.  I just got a rose BTA for my minireef.  I have been on the lookout for a BTA for quite a while and just none came around that looked truly healthy for me....until this one.  I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it!  I examined it closely in the store and being satisfied, brought it home.  It immediately wandered in my tank for a day and has been in the same spot for several days and looking happy. <A good sign> I noticed several white streaks around it's "mouth" (don't know what it should be called) <yeah- "mouth" is just fine!> that I did not notice when I bought it.  They have not changed in the last few days and it is still in the same spot, looking good and readily eating the small tidbits of food that I feed it.  I know that white on most any anemone is bad and I am concerned.  Attached is a pic.  Is this anything to worry about or is just the natural coloration of this specimen?   <Well, to me- this specimen looks otherwise healthy. If you are not noticing necrotic areas, or obvious physical traumas to the animal, then you are probably okay. Sometimes these streaks are simply areas where the animal came into contact with something in the immediate environment (i.e.; a rock, etc.), and are analogous to a scar on a human. it may simply be coloration, too. Do keep an eye on the animal. However, if it appears otherwise healthy, reacts to stimuli, and feeds regularly, I wouldn't be overly concerned.> Thanks again for all your help and keep up the incredible work.  You guys (and gals) don't get nearly enough credit for all your hard work. Ray <Ya know what, Ray? just knowing that we're helping others enjoy the hobby that we all love so much is pretty darn cool! keep sharing with others and growing in the hobby yourself! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Specifics on E. quadricolor Is this an anemone that will dig it's base into the sand and spread out, or do they prefer to be on liverock? <To be honest with you...I have seen this anemone on both so I really do not know which one this species prefers. You can just add some liverock and I am sure the anemone will quickly find his favorite spot somewhere, IanB>

BTA behavior 4/30/04 Evening Bob or Anthony, <Anthony in your service> I recently purchased a small BTA from my LFS, its still small maybe 2" in diam. It looks healthy, pinkish tan in color and moved around the aquarium first two days till it found a spot it liked. I read about target feeding them if they don't seem to be getting enough in the tank so I used a small bulb syringe and gave it a few pieces of Mysis shrimp, it grabbed them greedily and I thought it was pretty neat hehe. so I figured every three days I would offer it some sort of food. I gave it some Mysis again and this time a number of tentacle turned a bright almost fluorescent green when it was feeding. <neat> I did some searching and could not find anything mentioned about this? <agreed> Is this common? should I be concerned about it? <no concern at all> what are your thoughts on target feeding BTA's? <necessary with finely minced foods on a weekly basis for best long term success (by you or by a hosted clownfish)> Thanks as always, Drew <always welcome, my friend. Anthony>

BTA disaster II 3/28/04 Thanks for the quick reply!  I will hunt down that article and we will definitely try to save these pieces.  I inherited this tank 7 months ago with the Ocellaris pair and a flat/rock anemone from a co-worker (they didn't understand that the rock anemone was not a suitable host for the clownfish).  Between the two of us this tank has been up and running for just over two years, but I did recently (4 months ago) upgrade the lighting to prepare for getting a BTA. I've got 80 watts of power compact light on the tank (Custom SeaLife fixture - 40W of 10,000K, 40W UltraActinic and moonlight).   <nice color scheme...but only the 40 watt 10k K is doing much for the anemone and as it stands has too much blue in it. May be a moot point here as we are not trying to get optimal growth of the BTA in such a small tank. It will outgrow the aquarium sooner rather than later as it is> I also have two sources of water movement - the Skilter that is used solely for carbon filtration and an Aquarium System's hang-on-the-tank protein skimmer that we run continually for movement and turn air flow on for skimming once a week, 24 hours at a time.   <do run the skimmer full time please (for water quality and so as not to cause stressful fluctuations from the on/off aeration that affects dissolved oxygen levels. Also, observe if you are getting accumulated detritus in areas that indicates a need for better water flow> I don't use any supplements on this small tank, we've found a weekly 20% water change is all that is needed for maintaining good water quality.   <agreed... and feeding several times weekly in small amounts> I could put the frags in my main 72 gallon tank, but I'm paranoid about putting anything into that tank that could move around and sting my corals, <agreed> and our quarantine doesn't have strong enough lighting, so I'll try my best with them in the nano.  Thanks again for you help. Cindy <kindly, Anthony>  

Rose Anemone 3/28/04 I currently have a 150 gallon set up wet dry, CPR backpack skimmer, UV light, two power heads  on opposite ends of the tank one high one low, heater in the wet dry box and one in tank. The tank also contains lots of live rock mixed with lace rock. I have 1 percula clown,1 clarkii clown, 1 powder brown tang, 1 lawnmower blenny, 2 scooter blenny's, 4 damsels, and a cleaning crew. But I recently received a rose anemone {1 week} it attached quickly to a rock in very lit place middle of the tank. The Clarkii clown took to it immediately. Feeding it and sleeping in it, however he would be rather aggressive in its play. Two days ago I found the rose on the floor of the tank shriveled up like a disk and very hard. I put it back in the same spot it was. It opened and ate for me but then returned to the bottom. This time it had formed a donut shape with a hole in the middle. I returned it again and it began to look good. The next day it was climbing on the glass and throughout the day started shimming its way down the glass to the bottom. I returned it and it was fine. Today I found it with half full tentacles and a ghostly puffing of the mouth. When I fed it there was what looked to be a small tentacle next to it that was expanding and deflating. Could you tell me what might be happening? <not necessarily (or even likely) a response to light... perhaps irritation by the clownfish not giving it a chance to settle in... and even more likely not favoring the water flow (generally not enough). Still do consider if your lights are bright enough: 5 watts per gallon and focus on daylight color (6500-8,000 K). There is also an extraordinary amount of information in our WetWebMedia.Com archives if you will kindly take the time to read/browse yourself. Enjoy the journey! Anthony> Testing the water everything is good, temp is 80 and I have lights on 10 hours. The lights are ice berg ballast (2) and 2 artic white VHO (2) artic blue. 

Divided BT Anemone 3/26/04 My BT divided 48 hours ago and the clone does not look well at all. It has moved between two rocks and is very deflated and sorry looking. It barely moves its tentacles. The original BT looks great and appears as nothing happened. The owner of the fish store I bought the BT said that it is exhausted like giving birth. I have a hard time believing that. What can I do to help this clone or is it a goner and is slowly going.  Stacy Frakes <Stacy, I would give it a couple of days to recover.  Your LFS explanation is bogus.  They are parts of the same animal, why would one be "exhausted", and the other not?  I think the more likely explanation is that it is putting energy into moving away.  Your anemone should be fine.  Do watch that it can't wander into anything that it will be injured by or that can injure it.  Best Regards.  Adam>

Rose Bubble tip Anemone 3/22/04 Dear Sirs: I have researched your site for the answer to this question but cant find it. I have a 175 gal reef with generally good water parameters. My Calcium is a little low at 320 but my Alk is at 4mg/l. My pH shifts between 8.2 and 7.8 which I know is a little extreme but I have a calc reactor so this is problematic, I'm thinking abut dosing with Kalk at night to remedy this. My nitrates and phosphates are at 0. <Your pH swings could be remedied by better water movement at the surface of the water, opening stand doors and other actions to achieve better CO2 out gassing.  I am assuming that your Alk is in mEq/l not mg/l.> My question regards a rose bubble tip I purchased about a month ago from my local store. In the store it was shrunk up to about 3 inch in diameter and displayed bubble tips on the tentacles. It came attached to a rock because I insisted that they give me the rock also so not to tear the foot in removal. I placed the rock at the base of the reef with plenty of light ( 2 250 watt 10000 k metal halides and 1 400 watt metal halide in the center of the hood with 2 96 watt actinic power compacts in the front of the hood). the anemone has never moved from its placement in the front of the tank and has enlarged to an enormous size at least 10 inches in diameter, the tentacles are very long without any bubble tips, a few are stringy , some of the tentacles are cork screw in shape, one tentacle has divisions with offshoots of tentacles. <Sounds like a happy anemone.  No one knows what causes the anemones to exhibit bubble tips, but it is rare for it to occur more than occasionally in aquaria.  I have had good luck with BTA's staying put, but they will move if they are unhappy.> This anemone is in a area with very low flow of current, I feed it 3 times a week and have recently increased feeding to daily on advice of a local guy who has had great success growing these out and selling them. The anemone readily consumes its food and has a maroon pair living happily in it. <If your goal is to have a very large and/or frequently dividing anemone, feed away!  The anemone will do fine on one feeding a week, it will just grow more slowly.> The tentacles move little because of lack of current and I'm wondering if this is the cause of its limp elongated tentacle appearance ?  The animal seems healthy other than this and I'm afraid to direct more current to it because I don't want it to leave it's location. I've always been told they will move if unhappy.  What are your thoughts on this limp appearance? Do you have any suggestions?  Thank you so much for your help. Sincerely: Paul Clampitt <I would suggest trying to slightly increase the current.  The anemone will appreciate indirect turbulent flow the most.  As long as you avoid any current device blowing directly at the animal, it should stay put.  Best Regards.  Adam>

Bleached Rose <Hello, Ryan with you> Hi, I just bought a bleached out Rose that I am attempting to bring back to health. Anyway, I have some questions--if you don't mind: <No problem> 1. What can I do to help it recover? Any reef supplements? Right now I am just hand feeding it. <Lots of water changes, high water quality.  I would feed Cyclops-eeze, clams, shrimp, formula 1.> 2. I saw one a FAW re: propagation that you have a slide show that demonstrates how to properly propagate BTA's, is there any chance I can have it emailed to me? <I don't have the access to that file...sorry.> 3. I placed my Rose BTA in the tank, and immediately my Maroon Goldbar Clown took to him. Would it be imperative that I remove the clownfish, or is it OK as long as the anemone is "opening-up". <This can be overly stressful to the animal, and is not recommended.  I would actually remove the anemone to a quarantine, as it sounds like it may or may not make it.  Not worth the chance of melting down in your system in my opinion.> 4. The "open-mouth" look of an unhealthy anemone; is that the result of it being "hungry"? <It's probably expelling it's symbiotic algae, thus resulting in the "bleached" look.  If it's eating the food you give it, that's a good sign.  Good luck, Ryan> Thanks very much! I really love the site, there are tons and tons of useful information in the FAQ. I've found a new favorite reef site :) <Enjoy, learn lots!> Travis

BTA and clowns Hi Bob and Crew! <Hi, Graham at your service.> I first want to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed WetWebMedia.Com since I discovered it a couple of months ago.  It has provided me with a ton of information which I have really appreciated! <Thank you!> Most everything I've wondered I've been able to find in previous faq's/articles but I'm having trouble with one specific thing.  I have decided to try and keep my first anemone and really want to do this right.  After much research I have decided on a BTA (preferable tank raised) with a pair of maroon clowns or Ocellaris.  I have good rapport and trust with one certain local fish store and decided to have them obtain all three animals for me, pair the clowns up and "host" them with the BTA prior to my purchasing them.  (I informed them I would prefer Ocellaris over Maroon due to temperament, but since Ocellaris do not have natural symbiotic relationship with this anemone in nature Maroons would be fine too if Ocellaris didn't work out).  It was my thinking that having them all pair/host at the LFS would be a logical way to start off on the right foot.  Do you disagree?   <Not at all.> For background, my main tank is 55 gal. 4' long tank, 80-90lbs live rock, 3-4" live sand bed.  Current inhabitants are 1 yellow tang, 1six line wrasse and 1 cleaner shrimp, cleaner crew of snails and red-leg hermits.  For lighting I have 6- 40W NO fluorescent bulbs (so total of 240W).  BakPakII for skimming (with bio-bale media all removed and heater placed in this side of unit), 4 powerheads (2 little guys, one medium size, one bigger - bigger meaning 400gph rated).  My quarantine setup consists of bare bottom 10 gal. with fluorescent light and hood, which I set up only when needed with heater, one of the small powerheads from my main tank and a penguin mini with bio-wheel which runs constantly on my main tank and moves over to quarantine when set up.  Now my main questions: 1) Is lighting sufficient for BTA in your opinion?  I have read many opinions on this, but I struggle with the total wattage/vs. type of lighting (fluorescent vs. metal halide, etc) issue.  If it is sufficient, could you recommend a mix of bulbs that would work well- i.e. 3 actinic blues, 3 actinic whites, all 50/50's, etc... <No, this lighting will most likely not be enough for the E. quadricolor. Instead, I would look into either 4x 48" 110wt VHO's (2x 10,000k and 2x Actinic) on an Icecap 660 ballast or 4x 96wt Power Compacts. Either one of these setups would provide excellent lighting for not only anemones, but for many light demanding corals.> 2) quarantine procedure for BTA and clowns.  As I said they will be "paired and hosted" before I bring them home from the fish store, so I wondered if it made the quarantine situation unique at all?  Meaning I don't want to split them up,  but I'm concerned because although I want to quarantine them (particularly the clowns) I'm a little worried about the anemone in the empty bare bottom 10 gal. with the dinky little fluorescent light that came with the kit. <That may be a slight bump in the road -- if you do add the anemone to the tank, most likely it will start starving (loss of zooxanthellae) until you added it back to the aquarium. If you would prefer to quarantine the clownfish, I would first add the anemone to the aquarium (allow it to settle in) and later on add the clownfish. There's always going to be the chance that they won't host with each other even if you added the clownfish to the tank the same time you did as the anemone. With that said, I would personally add the anemone to the tank and quarantine the clownfish.> 3)any comments on my current setup/practices? <It sounds very good. Are you planning on keeping live coral?> I would appreciate any insight and thanks again for your great site!! Further, if my specific question(s) have been asked already I apologize for the redundancy, but I could not find an exact match to my scenario. <Take Care, Mike! Graham.> Mike Mendoza

BTA and clowns I have unfortunately run into a problem since I wrote this original note.  My yellow tang which has had ich in the past (I had put him directly into my tank from the LFS, before I learned the value of quarantine on this site and others and he brought ich into my tank!) recently broke out with it again.  This time it appears much more serious.  After reading up on Crypt. I now figure this isn't a new infestation but rather a subsequent outbreak from the original infestation that has hit him with a vengeance this time.  Even though my wrasse has never shown a sign of the ich I'm going to follow guidelines from this site and move my fish to my quarantine, treat with copper and let the main tank run fallow for 4-6 weeks at elevated temp.  I did not do this treatment last time (again before I had found some of these great web resources) and had chosen instead to go the more "natural" route- adding a cleaner shrimp, maintaining very good water quality including frequent changes, varied and enriched diet, garlic extract, etc.  Looking back now I wish I had chosen the more aggressive route in the first place but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing by being less invasive to the tang.  This new development obviously puts my clowns/anemone purchase on hold, but the questions are still valid because once I conquer the ich I do want to get the pair of clowns (and possibly the anemone but only if I feel I can give it a good shot to survive in my environment). <I've forwarded this email to someone else with more knowledge on fish diseases. Graham.> Thanks again for your time! Mike
Re: BTA and clowns Thank you for the response Graham! <No problem!> I will look further into the lighting thing based on your feedback.  Kind of a bummer because I liked the current setup on a canopy I created.  I thought I had heard/read that the BTA variety possibly preferred less intense lighting than some of the other anemones.   <This is true. However, keep in mind just because it may do fine under lower amounts of lighting does not mean it can be kept under any kind of lighting.> If I'm unable to upgrade the lighting are there any anemones at all that would do reasonably well under the 240W of fluorescent?   <The Condylactis anemone may do fine under that lighting. Unfortunately, this species is known for getting quite large and for not hosting with many species of clownfish.> If not I'll just strongly consider putting off my idea of getting an anemone indefinitely. Also, to answer your question I would like a few soft live corals eventually.  I was going to go for just a few lower light demanding species, which is why I also had hoped I could keep the anemone with my current lighting.  (btw, within the next couple/few years I plan on getting a larger aquarium- 150gal. + which would have many more corals and much more intense lighting.  This current 55 was kind of a trial for me to make sure I have the aptitude/desire to maintain a reef of any kind before really diving full bore into the hobby with both feet- and an open wallet. Just so you don't think I'm unwilling to invest in proper equipment ultimately).  I know there can be compatibility issues with corals and anemones which is why I planned on only the one E. Quad. and just a few soft corals.  Do you think I'm still asking for trouble even in these small numbers? <Anemones generally do better with much more intense lighting. If you choose not to upgrade, I would recommend instead buying a Sarcophyton sp. for your clownfish to host in. These corals may live under your current lighting, however they may prefer much more intense lighting than you currently have.> Lastly, I have unfortunately run into a problem since I wrote this original note.  My yellow tang which has had ich in the past (I had put him directly into my tank from the LFS, before I learned the value of quarantine on this site and others and he brought ich into my tank!) recently broke out with it again.  This time it appears much more serious.  After reading up on Crypt. I now figure this isn't a new infestation but rather a subsequent outbreak from the original infestation that has hit him with a vengeance this time.  Even though my wrasse has never shown a sign of the ich I'm going to follow guidelines from this site and move my fish to my quarantine, treat with copper and let the main tank run fallow for 4-6 weeks at elevated temp.  I did not do this treatment last time (again before I had found some of these great web resources) and had chosen instead to go the more "natural" route- adding a cleaner shrimp, maintaining very good water quality including frequent changes, varied and enriched diet, garlic extract, etc.  Looking back now I wish I had chosen the more aggressive route in the first place but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing by being less invasive to the tang.  This new development obviously puts my clowns/anemone purchase on hold, but the questions are still valid because once I conquer the ich I do want to get the pair of clowns (and possibly the anemone but only if I feel I can give it a good shot to survive in my environment). <I've forwarded this email to someone else with more knowledge on fish diseases. Graham.> Thanks again for your time! <Your welcome! Take Care, Mike!>
Mike

BTAs, Jim Black how can one get in touch with Jim Black and is he interested in selling anymore rose BTA also thanks for all the info your site is great it's helped me quit a bit    THANK BILL <We don't retain folks email (or other) addresses, but you might try posting your query on our chatforum: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/. Maybe Jim or someone who knows him will chime in. Bob Fenner>

- Bubble Tip Sans Tips - Hey Guys, This question in concerning my Bubble tip anemone. I have had the anemone for about a year. The first 3 to 4 months it had great looking bubbles in the tips and from 4 months on it has lost the bubbles. I have not seen the bubbles since. The tentacles are all the way stretched out and some have fallen off. <That doesn't sound good.> Then Anemone is kind of ugly now but does not look like it is going to die. <They rarely do until a day or two before it's all over.> It accepts all of the foods I give it, Mysis, Squid, Fish fillet soaked in Selcon and Vita Chem. The tank in a 25 gallon. <This is a pretty small tank and small amount of water for such a creature... any chance of something larger. Would try a couple of 25% water changes to see if that improves its attitude.> About a month ago I switched up the lighting. I went from 110 watts of PC to one 175 watt 12k metal halide. That did not help it at all. What would be causing the tips to disappear and never come back? <Something about your husbandry isn't satisfying its needs.> 1.025, 77?, pH 8.3, nitrates 10, Have not checked Alk and Calcium. Does Alk and Calcium affect anemones? <Not directly.> Would it be a factor why the bubbles have disappeared? <Wouldn't expect so.> I have a Clarki clownfish that is in the anemone 24/7. He brings the anemone food all the time. Also is it normal for an anemone to fully deflate to where there is no water in it? <If something is disturbing it, yes.> The mouth is wide open and sometimes has brown stringy stuff coming out. Mine has been doing that about once a week? Is this something to be concerned about or is that its way of getting rid of it waste? <It does sound like something is quite wrong - what that is exactly is hard for me to say.> Sorry for all of the questions just trying to keep my little anemone healthy! Thanks, Chris <Cheers, J -- >

Bubble tip anemone 2/12/04 I just put a bubble tipped anemone in my tank and he moved around a little and found a spot to stay but he doesn't seem to want to open up for some reason. is this normal when first introducing him to a tank??? thanks <fairly common yes... and please do read though our archives at WetWebMedia.Com for articles and FAQs on caring for these anemones and others. Anthony>