Is my system ready for a Sebae Anemone?     12/9/12
Hello WetWebMedia and thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
I was wondering whether or not you think my system is able to handle Heteractis Crispa or not.
I'll start by listing my current water parameters and system information.
Current Parameters:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
<Mmm, photo/chemo-synthates need some measurable NO3 and HPO4>
pH: 8.3
kH: 8.0
Calcium: 470
<A bit high... would keep under 450 ppm, about 400 or so... and need to see/determine that [Mg] is within proportion>
Salinity: 1.024
Temperature: 78°F
System information:
Aquarium: 56 gallon cube (30x18x24 inches)
Filtration: Marineland canister filter C-160, sump (unknown brand but built in trickle filter with bioballs),
<Do make sure the intake is widely screened, lest the anemone drift near, get sucked against>
Coralife 65g Super Skimmer and the all important 50lbs of live rock and 3 inch deep sand bed.
Lighting: Odyssea 396 watt 24" hqi combo fixture. Don't worry, I replaced the metal halide ballast with a 250w icecap and the compact fluorescent actinic bulbs with Coralife power compacts. I have a new 250 watt hqi bulb coming for Christmas as a gift for myself. The moonlight LEDs I left alone.
Water flow:
2 Aqueon 700gph circulation pumps in opposite corners controlled by a Hydor Koralia Smart wave controller creating back and forth flow.
1 power head unknown flow rate or brand constant flow
1 Hydor Koralia Nano circulation pump continuous flow.
Water changing:
Coralife Pure-Flo 2 four stage RO/DI unit 50gpd
Establishment: I personally have owned the tank for almost three years now but I inherited it with all of its inhabitants, water, rock, substrate etc. from an elementary school that had used it for 6 years. Basically this tank is 9 years old.
Current inhabitants:
Fish and mobile inverts:
1 Snowflake Eel approx 14" 1 year
<Will need more room in time>
1 Six-line Wrasse approx 2" 6 months
1 Fu Manchu Lionfish approx 2" 2 months
<Might get stung, consumed by an anemone>
1 Sea Hare 4 months
<... DO check re the species. Many sold in the trade are inappropriate... cool to cold water, get too big... when they die take the rest of the tank w/ them>
1 Lettuce Sea Slug (hitchhiker on my Fu Manchu)
7 clean up crew hermit crabs 3 years
2 turbo snails 4 months
Corals:
1 Acropora spp. 4 months
1 green LPS 5 months
1 green Zoanthid colony 6 months
<These other Cnidarians may take exception to the new anemone's presence. I'd isolate the Heteractis in a separate system, mix water... to alleviate allelopathy. As gone over here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and see these species Compatibility FAQs files>
The only water quality fluctuations I have recently experienced involved my phosphates when they rose to 1ppm very quickly over a period of 2 days. A quick water change helped fix that. I had a very long term problem with Nitrates during my FOWLR years until I increased my water change schedule from 20% once a month to 20% every two weeks. Now my water qualities have remained stable at just about perfect for 4 months (besides the phosphate increase a few weeks ago) and all my inhabitants appear very healthy. I only recently (6 months ago) became a reef aquarist but I have maintained a successful reef ecosystem since I switched it from running as a FOWLR system for two and a half years (and the 6 years before I owned it). Do you guys think my tank can handle a sebae anemone?
<You're at a handicap w/ such a small/ish volume, and some of the other livestock are problematical>
 Perhaps more importantly is should I even attempt a species this notoriously difficult?
<A clone/d BTA would be a better choice/gamble>
 I also would be ordering from liveaquaria.com as my local pet store never gets Sebaes from its distributor. Point being, I wouldn't be able to see the anemone until it is on my doorstep. If there is something wrong with the specimen I receive do you think it has a good chance of recovering and surviving and thriving in my tank?
<I'd have another system in place for the slow meet and greet mentioned, and in case you need/want to move it pronto>
Thank you,
David
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Saving a Sebae/Heteractis crispa/Systems/Health 4/7/12
Dear WWM,
<Hello Eric>
   I have used your site on a couple occasions and wanted to say thanks for providing such in depth information for beginners such as myself.
Unfortunately, I recently ended up with a white Sebae Anemone. I bought it from my LFS who is usually a pretty reliable guy. It looks and behaves in a healthy manner in all aspects except the color. Which I have come to find indicates bleaching after researching the care. From what I have been seeing feeding of fresh shrimp and other seafoods in a necessity in its
current state. I am hoping that you can provide me with any other tips on saving it. Is it possible to restore the Zooxanthellae in its system or cause it to grow some more?
<A chance.>
Is there any hope of keeping it healthy even though its bleached? I feel really bad about buying and therefore supporting the
trade of what appears to be a commonly mistreated anemone and, I would very much like to save it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Currently:
ammonia 0
nitrate less than 40
<Too high.>
phosphates unknown
lights ho full spectrum fluorescents
sg .025
temp 78
tank size 10 gallon
<Tank much too small to maintain health of the Sebae Anemone.>
clarkii clown, LTA anemone
<Is the LTA in addition to the Sebae (Heteractis crispa)?>
<Not a good move in the size of tank you have.  If you are referring to the Sebae as a LTA, they are not the same.  A LTA or Corkscrew Anemone is a Macrodactyla  doreensis.>
( doing very well in current tank ) small scooter blenny.
I am currently halfway through cycling my 55 gallon tank which is where everything will be going too which is outfitted with a four bulb T5 HO system on a timer. 2 actinic bulbs and 2 full spectrums. 10000k's. I do a weekly water change and  monitor my levels constantly. I know its a bit of a small tank. It was my first one and i fell in love with it so now everyone in there will be getting a nice big new home :).
<Mmm, strongly suggest you read here and related articles found in the header.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm>
Thank You for any help you can offer.
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
> Re Saving a Sebae/Heteractis crispa/Systems/Health 4/8/12
> Dear WWM,
> <Hello Eric>
Thank you for the link James.
<You're welcome.>
The LTA I was referring to is a Long Tentacled or Corkscrew Anemone which is doing well. The Sebae is a second anemone (which I impulse purchased) shame on me I know.  I however have read your article and will be speaking with my local fish guy about taking it out and having him hold it or take it back until my larger tank is ready
thus decreasing my bio load in my small tank. Thank you for the advice and keep up the good work. I will certainly be more careful with my livestock purchases in the future.
<Yes, best to read/learn before buying.  James (Salty Dog)>

Sebae Anemone/Health/Systems 6/29/10
Dear WWM,
<Nick>
Your posts and e-mails have always provided valuable advice.
<Thank you.>
I have read through many of the FAQ links concerning Sebae Anemones and cannot seem to locate specific information regarding a few things. Before I ask my questions, here is some information about my tanks (I have one Sebae in each tank):
Tank One; 14 gallon (I will be moving the Anemone to tank two once I know rather or not it is healthy) Oceanic Bio Cube (I do not know the exact lighting these are sold with; it has not been upgraded from factory lighting).
<Will not stay too healthy in this scenario, too small even if temporary.>
I have a UV, skimmer, heater @ 80.5 degrees, 20 pounds live rock, twenty - thirty pounds of live sand, one sexy shrimp (who loves the anemone!), one Maroon clown,
<Too small a system for this fish.>
one damsel (white with a yellow tail; don't know the name), 3 Nerite Snails, 3 nessarius (spelling?) <Nassarius>, 4
hermit crabs, a serpent starfish, and a Nano power head. I have the white and blue lights on for six hours, moon-light for 8 hours, and just blue lights for the rest of the time.
<The lighting in this system is no where near adequate for this anemone.
I'm quite sure you haven't read here.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm>
Tank Two; 75 gallons. This tank has a 120 gallon sump, a Red Sea Venturi skimmer, UV, 80 pounds live sand, 55 pounds live rock, three 1050gph power heads, a 4 bulb (2 blue, 2 white) T5 light with 216 watts total output (same
lighting hours as tank one), 1 False Percula Clown, 3 Damsels, 1 Turbo Snail, 3 hermit crabs, 4 Nerite / nessarius <Nassarius> snails, temp at 80 degrees.
Both tanks test 0-0.5 nitrates / nitrites, <?> 490 calcium, 8.5 PH, 15dkh (high), 0.5 phosphates (down from 2.0 last week). Water changes bi-weekly of 25-45%.
So here are my questions (finally!). I have read a lot of posts on your site about "bleached" anemones. How am I to know if it is bleached or normal colored? What color are they when they are healthy and if mine is not, how do I go about nursing it back to good health? Both of my anemones are white(ish) yellow with purple tips.
<Sebae (Heteractis crispa) have a gray or violet-brown appearance overall, depending on the concentration of its symbiotic algae, and will have a centered pink tip at the end of the tentacles.>
The anemone in tank 1 has grown 1-2 inches in the past month or two. I feed them phytoplankton and brine
shrimp; perhaps I should move up to something more substantial?
<Yes, found in the above link.>
As for my lighting (in each tank), is it sufficient?
<Tank 1 no, tank 2 may be borderline depending on the depth of the tank.>
My anemones rarely move around and seem to be content on their rocks at the bottom of the tanks. In my 75 gallon, the anemone actually moved into a cave I made for my fish; it could not get any further from the lights unless it buried itself!
<Not a good sign. Do read the article I linked you to.>
Lol
Do Sebae Anemones like a lot of current? I wonder if my current in tank 2 is too much?
<If the three 1050gph power heads are always on, yes, it is too much and may be why the anemone
settled in the cave which is not a good place to get the light it requires.
Better to set these pumps up with a wavemaker device. The Aquarium Systems model is very inexpensive and
works well.>
The fish do not seem to mind it. J
I know this is a very long post and I truly appreciate your help!!
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
~Nick

HUGE Sebae Anemone! Sys. 6/11/10 Hey guys and gals at WWW. <Hello Pam.> I made the mistake that a lot of newbies make, and bought a very bleached Sabae <Sebae> Anemone 2.5 years ago. <Wow, great longevity!> I had done some homework, and knew that I had to have strong lighting and had to wait till my tank matured before adding the Sabae <Sebae>, but I didn't realize that they aren't supposed to be stark white. It was touch and go for a while and several times I thought he was going to die. It took a lot of patience because the Sabae <Sebae> refused to eat, but after several months of patience and good water quality, he started to recover and started gaining his color back. He was about 3 1/2 inches in diameter when I bought him, and now he's a whopping 13 inches across. He's actually probably more like 14 or 15" because he's draped over my rocks, so I can't get an accurate measurement. Now I'm wondering what to do with him as I think he's getting close to outgrowing my tank. I am afraid to try to get him off the rock because I don't want to injure him. Do Sabae's <Sebae's> ever split? <Heteractis crispa typically do not breed in captivity but anemones in general can multiply by sexual and asexual means. And yes, one way is using fission, which is when they actually split in half from the foot or mouth to form a clone. They will also reproduce using male and female sex glands or find another anemone.> I've heard of people forcibly splitting Anemone's, but I'd never risk that. <I would not do so either. You have had great success with this anemone, obviously due to your good care, so why risk the possibility of losing it.> How big is too big? My tank is 53 gallons - 31.5"x19"x19". <Generally, a minimum of 60 gallons is recommended. You are close to that so....Keep an eye on nitrates as anemones this size can produce waste equal to three or four fish.> Check out the pictures I attached. I took the first two pictures when I bought him 2.5 years ago, and I took the other two pictures this week. Check out the size of the clown in relation to the Sabae <Sebae>. <A beautiful specimen.> Would you just leave him be in my setup, or sell him to someone with a large tank? <I would keep for sure.> I guess my only option if I can't coax him to release his grip from the rock, is to sell him attached to the rock, but the rock he's attached to, is on the bottom of the rock structure on the left side of the tank and I'd have to take apart that rock structure, and I hate to give the rock away, as I love the rock work in my tank. Just a FYI...I stopped hand-feeding him a year ago due to how large he was growing. Now he just eats what he catches as it floats by when I feed the tank, and he's still growing so he's obviously getting what he needs. :) He's one healthy specimen now and even made it through a 3 day power-outage with the water temp getting down to 58f degrees. <Yikes.> Lost all of my fish and all of my SPS frags, but the Sabae <Sebae>, the Crocea Clam and the LPS and most of the CUC <?> all survived. Thanks. <And thank you for sending your success story. I do enjoy reading such emails and let's hope your anemone continues to live a long life. Congrats! James (Salty Dog)> Pam

Re HUGE Sebae Anemone! 6/11/10 - 6/14/10 Hi James. <Hello Pam> Thank you for your response, and also for correcting me on the spelling of Sebae. <No problem, is what we do before posting on the dailies. Correct spelling does help us out time wise.> You got that drilled into my head now ... LOL Glad to hear you'd keep the Sebae if you had it in the set up I have. <Oh yes, only a small percentage of folks are able to keep one for that length of time.> It has become the centerpiece of my tank and everyone that sees my tank will say "WOW...what's THAT??!! . <Can definitely be a centerpiece for sure.> Check out the attached picture if you want to see how sick it was a few days after I put it in my tank in January 2008. It was touch and go like that for a few months. <I see, and thanks for sending along.> I never thought about the Sebae affecting my bi-load, but I guess it obviously would. I have been battling GHA for a while, but it's about 95% gone now. <Great.> I was keeping 7 fish, but lowered it to 5 by not replacing the last two fish I lost. <Good move with your size tank and the large anemone.> The nitrates in my tank have never tested above 10, and I don't test for phosphates since it's hard to get a true reading. <Understand, they are generally absorbed as fast as they are produced/placed into the system.> I do run Phosban in a TLF Reactor. <I would not use this unless your phosphate level is readable. Many animals require a very small amount of phosphate. As long as an efficient protein skimmer is being used, you should not require the use of Phosban> I just had to move a Hammer Coral away from the Sebae, because after probably two years of the Hammer doing beautifully, it recently started declining, and was only opening maybe 50%. Now that the Anemone grew so much, the Hammer was almost touching it, so I thought that the Sebae might be the cause of the declining health of the Hammer. I can't totally blame the Sebae though, because some of the only GHA left in my tank, is on the Hammer Coral, so I'm guessing it might be irritating the coral?? <On the tissue or on base itself?> I also have a Sun Coral that stopped opening several months ago. No GHA anywhere near the Sun Coral. I'm wondering if the Sebae is causing some chemical warfare. <Would be by stinging, but the Sun Coral is one of the few corals that does not contain a symbiotic algae, and hence, does not like bright light, in fact low to no light is required. Since it contains no symbiotic algae, it must be fed vitamin enriched brine shrimp or micro-plankton from an eye dropper directly to each one of its polyps. Your problem may lie in the aforementioned area.> I will occasionally throw some carbon in a filter sock for a week, but maybe I need to run it all the time ?? <Is fine with your stocking level.> The Sun Coral has always been well out of reach of the Sebae. The Sun Coral is miraculously still alive as I can see it's polyps barely sticking out once in a while, but it's unhappy about something and it hasn't opened in months so I haven't been able to feed it for a long time. It was happy and fully opening daily for at least a year. <Might want to relocate this coral into a low light area.> Always something to figure out in this hobby! <Oh yes, we are never finished learning about this hobby. I guess that's why it is so interesting, it's never mastered.> Thanks again. Pam <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> (just a FYI... I do have a sump and Elos skimmer on this setup. Display is 53g and sump holds about 7 gallons of water. Light is an Elos Planet with one 150MH 12k bulb and four 24w T5's. ) <Sounds good as long as the skimmer can handle your tank size.>

Heteractis Crispa/Systems/Health 5/13/10
<Hello Robert>
My 90 gallon aquarium is mixed corals and has been set up since November 26 ,2009. I have a 10 gallon refugium with macro algae and aragonite sand lit with a florescent full spectrum bulb in addition to the sump and protein skimmer. The 90 gallon is lit with 2- 250 metal hides and 2- 24inch actinic pc compact bulbs.
<Yowsie, you could grow sun with that.>
I have about 80 lbs of live rock that I received from a retiring aquarist complete with all of the mixed corals and 1 Bubble Tipped Anemone <on> December 10,2009.
January 15, 2010 I added 1 Yellow Tang 2 Perculas and a Six Line Wrasse and some brittle stars. Everything is growing very well and I have learned something new almost every day.
<Great!>
So here comes the most recent lesson. I added a piece of live rock with some mushrooms on it and discovered a completely bleached Sebae Crispa
<Heteractis crispa>
as well. Before you say always check before you drive, sometimes things happen. So here is my dilemma; I could bring the whole mess back to the incompetent LFS that the incompetent reef keeper(me) purchased ( I had store credit from freshwater plant sales.) it from so they could kill it or sell it to someone else. Or I could set up a 10 gallon Quarantine tank with metal halide lighting (light can be raised well above aquarium). Or I could leave it in the 90 and pray that the two anemones do not attack. Or I could just remove and destroy. The Sebae Crispa looks very happy and healthy other than being snow white with purple tips.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
<A pic of the anemone in question would have been nice, but to answer your question...Moving the Sebae Anemone to a small system will be a big step backward and will result in almost certain failure as this 10 gallon tank will not be aged enough and/or large enough to satisfy it's needs. If the anemone appears
healthy, he can be in no better spot for recovery than in your 90 with twin MH lamps. The risk you will take is the possibility of losing fish/invertebrates to it's sting, the chance you would have to take.
If you decide to keep the anemone, twice daily inspections should be carried out to ensure the anemone is healthy/improving, and not dying. A dying anemone can poison the entire tank's
inhabitants. Do read here.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm>
The LFS I purchased this rock from has about 10 salt and 300 freshwater Aquariums and is not normally a go to source for me primarily because of my 20 years of freshwater experience and feedback they have given others conflicts with my experience.
<Happens all too often. James (Salty Dog)>
Robert

Heteractis crispa, sys. 3/30/10
Hi Bob,
<James>
I'm putting together a post on the new web page for Heteractis crispa. I see in your article that you recommend a minimum of 60 uncrowded gallons.
Is this outdated info or a good number. I was thinking along the lines of 100 gallons minimum. They are known to grow to 19 inches in diameter (Fautin).
Cheers,
James
<The bigger the better as usual... I'm still stuck with 60 gal.s being an absolute minimum. BobF>
Re: Heteractis crispa
Thanks, didn't want to contradict what's stated in the article.
James
<Mmm, not a contradiction James... your valuable input may well vary from mine, others. B>

Sebae, anemone gen., reading 3/10/10
Please help me. I have a very established salt water tank( 1 yr +), 20 gal
<Too small a volume/world for anemones...>
and I just purchased a Sebae anemone, approx 1 wk ago.
<Return this animal>
Did not know that they are not supposed to white until I read your articles. What I don't get, however, is how to make this animal healthy? Can I get zooxanthellae(sp) to feed it?
<Not as such, no... can house with other animals that contain... that may be incorporated in time... but not likely at all to live here>
It is small, 2-4 inches, and isn't really eating that I can tell. Is it big enough for silversides?
<Return it>
I have brine shrimp, which I'm guessing from the articles is wrong, sigh. I really don't want this to die. My Fiji Tomato Clown loves it!
<These also require a larger world>
BTW, the clown is only about 1 � 1 Ã'½ � so it's not �loving it to death.
<Good, and good point>
It is currently starting to shrivel somewhat, not turning brown, which I'm guessing is what they need to do, but is sticky and has not moved in the last week from the live rock it has attached itself to. I fed it some brine shrimp today, but can't tell whether it really ate it or the clown ate it. He's really not good at feeding it. What do I do?
<... return>
Yes, levels are fine, nitrates a little high, 30 ppm or so, calcium perfect, ph a little low, still acceptable, but added a buffer to bring it up some. Lighting is good, I have a Coralife t5 ho lighting system, directly on the glass on the gtank, and there is moderate movement in the tank. I have 2 damsels, 1 clown (already mentioned), a camel shrimp, 2 hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, 3 snails and a pajama cardinal. Also, about 20 lbs of live rock. What do I do to save my little creature?
Sara
<I want you to be successful, and not suffer the disenchantment of losing life through your actions, inactions. Take this specimen back. Bob Fenner>

Re Heteractis Crispa/Systems/Care 11/10/09
Did you mean to write something here?
James (Salty Dog)>
Yes, actually I did, but it was all the way at the bottom, so here's a fleshed out version:
<OK>
Sorry, should have mentioned: the lighting is T5HO. I have swapped out two of the actinics, so I now have four T5 HO 10,000 K lights directly over the reef area with the anemone roughly eight inches below the surface-- the lights are an inch from the surface-- and a couple actinics in a second lighting unit at the front. I will replace one or both of those with two more T5HO lights as soon as I can get to the LFS, if you feel that would be good.
<Still looking for the wattage of the system.>
I have a protein skimmer and phosphate reactor in the 25 gallon sump, both of which are properly and regularly maintained, and a refugium filled with deep sandbed, live rock, Chaeto, and mangroves is located in the centre section of the sump.
<Good.>
Checked my KH, which was low at 8.5, which explains the 7.7 Ph, <Not low enough to cause a drop in pH, may be your test kit. Still looking for your fish load.>
so am using a marine buffer to very slowly raise both. Otherwise, parameters
are textbook.
<Do ensure the product you are using contains carbonate, bicarbonate, and borate. In saltwater, bicarbonate drives the pH toward 7.8, carbonate drives pH toward 9.1, and borate toward 9.5 or more. I'm partial to Seachem's Marine Buffer for safely raising the pH.>
I've read all the sebae articles and threads on the site, so I know what I'm up against-- and I will do everything needed to bring this lovely little guy back to health.
<I wish you luck here, you may be one of the few to succeed.>
Mostly, I wanted to know how quickly I should begin feeding him, the one question I couldn't find an answer to.
<I stated this in the original query.>
Happily, I can see tan coloring on top of the foot, in between the tentacles, so there are some Zooanthellae there. I will let him rest for a few days, then embark on feeding.
Additional note: I did squirt some Cyclopeeze very gently into the general vicinity of the anemone, and I can see the tentacles moving about a bit as is searching for something to eat, a few hours later.
<Useless for feeding Heteractis.>
It seems to have firmly seated itself into a crevice (not the one I'd picked for it, but an alternate just a couple inches away and a wee bit lower from the lights) and may be settling in okay. His mouth is still open, now less than a quarter-inch, so that's improved very slightly. General tank feeding will be in a few hours, and if a mysis shrimp happens to fall onto a tentacle and get eaten, I'll be thrilled. I will stand by with my ten inch "scoot, pesky cleaner shrimp!" wand.
Otherwise, in a day or two, depending on his staying open, staying put, and waving tentacles, I will commence gently puffing chopped mysis or regular shrimp mixed with a little Cyclopeeze over him and very gently towards the mouth. If this does not result in eating, I will try the force-feed described elsewhere in the threads and articles.
<Do not force feed this animal, akin to someone running a quarter pounder down
your throat when you are laid up with the flu.>
Does that all sound OK?
<Let's hope for success, read all you can on this anemone. James (Salty Dog)>
Re Crispa/Systems/Care 11/10/09
Hello, "Salty Dog!"--
<Hello Judy>
the last details you were looking for:
fish load: two cleaner shrimp, one Flame Angel, two Perculas, one Lawnmower Blenny, one undetermined goby, one cleaner wrasse, one Six-Line Wrasse. Cleaning crew (aside from blenny): eight blue-legged crabs, one scarlet-legged crab, a couple turbo snails.
<A little high on fish load, I certainly would add no more. Are the Perculas hosting the anemone? Just curious.>
Wattage on tank: 39 watts x 4 T5HOs: 156 watts (am not counting the actinics). With two more 10,000K which I will get today, it will become 234 watts. If I can find 54 watt T5HOs, I'll get them, adding two to swap out the actinics and replacing two of the others, which would then give 294 watts. As the lower wattage ones wear out, I'll replace them with 54 watts also, finally ending up with 324 watts. Would that do?
<That should work just fine Judy.>
I'll get the Seachem Buffer recommended.
<Didn't mean for you to run out and buy it but to just ensure your present buffer contains what I mentioned earlier.>
And I promise not to force feed the little guy. I did give him a couple of very tiny slivers of silverside twice yesterday about six hours apart, placing each gently on the inside side of the tentacles closest to his mouth. Both bits were consumed, although very slowly. A few mysis shrimp that landed on the tentacles during general tank feeding were also slowly conveyed to his mouth and eaten.
<Enlightening.>
His foot does not appear to have anchored yet in the sand crevice.
I thought it had and removed the bits of rockwork I had tucked around him to keep him steady, and this morning he had slid down the rock. On checking the crevice, I though perhaps there was not enough finer sand for his foot to be comfy, so I filled it with more, put him back, and tucked the rockwork carefully back around him, noting that while he had not been at all sticky when he arrived on Sunday, he is now slightly sticky.
<Sounds good.>
If I am missing anything, please let me know.
James, thank you so much for your help on this. It's very comforting to know you WetWebber experts are there to share your knowledge and help make us doofuses better reefers. I think I'll name this guy Jimmy...
<YIKES, no please, may give me bad luck for my longevity. Name it Bob, Sue, anything but Jimmy :-) James (Salty Dog)><<Heeee! RMF>>
Re Heteractis Crispa/Systems/Care 11/11/09
Interestingly, the Perculas are hosting my baseball-sized Galaxia coral.
<Not unusual.>
(okay, I'll name the anemone Crispy.)
<Great. James (Salty Dog)>

Heteractis Crispa/Systems/Care 11/9/09
I bought one today that has some color-- pink tips and tentacles, a pale yellow, really, rather than tan, but with some hints of tan deeper in the tentacles, which were short and fat in the store and which are very slowly stretching now that it is placed in the tank, where it went a couple of hours ago. It was hard to tell the colour in the store as it was not in bright light (!!!) but fortunately has not been there long. I visit that store frequently and it wasn't there a week ago. Its mouth is open just under a quarter inch. Its foot is about an inch and a half in diameter, and is white, so it has not been dyed. Clearly, it will need good care as it's not hovering near death, but neither is it fully healthy.
I built a location for it with plenty of (eight inches away from everyone else on its very own little plateau) space between it and other corals, mushrooms mostly-- which are on pieces of rock that can be moved to provide more space should the anemone want it, and it is sitting about six inches below the bank of 3 10,000K lights and three actinic bulbs.
<I would swap two of the actinics for 10K lamps.>
I designed a live rock crack about an inch wide, filled with sand for it, so I think it should be comfortable there. There are two alternate cracks located nearby should it wish to move. There is moderate flow going over but not right onto the anemone, but I can redirect the return more directly on it if that would be advisable.
<Better to have alternating flow patterns, wavemaker style.>
Water parameters have been stable for over a year (the tank, which is 50 gallons with a 25 gallon sump/refugium where the protein skimmer and phosphate reactor are located is about 18 months old now). Nitrates are barely trace, phosphates zero. The pH stays steady at 7.7 and I can't seem to get that up, but my calcium levels are over 500.
<Stocking level too high, low dKH? Is a skimmer used?>
Temperature is 78 degrees, specific gravity 1.024. I periodically supplement with Reef
Complete and Kent Marine Coral-Vite. used distilled water in an automatic drip system to replace evaporation. All other denizens are healthy, happy and growing well. (If necessary as they grow, I will sell other less-treasured corals to keep plenty of room for everyone.)
My question: I have read a new anemone should be given a week of being left alone to settle in. At the same time, though, I know this one will definitely be needing consistent and regular supplemental feeding, to keep it going until it's able to use light for nutrients more effectively, and less feeding after that. But I wonder if I should not begin feeding it sooner rather than waiting a week.
So, at what point should I begin hand-feeding it tiny delectable morsels, and how often? I am thinking weenie bits of silverside, tiny slivers of shrimp, a few mysis shrimp.
<I would let it settle in and expand before feeding it. At that time, three feedings weekly should suffice. I would be more concerned with your lighting. You didn't state what type system/wattage it is, but I'm guessing you have power compact lighting, and if so, this may not be intense enough for this difficult to keep anemone.
Do read here and related articles/FAQs.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
James (Salty Dog)>
Judy Waytiuk

Newbie with a Sebae/Anemones/Systems 9/14/09
Howdy,
<Hello Lauren>
I really like your site, and I appreciate the advice I've been able to gather from reading other FAQs about anemones, but I'm still unsure how to best handle my situation.
<OK>
I'm very new to the marine aquarium world; my tank has been up and running for about 2 months. I didn't know at the time that this was too soon to add an anemone, and acquired a small sebae anemone because I was told it would be adopted by my two False Percula Clownfish. Unfortunately, I've had the anemone for a week now, and it's not looking so great. There are several less-than-optimal conditions of my set up, (that I'm working through subject to budget constraints,) and I'm really only inquiring to see if it's even possible to save my anemone. My biggest fear is that it will die and the ammonia spike will kill my tank. So, here's what I've got- Setup: 29 gallon tank,
<Tank too small for keeping this anemone.>
about 40lbs of live sand, about 30 lbs of live rock with moderate coralline growth, Marine-Glo high output lights, (one the shop said would be high output enough for corals, the other would give it the "blue" color; they said it was standard reef lighting),
<Nonsense, no where near enough light for anemones. What are your "high output" lamps, PC's, T5's?>
Aqueon filter currently using a carbon bag and a polishing pad, Prism protein skimmer for up to 50 gallons. I do a partial twice a week, but this week I've done a small one (about a gallon) every day. I use conditioned tap water, which the local stores (not Petco) agree is as good as distilled but not as good as R/O (I plan on a purification system, but I'm waiting on the cash.) My pH is 8.3, ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0 (or at least undetectable.)
Livestock: the Sebae Anemone, two False Percula Clowns, a Yellow Tailed Blue Damsel, a Dottyback, two Watchman Gobies (they seem to be a mated pair,)
<Too many fish for this size tank, a disaster in the making, four small fish at most.>
a Peppermint Shrimp, a Sand-Sifting star, two Nassarius snails, a hermit crab, a margarita snail, an Astrea snail, and a turbo snail. For reference, the turbo snail is about 2.5 inches, and he's the biggest thing in my tank.
I got the sebae from Petco. He was pale, but not white, and more lime green under my lights with purple tips. When he's retracted, he's 1.5 inches all the way around, and when opened he's about 4 inches across. He spends most of his time somewhere in between. When I bought him, and questioned his unhappy look, they told me he just ate (yeah, right.) I put him in an area of less flow in my tank, where he should get great light, but he wouldn't stick. He fell over on his side. So I put him back (like Petco told me to do...) and read online, and tried to feed him (Formula One, mostly, and some mysis shrimp.) He ate and his color improved to a dark tan. For about a day, he was fine. Then he went whitish again, and I've noticed that he colors up when I feed him. However, he falls on his side all the time. I tried different spots in my tank, even moved a flatter rock under the sand for him, but it doesn't matter where I put him; he won't stay. He sticks to me when I position him, and he is sticky, but he won't stay put, and hasn't fully opened since. The false Perculas won't touch him, but they are tank raised and I hear that's normal. His color is back and forth, but mostly he just won't stick.
Is there anything else I can do? I don't know if I should let him roam or if there's something else I can do for him. I feel really bad about acquiring an animal I didn't know enough about. If my set up is impossible for him, I'll try to get a local pet store to take him in.
<Yes, is impossible, and do try and find a home for the anemone and some of your fish before disaster
does strike. These anemones (Heteractis crispa) are difficult to keep for any length of time, even under ideal conditions, and should not be kept with fish other than clownfish, especially in such a small area.>
Thank you so much for any help or advice, and forgive me for being so long-winded.
<Have you also read here?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm.
An index to our marine articles/FAQ's can be found here for your future and needed use.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm
James (Salty Dog)>
Lauren
Re Newbie with a Sebae/Anemones/Systems 9/15/09
Thank you so much, James. I would like to a responsible pet owner; I feel I was just mislead about the sebae. I'll find a home for him ASAP.
<It sure sounded like it to me, most dealers I'm acquainted with, won't even stock these types of anemones, special order only. James (Salty Dog)>
Lauren

Help with my anemone Anemone ID/Health 2/18/09 Dear Crew, <Justin> First and foremost what a wonderful site (thank you, thank you, thank you)! There is tons of stuff here that has helped me in the past. Also thank you for taking the time to read this and help me with my problem. <You're welcome.> Let me start at the beginning, I have been wanting to put an anemone in one of my tanks for some time. I started with a 29g reef tank, and all the corals started to out grow it, so I needed an upgrade. Well fortune smiled upon me when I had found a 125g Marineland tank and stand for $500 brand new. <Sounds good.> I knew it wasn't drilled, but for the price tag I couldn't let it slip by. Anyway, after many dollars and many months later it is starting to take shape. As always there is much more that I can do, but for now everything is happy and growing. Now to get to my problem. This last Saturday my wife and I decided to go out for dinner for Valentine's Day. Well I happened to convinced her to head to a pet store near by, just to peruse the saltwater tanks to see if anything new and interesting had happened to pop in (living in Minnesota there are not to many places that one can acquire saltwater livestock, let alone have a vast selection). Well as I moved toward the end of the row, I happened to see this anemone (labeled Sebae...though I can not 100% say, because I am an anemone noob, and perhaps this particular one has suffered enough degradation that, for a novice like me, I couldn't attach a label to it with out help). It was all by itself in a tank with other inverts like snails and cleaner shrimp, only dimly lit by a full spectrum standard fluorescent light (yes I know, these people have no idea what they are doing, and I promptly gave them a crash course in proper anemone care...well as much as I have learned thus far: proper tank stability and water quality, lighting, water flow, etc. Though I feel it has fallen on deaf ears...because what do I know? I don't have my own fish store...some people's mentality). I know I should have probably avoided this particular sale, as I am new to the anemone trade, but in good conscience I could not leave it there to die in those miserable conditions. So I decided to take it home and try to make it as happy as I could in my 125g. Before my decision to purchase, I did notice there was still purple pigment in the tips of the tentacles, so I figured there might be a chance for this lil guy, albeit slim. I was the one who actually removed it from the tank in the store, and I noticed right away it had a very strong grip to the bottom of the tank. This led to a rather lengthy extraction process, as I didn't want to tear any of the tissue and make things worse. I thought perhaps that there might be more hope in this case, as most animals (as I am not an expert by any means) become very weak if they are about to die or are in the process of dying. As an anemone tends to disintegrate, I figured a strong foot is a good thing to start with. <A good sign, yes.> After a long acclimation period (about 3 hrs) I let him float to the bottom and see what happened. Immediately he started to cruise around the rocks and substrate, looking, for what I imagine, would be a perfect perch. After he attached to a piece of live rock at the bottom of the tank, I tried to target feed him mysis shrimp (though I figured it would not be possible due to his previous conditions and just being introduced to a new system, stress and all that, but I though I would try) and of course he didn't take anything. I gave him a couple days to rest and make a new home before I tried to feed him, and see if he still had the amount of strength he had in the store. I was pleasantly surprised, he was quite fastened to the rock. I also noticed he was rather quick to react to my movements near him, snapping closed when I touched or got too close, much more so than in the store, which I also took as a good sign. Now he is readily eating when I target feed, so I am taking that as a good sign as well. <Yes.> I have also noticed at night under the lunar lights he will fully expand giving him a rough circumference of 5", and during the day, it's more like 3" (4x 39w T5 lighting). Could this be a response to feeding and that perhaps he was eating some of the inverts in the tank, and they tend to move more at night? <Once they find a spot to their liking, they will usually stay put unless something changes in the system.> If so I guess I will have to train him to feed during the day, much like my brain coral, so I can enjoy seeing him fully expanded when I am actually awake. Any way, on to my most pressing questions: 1. Is this really a Sebae? The tentacles look a bit off from what I have seen in a Sebae bleached or not. From what I have seen, they are very similar to torch coral tentacles, though I am thinking perhaps it could be a Sebae, and he is just deflated due to his poor health at the moment. Either way it would be nice to have a positive ID. <Sure looks like a Sebae (Heteractis malu) to me.) <<?! Is a Sebae, H. crispa... Badly bleached... RMF>> 2. Given the attached images* and what I have observed so far (in the 4 days I have had him) do you think he has a chance of survival, or should I cut my losses now (which I would hate to do, but who am I to question the gurus)? <Your lighting is not intense enough for keeping a Sebae.> 3. Is there anything else I can do I am missing? I plan on picking up some Selcon as I am going to start giving more vitamin enriched food to my live stock anyway, since I will soon be making my own food using Robert Fenner's formula from his book: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. For the time being I am just going to leave him to his own vices, and continue to target feed every other day, unless you think it might be overkill, or unhealthy. <Justin, these anemones are difficult to keep for any length of time, even under ideal conditions. This animal will die in your tank and will cause problems if gone unnoticed. Do read here and related articles/FAQ's. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm> Sorry for this being long winded, I just wanted to give you as many details as I can in the hopes it would help. I didn't want to make this a "What is wrong with my anemone? Pic included" mail where there no details, just a question. Thanks all! <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Justin *Anemone 1.jpg is the full anemone, trying to capture the look of the tentacles. Anemone 2.jpg you can see how translucent he really is, since you can almost see the rock behind him.

Re: Help With My Anemone, ID f', now sys. 2/19/09 James, Thanks for the information, and the reply. <You're welcome, and I wish you would have replied with the original thread. We answer several queries daily and it can be difficult to remember who's who and who's what.> I had one really quick question - no need to post on the site...unless of course that is the protocol you follow =). <Usually.> So even with individually reflected T5 lighting, using an Icecap 660 ballast, and the Sebae situated right about 7" or so from the surface (he moved), am I still under powered with lighting? <They do require a high lighting level, and by high, I'm talking halides in the 250-400 watt range.> I guess I should have went into more detail on my lighting, sorry about that, I had just gotten home from a 12hr shift, and forgot to add those details. <You should have did that before you bought the anemone. Your anemone is badly bleached and very likely won't be around for long.> As I don't have a PAR meter, I can't give out any numbers, but I was only thinking that in this situation, I may not need MH/HQI. If I am still under I apologize, I guess I will admit my wrong doing, and make sure to not over estimate my hardware again. <Mmm, is always better to put the horse in front of the cart.> Thank you =) On a side note, is it normal for them to avoid flow? He seems to be positioning himself in a more stagnant part of the tank, which I found odd, from what I have been reading. <They prefer moderate water flow.> Thanks again!! <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Justin

Sebae Anemone, Lack of Lighting 3/5/08 Hi Crew, <Hi Ashley, Brenda here!> I recently purchased a small Sebae anemone for my 55 gallon tank. In this tank I have 2 false Percula clownfish, 2 Peppermint shrimp, 2 Scooter blennies, and a number of snails and hermit crabs. <Crabs can become predators to anemones.> I have 2 Emperor filters going and a 40 watt 48" light and a 65 watt 24" light. <I strongly recommend a protein skimmer in place of the Emperor filters, especially when keeping anemones.> The worker of the fish store said this should be enough lighting for the anemone. <This is not even close to being enough lighting for this anemone.> The clownfish are still very timid and have only explored it a bit and nothing else in the tank gets near it. The levels are as follows: specific gravity - 1.024, <Needs to be 1.026> pH - 8.2, ammonia and nitrite - 0, KH - around 7, nitrate - 20ppm, <Nitrates need to be zero.> and temp is generally around 80 degrees. It has only been a couple of days and for the most part it seems fine but a bunch of its tentacles shrink sometimes during the day, although at night when the lights are off it seems to extend more fully. It's nestled in the sand but I'm not sure if it's fully rooted. It is the occasions when the tentacles get small that worry me. Is this normal behavior or does it need more lighting (is yes, how much). <Anemones do occasionally shrink to exchange water and to expel waste. However, this animal does need a lot more lighting. I recommend two 175 watt (minimum) metal halide or as many 54 watt T-5 bulbs (with individual reflectors) that you can get over the tank.> Thanks, Ashley

Sick Sebae Anemone, Not enough lighting. 12/2/07 Dear Crew, <Hello Sami, Brenda here> I read a lot of your answers regarding anemones and the Sebae anemone in particular, but still have 2 questions regarding my Sebae that I got 2 days ago. It would be great if you could comment. The first is whether or not I can touch the anemone and turn it around (it has been upside down since noon today). I read somewhere that this was a very bad position, as its tentacles cannot breathe this way. But I also read that one should leave the anemone alone as much as possible. So, should I turn it around (if so, with my hands and gloves??). By the way, it is white (and I know I have to get it brown and healthy now). I fed it mysis shrimp which were sticking on its tentacles and it did eat. I intend to get Selcon also. <It sounds like you have a very sick anemone. How was it acclimated? You can try turning it over, but it is likely it will just turn it self over again. I would definitely wear gloves.> The second question concerns my lights: I have a 40 gallon breeder tank, so it's not too deep (< 18"). I have the Coralife Lunar Aqualights (2x96 watts I think). I have the white ones on from 12:00 to 6pm and the actinic on from 7AM to 8PM, the lunar lights from 8PM to 7AM. Is this ok? <2x96 watts of PC lighting is not enough for this creature.> FYI, I have 70lbs LR, a wet-dry trickle filter, an Aqua C protein skimmer. I have two false clowns, a royal Gramma, a lawnmower blenny and snails/hermit crabs/1 emerald crab, 2 conch snails. I have 2 mushrooms. The tank is 4 months old. <A 4 month old tank is not old enough. Anemones need established environments, 6 months to one year.> Salinity: 1.025 <1.026 is better.> temp: 78 Calcium: 420 Alkalinity: 4 <Im not sure what method you are using for testing. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/alkalinity.htm > Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: 0 Magnesium: 1200. <I would aim for the 1300 1500 range.> Thank you guys so much! Regards, Sami <Youre welcome! Brenda>
Re: Sick Sebae Anemone, Not enough lighting. 12/4/07 Thank you for your comments below, Brenda. <You're Welcome!> I turned the anemone around and fed it (it did eat, at least)... I will try and nurture it back to health. Hopefully it works.. How much lighting would be needed in your view? (I read that 4 watt per gallon, so in my case 160 watt should be sufficient, and thus thought that 2x96 watt was all right)...? <This is only a rule of thumb, and not a good one in my opinion. You also have to consider that 96 of the watts that you have are actinic which are more cosmetic than beneficial compared to the daylight bulb. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/lighting/actinicfaqs.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm If it were me, I would go with a 2x175W watt metal halide or a 6x39W T-5 setup with individual reflectors.> Kind regards, Samira <Good luck to you! Brenda>

Light for Sebae 11/22/07 I havent found anything in the FAQs specifically about a question I have. Is 250 watt metal halide 14k too much for a 30 gallon? <Depends on what you want to keep. There is a good chance you will need a chiller.> Is it too much for a Sebae? <The light would be fine, but these are difficult to keep. You will need a larger, well established tank. Thirty gallons is just too small. For more information please read http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm Best wishes, Scott V.>

Heteractis Crispa Anemone... sel., comp., sys. Hi crew, <François- tienne> I've read a lot of information on your site about the Sebae anemone, Heteractis Crispa and I was considering buying one by the end of this summer. Before I do so, I wanted to ask you some questions. <Please do> I have a 110g aquarium. 4 foot long and 30 inches high. I started this tank in November 2005. I have 150 lbs of live rock and a DSB made of aragonite on the bottom. I keep several types of corals (mostly soft corals) but some LPS and a Montipora. I do have a pretty high bioload (fish) but I have really good water quality and I never had any problems with it. For the fish, I have a pair of true percula clowns that could host the anemone. For the flow, I have 4 powerheads (each of them is safe for the anemone; they are well protected). They are Hagen powerheads. I know these aren't really great but they've done a good for me since now. <Actually, their powerheads are one of Hagen's best product lines IMO> I'll change for better powerheads in the future :) . For the light issue, I have Geissmann MH lighting. I have two 150 watts bulbs + two 54 watts actinics. The MH are placed at about 8 inches from the surface of the water. I have a Deltec skimmer: mc 500. I don't have a sump. I wanted to know: Do you think my lighting is sufficient for long term survival of Heteractis Crispa? <Mmm, yes... IF the specimen can be placed more or less directly under one of the MHs> Does this anemone usually sits on the sand? Could it be on the rocks? <Is found buried in sediment... not likely to be happy on rock...> I was planning to place it in the upper part of the tank. On a rock where there would be some indirect flow toward the anemone. If it only sits on the sand than would it be ok even if the tank is 30 inches high ( btw, I'm keeping a healthy Crocea clam on the bottom since one year) ? <Mmm, this animal will find its own spot in time...> I was wondering about the comparison between H. magnifica and H. crispa. Do these anemones require the same amount of light? <No... the Magnificent requires much more> Which of them fares best in captivity? <The Sebae by far> Is there a major difference between H. magnifica and H. crispa? <Huge differences... see WWM re... the former is the second largest anemone (after Stichodactyla mertensii) used in the trade and by Amphiprionines... up to a meter across...> Is the survivability rate of Sebae anemone much higher of the one of the Magnificent sea anemone? Just wondering... <Again, yes. The only superior aquarium species IMO is the Bubbletip/Entacmaea... see WWM re...> I also wanted to tell you about this: I have in my tank 3 little ( half an inch; really little) bleached bubble anemone. Could there be a chemical war between the H. crispa and the little bubble anemones? <Mmm, possibly, yes... though in a system of this size, age... I give you good odds...> The anemones bleached a month ago when I was not at home... Thanks for reading me, Have a good day François- tienne <Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Sebae Anemone Systems 2/8/07 Sorry, there were some grammatical errors in the last, this is an edited one. Hello, <Hello Connor> I have had a Sebae anemone <no caps?> for about 4 days now. He seems like he is doing great sometimes, while others <?> he looks terrible. I started off by feeding it a small hunk of shrimp and it was pleased with that. I tried it again a different day and he didn't respond well, spitting it out. His mouth is wide open now and is very loose and fleshy. <Doesn't sound good.> The tentacles have become shorter and more stringy. The tank is around 40 gallons and the surface is around 15" away from the live sand. For lighting I use two 96W compact fluorescent bulbs, one is 10,000k and the other is actinic blue. I was wondering if this is enough as the anemone is currently positioned about 13 inches away from the surface and 17 inches away from the light fixture. <Should have done some research before buying. Your lighting isn't sufficient for the Heteractis malu. Problem also lies in shipping/handling as most do not ship well. Very important to be sure the anemone looks healthy before purchasing.> My conditions seem well, they are: Nitrites: less than .05 Nitrates: Near 0 Ammonia: around .1 <Shouldn't be able to read ammonia at all.> dKH: 11 pH: 8.1-.8.3 Temp: Currently at 79-80 degrees Phosphates: 0 Calcium: 300+ For water I use distilled water but I am contemplating switching to RO water or an RO unit. Another possible solution I was think of was changing the actinic bulb with another 10,000k 96W CF bulb. Of course, I am no professional and could be very wrong. I am looking forward to a response and thanks again. <Do read/learn from this link. Also read linked files above. This will give you a very good idea of the requirements/needs necessary for keeping anemones. Even under the best conditions, most rarely survive more than a year under aquarium conditions. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm James (Salty Dog)> -Connor
Re: Sebae Anemone Systems 2/12/07 Dear James, Thank you for the reply and I have been reading the articles on your website trying to find what I needed. It seems to me that compact fluorescent lighting can be good, but with enough. I have been trying to find what would be enough and I just can't. I also understand that what is enough completely depends on a number of different factors. I would greatly appreciate if you could recommend and upgrade and/or lighting increase from what I already have that would be sufficient for a Sebae Anemone/corals and other anemones of similar light requirements. My tank is around 16" deep, 36" long, and my lighting fixture is around 6" from the surface. I have two 96w compact fluorescent bulbs, one 10,000k and one actinic. In addition to a possible addition of bulbs, would changing from 10,000k to 5,600k be more beneficial? <No, actually worse.> I am very thankful for your help already and I realize I am being somewhat of a pain =\. <Connor, if you plan on adding PC lamps, you need to be around 5 to 6 watts per gallon for this type anemone. I personally believe anemones do much better under MH/HQI lighting. If it were me, I'd go with a twin 150 watt HQI system with 12-14K lamps.> Thanks again, Connor P.S. sry for the few mix up emails, I was tired =] <Know the feeling my friend. James (Salty Dog)>

Sebae Anemone, Research Idea "The Ripple Effect" MH Shimmer 2/5/07 Hello guys, <Hi Brandon, Mich again.> I know that this is the second time that I have written today, but I was reading up on allelopathy at your site when I came across an extensive amount of information on anemones. I have had a very "happy" Sebae Anemone (Heteractis crispa) for quite a while now. I read a reply that stated that MH lighting was preferred for them. I would like to share a bit of information with you all. I was running a 55 gallon tank with three four foot 110 watt 10k daylight, and one four foot 100 watt actinic 03 on an Icecap 660 ballast. This translates to 440 watts of light or eight watts per gallon. The H. crispa was meh ooookaaayy, but I could tell that he was not going to make it past oh say a year at the very best. I bought a 75 gallon from a person that thought that caring for his fish was too much work and not a labor of love. Oh well his loss right? <Right!> So in the course of placing it I had a bright idea. Since the tank was bigger, I would transfer my micro reef to it, and create a somewhat bigger micro reef. I moved my lights, and all of my organisms. Here is where it gets interesting. Somewhere in the course of all of this some errant water escaped the tank. Anyone see where this is going? It (un-beknownst to me) had dribbled down a cord. A cord that was connected to the ballast. The ballast that was not waterproof. I don't know if any of you believe in God, but I do now. I turned the lights on, and they did not come on. So in one of my finest aquatic genius moments, I touched the ballast. <Yikes!!!> I think that I am lucky I am not dead. <Glad you're OK.> Excuse the French, but there is really no other way to say it, I got the holy h-e-double hockey sticks shocked out of me. <I'm envisioning your hair going from straight to curly!> I am kind of glad that I did though. <Really?> This was on a Monday (My Sunday), Tuesday morning I was in the LFS buying a MH retrofit that I had seen for $899 USD with a 20% discount. Like I said labor of love. <Cha-ching!> I set it up, hooked up all the ballasts, and turned it on (electrocution free, I put the ballasts on the outside this time and drilled some holes, it's ugly but safer.) <Safety is the more important issue.> The MH system has less light wattage, but there is a "ripple effect". EVERYTHING, fish and all immediately responded. The H. crispa stopped moving and perked up immediately. I think that I have a pretty hardy one (it was "thriving", according to them, under PC at the LFS), but I am willing to bet anyone a million dollars that it is not really benefiting from the MH itself, and more from the "ripple effect". I have been diving off of the coast of Belize, and this looks more natural. Perhaps this is one of the keys? <Perhaps.> Everything that I have read suggests that most Anemone species thrive under appropriate MH and die off rather quickly under anything else. Yes I think that a year is quickly for an immortal. <?> I hope that this information is useful, and that it will further someone's research. <Thank you for sharing! An interesting observation.> Thank you all for the wonderful work that you do, <Welcome! -Mich> Brandon R. Foster

Stocking Question, Sebae Anemone, Lighting 1/31/07 Hi crew, <Hello, Brenda here> Wonderful answers you guys give. I have a 20g (24"Lx15"H) with 130W PC Odyssea lighting, 10g DIY sump/refuge. My question is; I have two 1" Ocellaris clowns, a 3" lawnmower blenny, a 2" watchman goby, a pistol shrimp and a cleaner shrimp along with a Sebae anemone (currently slowly regaining its brownish/tannish color). Would the tank be overstocked? <Yes, even more so without a skimmer.> Secondly, should I replace one of the bulbs with a 10K daylight bulb? <In my opinion 130W PC lighting and a 20 gallon with sump is not enough for this anemone. Changing the bulb to 10K will not be sufficient.> Thank you so very much crew. <Your welcome. Brenda>

Sebae - caught in Power head... 10/6/06 This is my first time writing. I have looked on your site <Uhh, obviously not enough... there are many such instances archived on WWM> and read many areas... but I am hoping you can help reassure me. My sebae loves to move around... <Mmm... is this a Heteractis crispa anemone? I assure you it is not "love" that is driving it about> I came home yesterday - one side of him....tentacles only - were caught in the bottom of my power head. I unplugged the power head and he slowly moved away from it. He is shrunk up from the experience, but I had hopes he would make it. I moved the power head to the front of the tank... away from all rocks etc. Plugged it back in (like an idiot) and he was caught again.. <...> but this time it was tentacles and part of his base. He fell into a crack with the tomato clown and they stayed that way - until I moved him to a lower rock face up. <... also covered... best to not move actinarians...> He slid off to the bottom of the tank... and moved to a dark area with the clown.. this morning.. he is on the side of a rock, but still shrunken. Normally a brownish red color.. now with white tips... What do I do? I hate to give up on him. <... read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sebaedisfaqs.htm and the linked files above. BobF, WWM progenitor>

Anemone . . . Outta Control!/Anemone Systems - 08/26/2006 Hi Gang! <Hello Thomas> Thanks in advance for answering my question. <You're welcome.> Stats first: 24 Aqua Cube 16 lbs LR, 5 lbs LS, 10 lbs crushed substrate 79 degrees. Amon = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrates > 20. Calcium Ã'± 300. Weekly water changes of 4 gallons. 8 months established. <Lighting?> 1 Yellow Tail Damsel, 1 Coral Banded Shrimp, 1 Sally Footed <Foot> Crab, 1 tiny blue crab (I mean TINY) I had a large blue crab, but he jumped ship last week. Contemplating his replacement. 2 Clarkii Clowns, mated pair (that took a long time - she chased him for months, now he lives happily on the top edge of the Anemone <Anemone>) with hosted Sebae Anemone. My problem: The Anemone has gotten HUGE. It is gigantic - over 18 inches wide! It's in the back of the tank, and it's taking over. It opens up fully during the day and then shrinks at night. I feel as though it's too big for the tank. Is there any thing I can do to it? Or should I just be happy it's alive and thriving in an aqua cube and leave it alone? <You're not going to be happy too much longer. The 24 gallon cube is much too small for housing anemones, especially this species. Sebaes can grow up to 1' 8" under ideal aquarium conditions, and, the Sebae Anemone is one of the more difficult anemones to keep in captivity for any length of time. I suggest you find a better home for this anemone. Do read here and linked files above. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm> Thanks! <You're welcome. In future queries, do cap letters that need to be capped and do a spelling/grammar check. We do not have the time to correct queries before posting. Thank you, James (Salty Dog)> Thomas

Lighting For Anemone- One Challenge Met! 8/19/06 I bought a Sebae Anemone and thought I had strong enough lighting, but after reading on your site that people often don't, I figured I should ask. I have is: 2-150 10,000k Powerpaq Metal Halide Bulbs, 2-130 Dual Actinic 420nm & 460nm Bulbs. My tank is 90 gallons, and I need to know if I have made a mistake so I can do what is right for the little guy. Thank you so much for all of your help.-Emily <Well, Emily, from the lighting standpoint, I think that you're just fine. The lighting that you are using will provide enough energy for the anemone to prosper in this sized aquarium. Now, you need to address the other issues of water quality, food, and flow, and you'll have a beautiful animal that will thrive for years! Keep reading, and good luck with the challenge! Regards, Scott F.>

Sebae Anemone/Health/Systems - 06/07/2006 Hi there, I'd just like to start by saying your site is very useful, and has certainly saved me from inadvertently given LFS misinformation. I have a question about what I believe may be an ailing Sebae Anemone. I have a ten gallon nano with about 12lbs of live rock and 20lbs of live sand, Nano-skimmer, carbon/bio filtration, and I change the water 10% every other week. I monitor the levels very closely, but only with test strips. According to the strips the levels are all optimal. It's a fairly well established (4 months) system with several blue hermit crabs and turbo snails, 2 Ocellaris clowns, and a Royal Gramma. I got the Sebae about four days ago, and it immediately moved to a part of the tank with pretty constant but light water flow, and dug its foot in to the sand. Since I got it I have realized (thanks to your site) that the white coloration of the anemone is actually a sign of bleaching (doh!). But at the LFS it was all inflated and actually had a clarkii nesting in it. I went on the fact that the guy at the store said an Ocellaris would probably like a Sebae. I since also found out that there are probably more suitable choices of anemone. <Believe the LFS gave you more misinformation. Your tank is too small just for the fish you have in there.> (lesson learned. Always do research) however, I put the Sebae in. I invested in some invert supplements for the water to give the thing better chances. I have noticed over the last few days that the anemone has a habit of inflating and deflating during the course of the day. It will plume out for about an hour to two hours, then deflate for the same time. I didn't really think much of this at first because I heard they do this to get used to new water. However, I got up today, and its lying sideways on the sand, deflated, with its foot exposed. There's no sign of it breaking up at all, the foot looks like its not torn or anything like that. There was a problem in the oral area, it looked almost like it had hemorrhoids in its mouth. Today that's gone, and the oral disk is rather smooth. Although on its side the disk is opening and closing slowly, and the foot does seem to me moving somewhat (but extremely slowly. Is this thing doing its swan song? Or is there a way I can save it? <I'd see if you can take it back to the store, won't live in your tank.> I couldn't really find this specific situation in any of the articles. <You probably won't. The situation shouldn't exist.> I appreciate your help, and apologize for writing you a book here. Thanks in advance, <Chris, you should have researched the Sebae before buying. You have nowhere near the requirements for keeping one alive. You do not mention lighting, so I'm assuming you do not meet the needs there either. Enough light for this anemone would probably heat up that 10 gallon to 100 degrees. I will post a link for you, too much info on keeping anemones to pen here. Do read along with related topics above and you will see how far off you are. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm James (Salty Dog)> Chris H.
Post-Purchase Sebae Anemone Lighting Questions 2/8/06 I have a 46g tank that has been running for almost a year. I recently bought a Sebae anemone. I currently have 220 watts of lightning (PC, Dual actinic and actinic blue). Would that be enough? <Ah, the classic "Buy first, ask questions later" method, likely leading to more unintentional animal deaths than anything else. Always, and I mean ALWAYS do your research prior to making ANY purchase, lest you end up in a situation such as yours. Granted, the jury is out on reef aquarium lighting (and likely will always be), but 220 watts of Power Compact lighting on a 46 really isn't sounding good to me at all - *especially* for such a high-light creature as a Sebae Anemone. Assuming the anemone has all of its Zooxanthellae, thrice-weekly feeding of silversides would be recommended to keep the anemone in good health, and, if at all possible, a lighting upgrade may be in order. However, and rater unfortunately, most every sebae anemone offered for retail sale these days is bleached or dyed - if yours is yellow or white, it's going to need some extra TLC on top of all of that - daily feeding would certainly not be out of the question, nor would a lighting upgrade. I'd personally recommend nothing less than Metal halide lighting for any anemone species, Aiptasia/Majanos not included, of course.> Thanks for all your help. <Good luck with your new acquisition! Mike G>

Sebae Anemone in Poland 1/18/06 Hello there salty freakzz ;) <Howdy... hey, aren't you one of us?> according to my daddy's purchase I've got some questions about it, i mean Heteractis crispa anemone :) <Okay, a "Sebae" by any other name> well, the guy is in a great condition (crispa, but daddy's too), whole dark brown with brighter tips, (diameter = 3 in). looks like full of zooxanthellae (dunno how to spell it) so we're both happy of that. Yesterday evening we've introduced it to our tank (200Gal, 23in deep) and placed on the well lighted area in the mid-shallow area. he was, of course, irritated and quite small but i guess it was obvious. after an hour or two, he decided to travel round the tank and jump here and there (looking for shadowed places). unfortunately he felt down between some rocks and stayed there. i thought there was no reason to worry, especially he looked happy and was attached to the rock. the night had came and the waiting till morning started... today, just after lighting up my canopy, i was quite worried because the sebae moved a little, but wasn't attached to the rock. he has been just laying down on the bottom between those rocks. Didn't know what to do, I've took it and placed on the rock above. he was sticky and pumped up. he still looks healthy but ..... unable to find his home :( now he is laying (staying) on the sandbed so I've decided not to touch him for a long time and give him full access wherever he wants to. <This is often best...> please tell me is it ok, that he prefers shadowed places than fully light-exposed ? <Mmm, not likely... just very tired... perhaps unable to "reach" a more ideal spot> will it change? maybe he's just acclimatizing ? <Perhaps> what should i do in order to help him (if he needs any help, of course)? I've already switch off my powerheads :] <I would move this animal to a "brighter" system (shallower, more light) if you have one> do you think i should increase my lighting ? maybe adding 1xMarineWHite 54W and 1xMarineBlue 54W would improve things much more? <Mmm, this is not enough for a 23" deep system> or maybe adding 1x MH 250W 10'000K would be better option ? <Ahh! Much better> does my sebae change color ? for example from deep brown into light green or i don't know, deep brown with brither, pink tips ? or any other variations ? <Does change... as you'll find by reading on WWM... healthy ones are colored> my tank: 2x Lysmata amboinensis 1x lo vulpinus 1x zebrasoma flavescens 1x leather coral 205 lbs of live rock (Indonesia) 2x MH 150W 10'000K 1x MH 70W 10'000K (on the other side of the tank, not above the main part of live rock exposition) 1x MH 70W 20'000 (above the sand bed, on the second end of the tank) 1x t5 Marine White 54W 1x t5 Marine Blue 54W parameter ok: ca 400 kH 9 ph 8,10 no2/no3/nh4 0 thaaaaaaaaanks you guys, Pete on the reef (forgive me some grammar mistakes, here in Poland not many of us are even able to read ;)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) <I see, understand... You are understood. Do add the extra lighting... and soon, or move this animal. Bob Fenner>

My new sebae (anemone) I know that there are many lighting questions already posted but I cannot be sure that I am going to do the right thing and I want to take good care of my animals. Tank details: 55 gallon, 80 pounds live sand, 80 lbs live rock, sand-sifting goby, sand sifting star, peppermint shrimp, coral-banded shrimp, 2 urchins, 8 hermit crabs, 12 snails, 2 domino damsels. The urchins, hermits, snails, and damsels are left over from the set-up stage and may be moved to other tanks soon. There are 2 Maxi-jet 600s and a Rio 600 (on timers), and a Remora C skimmer, run by a Rio 1200; plan to start sump this summer. Lighting is 1-96 watt True Actinic 03 and 1-96 watt 10,000KT Daylight Compact Fluorescent. My question regards lighting but feel free too comment on any other obvious issues. I gather from the FAQs that I need to have at least 220 watts. I am pretty sure the Sebae is going to settle near the bottom of the tank so I am thinking of adding an additional 96 watt power compact. Can you give me any advice about the lighting I should get? <Posted on WWM> I am limited at this point to something that will fit under my hood, although I may be able to switch to MH in about 6 months. <Then I would wait on the additional light and go with this in half a year> The question is, I saw that you suggested this Britelight to someone but I am thinking of adding a 50/50 bulb (half 10K and half actinic). Because of my set-up, my intention is to use Current USA Orbit Compact Fluorescent so I have other bulb choices - 460nm Actinic, 420nm Actinic, 10,000K, 6,700K, etc. So, what will be the best for me to love on my Sebae? <No need for actinic... go with the higher/est Kelvin "white" lamp> Oh yeah, he is about 2 or 3 inches in diameter and yellow, with purple tips. <... Heteractis crispa are not yellow... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm Bob Fenner>

Appropriate lighting for H. crispa 12/31/04 Hi, I think that the Heteractis crispa hosts the percula clown, I was just wondering what sort of lightening does this anemone need and is it a reasonable easy anemone to keep???? Thanks <If you have not done so already, please do see the info that Bob linked in his previous reply. I currently keep A. ocellaris with an E. quadricolor (rose) anemone, and although the association is not natural, they will accept each other in captivity and A. percula is know to as well. Occasionally, clowns that have been kept for a long time without an anemone are slow to accept an unnatural host or may not do so at all, but this is rare (Mine took about a month). As for H. crispa, the are a natural host for A. percula, but not A. ocellaris. They are often sold as the "Sebae anemone" and are often bleached white with pink tips. Occasionally, they are also dyed bright yellow or pink. Bleached or dyes specimens are almost always doomed to die. If you find a healthy specimen (should be tan/brown with an occasional pinkish tone), they may be a good second choice to E. quadricolor for hardiness, although they are at least as demanding of light. 175w MH would be a minimum, with 250w recommended. Best Regards. AdamC.

Sebae Anemone part2 3/20/06 beh., dis. Hello Crew, Thanks for the quick reply AdamC, just thought I would update you on day 2 of the anemone, I took your advice and put it into a lower light area of the tank, I placed it on a large smooth coral skeleton I had picked up from a fellow reefer a while back for glue frags to. I placed this flat cup like piece in between to rocks in a sorta crevice and placed the anemone on it. This is protecting its foot nicely underneath. It has not attached to the rock but seems to be cradled nicely in place and is swaying from the gentle alternating current. <<Sounds very good. Hopefully it will attach soon. It has been my experience that anemones that have spent an extended amount of time tumbling in the water column in a dealer's tank are often slow to attach when placed in an aquarium.>> Its tentacles look thick and full but its mouth is still open slightly. the foot looks to be pinched in to a ball shape atm. Color wise its is more off white today, not yellow , not tan/brown more tan white( good or bad?). I am hoping that the foot being pinched in is a good sign as I can not see the damage as well as I could last night. Thanks Again for your advice and help. Cheers, Drew <<All sounds OK here as well. A slightly open mouth is OK... a seriously everted one is bad. Based on the color, it sounds like your anemone has some zooxanthellae left, so this is good. The "pinched in" foot may be a reaction to protect the damaged area or just a result of being unattached. The real hope is that the foot will extend naturally and take hold of the substrate. Best Regards. AdamC.>>

Anemone questions? and other questions? Hello WWM crew, About a week ago I bought a green tip sebae anemone for my 20 gallon reef. <and what of the body color? brown/green? Hopefully not light in color or white> It looks pretty good now but I was reading all the problems people have with them on your site. <alas yes> Well is my lighting too much for this anemone? I'm the one with the 175 watt metal halide on the 20 gallon? <most anemones need rather bright light. This may not in fact be too much if the lamp is suspended appropriately between 9-18". Did you also acclimate it slowly?> Do you have to feed them with this amount of light if so what should I feed and how many times a week? <yes... they still must be fed. Even with reef quality light, the animal is inherently not autotrophic. It must feed organismally for growth and reproduction at the very least we believe. I'd recommend 3-5 times weekly with very fine minced meats of marine origin> My water is good nitrites and ammonia 0 my nitrates go between 0 and 10 at the highest ph is 8.1-8.3. <a little higher would be nice... do look closer at your alkalinity levels. You may need to be using SeaBuffer more> My filtration is a Prizm skimmer a Skilter 400 and 2 power heads. <no filtration here... you do have live rock, live sand?> I have 3 little fish, 2 captive bred perculas and an orange-spot prawn goby. I was wanting to know if I could add another small fish or 2? <if small and peaceful yes, my friend> Would I be able to add another anemone since I don't have the right clowns for this one? <under no circumstance... the tank is ultimately not even big enough for this one species. Two species in a tank this small is a death wish. I'm quite sure of it. Mixing anemone species in any sized aquarium is dangerous... I never recommend it... it is one of the main reasons why many anemones rarely live past 2 years captive> For corals I have 2 colts, 1 medium leather and 2 small ones and some mushrooms. <wow... you will need to propagate/thin or remove these soon due to fast growth> What other water quality should I check because I'm adding calcium but there's still a lot of red and brown algae? <you have the nuisance algae because the skimmer you have unfortunately seems to have a well deserved terrible reputation. I would suggest a better skimmer like an Aqua C Remora. In the meantime... change water and carbon/Polyfilters frequently to compensate for the lack of nutrient export to starve out the bad algae. Also do test for Calcium and Alkalinity to keep stable levels. best regards, Anthony>
Re: Anemone questions? and other questions? hello, Yes the anemone is white with green on the tips. Is it going to die if it is white but its been white since it came into the store. <no matter... most are white because most are bleached on import and most will die within the year if not months. There are no white Sebaes. Yellow at best and rare at that. They are brown most commonly and sometimes green/brown> So are Sebaes not supposed to be white or what because every one they had was white? <none are ever supposed to be white... see pics here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and check out the FAQs on the top of that page link> My lights not that high off the tank maybe 3 inches <very good... fluorescents should not be any higher> but I have a big radio shack fan on top making air flow threw the canopy I made but it doesn't heat up my water no more than my 2 24 watt power compacts I used to have. When I feed the anemone should I just put the food right in its mouth? <actually... feeding is a little tricky. Its best to make a slurry of minced food in seawater and gently baste/drift the food onto the tentacles. An abrupt shove or blast of food will illicit a fright response instead> Do you think this anemone will make it at all or is it already going to die? <actually, many can recover if fed often and well enough. 3-5 times weekly. Recovery will be evidenced by a less than attractive blotchy "bruised" looking stage where patches of brown color come back in. Read hear too my friend: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fdreefinverts.htm best regards, Anthony>

Help! Anemone Heteractis crispa - The Story Dear Sir, Thank you for an excellent resource. I have attempted to educate myself as much as I can but I'm having an anemone drama and I'm afraid that time spent on my learning curve is, at the moment, my enemy. <Ok> Tank start 09/05/02 - 75 gallon tank with 10 gallon sump with water and filter and skimmer running but no lights and tank empty. For circulation I have water comes out to tank from sump at 600 gph. Also inside the tank are 1 Rio 200, 2 Rio 600's and 2 Rio 800's that come on and off anywhere from 7 minutes to 20 minutes apart at different times throughout the day (thanks to the Aquacontroller from Neptune systems) to result in what I think is a different form of current every 7 minutes in a pattern that repeats itself only once every 24 hours. <Be sure your anemone is protected from all these powerheads, so it cannot wander into/on one and become blenderized.> I realize this is more detail than you need to answer the questions I will ask but perhaps you will find some use in it, or in sharing it with your comments, with others. If not I apologize that it is so winded- skip to 10/04 for the start of the questions. 07/30/02 - This nimrod (me) decided he was going to have a saltwater tank. I purchased Marine Atlas 1,2,3 - Modern coral 1-4 and skimmed them several times and read about the parts that were of interest and still refer to them. Also - saltwater for dummies <Not a very good reference. Bob wrote a review. You can see it here, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/salth2odummies.htm> R.S.'s books on DSB and several others as well as hours of reading online. The point of including this is to basically indicate how I knew absolutely nothing 3 short months ago (and still don't really). <Ok, where is the anemone part?> 09/22/02 - Installed 15 gallon H refugium next to sump and added "miracle mud" as the substrate and some Caulerpa. Went with high because I wanted to reserve the option to put seahorses in it and they like high tanks. 09/24/02 Diatom bloom (yuck) - not that I had a choice on tapwater but yuck! 09/27/02 - The genius that I am so not decided I was going to grow sea lettuce and Ogo in the refugium so I put some in it. Ugh. 09/30/02 Dummy me only wound up feeding the brown algae more nutrients by adding that sea lettuce. There was something in it that it just LOVED. The Ogo didn't like the water flow - I was obvious to me that was the problem so I put it in small CPR refugium inside the refugium and have it rolling in a circle with 2 Rio 50 pumps - just loves it now. <Anemone, ohhhh here anemone. Where is that anemone?> 10/03/02 Added 40ish lbs of aquacultured live rock and 60lbs of live sand to tank from a Tampa Florida company. Although its not cured and I have inherited some unwanted guests this was important to me to buy aquacultured rock because I knew I was not destroying a million year old reef so that I could have a pretty tank of water in my house. <Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marusepets.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sourcesmortworldreefs.htm> Also, I think this rock was very fresh because each piece was loaded with thriving living barnacles and I'm told even the expert can't keep these alive. <Yes, it generally takes months for these to starve to death in most aquaria.> I also think because of the refugium setup that I cycled in a day with this rock because I measured for ammonia and nitrites at least 3 times a day for the next 2 weeks and saw signs of these only on the first day. <Perhaps it was already cured.> Also - the refugium is now almost 2 weeks old and all the algae in it is growing well (including the d!$! brown stuff that is now looking reddish but it is not slimy so I don't think its slime). I go in and shake it off the green stuff so it does not smother it out with a pair of tongs on a daily/every other daily basis. <Far better to physically remove the stuff versus merely liberating it (siphon it out).> 10/04/02 Inherited guests include 1 mantis shrimp (I know they are not shrimp at all but I see why people call them that) - one very adult pistol shrimp (he is not wanted because he stirs the sand to the bottom of the glass which would not be so bad but he does it under rocks and cause them to topple). Also, there is no doubt in my mind that I do not have the DSB to support him and he will destroy it in its infancy. Also, 3 Aiptasia - not real concerned at these at the moment. Figured I would handle them by keeping my ORP at between 450 and 500 and add some peppermint shrimp. <I like to use natural predators.> Also - there is something else that clicks. I don't know if its pistol or mantis. Have not seen it, only heard. 1ST QUESTION: <Thank God!> Is there anything besides pistol shrimp or mantis shrimp that will make that "clicking" noise? <Those are the two likely suspects.> Are there "pistol crabs" for example? <No pistol crabs, but many crabs that hitchhike. I once witnessed a "Margarite" hermit crab kill a blue legged hermit crab by bashing the shells together.> I still hear it but I see no signs and its coming from a rock other than the one above. <More pistols or mantis?> SIDE NOTE: I have since removed the mantis and pistol described above and will share how here for those who are interested. <Oh boy!> I tried the commercial traps, that didn't work. I tried the coke bottle method, that fell apart. I tried squirting hot saltwater at him - he just ran. I tried Kalkwasser in a needle and he just snapped at it. Finally I called the people I got the rock from and they told me to take the rock out - let it dry and eventually they would come out. So I got a tub, made sure he was in his home and took the rock out for 10 minutes. I decided that was long enough and that the whole rock did not need to suffer, so I took 3 ml of fresh water in a syringe and placed the rock so the water had the shortest path to the bottom, squirted that water right at him in his cave. He snapped at it twice and ran quickly with the water path to the bottom of the tub where I had a small amount of saltwater. The pistol shrimp by this time had come out of his cave looking for someplace else to be and I picked him up with a pair of tongs and sent him on his way to his new home at the LFS. The mantis did not survive the fresh water battle and so he went to the water department. <Flush> I will say here that I think those mantis shrimp are the "aliens" of the ocean because he was way to smart. I say this because he lived in a cave with a front and back entrance high up on a "ledge" of the rock. When I started shining light into the cave he stuck a shell up to "close" the door and then used this shell as just that - a door - and opened and closed it as he came and went. That is how it was easy for me to tell if his was "home". Several times he would open his door come to the ledge while I was standing there. I swear he would look right at me and snap his snappers and run back inside and close the door. I think he viewed me as a predator and was taunting me (a correct assumption on his part). And this is a "shrimp"??? ha! <I have nothing to say, but I am still here.> QUESTION 2 10/05/02 - Using actinic lighting on most of the tank to encourage coralline algae growth and diminish the brown stuff, I have several very nice sea squirt colonies growing on what I will call ROCK A and I wonder if that is because they just "loved" that actinic only lighting? <More likely that is the rock they came in on. See here for more information, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ascidians.htm> SKIPPING AHEAD -the next 2 weeks is just typical startup drama <I am starting to get a headache from staring at this computer screen for so long.> 10/16/02 2nd part of the rock arrives - added another 30lbs, 100 blue leg hermits, 2 tiger tail cucumbers and a sebae anemone <Holy cow, we reached the anemone part. I feel like I just scaled Mount Everest.> of the Heteractis crispa. When it arrived it was very full - very open and wavy and its pure white with purple tips with a fluorescent green mouth that stands out under the actinic. I have a 175 metal halide 10K bulb with UV filter hanging 12-13 inches above the tank with the glass top on. <I would lower the light or lose the glass cover. The distance combined with the glass cover work to reduce light intensity/penetration.> With this light on - he was stuck to the plastic bag so I snipped around him and stuck him and the plastic he was hanging on inside the tank and hung it from the back. I was afraid of forcing him off because I didn't want to hurt him. <Good> He hung there all day, all open and wavy, very beautiful creature. He even ate the little piece of cocktail shrimp I gave him. Now that I know he MUST have this halide light to survive I have increased its burn time, however, since he has taken a liking to ROCK A I am concerned that the life I have spawned over the last 2 weeks are going to freak at the extended intense light. Is this going to kill my squirts? <They are very difficult to keep alive anyway.> If so is there anything I can do? <Not much> QUESTION 3 10/17/02 The anemone moved down the side of the tank and fell off - I watched him fall- all the while staying very open and lush. I moved him (with my rubber Aquaglove on) to a piece of PVC pipe, a joiner piece, that I had buried in the sand and emptied most of the sand out of it so that only the top was sticking out of. I fed him again another little piece of shrimp to encourage him to stay there. <Not likely to help. I would let it choose where best to live. This will depend on lighting, water flow, and substrate preferences.> He seemed to like this spot for about 2 hours <Far to short to tell anything> and then slowly moved around ROCK A to where the Tigertail cucumber had taken up residence. Is he going to get along with that cucumber? <The cucumber can move away.> Will the cucumber hurt him? <No> DRAMA! 10/18/02 Turned light off to have a "dim" light day and just had the actinic. <Strange, I just have mine set on timers and encourage others to do the same.> The anemone shriveled up (only been in tank 2 days) and started looking very sickly. Never seen him do that. <It had only been two days. Did you expect to see all of its behaviors by then?> Was this from the cucumber or my decision to have a "dim" light day? <Who knows?> Does he require that halide for 12 hours? <More likely 8-10. I would use the actinics for one hour first, then the MH's, then just actinics again.> I turned it back on and this seemed to help bring him back to life but I really =wonder is all the stuff I started growing on ROCK A going to die now from the increased light intensity? <It was probably doomed to die anyhow.> Anyways, I hope this is not a silly question but I feel pressed and I'm afraid to turn the halide light off again lest he have a fit. <Just stick to a normal schedule.> I really would like to keep him successfully and I have not yet added a clownfish because I have read that it is best to let the anemone find a home and get comfortable before having him play host. <Neither needs the other in captivity to survive/thrive.> Please tell me what steps I should take, can take, right now, to ensure the good health of my anemone. <Educate yourself in their proper husbandry and more importantly, do less.> I really hate thinking it is my ignorance that is killing him and I don't know what else to do other than give him bright light, excellent water quality, and good food. <That is it.> I'm feeling pressed for time as parts of him are still shriveled and the light is going off now via its timer. <It gets dark in the ocean, too.> LAST QUESTIONS - FOR SPECIFICS. 1. Do I remove the cucumber? <Not for the reason you mentioned.> 2. Do I move the anemone back to the PVC pipe but in a different location? <No> 3. Do I get a clownfish? <Up to you> Will that help him? <No> 4. Do I stop feeding him cocktail shrimp and go with just the fishes recommended? <Feed small, whole prey items.> 5. He has moved next to a scallop will he sting it to death? <Maybe> Do I move the scallop? <Sure> 6. If that clicking noise I still hear is a mantis - will the mantis shrimp hurt him? This is all taking place on, near, or next to ROCK A. <No> Thanks so much for taking the time read. I hope my spelling wasn't too bad and this email is useful. I wish I could proofread it more but this is such a primitive machine and I can only see 7 short lines of text a time. <So, you could not see how big this email was. For the future, please try to be more concise. This novel was very long, but without a single bit of water quality analysis in the whole thing. Please try to limit yourself to the actual questions/problems and pertinent observations/analysis.> Best Regards, James Pennington in Ohio <You may want to consider joining an aquarium society for an additional resource. Take a look here for leads http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/aquariumclubs/ -Steven Pro>
Steven Pro - Re: Help! Anemone Heteractis crispa - The Story Dear Steven Pro, Thank you for taking the time to read my novel. I am at work now on a real machine and I had no idea I wrote such a book! Kudos to you for your patience and your comments! <And thanks for not taking any of my jokes badly. I had to do something to entertain myself this morning.> I was in a panic. I don't want the anemone to die because I'm stupid and was not prepared for him. He was a bonus that came with the "package". <I hate package deals of all kinds. You always get something you do not want or later realize you do not want or you are not prepared and educated for.> I had no idea I was going to have him until I opened the box. A very welcome but unexpected guest. I realize it might not matter now but just in case the water conditions for the tank: pH fluctuates between 7.99 and 8.26 Still trying to find a balance between Kalkwasser and buffer <This is a bit low. I would prefer to see something like 8.2-8.4> ORP Ranges from 432 - 451 TEMP 77.6 night to 78.9 day Ammonia has never read more than 0.25 ppm (testing daily watching for cycle) and is at 0 now Nitrites, and Nitrates are both immeasurable and have been since day 2. ALK: "normal" Lastly, they way you phrase something below makes me want to ask - should I get rid of the Tigertail cucumber for other reasons? <I would not chose to have one.> The woman gave him to me as part of her "package". I have mixed feelings and wish an expert would share his advise. Is the benefit of these creatures worth the risk in your opinion? <Their are other creatures that can do the same job with no risk.> Kind Regards, James Pennington in Ohio P.S. I realize I'm a just a stupid newbie but those sea squirts came to me as group of 3 and grew to a group of 30 and were growing strong until the metal halide light "time on" got longer. Once a week I would squirt about 2ml of plankton at them through a plastic needle. They look just like the ones on the cover of the Marine Atlas Volume 3. <They are beautiful! Clavelina caerulea - Baensch's says they prefer shaded areas, so your lights may have some effect.> Now they are starting to shrivel since the halide light hours lengthened. I just wanted to say that I GOT THEM TO GROW! ... or did I actually get them to "reproduce" ? :) I'm going to go put a piece of wood between them and the light for shade to see if that helps. <Good idea!> Kudos again for putting up with us Newbies! <No sweat. -Steven Pro>

- Sebae Questions - Hello, I stumbled across your site, and think it is great. I just recently purchased a rather large sebae anemone, and I have a 55 gallon tank with about 50lbs of live rock in it. There are some bare spots on the bottom that are just substrate, but the live rock covers the majority of the tank. I have 2 false perculas that have taken to the anemone, and really love it. My tank has been set up for almost 5 years, so it is an established tank, and my water parameters are good. I have 3 powerheads in the tank, along with the return, and my lighting consists of 4 96w powercompacts 2 W/2 actinic blue. The anemone was doing fine the first day or two I put him in, but there is not a huge amount of substrate for him to attach his foot. I would say he's about 8-10 inches when fully stretched out, but I haven't seen him that big since I purchased him. <Was this anemone under similar lighting in the store? Chances are good that your lighting just isn't quite as strong as this animal is used to.> Does he need a good portion of substrate to stretch himself out fully, or will he be able to stretch out over the live rock too? <It will stretch out when and where it chooses - depth of substrate really isn't a factor.> Also, he seemed to be moving around, and AFTER reading your articles, I can tell that you recommend not moving them. I did move him before I read the other articles, and he seems to be quite healthy. I put him on a rather large flat piece of live rock, hoping he would stretch himself out. Will his foot be happy on the live rock without any sand, or would he prefer the sand to burrow his foot? <Again... it will choose the place where it gets the best current and best lighting, not necessarily where it thinks it has a good footing.> I'm not sure if I should move some live rock around so he can have some more sand or not. <Move it around so it can have more light.> Please help! Also I have a small hippo tang that has not been feeling well ever since the anemone was introduced. Is it possible that it brushed against the anemone? <Always possible.> He has been breathing heavily on the bottom of my tank now for a couple of days, but does have the strength to swim away if I put something near him. If he was stung, will he survive, and is there anything I can do to help him? <If the fish was stung well enough, then there is nothing you can do I'm sorry to say.> Thanks for all your help, Steve
<Cheers, J -- >