Continued from Page 4....Predation by other animals can be a problem. Watch for bristleworms in the tank. There should be none. They will damage your anemone for sure. The damage may not be apparent on the first day but, if bristleworms keep attacking the anemone at night, for several nights in a row, damage will become visible (lesions). These wounds may rapidly get infected and cause the anemone to deteriorate in all aspects. This is often seen as the breakdown of the tissue, deflation of the anemone, expelling of the interior, or a combination of all of the above. When this occurs, additions of Vitamin C to the aquarium are very helpful and a detailed article on the use of Vitamin C will be added to this site in the near future. In the interim, if you wish to read up on Vitamin C, you can check the Saltwater Library on the web site http://www.athiel.com
The anemone is H. malu, buried in the sediment. The clown is a juvenile A. clarkii.
Recommendation: Do all you can to keep bristleworms out of the aquarium. Use traps or fish or other animals that eat them. Arrow crabs and Copperband Butterflies are two you can try. Note though that both of these cannot remain permanently in the aquarium either or they will attack, and perhaps devour, other animals in your aquarium. They should only be left in the aquarium for the time necessary to remove the unwanted worms. After that they need to be removed and kept in another aquarium. An article on eradicating bristle worms from your aquarium will be available in the near future.
Heteractis anemones are splendid animals but they require great care of the water quality or they will not survive. In all likelihood, you will need to use chemical filtration media to keep phosphates, nitrates and silicates as low as you can. Relying on ordinary methods alone may not do it and will, in my experience, generally not bring the water quality up to the levels they need to be kept at. Strong protein skimming is definitely a requirement. Oversize your skimmer so you can be sure that enough pollutants are being removed from the aquarium's water.
You may also need to treat the aquarium with high quality activated carbon from time to time. Perhaps as often as once a week, for 6 to 8 hours in a row. You can then remove the carbon, rinse it, and then store it for later use. I see no need to run activated carbon on a continuous basis, especially not if it is one of the better types.
Indeed, good quality carbon removes so many dissolved elements, that it may very well remove desirable ones in addition to undesirable ones if used all the time. You may use granular or pelletized types of carbon, but not the powdered type. Moreover, you "must" rinse the carbon for a long time before using it, to remove any and all "fines" (small very fine black carbon powder).
Even if used only for the time frame indicated above, I suggest adding a complete supplement to the aquarium after carbon has been used. Dose according to what the manufacturer recommends. There are now several complete supplements (additives) available, all developed since the advent of the reef and invertebrate aquarium. I could mention brand names but I am sure that you have run across them in advertisements or in the stores you frequent.
Feeding is a most important aspect of keeping all Heteractis anemones varieties in good and healthy shape and condition. Use shrimp, scallop, or mussel meat from the fish market. Do not rely only on aquarium foods. You may not provide the anemone will all the nutrients it requires (and this is besides the food stuffs it derives from photosynthesis of course) if you do so. Most hobbyists who report success use such foods and real high intensity lighting.
Feeding frequency is based on the size of the anemone. The larger it is the more often you will need to feed. Large specimens should be fed every day. Small ones two to three times a week. Medium size one should receive food 5 times a week.
As indicated earlier, when zooxanthellae are lost, the anemone will loose its color. To promote the regrowth of zooxanthellae real strong light is required. What is not certain is that even if the zooxanthellae grow again, that the original colors of the anemone will come Back. It may, indeed, take on a different coloration. Frequently this will tend to be brownish as opposed to the purples and brilliant greens that you may have originally had (or seen in photographs). Those vibrant colors usually occur only in nature. They are short lived in aquariums because conditions in our closed environment systems are so different from what they truly are in nature.
In an effort to maintain the colors, actinic lighting will assist and, used in combination with 5500 K or higher Kelvin degree lighting, will give you a much better chance at success. Use the method described earlier with regard to the photoperiod suggested. If the 3 hours a day appears to still lead to color loss, increase actinic exposure to 4 hours a day.
In any event, when color loss does occur, immediate action with regard to lighting must be taken and supplemental feeding must be initiated immediately as well (see earlier). Use only fresh foods from the supermarket or fish market for a while. Your anemone will fare much better if you do. Feed these foods several times a week and preferably vary them. Hobbyists report good results feeding shrimp, scallop or mussel up to three times per week. Introduce the food close to the mouth opening of the anemone or, insert it in the mouth opening itself. Use wooden tweezers to do so (e.g. kitchen types).
It was believed for a long time that an anemone would only allow two clowns to colonize it at any one given time. This has been proven to be wrong over and over again by hobbyists and scientists. What really determines how many clown fishes can inhabit an anemone has to do mainly with:
- the type of anemone
- the type of clown
- the aggressiveness of the clowns
- the size of the anemone
- the size of the clowns
It is not uncommon at all to see greater numbers of clown fish in larger anemones. This may be the case with any of the Heteractis variety ones, but also with other type of anemones. As an example, I recently saw a large Stichodactyla mertensii of the vibrant green variety, inhabited by 7 clowns, all Amphiprion bicinctus. An Amphiprion akindynos was swimming close by too and at times entering the anemone as well. This can happen in aquariums as well, as long as the anemone is doing well and is large enough to accommodate the higher number of clownfish (of course the type of clowns that mix with each other is limited, some are too aggressive to let others in.
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