Are anemone guards foolproof?

[carnthetiges]

Thinking about a primarily nem tank, would love feedback from anyone with a powerhead and nem guard.

I've got a nero 3 in my 15g cube.
I can't find anything local, will likely get something like this made up
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5333675
Is this enough to prevent a nem getting stuck?
Appreciate tentacles shouldn't fit into the holes, but would a wandering nem still potentially get stuck on the exterior?
Does it happen? Is it just a case of being vigilent, cutting the power and letting themselves move away?

Side note - any specific material i should be requesting for the 3D print?
Cheers

 

[pecan2phat]

I use nem guards on MP10s and Maxspect Gyres.
The better made ones will protect your nem but they are not fool proof. A wandering nem will still end up being sucked onto the powerhead but the majority of the time it will prevent the nem from getting shredded. Usually small BTA's fare a bit worse but I haven't lost one yet.
Vigilance is key in terms of being hyper aware and always checking your powerheads in the AM and occasionally when you walk by. When you do find one stuck, cutting the power and letting the nem reinflate will sometimes dislodge themselves but usually I end up helping them off the powerhead so I can turn my flow back on.

 

[wculver]

Thinking about a primarily nem tank, would love feedback from anyone with a powerhead and nem guard.

I've got a nero 3 in my 15g cube.
I can't find anything local, will likely get something like this made up
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5333675
Is this enough to prevent a nem getting stuck?
Appreciate tentacles shouldn't fit into the holes, but would a wandering nem still potentially get stuck on the exterior?
Does it happen? Is it just a case of being vigilent, cutting the power and letting themselves move away?

Side note - any specific material i should be requesting for the 3D print?
Cheers

Keep in mind the nems will settle into a spot and unless you change the light, flow or chemistry in a way that negatively affects them they won't be walking around getting into trouble. Typically they also won't want to get close to the powerhead either because it's aggrivating with the flow. At least they won't do it on purpose. Where I'm going with this is they usually get caught up because they're sick or irritated and have lost contact with a surface they could adhere to.

Just sharing this because I was super worried about this at first but now that I have a healthy tank I have nems in "coral castle" that have been planted for over four years. Only time anything goes walking off is if they split and one goes off to find its spot.

 

[KrisReef]

Nem's are "fools" for water flow. Like moths to a light bulb current seems to draw them in and often the end isn't pretty, but a guard will improve the chances they survive especially if you follow @pecan2phat 's advice to remain diligent.

 

[Rtaylor]

A nem could be sucked into the guard, but well designed ones prevent them from being sucked into the blades and shredded. So typically there is little to no damage when it occurs.

 

[Nano_Tuners]

The bigger danger with nems and power heads is not so much that they are going to crawl purposefully into it, but rather when they aren’t satisfied with their spot, they can balloon up when the lights go out and flow around in the current, which can end up in the suction of the power head.

Just lost a CSB to this when the suction cup holding my nem box failed and it slid down into the tank letting them escape into the DT :downcast-face-with-sweat: I’ve since put the guards on my gyre and just keep them on now.

if you just have it in the tank for display you should be able to sleep easy with guards, and once they get established and larger they usually stay pretty happy there unless you make some changes.

if they are young and/or new splits, I’d recommend that you keep them in a box till they get a little larger. I find the babies love to float around and play powerhead roulette