Carpet Anenome help!

[megatron8121]

I just bought a carpet anemone , but i'm a noob to anenomes.

I just have a 29 gallon tank set up right now with a clown , blenny , and some chromis. Anyway I have two powerheads, a 250 and a 550. Is that enough flow? The 250 is aimed towards the top and the 550 is going straight across/down.

Bought a 150 watt , 14,000k metal halide lighting system. Is this enough for him?

Last question is how healthy does he look and how often should I feed? I bought him from Petco , hes been in my tank 3 days now.

[xrayjeeper83]

Looks pretty health to me. Mouth looks good and tight.

2-3 times a week is good for feedings

[megatron8121]

I went to my LFS and got the lighting system for 87$!!! It was originally 320$, but it was on sale plus I had a coupon. It is so much cooler than the standard lights I had on the tank , my fish even look cooler now.

Does anyone know if I can change my reefkeeper to have a threshold for the heater? Right now it's turning off/on/off/on EVERY second.

[ca1ore]

Carpet Anemone's are very tricky to keep! I would suggest checking out the Anemone section of RC - lots of experienced folks posting there. Looks like a Haddon's carpet, which may well eat your fish.

[Toddrtrex]

It is an S. haddoni.

Tend to prefer lower flow, indirect lower flow.

Sandbed dwelling anemone, usually with their foot under the sand, at the rock/sand interface.

Can get huge -- 20+ inches across.

Can/will eat all of your fish.

Long term a 29 will not be big enough, plus the smaller the tank, a better chance of your other fish running into it --- a healthy S. haddoni will catch and eat a fish in about 2 seconds -- have watched it happen.

[megatron8121]

I have bigger tanks just not the lighting for it in those yet.

Why do they eat fish? That sucks, how long until it starts eating them. Guess the positive is the most expensive fish in the tank was only 12.99.

[ca1ore]

Don't mean to be 'gloomy Gus' here but the greater probability is that the nem will expire. 'New to the Hobby' and 'Petco' don't convey great confidence. However, perhpas you will be fortunate. A healthy large anemone eats fish because in to wild it is an apex predator that eats fish.

[SinkNSwim]

Feed it mysis once or twice a week is fine. As far as flow it will move to where it is most comfortable. I had some that likes aggressive to low flow.

[xrayjeeper83]

Originally Posted by megatron8121

I have bigger tanks just not the lighting for it in those yet.

Why do they eat fish? That sucks, how long until it starts eating them. Guess the positive is the most expensive fish in the tank was only 12.99.

Why, cause its what nems do
When, when its hungry and it feels like it

[megatron8121]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

Don't mean to be 'gloomy Gus' here but the greater probability is that the nem will expire. 'New to the Hobby' and 'Petco' don't convey great confidence. However, perhpas you will be fortunate. A healthy large anemone eats fish because in to wild it is an apex predator that eats fish.

I'm not new to the hobby it's just where I post everything since its where most people answer.

And the Petcos here aren't that bad, theres where all my fish are from in my 29. . I actually have better luck with them then local fish stores and even big fish places.

[crsswift70]

But, the fact that you don't know why an anemone would eat your fish is a little worrisome. It's your money and your tank, but expect people to get upset with you when you clearly made an uneducated decision. I'm not an animal rights nut, but knowing what you put in your tank before you do it is usually wise for both you and your animals. That being said, if you keep the water quality up, feed it once or twice a week and maintain your bulb, it will probably do fine.

[xrayjeeper83]

They grow quickly so you may want to look into bulbs for your bigger tank sooner rather then later

[Omen1090]

I've had one and only fed it once and week and its doing well. For flow wise they will move if they dont like where they are.

[megatron8121]

Originally Posted by crsswift70

But, the fact that you don't know why an anemone would eat your fish is a little worrisome. It's your money and your tank, but expect people to get upset with you when you clearly made an uneducated decision. I'm not an animal rights nut, but knowing what you put in your tank before you do it is usually wise for both you and your animals. That being said, if you keep the water quality up, feed it once or twice a week and maintain your bulb, it will probably do fine.

I looked it up and said 'it can eat fish' on live aquaria. Same with a Eel or anything aggressive fish there is, doesn't mean that it will. If it does i'll mark it down as a never again, but hopefully it doesn't.

[kduen]

With the S. Haddoni that I had I watched it eat the following fish in about a six month span: 5 inch copperband butterfly, 3 blue green chromis, a mandarin, and for the kicker... I turned off the lights in the room about two seconds after the tank lights went off and out of the corner of my eye I saw a blue and pink flash. I turned the lights back on in time to see two chromis and a anthias run smack dab into the nem, 30 seconds later it was over and I was short three fish. This was all in a 4 foot 90 gallon tank.

[ca1ore]

Indeed. I suspect, that of the big hosting anemones, the Haddoni is probably toughest on the fish population. I've kept Magnifica for years and only had one fish get eaten - it was sick and blundered right into the nem.

[Fish Biscuit]

I've seen a Haddoni at Old Town bigger than my biocube, it's beautiful, but for me it's not worth losing fish over.

[tassod]

Have 3 Haddoni's which one of them right now is in QT being treated but so far, knock on water...no fish missing. My salifin tang though had a run in with him and was able to escape but not without having part of his skin ripped off. He has recovered though but i dont see him going around him anymore...

[mikeyVR4]

[xrayjeeper83]

Lmao

[JPMagyar]

You can not keep that anemone in a 29 gallon tank with any fish other than clown fish that it can host. If you are set on keeping the carpet, I suggest a pair of saddleback clownfish and nothing else.

One great lesson that all of us can learn is to heed the advice of the elder and more experienced members of society. What they say is not stupid or mean; it's the honest truth and the advice is given to help you not frustrate you.

Here are some photos from my tank . . .

[megatron8121]

All I originally asked was if my flow and lighting were enough. I come here to get questions answered, while I appreciate peoples answers and opinions I think the best thing is to experience things yourself. I know have done things that people here swear against and have had the best of luck , because in the end everythings different. That's why I usually shy away from asking 'can I have this fish with this fish, is my tank big enough, etc, etc, etc.

But thanks for those who helped, hopefully he thrives and doesn't eat my fish.

Despite what anything thinks they know, no matter how long they've been in the hobby there is no written rule. As I've posted before, I knew a guy that sadly had his 20+ year old hippo tang die. 20+ years old living in a 75 gallon tank his entire life, but oh wait you can't have those in less than 5000 gallons. (says people who probably haven't had a fish live 20 years)

[ca1ore]

Look, we all 'push' our tanks in one fashion or the other. I am just a big fan of these large anemones and really hate seeing people attempting to keep them in ways that will almost certainly ensure their demise. I think it was Joyce Wilkinson who, some years ago, suggested that these animals should no longer be imported due to the deplorable survival rate.

Maybe a Hippo Tang can live for 20 years in a 75 gallon tank, but I'd suspect for every one that does, a 1,000 will die from disease. I wouldn't play those odds.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by megatron8121

As I've posted before, I knew a guy that sadly had his 20+ year old hippo tang die. 20+ years old living in a 75 gallon tank his entire life, but oh wait you can't have those in less than 5000 gallons. (says people who probably haven't had a fish live 20 years)

I hope you will post follow up pictures at regular intervals. It would be great to have your smarmy answer recorded on the internet in one year when the anemone is dead so others can learn from your incredible lack of hubris.

Joe Peck
Pound Ridge, NY
914-656-5418

I am a real person with plenty of experience and education. You are about to kill fish and the anemone you own. If you are so certain of your success I dare you to maintain communication. I will even come to your house personally and photograph your anemone for all the world to view as you succeed in keeping this anemone alive in a 29 gallon tank for more than a few months if you do succeed in keeping this anemone for more than a year I will give you a personal apology online and pay you $1000 and I will do it all on this public thread.

So what do you say . . . want the challenge and the $1000.

I can be at your house on Tuesday no matter where you live, but I will need to come monthly to follow your success, and we will both make regular weekly posts on this thread for everyone to follow.

[xrayjeeper83]

I highly doubt he will follow through with that.