Flower Anemone that will not attach anywhere in my tank

[John Hughes]

I have a flower anemone that I bought at a lfs and it was attached to the bare bottom of the tank. I've had it in my 60 gallon tank now for over two months and it won't attach anywhere in my tank. I originally placed it in a spot between my live rock and it stayed there for about a week and hasn't stayed put since.
I've even tried to make it stay in several locations by using the bottom of a plastic blueberry container which would keep it from floating all over the tank and even tried making sure that the different spots had access to the glass bottom, only have an inch or so of substrate, no dice.

I'm concerned that it will sting other corals in its travels... any ideas before I get rid of it?

Thanks in advance

 

[tdileo]

Flower anemone stings are really weak and will do very little damage, but I wouldn’t want any of mine running around. I would suggest if it is completely detached, you pick it up and place it down at the lower area of the tank and place it right on a big rock hole and hope it sits. Perhaps leave for off for 15-20 mins as well

 

[John Hughes]

Flower anemone stings are really weak and will do very little damage, but I wouldn’t want any of mine running around. I would suggest if it is completely detached, you pick it up and place it down at the lower area of the tank and place it right on a big rock hole and hope it sits. Perhaps leave for off for 15-20 mins as well

Thanks, good to know that their sting isn't that bad. I've tried placing it without flow without results.

 

[Salty1962]

I've taken screen mesh and placed over the anemone. Placed rock on the corners of the mesh to hold in place and leave it there for 2-3 weeks. I've done with mushrooms as well and it works pretty well.

 

[John Hughes]

I've taken screen mesh and placed over the anemone. Placed rock on the corners of the mesh to hold in place and leave it there for 2-3 weeks. I've done with mushrooms as well and it works pretty well.

Pretty much the same as my plastic bottom of blueberry container, see thru with vents too. Didn't work yet.

 

[Mcdy]

Same problem here,...dude's won't stay put. Awesome looking guys, just aggravating to get to sit still.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow, i drop 4 six months ago in my drop off tank and they’ve never moved!!
Back in the day, I would place them in a dessert cup with a lid with a small piece if rock. Quickly they attach to rock then after a couple of feedings i placed the nem and rock in display and they remained

 

[Cassian]

ive never had flower nems so I dont know if they are different, but ive always heard a nem that won't stick isn't happy. Does the flesh and tentacles look ok?

 

[Mcdy]

Wow, i drop 4 six months ago in my drop off tank and they’ve never moved!!
Back in the day, I would place them in a dessert cup with a lid with a small piece if rock. Quickly they attach to rock then after a couple of feedings i placed the nem and rock in display and they remained

Nice!! I will try this tomorrow as another one has decided to leave the spot I placed her at!! Is there a specific spot they like more than others. High, mid, low--lo flow, hi flow--between the rocks and the sand?

 

[pcon]

anything picking at them? I have only encountered this when my butterfly took a particular interest in a new one.

 

[Mcdy]

No, sir. There just being contacorious!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Nice!! I will try this tomorrow as another one has decided to leave the spot I placed her at!! Is there a specific spot they like more than others. High, mid, low--lo flow, hi flow--between the rocks and the sand?

Moderate light and low to moderate water flow.

 

[vetteguy53081]

ive never had flower nems so I dont know if they are different, but ive always heard a nem that won't stick isn't happy. Does the flesh and tentacles look ok?

Not that type of nem. They look more like a fancy mushroom with frills rather than tentacles

 

[Cassian]

Not that type of nem. They look more like a fancy mushroom with frills rather than tentacles

ah! interesting

 

[saltyhog]

Can you post a picture of it's foot? If the foot is damaged that may explain the problem.

I usually put mine in an acclimation box with a small piece of rubble to attach to. When it's securely attached you can place it in the tank. Mine have never moved. One that won't stay attached may be damaged or ill.

 

[crusso1993]

Below is a link to a great thread by @Ron Reefman and RFA's. I don't know that Ron would want to be referred to an expert but he certainly has more info and hands-on experience than anyone else I know on R2R.

Ron Reefman's Rock Flower experience

I've been in love with anemones even before I was started in this hobby about 15 years ago. I really got crazy about them when I started to collect some while snorkeling in the Florida Keys (with the proper license) about 12 years ago. I totally fell in love with the very colorful Rock Flower...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Ron Reefman]

Below is a link to a great thread by @Ron Reefman and RFA's. I don't know that Ron would want to be referred to an expert but he certainly has more info and hands-on experience than anyone else I know on R2R.

Ron Reefman's Rock Flower experience

I've been in love with anemones even before I was started in this hobby about 15 years ago. I really got crazy about them when I started to collect some while snorkeling in the Florida Keys (with the proper license) about 12 years ago. I totally fell in love with the very colorful Rock Flower...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks! And you are 100% right, I'm not an expert, but I have a lot of experience with them both in my tank and in the wild (snorkeling & collecting in the Florida Keys).

@Mcdy , would you mind having them in the sand? If not, the pvc end cap is a great solution. For me it's worked 95% of the time.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks! And you are 100% right, I'm not an expert, but I have a lot of experience with them both in my tank and in the wild (snorkeling & collecting in the Florida Keys).

@Mcdy , would you mind having them in the sand? If not, the pvc end cap is a great solution. For me it's worked 95% of the time.

Thanks! I love getting referrals for RFA stuff! And you are 100% right, I'm not an expert, but I have a lot of personal experience with them in my tanks and while snorkeling & collecting in the Florida Keys.

If you have some open space in the sand I have a good solution. Check out this post.

Ron Reefman's Rock Flower experience

Wow! That's a huge number compared to my experience. I'd go crazy for 50+ babies. Do most of yours survive? At the current time, my survival rate is about 15-20%. Larger ones have the best survival rate. They can come as large as pencil erasers. Do you get any advance notice of either the...

www.reef2reef.com

If you have any questions about the process, please ask. I'm happy to try and help. This technique has worked about 95% of the time for me. And the one RFA that moved, did it twice and then decided to give it a try the 3rd time and has been in it's PVC end cap for 4 months now. I have big ones that breed and they have been in end caps in the sand for several years.

 

[Mcdy]

Thanks! I love getting referrals for RFA stuff! And you are 100% right, I'm not an expert, but I have a lot of personal experience with them in my tanks and while snorkeling & collecting in the Florida Keys.

If you have some open space in the sand I have a good solution. Check out this post.

Ron Reefman's Rock Flower experience

Wow! That's a huge number compared to my experience. I'd go crazy for 50+ babies. Do most of yours survive? At the current time, my survival rate is about 15-20%. Larger ones have the best survival rate. They can come as large as pencil erasers. Do you get any advance notice of either the...

www.reef2reef.com

If you have any questions about the process, please ask. I'm happy to try and help. This technique has worked about 95% of the time for me. And the one RFA that moved, did it twice and then decided to give it a try the 3rd time and has been in it's PVC end cap for 4 months now. I have big ones that breed and they have been in end caps in the sand for several years.

I love smart people!! @Ron Reefman

Another thing I have seen is rfa's in cups with black pebble rock. Ron? Thanks for the input!!

 

[Ron Reefman]

I love smart people!! @Ron Reefman

Another thing I have seen is rfa's in cups with black pebble rock. Ron? Thanks for the input!!

Thanks @Mcdy, but I'm not that smart, just 70 years of life experience, close to 20 years of reef keeping and snorkeling shallow reef experience and about 5 or 6 years of serious RFA experience. ;Happy And at 70 I have to admit, life has been pretty good to me!

I used to put RBTA and RFA in a small bowl with saltwater (tank water) and rubble rock. The idea was to get the nem to attach to a rock and then be able to move the rock into the tank and have the nem stay.

I found the nems attached to the side of the bowl, cup or tupperware rather than the rocks more often than I wanted (but it can work). I also had issues too often that the nem would still move off the small rock once it was back in the tank. Not every time, but more often than I wanted. I know the end cap works great for RFA, but I've only tried it a couple of times with RBTA and the end cap idea has been largely unsuccessful (just 2 out of 2).