Caring for Rose Anemones the right way
BTA Rose Anemone
Buying a Rose Anemone
Your new Rose or Green Bubble Tip may be full of bubbles
on the end
of their Tentacles when purchased and sometimes not.
(If they are bubbled in the store, they may not be
when you place them in your tank, and they may
never bubble again)
The health of the animal does not depend on bubbles
and it is not a sign of it's health if it does not have them.
They can be long and flowing, or short and bubbled and still
be healthy.
The all over color and length of the tentacles is what you are looking
for.
Sometimes they will not
have all of their color but you should be
able to tell if it is a Green BTA or a Rose just by looking at it.
2. Color
If it is a Rose it should be a deep red or dark orange red in color.
Most Roses are not fire engine red, but deep red or orange red .
If it is a green Bubble Tip, it should be a medium to dark green in color.
I have seen some almost the color of grass, but they were not for sale.
I am always looking for one or two as I do not have any.
3. The bubbles
Here is one of my largest in my 125.
For the longest, almost a year, she never bubbled up
and always had long straight Tentacles..
But in the last month, she changed her mind and here she is now.
that are white, light pink and see through or droopy in their tank.
See section on "Saving them from the Fish stores" for more on this subject.
They should NOT look like this!
It is starting to bleach. The Anemone above was one that I picked up for nothing
because they were going to throw it out thinking it was dead.
I saved it of course.
It was laying on the sand, on it's tentacles when I took it out of
their tank.
It took several months for it to regain it's Zooanthellae.
So, if you are seeing one that looks like this in the Fish Store
pass it up if you are wanting a healthy one.
5. Damaged Anemones
unless you have had experience with their care in that situation.
Even if it is a great deal it will usually die in your tank from the stress of being injured or sick.
Damage to look for is a ripped foot or hole in the foot, shrunken
6. The mouth
If the Anemone is attached to a rock at your fish store, buy the rock with the Anemone attached.
Do not attempt to remove it from its home.
7. Has it been eating?
If the answer to the above is NO, pass on the Anemone.
If they however say that they have been feeding Mysis shrimp
to this Anemone, at least it is something and ask them if they
have tried Silver sides.
Mysis shrimp is an OK food for someone who can not find
Silver sides, but it is not the right food for them.
If the Tentacles are short and nubby, you know that they have
not been feeding it properly and it is starving. So pass on it.
What kind of lighting is it under?
How long have they had the Anemone and did they purchase it or is it
a clone from one of their stock?
The more questions the better.
When you purchase
your Anemone from a fish store
you need to see if it is attached to a rock or rubble.
You might have to offer to pay for the rock with it .
This will save you from trying to pry it loose from that
rock and damaging the foot.
One thing to watch for when purchasing it on it's rock is how it
moves around in the bag in transit to
your home.
Make sure that it is not giggled around so that the rock
is turned upside down and laying on your new
Anemone.
Keep it as still as possible to keep from causing damage.
knows how to do it properly.
Usually a fingernail on the edge of the foot to wiggle it loose is all that is needed
Sometimes you will have to go all the way around the foot in order to make it release.
When it does, place the bag with tank water under the water and gently move the Anemone into the bag.
Try to keep the anemone from coming out of the tank at all times as it may damage the body when it is
lifted out over the water and coming in contact with the air .
9. The ride home
so you will need to detach it the same way as was done
in the fish store but do it in your bucket that you will be
using to acclimate it.
I prefer to get at least a half gallon of water
with any anemone purchase, because when I get it
home and am ready to acclimate it, I need enough of the
stores water in the bucket to keep the Anemone covered
at all times.
Then I can start dripping my tank water into the bucket.
So make sure that the store uses the largest bag they have
and request a half gallon of water for it .
The end.
