Caring for Rose Anemones the right way
BTA Rose Anemone
Anemone's on the move
Why won't they stay where you put them?
The same reason that you move around your home.
The air is moving much better on the sofa( water motion on the rock)
It's cooler in the recliner (under a rock away from that hot light)
It's warmer in front of the sunny window( up by the light)
It's not near as windy away from the window(power head)
You don't feel well and go to bed( so do they when they don't feel well)
They will hide under rocks or on the back wall of the tank when not feeling well.
You're hungry and to go the kitchen
( nope, nothing for this one)
Togetherness.( The lets hug and touch thing)
I find that they like to be touching when there are more then one in the tank and are usually
together, tentacles touching.
If it's just to darn windy ( power head that will blow your toupee off)
They will move out of its way . They hate being in the blown away situation.( They call that a bad tentacle day)
So, in conclusion
NEVER depend on your Anemone to stay front and center where you really want him.
He will almost never stay there.
He likes the view from the back of your tank soooo much better.
Or the view at the top of your tank, hanging on the glass is so appealing for him. (And for you "NOT")
All you can see is a funny looking flat foot stuck to the glass. (Its so appealing )
But they will move and will come out of their hiding place when they find the need.
They can survive for days or even weeks in the dark and they do there best healing from a split
or God forbid being sucked up into a filter intake (in that case, shame on you !).
So don't fret if they go into hiding.
A suggestion however.....
If you do not see your hide and seeker for a few days,
be sure to keep up with your ammonia readings to make sure it has not gone
into hiding to die.
If your water quality remains ok then he is just resting or acclimating to your tank.
But it is mandatory that you know where it is at all times. In case it is in trouble and also so that
you can feed it.
Do not let your Anemone stay in hiding so long that it starts to bleach. Always know where it is and
the condition of it.
Move the rock around to get it into the light if you have to, but if it moves back into the dark and stays there,
there is a tank problem.
It cold be bad water quality, no food or it has just split and is healing.
If any of the above, find it and watch it. Never assume it is ok when in hiding.
Never will they hide for over a week.
ON FEEDING AN ANEMONE MIA
If your anemone is new to your tank and he has gone into the hiding mode. Don't fret.
Just keep an eye on him, use a flashlight if need be to make sure he is not gaping and is attached to a rock or the glass.
If he is, just let him be.
Removing him will only stress him more.
If he is deflated, he is stressed or removing waste.
When he plumps back up, you will need to attempt to feed him, ( more for you than him)
Feed him a Silverside if you can get one to him, if you can't , thaw mysis shrimp and suck it up into a syringe
with a long tube on the end. Squirt some onto his tentacles, (NEVER in the mouth)
If he is hungry he will grab up the shrimp and take it to his mouth.
It he lets the food fall away, he is not hungry. Try again in a few days.
Don't push ,pull and prod him to get him to move..
He will rebel down the road by showing you his (pretty?) foot on the front or you tank
A new picture I have taken with a small mini colander is the one below.
Added 8-5-07
The LTA in the picture is next to another of it's kind in my 125 gallon tank.
It decided to let go of it's foot hold a few days ago and go wandering
around the tank.
When I found him, he had blown to the coral stick in the middle of the tank.
So to make him stay put where he was, I used my mini colander.
(found at the dollar store) to hold him in place for a few days.
I am using a half of a magnetic glass cleaner to hold the colander in place
until the little bugger attaches again.
He went on the move because I changed the water movement in the tank a few days
ago to create more movement in the left side of the tank.
He doesn't like it but I needed to do it.
So he is under control until he gets his foot attached again.
Here is a picture of what I am doing with him.
He is under the colander and his friend is to the right of him.
As you can see, he is not happy and trying to get out, some of his tentacles are
reaching out through the holes.
Silly boy.
Another mover
The BTA above is a split that happened a few months ago, it split
down front in the tank, climbed up to the top of the tank and attached
itself to the side of a large tall leather where it lived for a few weeks.
Then, it didn't want to stay there any longer, and I knew that it was very close
to the intake on the external filter, but since it is covered.(see section on covering
your intakes) I knew he would be fine.
So,
now here he is. Attached literally to the cover on the intake.
The killer of Anemones and happy as a .... well.... Anemone.
He has lived here for the last 2 months and loves the water flowing down on
him from the filter.
But I am unable to clean the intake cover so guess that will just have to be ok for now.
Look to the left in the picture, you can see the intake cover, his foot is attached to it.
Silly things.
He moved about 12 inches to this spot.
Another picture of the Anemone above. See the intake to the left!
Good luck with your little traveller and be sure to know at all times where he is.
