Help with Sabae Anemone

[pammy]

Hello. I just bought a Sabae Anemone last night. What a GORGEOUS creature! It's probably 6 or 7" in diameter. I acclimated it for 2 hours, and placed him in shallow hole I made in the sand for him, and he hasn't budged from there. Seemed very happy last night. Went to bed a few hours later and he was still in the same spot. Woke up this morning and nearly panicked. He was all deflated and spewing out brown stringy stuff. I wondered if he was pooping, or if it was something bad. Thought that must have been his mouth, but than after reading some, found that their mouth is where they poop from too. I turned on the lights, and right before my eyes, his tenticles started filling out again. Below are two pics of him from last night, a pic from this morning 5 minutes after I turned on the lights, and another pic 30 minutes after I turned on the lights. Does he look ok? Do Anemones deflate at night when the lights are off like coral? If so, how long before they fill out again? I only have the T5's on right now. 150w MH is still off. Was the brown stringy stuff just normal pooping? Almost as soon as I turned on the lights, he stopped expelling the stuff. His mouth is still about 1/2 way open and the lights have been on for an hour now. Should his mouth normally be closed unless he's eating? He's definitely inflated more, but nothing like last night. My tank has been up and running for 8 months. Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites have been zero forever. Phosphates always 0 or .1 . PH is 8.3 Need a new Alk test as this red sea one is hard to read. All other test kits are salifert. Salinity 1.025. Calcium 390. Mag 1170. Temp is 80f. 53 gallon tank with 7 gallon sump. Clam and all corals look great. Here are the pics.

Anemone a couple hours after acclimating:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone1-4-08048.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone1-4-08036.jpg

Anemone 5 minutes after turning on T5's in the morning:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone1-5-08-afterlightsofffo.jpg

Anemone 30 minutes after turning on T5's only in the morning:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone1-5-08-30minutesafterli.jpg

[pammy]

Here he is 5 hours after turning my lights on. Definitely looks MUCH better than when my lights came on this morning, but not as nice as last night. His mouth is still open, but not all the way like this morning.

I do know that he is bleached, and will turn more brownish as he gets healthier. (although the white is SO pretty!) They both looked like that at my LFS (just came in a couple days ago).

When you feed them, how quickly do they grab the food? I did put a little piece of enriched Brine in his mouth, but he didn't do much with it, or at least it was really slow.

Do they normally shrivel all up when the lights are off at night like mine did last night? Or was that more getting acclimated to my tank?

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone1-5-08-5hoursafterlight.jpg

[Phurst]

It definitely looks better. I have a LTA and a RBTA, they both deflate at night, so that shouldn't be anything to worry about. I've never seen a sebae in a LFS that WASN'T bleached, but it should recover if given good conditions and food. I wouldn't be surprised for it to take several days to fully adjust to being in your tank. Keep us up to date on how it's doing.

[lReef lKeeper]

i agree with Pearson, and it could take MONTHS for the true (BROWN) color to come back. here is wahr you can expect it to look like ...

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n75/lReef_lKeeper/sebaeanemone.jpg

[pammy]

I went out for a few hours tonight, and came home and the lights had shut off for the night in the tank, but the lights in the room were on, and the Anemone is fully inflated and back to his full glory !! Looks as beautiful when I brought him home yesterday. YAY!! When you feed them, do you put the food in their mouth, or in their tenticles?
Pam

[lReef lKeeper]

i would just lay it on the tentacles, and let it eat what it wants. i always shoot some of my blender mush onto it too.

[CarmieJo]

I'm glad he is looking better tonight! I've never had a sabae but for my BTA I just have put food on his tentacles.

[laurabolyard]

He looks very beautiful!! I took mine back because I was too worries about my insufficient lighting, but I just got 500w in metal halides, husband just pput the last coat of paint on the new hood! Cant wait to be in sebae glory again too!

[pammy]

My Anemone looks awesome today! Never deflated last night. I woke up and checked him out while it was still dark out, and he was inflated beautifully. His mouth appears closed too.

My clown is happy in his frogspawn and hasn't showed any interest in the Anemone yet. Should I just leave well enough alone, or move the frogspawn to a less desirable location to see if the clown moves to the Anemone?

Pam

[lReef lKeeper]

i would just give it some time. sometimes it can take clowns years to host an anemone, especially if it is a tank raised clown.

[Phurst]

Yep, it took my clowns quite a while to start hosting. I had a RBTA in the tank for a couple of months that they completely ignored. I added a LTA and they started hosting in under 24 hours. They have recently moved from the LTA to the RBTA where I wanted them.

[doctorthompson]

My Anemone looks awesome today! Never deflated last night. I woke up and checked him out while it was still dark out, and he was inflated beautifully. His mouth appears closed too.

Sounds like its getting used to your tank's routine. Anemones typically inflate and do their whole "prey capture" routine for an hour or two just as the lights are coming on or going off (when the water on the reef, and in most mature tanks, is swarming with zooplankton) - coincidentally, those are the perfect times to feed your anemone!


My clown is happy in his frogspawn and hasn't showed any interest in the Anemone yet. Should I just leave well enough alone, or move the frogspawn to a less desirable location to see if the clown moves to the Anemone?

As long as the frogspawn is happy (coral is expanding fully, no bite marks, no tissue recession along the base of the polyps) and the clown doesn't appear to be in danger of being eaten by it (a large Euphyllia sp. can easily eat a small clownfish) I'd leave it alone. Trying to force a clown into an anemone is an only slightly less fruitless endeavor than cat herding.

PS. If the anemone ever starts to wander around the tank I'd be prepared to yank that frogspawn and any other corals from the Euphyllia sp. family out of the display and into some sort of holding tank. They have powerful stings and could easily wreak havoc on a passing anemone. Keeping your anemone well fed and well lit will minimize the chances of it uprooting and looking for greener pastures.

[doctorthompson]

When you feed them, how quickly do they grab the food? I did put a little piece of enriched Brine in his mouth, but he didn't do much with it, or at least it was really slow.

Probably didn't recognize or enjoy the brine shrimp, Heteractis crispa mostly eat small fish, not crustaceans. Pick up some frozen silversides or lancefish (your LFS should carry these), chop or dice the fish and feed the anemone several small portions rather than tossing a whole fish into it's tentacles.

If you ever see it spit out a portion of food, perhaps wrapped in a mucus-like cocoon, grab a turkey baster or forceps and remove the regurgitated food -- since regurgitated food is usually not digested and could foul your water if it rots or gets eaten (and excreted) by your cleanup crew.

Good luck with your anemone, it is indeed a gorgeous specimen!

[lReef lKeeper]

great info Doc, as usual !! i would like to also throw this in there for a tidbit of info Pammy ... the Sebae Anemones are less likely to wander around the tank than most others. that is THE MAIN reason i decided on one for my "i will NEVER have an anemone" SPS tank.

[pammy]

I left for the weekend on Friday, and my clown had not paid any attention at all to my new Sabae Anemone. Got home on Sunday night, to find this!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/AnemoneandClown.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/AnemoneandClown2.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/AnemoneandClown3.jpg

[Phurst]

Yay :cool!:

[doctorthompson]

I left for the weekend on Friday, and my clown had not paid any attention at all to my new Sabae Anemone. Got home on Sunday night, to find this!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!

Too bad you weren't around to photo-document the acclimation process. I used to have a saddleback clown hosted in my carpet anemone and I remember having my eyes glued to the tank for around the same amount of time (2 days or so); watching the clown go through the whole process of "coating" herself with the anemone's nematocysts. She would get stung, flee, come back after a few minutes, get stung again, bite the anemone in self-defense, etc... There is very little documentation, from a reef aquarium hobbyist point of view, on this sometimes harrowing process to properly prepare the first-time anemone keeper on what to expect -- there were a few moments where I almost made the decision to catch/remove the clown thinking "OK, this just doesn't seem right - someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed if I don't put a stop to this...".

Glad to see yours has made a successful transition, she looks like a fully acclimated and permanent resident already.

Congratulations!

PS.
Your frogspawn is probably relieved to be living a "clown-free" life again as well! :mrgreen:

[cr8signs]

That is a beautiful anemone, when it starts to change to the brownish color it will look like bruising, it is really different to see. It looks more unnatural, almost like it is sick, but it is not. Mine was pure white and now it is really, dark brown/maroon with creamy/tan tips. I fed it mainly silversides. Tiny pieces though, everyday at first. It took about 3 weeks to finally grab onto the food eagerly. THanks to doctorthompson I have learned smaller pieces of food arebetter for it.

[pammy]

Thanks doctorthompson. I WISH I was able to see the process!! I had the Anemone for 8 days before I went away for the weekend, and the clown hadn't even glanced at the Anemone. Then I go away for two days, and he was completely acclimated by the time I came back. I tried to feed the Anemone a piece of krill tonight, and the clown kept head-butting the krill until he knocked it out of the Anemone. Does he not recognize the krill as food because it's much larger than the mysis etc that he eats? Or does he think it's a predator? Is this normal and he'll recognize it as food soon enough? I thought the same thing about the Frogspawn. I know they're not a natural host for clowns. Thanks!
Pam


Too bad you weren't around to photo-document the acclimation process. I used to have a saddleback clown hosted in my carpet anemone and I remember having my eyes glued to the tank for around the same amount of time (2 days or so); watching the clown go through the whole process of "coating" herself with the anemone's nematocysts. She would get stung, flee, come back after a few minutes, get stung again, bite the anemone in self-defense, etc... There is very little documentation, from a reef aquarium hobbyist point of view, on this sometimes harrowing process to properly prepare the first-time anemone keeper on what to expect -- there were a few moments where I almost made the decision to catch/remove the clown thinking "OK, this just doesn't seem right - someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed if I don't put a stop to this...".

Glad to see yours has made a successful transition, she looks like a fully acclimated and permanent resident already.

Congratulations!

PS.
Your frogspawn is probably relieved to be living a "clown-free" life again as well! :mrgreen:

[pammy]

hanks for the tip about feeding cr8signs. About how small are the pieces of silversides are you feeding? Thanks, Pam


That is a beautiful anemone, when it starts to change to the brownish color it will look like bruising, it is really different to see. It looks more unnatural, almost like it is sick, but it is not. Mine was pure white and now it is really, dark brown/maroon with creamy/tan tips. I fed it mainly silversides. Tiny pieces though, everyday at first. It took about 3 weeks to finally grab onto the food eagerly. THanks to doctorthompson I have learned smaller pieces of food arebetter for it.

[CarmieJo]

Pam, your clown looks fantastic in the anemone! Those are really nice shots.

When I added my BTA my maroon clown was hosting in it within a few minutes. I did not observe any acclimation behavior, she just dove in. For a few months I would see little spots on her that looked like drops of watered down milk. I think they were stings. I've not seen them on her for ages now.

[pammy]

Thanks Carmie!
Pam

[cr8signs]

Pammy,
When I started the pieces were really tiny, probably about 1/8"-1/4"., every day. He didn't want to take anything. Didn't seem to have any stickyness to his tentacles. I would hold the food there. Sometimes it would take almost 30 min.
I was determined! And it paid off. Later you can just feed more pieces. 1/2"-3/4". I feed every 3 days or so now. Mine was 3" when I got it in Sept, now it is the size of a a basketball, so they do grow fast.

[pammy]

Well, my Sabae has been doing great but something is wrong with him today. He looked great when I left for work this morning. He seems to be eating the pieces of silversides I've been giving him every other day. He hasn't budged from the spot I put him, since I put him there 3 weeks ago. My 15 year old son just called me and told me something was wrong with him and it was freaky looking (my son rarely glances at the tank, so something has to be really wrong). He said something really big is coming out of his mouth... big as in a couple inches. Could he be expelling his stomach? My son tried to take a picture on his cell phone to send to me, but I couldn't make out anything in the picture. I will get out of work as soon as I can and run home, but I'm an hour away. Is there anything I can do for this Sabae if it's his stomach? I can post a picture later. If it's his stomach...does that mean he's dying? My son said the rest of the Anemone looks ok, just something coming out of the mouth and the clown is still hosting it.
Thanks! Pam

Parameters: Salinity 1.026 PH: 8.3 Alk: 8 dHk Nitrites, Nitrates and Ammonia all
zero. Phosphates: between 0 and .1 Calcium 390 Magnesium 1170
Temp 80f Flow: 25x display

[Phurst]

Hard to say without a pic. it may just be expelling waste, or undigested silversides.

[doctorthompson]

Well, my Sabae has been doing great but something is wrong with him today. He looked great when I left for work this morning. He seems to be eating the pieces of silversides I've been giving him every other day. He hasn't budged from the spot I put him, since I put him there 3 weeks ago. My 15 year old son just called me and told me something was wrong with him and it was freaky looking (my son rarely glances at the tank, so something has to be really wrong). He said something really big is coming out of his mouth... big as in a couple inches.

Are (were?) there other fish in that tank other than the clown?


Could he be expelling his stomach? My son tried to take a picture on his cell phone to send to me, but I couldn't make out anything in the picture. I will get out of work as soon as I can and run home, but I'm an hour away. Is there anything I can do for this Sabae if it's his stomach?

I doubt it's the stomach, but if it is, probably not anything you could do at this point other than remove the anemone to protect your other livestock.


I can post a picture later.

Please do.
If you can get your son to continue trying to take as many pictures as he can before you get there.


If it's his stomach...does that mean he's dying?

It would mean that the anemone is extremely stressed, but if it hasn't moved I'll reiterate that I doubt it is actually the stomach.


My son said the rest of the Anemone looks ok, just something coming out of the mouth and the clown is still hosting it.
Thanks! Pam

Could just be waste material, if your son is capable of removing it with a net once it's free of the anemone that might be helpful.

[CarmieJo]

I agree it is hard to tell without a picture but my first thought was "poop".

[pammy]

[QUOTE=doctorthompson;67535]Are (were?) there other fish in that tank other than the clown?

Hi Lucas. The clown doesn't seem aggressive with the Anemone. The only other livestock in the tank, are: Coral Beauty, Orchid Dotty Back, Pygmy Possum Wrasse and a Red Scooter Blenny. Also have 1 Peppermint Shrimp, and misc snails. The only thing I've ever seen go near the Anemone besides one of the two perculas, is the Coral Beauty (trying to steal food) But since the clown starrted hosting the Anemone, he doesn't go near it.

I'll post a pic in a couple hours.

Thanks, Pam

[pammy]

Hi Carmie. I'll post a pic in a couple hours. My son said whatever is coming out of his mouth, is about the size of my frogspawn. That's what makes me think it's his stomach. I can't imagine what else could be that big. I've been trying to get out of work but my boss won't let me. > :--{


I agree it is hard to tell without a picture but my first thought was "poop".

[Phurst]

I agree with Lucas in that it probably wouldn't have expelled it's stomach without showing signs of severe stress first.

I'm still betting on poop, or possibly it tried to consume a fish that got too close, and is regurgitating it now. Is it a coral beauty shaped poo......

[doctorthompson]

The only other livestock in the tank, are: Coral Beauty, Orchid Dotty Back, Pygmy Possum Wrasse and a Red Scooter Blenny. Also have 1 Peppermint Shrimp, and misc snails.

All potential meals, particularly the wrasse & blenny if they wander/drift at night.


The only thing I've ever seen go near the Anemone besides one of the two perculas, is the Coral Beauty (trying to steal food) But since the clown starrted hosting the Anemone, he doesn't go near it.

When I first saw our saddle-back clown swim to the top of the tank, grab a mysis, and bring it back down to throw onto the anemone I thought "Oh, so that's what they mean by 'the clown will feed the anemone'!", for the next 2 months I didn't have to get wet to feed the carpet anemone, the clown would act as a waiter ... which was totally cool until I saw the clown almost succeed in dragging our female Anthia into the anemone by it's tail & left pectoral fin!! I know A. percula and A. occellaris aren't normally as aggressive as a saddle or tomato (or a large solitary female maroon in heat, they draw serious blood!)


I've been trying to get out of work but my boss won't let me.

I only live 2 blocks from my office but I'm even considering a couple of cheap webcams (1 for quarantine tank, 1 aimed at "newest sessile invert" in display). Leaving a point-and-shoot digital camera near the tank at all times isn't a bad idea either, you can get AC adapters for most of them so you don't have to worry about recharging batteries.

[pammy]

Oh my goodness! This is so funny. I came home, and the Anemone had moved into a cave. I looked at him, and he looked fine except that he had moved (strange because he hadn't moved in 2 weeks since I put him into my tank). I asked my son, if maybe the Anemone was upside down, and he was looking at his foot. My son said..."OH...yea...that's it.. I didn't know they had a foot". He must have flipped upside down, then flipped himself and moved into the cave, or the current took him in there. He wasn't expelling anything at all and looks fine!! Yay!
I don't know if I should have left him in the cave or not, but I moved him back to his regular spot. My son apologized for scaring me, but I told him he did the right thing by calling me. I had asked him to call me if he ever sees anything out of the ordinary. I had come home to water spraying all over the place because a powerhead had slipped in the magnetic clip, and my son didn't bat an eye, so I was glad he called me when the thought something was wrong. :)

Now if the darn clown would stop stealing his food! It's not that the clown is eating it...he's just kicking it out. I stood guard for a while, but as soon as I took my arm out of the tank, the clown went and dug out the small piece of silverside I had put in. I thought he was trying to eat it, but he isn't. He just threw it away. How is this Anemone going to eat if the clown keeps pulling out the food? Should the Anemone be eating it much quicker?

Thanks. Pam

[Phurst]

My clowns do the same :) I usualy hear about clowns feeding their hosts, but mine always try to throw the food out of the anemone. I just have to shoo them away until the anemone has eaten.

I'm glad there's no emergency, but best to keep an eye on it. sebaes aren't really known for walking around tanks....

[CarmieJo]

Whew, that is a relief! I agree, better to have your son err on the side of caution. IME teenage boys are pretty unobservant at times. They may be even worse at 19 than at 15. :)

[doctorthompson]

Oh my goodness! This is so funny. I came home, and the Anemone had moved into a cave. I looked at him, and he looked fine except that he had moved (strange because he hadn't moved in 2 weeks since I put him into my tank). I asked my son, if maybe the Anemone was upside down, and he was looking at his foot. My son said..."OH...yea...that's it.. I didn't know they had a foot". He must have flipped upside down, then flipped himself and moved into the cave, or the current took him in there. He wasn't expelling anything at all and looks fine!! Yay!

Good to hear.


I don't know if I should have left him in the cave or not, but I moved him back to his regular spot.

I wouldn't get in the habit of moving it, if the foot is attached under the substrate you could damage the anemone - plus it's a lot of stress for the anemone and the clownfish.

Check your water parameters. Anemones will typically seal their mouth and detach their foot and do the whole "tumbleweed" thing only when the local conditions are sub-par (light, water flow, water quality). It may move again, so keep an eye on it. How brown is it now compared to when you got it? Have any other pigments started showing up, perhaps only under actinics or blue moonlights?


Now if the darn clown would stop stealing his food! It's not that the clown is eating it...he's just kicking it out. I stood guard for a while, but as soon as I took my arm out of the tank, the clown went and dug out the small piece of silverside I had put in. I thought he was trying to eat it, but he isn't. He just threw it away. How is this Anemone going to eat if the clown keeps pulling out the food? Should the Anemone be eating it much quicker?

The food should be grabbed and "wrapped" in tentacles quite quickly, the anemone's tentacles should also be quite sticky and difficult for the clown to simply pull chunks off of. Do you feed the clown first? frozen mysis usually keeps them busy, might want to try some other foods on the anemone too - maybe it's not a fish-eater like most Heteractis crispa ... or is yours an H. malu? I can never remember which one is called the "Sebae".

[pammy]

Thanks Lucas. I only got it two weeks ago and it could be my imagination but it seems not quite as stark white. More of a creamy white now. I haven't noticed any difference under the actinics. (waiting on my moon lights). He seems quite sticky to me, but the clown didn't seem to struggle to get the food away from him. I did squirt a little enriched mysis soaked in selecon into the center of his tenticles about 30 minutes after the clown kicked his food out....not sure if he ate it, but figured I'd give it a shot. I do feed the clown first, but maybe I waited too long to give the Anemone his food. Maybe I have to give it to him right away while the clown is busy eating. Thanks!
Pam


Good to hear.

I wouldn't get in the habit of moving it, if the foot is attached under the substrate you could damage the anemone - plus it's a lot of stress for the anemone and the clownfish.

Check your water parameters. Anemones will typically seal their mouth and detach their foot and do the whole "tumbleweed" thing only when the local conditions are sub-par (light, water flow, water quality). It may move again, so keep an eye on it. How brown is it now compared to when you got it? Have any other pigments started showing up, perhaps only under actinics or blue moonlights?

The food should be grabbed and "wrapped" in tentacles quite quickly, the anemone's tentacles should also be quite sticky and difficult for the clown to simply pull chunks off of. Do you feed the clown first? frozen mysis usually keeps them busy, might want to try some other foods on the anemone too - maybe it's not a fish-eater like most Heteractis crispa ... or is yours an H. malu? I can never remember which one is called the "Sebae".

[pammy]

LOL Carmie. Sounds like you have experience with a teenager! ;)


Whew, that is a relief! I agree, better to have your son err on the side of caution. IME teenage boys are pretty unobservant at times. They may be even worse at 19 than at 15. :)

[CarmieJo]

Yep, a 19 year old son and 5 exchange sons and daughters from around the world. The oldest is 25 and the youngest is 17. They were all 16-18 their exchange year when they lived with us.

[pammy]

Hey all. Here's a picture of my very bleached Sabae when I got him 3 months ago, and a picture of him tonight. He's darkened up a lot !!! :) Pam

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/AnemoneandClown.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa157/matsis1234/SabaeAnemone3-11-08008Large.jpg

[lReef lKeeper]

better be careful with those 2 (nem & poylps) so close together. they will start stinging each other.

[pammy]

Hmm.....good point. The Sun Coral can be easily moved. It's on it's own rock, sitting on the main rock structure. I'll find a new home for it. Thanks, Pam


better be careful with those 2 (nem & poylps) so close together. they will start stinging each other.

[laurabolyard]

Glad all is well! My clown doesnnt seem to like silversides, I put them right down in the middle at sebaes mouth, when he wraps up his tentacles, clown would hve difficulty even getting them I think, Mt clown may seem to feed his host, but what I really see him doing is snatching all of the food up and throwing it into the anemone to come back and get it later, knowing that nobody else is going to go in and get it! Pretty smart:up:
Your sebae looks like mine when I got it a few months ago, mine is good and 'beige" now. I feed him everyother day too, seems to be working, your is looking great!

[Phurst]

Wow, nice turnaround! Looking good!

[pammy]

Thanks all !! :)

Pam

[pammy]

Well Hallelujia! My Sabae finally seems to have gotten a feeding response for the first time since I added him to my tank 3 1/2 months ago (see pics a few posts above showing how bleached he was when I brought him home, and how much he has darkened).
Last night I fed him mysis, and for the first time, he actually closed up immediately around it. Before that, he'd grab hold of the food with his tenticles, but never tried to close up around it. Tonight, I tried a piece of silverside about 1/8"-1/4" and again, he immediately closed up around it. I just couldn't keep the clown from stealing it from him. I kept the clown away for a while, but he finally went right into the closed Anemone and pulled out the silverside and threw it away. I tried a second time but the clown did the same thing. I think I might be better off for now, just feeding the Anemone Mysis while the clown is busy eating. I think he might be able to take in the mysis quicker than the silverside. I'm thrilled to see him finally have a feeding response though!!! :)
Pam

[CarmieJo]

Yippee! You have a healthy anemone there now!

[Phurst]

Right on! Kudos to you for nursing it back to health. I always heard clowns will feed their host anemone, but mine do the same thing. Take the food and throw it away.

[pammy]

Thanks Carmie and Phurst !

[doctorthompson]

Well Hallelujia! My Sabae finally seems to have gotten a feeding response for the first time since I added him to my tank 3 1/2 months ago (see pics a few posts above showing how bleached he was when I brought him home, and how much he has darkened).
Last night I fed him mysis, and for the first time, he actually closed up immediately around it. Before that, he'd grab hold of the food with his tenticles, but never tried to close up around it. Tonight, I tried a piece of silverside about 1/8"-1/4" and again, he immediately closed up around it. I just couldn't keep the clown from stealing it from him. I kept the clown away for a while, but he finally went right into the closed Anemone and pulled out the silverside and threw it away. I tried a second time but the clown did the same thing. I think I might be better off for now, just feeding the Anemone Mysis while the clown is busy eating. I think he might be able to take in the mysis quicker than the silverside. I'm thrilled to see him finally have a feeding response though!!! :)
Pam

Are you feeding it at night just after lights-out? That's typically when they catch most of their prey in the wild -- when the day and night shifts are switching places on the reef.

I'd stick to mysis for now but you might want to try some other foods, anemones can be quite specific and your clown might even be saving you the grief of having a partially digested chunk of silverside ejected from the anemone later that night. If mysis are being accepted and fully digested I'd see what other crustacean-based frozen foods your LFS has that you could offer the anemone. Don't forget to rinse the food well and, if possible, soak it in a vitamin supplement such as Selco (or Selcon, which is pretty much Selco + RODI).

[pammy]

Thanks DoctorThompson. I feed the Anemone at the same time I feed my fish and couple of my LPS, when the lights are on. I do soak the Mysis in Selecon. I have tried Krill, Small pieces of Silversides, Plankton, etc. So far, Mysis is the only thing I've had luck with.
Thanks!
Pam


Are you feeding it at night just after lights-out? That's typically when they catch most of their prey in the wild -- when the day and night shifts are switching places on the reef.

I'd stick to mysis for now but you might want to try some other foods, anemones can be quite specific and your clown might even be saving you the grief of having a partially digested chunk of silverside ejected from the anemone later that night. If mysis are being accepted and fully digested I'd see what other crustacean-based frozen foods your LFS has that you could offer the anemone. Don't forget to rinse the food well and, if possible, soak it in a vitamin supplement such as Selco (or Selcon, which is pretty much Selco + RODI).