Anemone Information..

So my anemone is a Condylactis and it is hiding under a rock. We fed him some silverside the other day so he looks bigger but he spit up both peices....We just moved the tank, and we are acclimating them to the old ballasts the previous owner had.

My question is...if indeed the anemone is hiding because of light shock, and if these ballasts we put on are too old, how long can the little guy last?

What lighting/water parameters are necessities for an anemone?

 

Ive only had one Condy, but he was pretty tough. He took about a week to acclimate to the tank and slowly moved around until he was satisfied with the light/water flow. He didn't always eat the food I gave him, just like yours. He did eat better if I fed him around "lights out" time.

 

The usual advice applies here. Watch for bleaching. just because he threw it up doesn't mean he didn't get some nutrition. Keep a close eye on him, and of course your params; and lets see if he won't acclimate.

Good luck. Remember if things start going down hill, it's always better to lose an anemone than the tank.

 

The tell take signs of anemone downhill spiral are the base (foot) losing color, the foot losing hold and the real teller, the tenticles get slimey instead of sticky. Feeding it silversides (one a week) might get it through. Just be careful. I almost lost my tank when my condy got stuck in the powerhead. Got to it before it died. When they die, they like to take everyone with......

Condys are pretty tough compared to some of the others out there. Mine lived through conditions that would have killed most. They are time bombs though. The average lifespan of an anemone in captivity is 6 months. Under optimal conditions. Personally, I am probably never going to get another. Don't want to take the chance.

 

Soooo

You wouldn't want to get an anemone even to watch the Nemos have at it? I think that is soooo cool. With my luck I would get this BTA in about 2 weeks, and it won't even host my 2 clowns. haha

The LSFS here in Oregon has sooooooo many anemones, it's crazy. I am about to go bug them for about an hour, looking at everything in the store and asking a bunch of annoying questions, then not buying anything. I bet they LOVE those types of customers!!!

 

I would honestly consider taking it to the LFS if they will take it. If you really want to, try another one when you get some good experience (though I still don't recommend them). As the above poster's have said, they can be very tough to keep. And if you screw something up even in the slightest, you may lose the whole tank because of it. I made the mistake of trying an anemone way too early into this hobby, and it did die, and took most of my tank with it. It was a horrible, horrible experience that nearly drove me from reef keeping all together. I would hate to see someone else go through the same thing.
And the clown's don't need an anemone by any means. The will even find something else to host. My pair hosts a patch of zoas. You get the best of both worlds that way; all of the interesting interaction and none of the risk.

 

Mine hosts an interesting hole in my rock... That rock is being well taken care of

 

My little maroon clown hosts xenia.. and beats my sebae (clarkii) clowns (which are bigger) when they come close. Its quite funny.

 

Is that always the case? That seems to be a little low average.

 

There are always exceptions... even in unexperienced tanks but that is a good rule of thumb. I have a friend that has a RBTA that has split over a dozen time and fills a 144 half round... it's OLD! Rule of thumb is avg 6 months for most though without that exception.