BTA and Other Anemones – 06/17/07
Good evening Crew. I have two questions that I hope have easy answers.
First: I have a BTA that seems to be doing quite well--was when I purchased and remains a nice shade of light brown, shows its bubbles fairly often, etc. One thing that concerns me a little, though, is that it seems to prefer locations that have limited light. I have a 110 g that is 30" high, illuminated with 6 x 54W T5s (3 10,000K daylights and 3 actinics--thinking of swapping 1 actinic out for a 10000K daylight, just haven't gotten around to doing it yet). I know BTAs like to perch in ledges,
<Mmm, only in captivity>
and I have plenty of rock, overhangs, crevices, etc. The other night I had to move the rock on which it was perched to deal with an unstable rock underneath, and the BTA moved and is now sitting under an overhang of rock, about 90% shaded. I realize that BTAs will move to find a suitable location, but is this normal?
<Mmm, normal... for abnormal/aquarium settings, yes... It will move itself...>
From what I read, my lighting doesn't seem to be too strong.
<Agreed>
Second: I purchased some really nice Florida aquacultured rock and noticed that the rock came with a few (4 that I can see) very small anemones. Some are striped (brown and clear) and some are clear. I have tried to identify them using WWM, but they are too small to make an accurate ID. My question is, should I be wary of any anemone that comes on Atlantic rock?
<Possibly... there are many "pest" types... some can/will displace, sting other life...>
Put another way, are there Atlantic anemones that one typically sees on rock that are not pest anemones?
<Yes... by definition, like a terrestrial plant "weed", unwanted... or at least not found to have purpose as yet>
As always, I appreciate the insight.
Andy Bulgin
<There are ref. works re... Maybe see the Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach series... Bob Fenner>

Sea Anemone Identification and Concerns  6/10/07 I have spent the last few days reading your site, I am impressed with the amount of information provided. I have felt that I have learned more at this site then getting information from dozens of locations and sources. With this said, I do feel as I have not found the information needed for my newest friend. My tank is a 29 gallon, 30" X 18 X 12 with a JBJ Formosa Power Compact Dx series double light. 1 10k 65 watts and 1 Actinic 03 65 watts, 1 power head pumping 160GH, A Seaclone protein skimmer (working better than most say they will I get a good collection of greenish water and brownish foam), I have a Biowheel filter I run from time to time to clean up the tank if it gets debris or cloudy and the skimmer is not keeping up with the load, about 15 lbs of Live rock, 2 inches of crushed florida coral with 2 inches of live sand \ aragonite mixture on top for substrate. The tank has been going for 1 year with 5 damsels, <What species? This is too small a volume for most...> which all seem pretty happy. Recently, I divided the tank in half to separate the more aggressive damsels from my new friends. My water quality is not the best, I tend to get spikes of nitrates from time to time. I am getting better with water cycling. Current Salinity 1.020, <Too low...> temp 78 to 80, Nitirites .5, <Should/must be zip!> nitrates 60 ppm (High I know, have increased water cycling) PH 8.2 ( I have been using Proper PH, recently read why I shouldn't on your site, will start to correct this) I have finally come around to getting some clowns. I wanted to get Tomato or Maroon Clowns, <Not enough room...> but was out voted by my Fiancé for True Percula, (she likes the way they look) I went to many LFS I have 4 within a 3 mile radius of my house (lucky me) None of them had a pair, <Will make their own> or if they did; admitted they were not eating properly and would not sell them. <Good> Finally I come to a store that has a large stock of little ones, about inch to an inch and a half. I purchase 2, then start talking about a host Anemone, this is where I started making mistakes. He talks about lighting, and gets me to purchase the JBJ setup. Points out a "Sebae" Anemone, that is translucent white / Yellowish color. ( I believed it's been bleached only by information from your site) <Is it the one pictured? This is badly bleached> It looked extremely healthy in the LFS, it was under MH lights. Very compulsive Buy I am now regretting. I bring it home with the fishes, I acclimate them by floating the bags, put some of my tank water in the bags after an hour. Everything is going really well. I drop him in the tank, into the substrate away from the rocks. He has some stringy sticky material, He is slightly pulled together, but not too dramatic. He starts to open after an hour. It's close to night time I turn off the lights and he starts moving around, heading for the corner of the glass where the power head rotates too. He then Stretches out and is really big, I had no Idea he's about 6 inches across very Large. <Is actually much larger than this...> His foot is a Dark brownish color <Really?> and his mantle gets lighter towards the edges, He puffed up his foot and half climbed the glass. His tentacles, are pretty long. I was quite happy to see him happy and flowing in the water current. I was just amazed at how beautiful my new friend was. The next morning my heart sunk, He was shriveled up. All his tentacles were about ¼ inch long and very bulby at the ends. He pulled his mantle together and just looked Ill. His mouth was shut, also no color distinction around his mouth, it looks like an opaque white. I turn the lights on, after an hour or 2, he starts to open a bit but all his tentacles stay very short and bulby. <Adjusting...> This Behavior has lasted for 3 days now. Same every night, he blooms very open and flowing in the current, very large and happy looking, every morning I feel like I got to get a grave ready. This morning I found a large brown ball of what I first thought to be his stomach or insides, <Waste material> I thought he perished. I grabbed the net and slightly touched him and he closed right away, I then decided to get the brown ball, I guess its anemone poop. I've never been so excited in my life to find poop. I have attached pictures, I guess I want to verify it's a Sebae. <Can't make out... are there the typical "pink tips" to the tentacles? This is diagnostic for Heteractis crispa...> Also if this behavior is going to lead to a very sad owner, or if it's just part of the process. I would think he would stretch out during the lighted hours to get as much light as possible. I plan on doing all that is possible to nurse this mistreated Beauty of the world and all the advice / knowledge is much appreciated. My clowns Don't want anything to do with the Anemone, and looking at the compatibility charts, I doubt they ever will. Should I wait for the outcome of this Anemone before thinking of finding a more compatible host for my pair? <...> I was thinking I wanted to pick up a BTA? <Shouldn't be housed with another Actinarian...> I do Apologize for the very long Message, but I wanted to make sure you had the details that lead up to my situation. I appreciate what everyone at your site does, it helps so many people I can't even imagine. Thanks for the time and patients to help others (specially us newbies) Both Lights on, First Day in the tank after he moved into the corner, During the Night, I turned on the Actinic 03 for just a few seconds to take the Picture, His tentacles are at least 3 to 5 inches long here. It's so Beautiful in this state. Its really hard to believe it's the same creature how it looks at night and during the day is amazing. A small picture of my small tank bringing me so much Joy. Justin Sciacca <That the base/pedicle of this specimen is dark brown, and that I can't make out the pink tips alluded to... and to some extent, the lack of attention by the Clowns (should be discounted due to their likely being captive-produced)... lead me to suspect this is "something else", maybe a Heteractis malu... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Anemone I.D. 4/26/07
Hi Crew,
<Hello.>
I've bought a little anemone that is about the size of a penny from a reefer last week. I can't take any pics of the little anemone but I've got a pic of the mother anemone.
Here's the mother anemone:
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r97/Francois-Etienne/Anemone.jpg
<I see what looks like a LTA to me. Do you agree?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/LTAIDFAQs.htm >
The anemone has split herself several times in aquariums since now.
<Nifty.>
The first day I got it, I placed it in the bottom of the tank but the second day, it went to a higher spot in the tank like if it wanted more light (and I'm using metal halides 150w)... So today I placed her on the top of my reef and she seems to open more than yesterday.
<They go where they like. Don't bother placing.>
I've tried to give it some brine shrimp but it did not eat any (is this normal for a small anemone of the size?).
< http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonefdgfaqs.htm >
The tips of the tentacles are white and round (not like a BTA but more like a magnifica).
<You might be correct, but the size of the specimen makes it hard for me to be 100%. Look here for clarification on H. magnifica: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/hetmagnifica.htm >
Do you have any idea of what kind of anemone this could be?
<See above.>
What would be the best food for it?
<Look at the feeding FAQ. (Don't mean to be short, but our server has been hit hard with emails and I'm trying to fly through a chunk before bedtime.)>
Should I place in a spot with higher flow or lower flow?
<Nope, they go where they please.>
Thanks a lot
François-Étienne
<You are welcome!
-GrahamT>