Anemone ID and Arrow crab predation query    01/13/2008 Thank you for this wonderful service and for devoting your time and effort! Tank parameters: *92 gal community reef (110lbsLR, 90lbs live sand, 4 small gobies, various softies, 2 green emerald crabs, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp), *29 gal wet-dry sump/refugium with Caulerpa, mud, and 10lbs of LR (in line), *Lighting: 175MH, 4- 24W T5HO actinic, 12 LED night lights *Water chem: SG-1.024 , pH- 8.3 , nitrite- 0, ammonia- 0, nitrate- undetectable, calcium 410ppm, 78 degrees F I bought an anemone from my LFS yesterday and I am afraid I've walked into an unfortunate situation. I had been told by one of the workers that this anemone was a bulb-tip of some sort. So I put it on hold to research it for a few days. Upon return yesterday to purchase it, other workers told me it was a yellow Sebae anemone. I still bought it but now really wish I had gone back home to research instead. The column is a orange-red color fading to a yellow around the top with white/transparent tentacles. Sadly, from reading all the articles on here at WWM, I realize it's probably dyed and dying. Although, mine doesn't look like a Sebae to me...maybe because it's so far gone already?? I'd just like to know what it is so I can properly care for it / try to save it. <It looks like a bleached Long Tentacle anemone to me (hopefully Bob will correct me if I'm wrong).> <Mmmm, maybe... could be a Magnificent/Ritteri though... RMF> On another note, I have a question about predation from arrow crabs: I am hoping to make a proper home for a mandarin goby in the next few months so I ordered a culture of copepods. I added them to the fuge but have seen nothing in over a week. I wrote the sender and they said to give it 3 weeks.... I'm doing that. In the meantime, I put my arrow crab (juvenile at this point) in the fuge to take care of a bristleworm population I have (he does have a much larger suitable tank to go to when he gets grows). <Hmmm, why do you want to "take care" of your bristle worm population? The vast majority of these worms are actually beneficial scavengers/detritivores.> Will the arrow crab, even if there are plenty of bristleworms to eat, harm the growing copepod population? <I suppose it's possible, if the crab is small and fast enough to catch them. But as the crab gets bigger, it will likely seek out larger prey (as big as small fish even). To be frank, they're not the best of live stock choices. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/arrowcrabfaqs.htm> Thanks so much!!!! Erin
<Best,
Sara M.>

 A dying one. RMF

Another dying one. RMF

Re: Anemone ID, E. Quadricolor, Bubble Tip Anemone, BTA -- 1/02/08 Hello Brenda, <Hello Renee!> I wanted to thank you. <You are very welcome!> I originally (3 months ago) thought they were BTAs also, however when they turned so brown, I thought perhaps they were Condys. <What color were they when you got them? Any pictures?> My Condys are brownish and my curlyques turned brown. <I don't recommend keeping different species of anemones together. What size tank are you keeping them in? What are your water parameters?> I wanted to let you know that on the second page of the link you sent me below Pt. 2, at the end are some links and one is not working. :) Just a website heads up. <Yes, I see that! Note to Bob: Under Bibliography/Further Reading, the first two links are not working. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anempt2.htm > Thanks so much for the ID. Renee <You're welcome and thank you for the heads up! Brenda>

Re: Anemone ID, E. Quadricolor, Bubble Tip Anemone, BTA -- 1/03/08 Hello Brenda, <Hello Renee!> My answers are in between your questions in bold. <The bold did not show up when I received this. I will clean up and delete our previous discussions so that we don't duplicate information.> They looked peach colored and had different shaped tentacles. I originally thought Bubble tips, that were orangish peach in color and they were not round, and they weren't pointy like now either. They were flatter on the end and kind of roundish in some areas and extended in others. <The E. Quadricolor is known to change the shape of its tentacles.> My parameters are 8.3 ph, and everything is at zero, and if it goes up more than 2 notches, I bring it back down, but to be honest it runs really smooth and I don't get a lot of spikes, which I attribute to so much live rock/coral that it filters it before the system gets to it, clear filtration and skim the heck out of it. <What is your temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium?> I am using 2 sets of compact fluorescent lights, 96 watts each, totaling 4 bulbs, 2 actinic 10000k, 2 blue 6500k in a 75 gallon Tru Vu aquarium with built in overflow, 2 powerheads, <I don't recommend the use of powerheads with anemones. If you must use, be sure the intakes are covered to protect the anemone.> a UV filter/removable and not always in the tank, Aquamedics UV filter, Prefilter (home-built, to the hilt, very good pre-skim), and a skimmer, TruFlo wet/dry and I only have a few fish, and about 100 lbs of rock and 3" of sand (picking up 70 more lbs of rock tomorrow from a friend). My fish are only 6 damsels, one wrasse, one snowflake eel, one yellow tang and a Lawnmower Blenny. I have hermits, snails, etc. I feed krill, silversides, flaked food, Mysis shrimp, algae cubes and dried algae and I am also bringing in fresh cultured algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton as well as trace elements. I put Iodine in monthly. <Are you testing before you dose? If not, I would stop dosing immediately.> I change 20 gallons every few months. <I recommend about 10% weekly.> I add the Trace Elements by Kent. Anemone in that aquarium consist of (the aquarium is halved by the overflow chamber) 2 Condy Haitians on one side, and 2 curlicues I have had for a long time live on the top near the top of the tank (about 2' away from any other anemone up high in a coral fitted to the side chamber, and the ones I wanted to have identified are in the rocks to the right side, below). Nobody touches anyone else, nor are they near each other. However I am up for your expertise if I have made a mistake housing these together. <Anemones do not do well long term (sometimes even short term) when housed with mixed species. To mix anemones long term you would need a system of a few hundred gallons or more, even then there is no guarantee.> The curlicues are very small and they have been pets nearly a year and are way up high in their own colony...they arrived see through and turned dark brown also, <It sounds like they had expelled their zooxanthellae, and have since recovered.> The Condys are brownish, with long pink tips and about 8" long each. <This sounds normal.> The new anemone I sent pics in of is about 3" long each, very small...probably a clone off of one anemone of the same kind). The anemone I just purchased have been housed in a pet store environment with a hanging halide light, approximately 3' above the aquarium, which has shallow water, great flow and a major skimmer. I am hopeful to keep the same luck with these as I've had with Condys and the curlicues. <Unfortunately, I do not see this happening long term. I suspect you will have issues with the E. Quadricolor first.> Whew what a long paragraph. I am waiting the response anxiously. Thanks again! :)
Renee
<You're welcome! Brenda>