IMO, the key with this species is to start with a strong specimen to begin with. I knew going into this that the odds were not good because the blue was so incredibly bleached. The lack of a strong feeding response also concerned me from the get go. I tried this specimen nonetheless, just to see if I could turn it around and I had always wanted a blue one, so thought it was worth a try.

A lot of people think clowns make a difference ... I am not one of those though. :mrgreen: . Not saying they "can't" make a difference (they may well), but the mere presence of clowns does not guarantee success by any means - in fact, it can hinder success in some cases because they can beat up a weakened anemone pretty badly. Also if the anemone has no feeding response, then it likely pretty much doesn't matter much if it's you doing the attempted feedings or the fish.

So again for me it really comes down to the starting point and how healthy and strong it is to begin with. You take an assessment as best you can, and then you decide to run with it or not.

I still have 3 others, the two you sold me (one in 2004 and one in 2005), and one other from the recent imports, in particular to two older ones were strong from day one and continue to be. They even eat cyclops-eeze, you'd think this be an unlikely food on account of the size, but they react quite vigorously to cyclops in the water. I find that, once established, they are incredibly resilient creatures. The real question is getting them to that point of establishment...

just to note
 

As a note, I think that the clowns make no difference as per the being in the aquarium and in the anemone, but to make it so my lazy *** doesn't have to feed the anemone as much!

Also, the day after the clown eggs hatch, the anemone seems to be large and in charge, so feeding on them may occur as well, as they always hatch at night.

I am in the process of setting up a new tank that will have a bigger dedication to anemones 36 inch cube

That will be a nice size for the carpet for sure. My dream situation is something like a 72x30x14 tank for the carpets, perhaps lower stand than average, so that between it being lower and shallower than average to lend itself towards topdown views (it's be good for tridacnids too).