Bubble tipped Anemone   1/20/06
Just set up a 120 saltwater tank with a 30 gallon sump 9 months ago. I am a complete Newbie so this site has been a complete Godsend.  You are all so knowledgeable, thanks so much. Without wasting to much of your time here is my question.  I purchased a molting mushroom rock a few weeks ago, which is doing quite nicely.  On the opposite side of the rock is what looks to be bubble tipped anemones.  It's a small colony of maybe 5 or 6
separate specimens, about an inch in diameter and an inch high. Their colors range from brownish orange to green and two have recently relocated to other places in my tank.  Everything I've seen in books and on the internet are all the picture perfect and fully grown. These little guys have retained their bubble tips and seem to be loving my tank.
Oh, the question?  Will these little guys get bigger or simply spread? <If that is what they are they will grow under proper conditions.  I'm thinking they are the dreaded Aiptasia anemones.  Any chance of sending a pic of them?> What do they eat? I am taking a lot of time with each thing I put in the tank and want to know what is best with these little guys. <Do search the Wet Web Media (Google tool) and you will find answers to your questions.  Do start here with anemones. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm>  I'm almost obsessive about the tank an all parameters are pretty good. Right now my tank has two Foxface fish, a mandarin fish,<Do search this fish, you will be surprised at its requirements/needs.> two peppermint shrimp, one red serpent star, one brittle star, a plate coral and numerous snails and hermit crabs, all of which are doing great. A word of enlightened wisdom about my newest little tank mates will be greatly appreciated. Vicky, always do a search on something you intend to buy.  May save you money/headaches down the road.  James (Salty Dog)>
Sincerely, Vicky W.  

Anemones, not a casual decision  12/26/05
I just had a quick question. I want to put an anemone (mainly a bubble tip anemone) and was wondering if it's ok to put in my tank. I have a blue tang,
tomato clown, some Chromis and flame angel with a bunch of shrimp (cleaner, blood and peppermint) and snails. What anemone would work with my setup?
<Well I'll start off by saying anemones are not for casual aquarists and are quite sensitive, the lot of them perish in captivity. Before I can even begin to recommend or advise placing an anemone in your tank I will need to know much more about your system, filtration, lighting, water flow, substrate, water parameters, protein skimmer, maintenance regime, tank size and tank age. Also research this animal for your self at WWM re: E. Quadricolor. Adam J.>

Reef Calcium conundrum, Captive-prop'ed BTA  12/9/05
I have a question for you...imagine that, I have a 55gal w/ 4" DSB that I've started with a few zoo's frags, some Kenya tree, and a Ricordea. I just got a wild hair and decided to test my alkalinity and calcium levels. My calcium came out to a whopping 560ppm and the alkalinity to about 180ppm. I've been using B-ionic 2 part calcium/alk. supplement and Kent's SuperBuffer dKH weekly as my source water is extremely soft (about 10ppm). 
I am seriously considering putting in an anemone (BTA to go with ocellaris clown---I love anemone/clownfish systems!), but don't want to do so until I'm sure my water quality is just right...not to mention that I'm at a loss as to where to find a captive produced clone in my area (N. CO) I have about 60 lbs. LR and about 15 lbs. coral skeletons. I'm not sure if these levels are OK and if I should stop/scale down my dosing? Any help? Oh, also, what is your opinion on using bleach to clean out QT tanks/equipment?...I've always used vinegar, but was recommended to use bleach...Thanks, Branon.
<If your levels and water quality are rock-solid and stable, you're probably fine, assuming other parameters are met (lighting in particular). Your LFS should be able to procure a captive-cloned BTA for you, or you may be able to find one via internet mail-order. 
Good on you for demanding captive prop'ed livestock. Bleach is definitely better than vinegar for sterilizing equipment. You can dilute it 1:2 or 1:3 bleach: water and spray it with a spray bottle (KEEP IT OUT OF YOUR EYES, OFF SKIN, FAVORITE BLUE JEANS, ETC) on large stuff like tanks. Just be sure to rinse everything very thoroughly. Lastly, try to buy the most basic bleach, without perfume, etc. Happy Holidays, Lorenzo> 
<<It helps to keep a bit of dry sodium thiosulfate on hand, can be found online through chemical supply houses at incredibly cheap prices!  Marina>>

Maroon Clowns behavior, BTAs 7/10/05
Hey Everybody,
I have two maroon clowns, one is a little over an inch and the other one is two inches. The smaller one is very dark and the larger one is a very bright
orange. They swim together all the time and in the three months they have been together I have never seen them fight. Does it sound like they may
eventually mate, or is there a chance that they will become aggressive and kill each other still? <Should mate in time with the female being the larger of the two.  Fighting shouldn't take place.  Google the WWM, keyword "clownfish" for more info.> That is my first question, my second involves the investment of an anemone. I am in the process of setting up a 180 gallon that will eventually become the home for the clowns, the set-up follows:
2x 250 MH Lights
1x 125 MH Lights
4x 110 Actinic VHO
2 protein skimmers
50 Gallon sump
As of yet, I don't have any LR, I am still checking for any leaks. I am planning on about 100 lbs of LR, my budget and my wife won't let me get too
much more than that. Do you think that BTA's would do well in a system like this after it gets completely cycled, and if so how long after cycling
should I wait to put them in? <A BTA should do well in your system.  I'd wait 60 days anyway, anemones don't take too well to new setups.> I know that anemones have a bad history in captivity in general, so I am open to any suggestions you may have of surrogate hosts. <The BTA is a good choice, one of the hardier anemones, although none are easy to keep for any length of time. Your large tank will be a plus in this regard.  As with any clown/anemone combo, there is no guarantee the fish will inhabit the host.> Lastly, I am also considering a Naso Tang and I have a few concerns that you may be able to address. Will the Naso bother the anemone or any surrogate corals? <No> Will the Naso attack my Maroons or vice versa? <Shouldn't be a problem.> Is a 180 gallon big enough for a Naso? <Yes.  Also Google the WWM, keyword, "tangs", and read.  The Naso's are not the easiest of tangs to keep.> Thank you guys, I always appreciate the advice. <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
,Tate

BTA and clowns
Hi Bob and Crew!
<Hi, Graham at your service.>
I first want to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed WetWebMedia.Com since I discovered it a couple of months ago.  It has provided me with a ton of
information which I have really appreciated!
<Thank you!>
Most everything I've wondered I've been able to find in previous faq's/articles but I'm having trouble with one specific thing.  I have decided to try and keep my first anemone and really want to do this right.  After much research I have decided on a BTA (preferable tank raised) with a pair of maroon clowns or Ocellaris.  I have good rapport and trust with one certain local fish store and decided to have them obtain all three animals for me, pair the clowns up and "host" them with the BTA prior to my purchasing them.  (I informed them I would prefer Ocellaris over Maroon due to temperament, but since Ocellaris do not have natural symbiotic relationship with this anemone in nature Maroons would be fine too if Ocellaris didn't work out).  It was my thinking that having them all pair/host at the LFS would be a logical way to start off on the right foot.  Do you disagree?  
<Not at all.>
For background, my main tank is 55 gal. 4' long tank, 80-90lbs live rock, 3-4" live sand bed.  Current inhabitants are 1 yellow tang, 1six line wrasse and 1 cleaner shrimp, cleaner crew of snails and red-leg hermits.  For lighting I have 6- 40W NO fluorescent bulbs (so total of 240W).  BakPakII for skimming (with bio-bale media all removed and heater placed in this side of unit), 4 powerheads (2 little guys, one medium size, one bigger - bigger meaning 400gph rated).  My quarantine setup consists of bare bottom 10 gal. with fluorescent light and hood, which I set up only when needed with heater, one of the small powerheads from my main tank and a penguin mini with bio-wheel which runs constantly on my main tank and moves over to quarantine when set up.  Now my main questions:
1) Is lighting sufficient for BTA in your opinion?  I have read many opinions on this, but I struggle with the total wattage/vs. type of lighting (fluorescent vs. metal halide, etc) issue.  If it is sufficient, could you recommend a mix of bulbs that would work well- i.e. 3 actinic blues, 3 actinic whites, all 50/50's, etc...
<No, this lighting will most likely not be enough for the E. quadricolor. Instead, I would look into either 4x 48" 110wt VHO's (2x 10,000k and 2x Actinic) on an Icecap 660 ballast or 4x 96wt Power Compacts. Either one of these setups would provide excellent lighting for not only anemones, but for many light demanding corals.>
2) quarantine procedure for BTA and clowns.  As I said they will be "paired and hosted" before I bring them home from the fish store, so I wondered if
it made the quarantine situation unique at all?  Meaning I don't want to split them up,  but I'm concerned because although I want to quarantine them (particularly the clowns) I'm a little worried about the anemone in the empty bare bottom 10 gal. with the dinky little fluorescent light that
came with the kit.
<That may be a slight bump in the road -- if you do add the anemone to the tank, most likely it will start starving (loss of zooxanthellae) until you added it back to the aquarium. If you would prefer to quarantine the clownfish, I would first add the anemone to the aquarium (allow it to settle in) and later on add the clownfish. There's always going to be the chance that they won't host with each other even if you added the clownfish to the tank the same time you did as the anemone. With that said, I would personally add the anemone to the tank and quarantine the clownfish.>
3)any comments on my current setup/practices?
<It sounds very good. Are you planning on keeping live coral?>
I would appreciate any insight and thanks again for your great site!!
Further, if my specific question(s) have been asked already I apologize for the redundancy, but I could not find an exact match to my scenario.
<Take Care, Mike! Graham.>
Mike Mendoza

Where to find/buy Captive Bred BTA Rose anemones 8/3/04
I'll be quick. Where can I buy (online) a captive bred/cloned anemone? I don't want to steal a clown fish's! I can't find it on google anywhere. Thank you, Marshall Montgomery
<Edie at Tropical Paradise (Cali) has a fine store and is an avid supporter of cultured reef creatures. I was just there months ago and saw a couple hundred Rose BTA there. You can look him up at:  http://www.tpaquarium.com/
best regards, Anthony Calfo>

Dyed BTAs? 11/26/03
I bought 3 rose anemones they were deep red we got them in the tank 3 weeks later they turned bright white with hot pink tips a we think maybe they were dyed could you email to tell me your thoughts
<I doubt these anemones were dyed... not heard of with BTAs. Seems much more likely they bleached from stress from poor acclimation. If you feed them well (necessary) for the next few months, they will likely recover their color and survive. Anthony>

Dyed rose anemone?
How can I tell if my rose anemone has been dyed or not.
<there is no sure fire way to tell if an anemone has been dyed except for time. The anemone in a couple of months if dyed will turn back to its original color most of the time brown) or will die.>
Bought from a guy on e-bay who sells lots of splits and had excellent feedback. My rose is pretty good color but has some green color at the base of his tentacles
<normal on most>
and red seems to be darker at top.
<you will get many color morphs in rose anemones. I have one that is bright red all over and one that is hot pink.>
Color seems to be in little dots when you look up close. The foot is pink. Tips look fluorescent orange. From what I am told dying different colors is a common scam throughout the industry.
<It is but I have never heard of dying Rose anemones before.>
If it is dyed how long before you think all the dye will have worn off?
<couple months>
I have hesitated giving this guy any feedback until I know for sure whether it has been dyed or not. If it has I want to be sure to alert others to his scam. $56 for a 3.5" Rose and $38 shipping. $56 seems too good to be true for a true rose don't you think?
<YES>
The pictures he puts on the web are not as dark red as the actual. You can see one of his auctions here. Check out his feedback. If it is a scam he is good. The dye lasts long enough for customers to post positive feedback?
<If the guy has good feed back, I would say they are real. Only time will tell. MikeH>
Thanks,
Rob

Anemones
What are the safest (as far as not eating my fish/cleaner shrimp) anemones for keeping in the home aquaria,
<E. quadricolor>
and what is the average light per gallon for anemones?
<Please refer to our extensive coverage of lighting issues and anemones on www.WetWebMedia.com. -Steven Pro>

Entacmaea quadricolor for a Beginner?
Hi,
About a month ago my husband and I started setting up my 125-gallon reef tank. After adding live rock and letting it hang out for two weeks or so we decided to add our first critters to get the system cycling. We brought home a pair of Yellowstripe maroon clownfish with an associated bubble tip anemone. Everything looked great but our female clown (Eve) is much too hard on the anemone and our aquarium store owner told us to add another so she will go between the two and not stress out the one so much. So we added another much bigger bubble tip. The anemone (Big Bertha) looks excellent but doesn't seem to be attaching anywhere, I fear that it isn't stoked on any of our aquascape. Also its foot looks all swollen and I couldn't find any information on why this would be. Eve has gone to visit it a couple times but no big connection. It's only been two days. Am I being too impatient? I just want to make sure everyone is happy. Please respond soon!  Thanks, Sarah Bredensteiner  
<Unfortunately, it seems like you have received some rather poor advice. Anemones in general are poor candidates for captivity. While the Bubble-Tip is one of the best, I could still not recommend it in good conscience to a beginner. They require very bright lighting, excellent water quality, and regular feedings to prosper and even then should not be recommended to be kept with other stinging animals/corals because they will wander around and damage or be damaged too easily. Please see all we have to offer regarding these animals here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/e_quadfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/e_quadfaq2.htm
And also many of the other FAQ files. -Steven Pro>