[Delphinus]

Hi. Bubble-tips are probably among the more forgiving species of hosting anemone. Sebaes I would probably rank somwhere in the middle, not the easiest, and not the hardest. Long-tentacles, I have no personal experience with that species so I can't really make say anything with a degree of certainty but subjectively I rank that one somewhere in the middle as well.

First of all I should mention that the level of care required for anemones is equivalent to the keeping of more advanced corals. Possibly worse. They are high-needs animals with very specific requirements that need to be met exactly. The animal does not have the capacity to adapt to an environment not ideally suited to it. Thus, if it is not the ideal environment, it is stressed. Stressed animals tend not to live long, full lives. They may end up starving to death, or succumbing to parasitic infection. Also should be mentioned that as high-needs animals, they are at risk in reef tanks that are not mature. A tank needs to be at least 6 months old, possibly older, before a person can responsibly consider keeping an anemone -- any sooner than that is a bit reckless, there is just too much flux in a tank that hasn't had enough time to mature and settle down. So with that said, this might answer the question right away, and make the rest of this post a bit moot, but I will carry on with my thoughts anyways in the hopes they may be a bit helpful.

The chief variables important to anemone husbandry are the following: light, water movement, feeding, and substrate. Each species has its own variation of the above four. If one of the parameters is not to its liking, it will wander the tank looking for a spot where all four variables are indeed to its liking. For example, a ritteri anemone requires an insane amount of food, an insane amount of light, an insane amount of water movement, and a hard substrate. Saddle carpets require a deep sand bed. Bubble-tips require a hard surface, but need to keep their pedal disk sheltered and out of direct light (they want only their oral disk and tentacles exposed to light).

So, I think I mentioned up above that bubble-tips (Entacmaea quadricolor) are more forgiving. This is to say that the acceptable range for each parameter is somewhat large. This means there are very many different scenarios in which they may indeed thrive and very often split. This is one of the reasons that this anemone is frequently recommended as a first-time anemone. It is not that they really are "easier" per se. They still have exact requirements it's just that the ranges are larger thus it's easier for us to get it right for them.

Hosting anemones are obligatory symbionts to zooxanthellae. This means, they will need light as they are basically photosynthetic (not the anemone, but the zooxanthellae). Some anemones rely more on zooxanthellae, some rely more of feeding, but ultimately, all hosting anemones rely on both to some degree. Thus, the more light, the better. Your tank has a typical 3wpg intensity, and unfortunately this rather is quite at the minimum for bubble-tips. If you opt for an anemone it will need to be fed. Bubble-tips prefer crustacean type foods such as krill, shrimp, prawn, mysis. They are opportunistic scavengers. They will not really actively predate on any living tankmates, and they do not really pose a threat as they are not very sticky on their nematocyst response (as compared to say, saddle carpets Stichodactyla haddoni who is a notorious fish-eater).

E. quadricolor does have fairly narrow tolerances on subtrate and water movement. Actually, all anemones have pretty narrow tolerances on these two. Water movement ... the more, the better. Stagnant water is a killer. Fast moving water ... it not only keeps a fresh supply of oxygen for respiration, it carries away the CO2, it carries away waste products before they can decompose and create an opening for parastic protozoans to take a foothold, etc. And substrate. They need a hard subtrate, but a cave, overhang, or crevasse into which they can hide their pedal disk (foot), yet still be able to reach their oral disk (mouth) and tentacles out into the light and current.

If you can, your best bet is to get an anemone that has divided in captivity. This is an anemone that basically already demonstrated that it is adapted to life in captivity, and as such captive-splits tend to be hardier. Wild-caught anemones are STRESSED and suffer very poor chances of recovery because they are basically so stressed out they very often are on death's door by the time we buy them from the stores. Anyways this is another reason bubble-tips are sometimes recommended as first-time anemones, because it's not hard at all to find a captive-split out of a fellow reefer's tank.

Without having seen your tank, my first concern is that there might not be enough light to really maximize your chances of success. I had BTA's under 3wpg for a while and they did OK but it was a 50g and it was 160W NO light. Unfortunately, 3wpg is not always 3wpg. Can you consider throwing a little more light over this tank before you consider an anemone? There are many alternatives for light intensity these days, you can overdrive NO for inexpensive, or use PC, or halides ... many possibilities. It doesn't necessarily mean a huge investment of $$$, just a little elbow grease and some creativity. I should mention I don't have my BTA under 3wpg any longer ... because it's better to provide an "optimal" setup over a "minimal" setup.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. I have more, but I need to get back to work now :rolleyes: ... please feel free to ask any specific questions you have and I will do my best to answer them if I can. [img]smile.gif[/img]

cheers

PS. I do have one last editorial comment. In the wild it is one story, but in captivity, clownfish do not "need" anemones any more than the anemones "need" the clownfish. They can demostrate their symbiosis, but it's a demonstration sport only, whereas in the wild it's not sport, it's survival. As such: please don't ever consider an anemone just because you have clownfish. Unfortunately, that's just not the right reason (clownfish in the wild need that anemone more than clownfish in captivity). The decision to take on the care of an anemone should be done based on for the love of the animal itself. They are absolutely fascinating creatures and I never grow tired of watching them, or learning about them. But they sure are demanding animals to care for ... there are many others who will give you fewer headaches (beleive me). So proceed at own risk, with eyes wide open.

[ 22 July 2002, 16:38: Message edited by: delphinus ]