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 ± 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 -- >