Anemones. I just don’t get it…

[slogan315]

Relatively new to the hobby. Trying to understand different tank inhabitants and styles to develop my taste.

The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why anemones are so popular. You have to worry about them stinging corals, getting stuck in powerheads, eating inhabitants, etc. I mean butterfly fish are pretty too, but the second they get a taste for coral, you strongly consider getting rid of them.

purposefully trying to sound ignorant here. Help me understand!

 

[AC1211]

Relatively new to the hobby. Trying to understand different tank inhabitants and styles to develop my taste.

The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why anemones are so popular. You have to worry about them stinging corals, getting stuck in powerheads, eating inhabitants, etc. I mean butterfly fish are pretty too, but the second they get a taste for coral, you strongly consider getting rid of them.

purposefully trying to sound ignorant here. Help me understand!

Everything is based on goals. Some people build a reef around an anemone. Others toss an anemone into a reef. Some pick fish around their coral choices. Others choose fish first then see if any coral options exist later.

At the end of the day, maybe some things should be more or less popular than they are. However, if an anemone is someone's goal in the hobby, they will keep it regardless of the other inhabitants. The only hope should be that everyone does research and understands that an anemone runs the tank.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Relatively new to the hobby. Trying to understand different tank inhabitants and styles to develop my taste.

The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why anemones are so popular. You have to worry about them stinging corals, getting stuck in powerheads, eating inhabitants, etc. I mean butterfly fish are pretty too, but the second they get a taste for coral, you strongly consider getting rid of them.

purposefully trying to sound ignorant here. Help me understand!

One thing to remember, is that many of the coral we keep in our tanks, would love nothing better than to eviscerate its neighbor if given the chance. That isn't unique to anemones.

They are Beautiful, Unique, move differently than most other coral, can host clowns in a beautiful relationship.. what's not to love?

Cover your power heads negates making nem soup, most BTA will never eat another inhabitant.

Watch a flowing nem for a bit and you'll see why.

 

[OrionN]

They are beautiful animals. Then the satisfaction of doing something well.
IMO, there is nothing compare to seeing the interaction between clown fish and their natural host anemones symbiotic relationship.

 

[slogan315]

Everything is based on goals. Some people build a reef around an anemone. Others toss an anemone into a reef. Some pick fish around their coral choices. Others choose fish first then see if any coral options exist later.

At the end of the day, maybe some things should be more or less popular than they are. However, if an anemone is someone's goal in the hobby, they will keep it regardless of the other inhabitants. The only hope should be that everyone does research and understands that an anemone runs the tank.

That’s a good point. I’ve always been drawn to the hobby for the uniqueness of corals (compared to the average hobbies people embark on), and had the goal of a mixed reef tank with some fish. So anemone’s have seemed tough to fit in that goal. But I guess for some with more exposure, anemones are like a more unique subset of “reef tanks”. Didn’t really think about others having a goal other than a vibrant mixed reef.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Relatively new to the hobby. Trying to understand different tank inhabitants and styles to develop my taste.

The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why anemones are so popular. You have to worry about them stinging corals, getting stuck in powerheads, eating inhabitants, etc. I mean butterfly fish are pretty too, but the second they get a taste for coral, you strongly consider getting rid of them.

purposefully trying to sound ignorant here. Help me understand!

rarely do they sting coral and risk is an over abundance of them, they dont go into powerheads unless there is inadequate light or flow which encourages them to climb and I have 5 fancy bubbletip and are always in same spot- Never move.

 

[slogan315]

One thing to remember, is that many of the coral we keep in our tanks, would love nothing better than to eviscerate its neighbor if given the chance. That isn't unique to anemones.

They are Beautiful, Unique, move differently than most other coral, can host clowns in a beautiful relationship.. what's not to love?

Cover your power heads negates making nem soup, most BTA will never eat another inhabitant.

Watch a flowing nem for a bit and you'll see why.

I need to see some in person. Just got my first pair of clowns today. They’ve got way more personality than my goldfish as a kid. I can see why you’d want to take that personality one step further and pair it with an anemone.

My corals aren’t near full enough to be encroaching yet! But I hope that becomes my problem one day

 

[slogan315]

rarely do they sting coral and risk is an over abundance of them, they dont go into powerheads unless there is inadequate light or flow which encourages them to climb and I have 5 fancy bubbletip and are always in same spot- Never move.

How do you try and coax them to stay in the same spot? Trying to plan my coral placement and it seems like you’d have to wait for them to attach, and then plan coral around that.

 

[slogan315]

They are beautiful animals. Then the satisfaction of doing something well.
IMO, there is nothing compare to seeing the interaction between clown fish and their natural host anemones symbiotic relationship.

Those are great pictures! How large are the first 2? And how long does it take for them to get that large?

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

That’s a good point. I’ve always been drawn to the hobby for the uniqueness of corals (compared to the average hobbies people embark on), and had the goal of a mixed reef tank with some fish. So anemone’s have seemed tough to fit in that goal. But I guess for some with more exposure, anemones are like a more unique subset of “reef tanks”. Didn’t really think about others having a goal other than a vibrant mixed reef.

This is exactly it. Everyone has different goals for their tanks. Im a coral guy. Im not putting anything in my tank that sill interfere with that. My wife loves anenomes. Solution: were planning to build another tank with them as the focus. Its advice i offer to all new reefers. Decide what you want to keep and then design your tank around it. I see so many asking: i have x tank what should i get? Thats not how you set yourself up for sucess.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How do you try and coax them to stay in the same spot? Trying to plan my coral placement and it seems like you’d have to wait for them to attach, and then plan coral around that.

Acclimation is very important for them as well as introduction. Most anemones will move around the tank until they find a suitable spot in the tank to call home. A moderate amount of flow is recommended as well as moderate light. Too much flow will cause the anemone to stretch out and look stringy. Keeping things moderate will help avoid this from happening. Avoid directing your flow directly at the anemone which stresses them.
Assure your light is moderate and flow is not excessive in your case

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I need to see some in person. Just got my first pair of clowns today. They’ve got way more personality than my goldfish as a kid. I can see why you’d want to take that personality one step further and pair it with an anemone.

My corals aren’t near full enough to be encroaching yet! But I hope that becomes my problem one day

If you have never seen a hosted pair of clowns with an anemone, do that in person and you'll understand...

 

[fish face]

They are clown fish approved! This is my anem from several years ago, the clowns loved that thing. I had it for about 10 years before it passed away, had a huge growth on its foot before it started to die off.

 

[slogan315]

This is exactly it. Everyone has different goals for their tanks. Im a coral guy. Im not putting anything in my tank that sill interfere with that. My wife loves anenomes. Solution: we’re planning to build another tank with them as the focus. Its advice i offer to all new reefers. Decide what you want to keep and then design your tank around it. I see so many asking: i have x tank what should i get? Thats not how you set yourself up for sucess.

1) I need your wife to talk my wife into a second tank…

2) I think that’s the difference between those who want to get in the hobby and those who NEED to get in the hobby. I do see a point in the question if you need inspiration, but having someone tell you what YOU want isn’t a recipe for success. Unless you have the cash to have that same person run your system for you…

 

[Akreefnewguy]

Everything is based on goals. Some people build a reef around an anemone. Others toss an anemone into a reef. Some pick fish around their coral choices. Others choose fish first then see if any coral options exist later.

At the end of the day, maybe some things should be more or less popular than they are. However, if an anemone is someone's goal in the hobby, they will keep it regardless of the other inhabitants. The only hope should be that everyone does research and understands that an anemone runs the tank.

Most of us I think do as I did and spontaneously buy one for our new clowns. Get home do some research and smake our heads, I no I did. Anenome was my one big mistake so far , that reminded me to slow down and no everything you are putting in your tank.

 

[Jason boles]

I feel like they get a bad wrap!! By far not the most aggressive coral! I always try to move things but have found they really just wanna snuggle!

these two have been sitting next to each other for months both growing and regularly touching ‍

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

How do you try and coax them to stay in the same spot? Trying to plan my coral placement and it seems like you’d have to wait for them to attach, and then plan coral around that.

By providing them with proper light and flow AND I do a little trick of almost burying them in a pile of rubble rock so they feel safe and surrounded. This is especially true for ones like Condylactis.

 

[OrionN]

Different anemone species are different animals that have different requirement. What works for. H. magnifica and S. gigantea defiantly will not with for S. haddoni, E. quadricolor or M. doreensis. You just need to know what is it that you want to keep, research on it, or ask a knowledgeable person and set up your tank accordingly. I set up my tank according to the anemone-clown pair I want to keep in that tank, and all the other animals are secondary.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

So many reasons to keep them...

1. Hardy once established (most species).
2. Symbiotic relationships with clownfish and certain crabs.
3. Easy to feed.
4. Unique shapes/colors.
5. Rarely eat healthy fish (most species).
6. Depending on species, cheaper than coral.
7. Not terribly aggressive, usually won't kill a coral they aren't actively trying to.
8. Don't need to worry about placement, they'll figure that out for you.
9. Won't get caught in a powerhead if you put an anemone guard on it.

The list could could go on and on, but the gist of it is that they add another level of depth and interest to a coral-dominated system, and make for a great anemone-specific tank as well. I don't think that I'll ever have a tank without them.

 

[Rmckoy]

Relatively new to the hobby. Trying to understand different tank inhabitants and styles to develop my taste.

The one thing I can’t wrap my head around is why anemones are so popular. You have to worry about them stinging corals, getting stuck in powerheads, eating inhabitants, etc. I mean butterfly fish are pretty too, but the second they get a taste for coral, you strongly consider getting rid of them.

purposefully trying to sound ignorant here. Help me understand!

I agree 100% with you .
anemones are beautiful and amazing creatures but they have their pros and cons .
I once was at the point where I sold my massive Ritteri anemone to be able to keep other corals .
Same as butterflyfish . I would love to keep them as I personally find them to be very attractive but they also come with a downside of eating corals , most are hard to keep alive etc .

I now struggle with wanting fish only vs corals . And being a 230 gal . Stocking should be a little easier .
My new struggle isn’t with livestock, but lighting …
Being 27” deep and using t5’s I don’t think I’m getting enough light at the sand bed