Anemone Needs

Hi,
I was attracted to anemones as many newbies are and had lots of problems as many people do.
Here's some of the neat things I ve learned.
In the wild many anemones can live more than a hundred years so wild caught specimens should be discouraged.
Many LTA can't breathe well or off gas without good water flow due to their membranes are not good at gas exchange.
Why do they move around so much my guess they are looking for water flow and host fish.
What is the attraction that anemones need host fish?
Here are some of the ideas that may prove interesting.
1. The host fish provides additional water flow from moving in and out of the anemone and the fins of the fish may improve the water flow
2. Maybe the slime of the fish provide a small amount of nutrition that’s beneficial to the LTA, many fresh water fish feed their young slime at birth off their own bodies.
3. Many host fish try to feed their LTA"S.
4. Maybe the fish's waste is predigested food for the LTA"S.

I had a small one that was not thriving in a very healthy reef system he was getting lost in the rock wandering around the tank, yesterday my young true perculla figured out that he liked this LTA and the changes were immediate my anemone stopped barfing, he's perked up overnight, he's getting some color back, he's actually shown improvement in the last 24 hours.
Just observation this poor little LTA has been alost soul in my tank for the last three months, I am so glad this little percula my guess is instinctively knows how to care for this LTA. He was a baby percula when I bought not much more that a few weeks old very tiny to I doubt he ever seen one.
He now protects guards the LTA. Man that nature stuff is amazing.
.
Doug

 

very cool doug!!! karma to you!!:Halloween49:

 

cool! how long did you wait till you got your first anemone?
also would you mind pming a picture of your sump? I have a 55 gal and am in the process of designing a sump.

my goal is to have a couple anemone and some coral as well. my tank's fish (two blue damsels.. mean turds.. and a five banded damsel... we call em Sgt Majors) are in a hos. tank thanks to ick

soon as the tank is clear I can get em back to their home. I think the skunks and pepermint shrimp are sitting in the corner of the main tank looking into the hos tank wanting to clean the fish. lol.

 

Agree about anemone fish feeding host...never fed mine for for years. Just let the clowns take care of it. (poop may be a big part of it...:-/)

 

Clowns are remarkable !

 

Now our small perc has two hosts, first it was ourFrogspawn and now it is our large Toadstool. Both percs sleep at the Frogspawn at night and the small perc is hosting the Toadstool during the day. Now, if only our bi colored pygmy will let him be....LOL...The pygmy does not bother the perc at all unless he is hosting the Toadstool, it is almost as if the Pygmy is saying, "leave the Toadstool alone"

 

My mail clown runs food to his bta everytime I feed. It is truly amazing.

 

i cant even get near my seabae anemone... the yellow striped maroon (Evil Fishie) will draw blood! Hes my little devil