Crisis! New Anemone nearly got sucked up pump! HELP

[samsreef]

Hi Everyone,

My new anemone was doing great until today when it decided to go on a venture, climp up the glass side and let go and get sucked up the pump. We seemed to have rescued it just in time and turned off the pump. Their doesnt appear to be any damage, I just hope its ok, it still open and everything.

What should I do about the fluval 404? I currently have an internal pump as well which the majority of it is hidden by rocks... it's not as powerful so i doubt it would sucked up that.

Do I need the fluval 404, should I take it out? I do not have a sump. The only other filteration is the internal pump and prizm skimmer.

[zhenya]

Hi Everyone,

My new anemone was doing great until today when it decided to go on a venture, climp up the glass side and let go and get sucked up the pump. We seemed to have rescued it just in time and turned off the pump. Their doesnt appear to be any damage, I just hope its ok, it still open and everything.

What should I do about the fluval 404? I currently have an internal pump as well which the majority of it is hidden by rocks... it's not as powerful so i doubt it would sucked up that.

Do I need the fluval 404, should I take it out? I do not have a sump. The only other filteration is the internal pump and prizm skimmer.

Since anemone is fairly new to the tank I would suggest to either put some sort of sponge on the intake of all pumps or block them with something so that anemone cannot be sucked in. Give it a chance to settle down and find a acceptable spot for itself. Anemone wouldn't move if it was happy in the previous spot so....keep an eye on it for a while.

[samsreef]

I have moved the pump behind a rock for now. The anemone has gone back into the corner where it stayed for a whole day, it obivously knows that that is safe for now.

It would probably do better higher rather than on the bottom because obivously the lights are mroe powerful the nearer it is to them.

Thanks for the advice. Just another quick questions seems as you have a great anemone in your tank. Will the anemone feed on the frozen food I put in the tank or do I need to feed it with something else instead. It has a maroon clown fish which is currently occuping it, will that feed it?

I read in a book that you are supposed to hand feed them every week with a small shrimp flattened down. Is that correct?

(Dont worry I didnt get an anemone without reading anything about them, I now have powerful T5 lighting and a strong current which I read they like)

[Ninong]

Some anemones are known to wander around the tank. This can be hazardous to their health (intakes) and the health of any corals they come into contact with. That's one of the problems people who keep anemones have to face.

Anemones need to feed. They don't all eat the same stuff. Feeding a small piece of shrimp (shell and all) to your anemone two or three times a week might be great if it's one of those species that actually accepts shrimp, but if it's one of those species that prefers fish, then you're barking up the wrong tree. We need to know the exact species of anemone you have in order to tell you what the best food item(s) would be.

If you don't know the species, post pictures and a description and we can likely figure it out. If the species cannot be determined, then you will have to experiment with various foods to see what seems to work best.

Whether the anemone gets enough to eat from just the leftovers from feeding your fish and the morsels it receives from your clownfish is difficult to determine because it depends on exactly which species you have and exactly how much food it is actually receiving and whether that food is of a type that it is used to eating.

[samsreef]

OK Thanks for the help. I will try and give you the best description I can:

Under Marine White & Marine Blue actinics the anemone is:
Tentacles: brown, bubble kind of tips with a hint of green.
Column: Pinky fleshy kind of colour.
Oral Disk: Havent seen!! (Majority is covered by tentacles and I cant see it head on because of the way it has been staying in the aqarium)

Please see pick as well

I think it may have sustained a small amount of damage when it nearly got sucked up the pump, it is currently open still but it has shrunk so I can't see if it has any damage. I assume it may have beacuse the pumps quite powerful. If it does have a small amount of damage will it recover?

The following are pictures of it in the corner before it nearly got sucked up the pump.

[Ninong]

It appears to be an Entacmaea quadricolor. If so, it eats almost anything: shrimp (including the shell), fish, squid, clam, brine shrimp, krill, scallops, silversides and lancefish. It should be fed at least twice a week with some of the above food items, quantity depending on the size of the anemone. If it's not growing, feed it more, if you think it's growing too fast, feed it less.

Ask zhenya for tips because he is the official anemone guru on Reefland!

[samsreef]

Thanks, I will ask Zhenya if I have any problems feeding it. Will got to the LFS and see if they have any of those foods that I can try to feed it with.

I have read in a book that you are supposed to place the food in the early morning or evening on the oral disk and then move you fingers around to activate the feeding process? (I dont want the clown to eat it before the enemny gets a chance lol)

[Ninong]

Thanks, I will ask Zhenya if I have any problems feeding it. Will got to the LFS and see if they have any of those foods that I can try to feed it with.

You can buy regular table shrimp, fish, squid, clams and scallops at the grocery store. Chop it up into suitable sized pieces and keep the unused stuff in your freezer. Fish from the grocery store should be saltwater fish but not something oily like salmon or tuna. Get the cheapest white fleshed saltwater fish they have. One small piece will last a long time, as will a handful of shrimp or clams. Just chop everything up into 1/2" cubes and freeze it in a zip-lock baggy or something like that. BTW, it's more nutritious to feed all of the prey item. That means you shouldn't peel the shrimp, etc. Oh, I almost forgot, please remove the clams from their shells before chopping them up.

[samsreef]

Oh, I almost forgot, please remove the clams from their shells before chopping them up.

Will have a go and see how I get on. That joke even made my dad laugh!

[zhenya]

I have read in a book that you are supposed to place the food in the early morning or evening on the oral disk and then move you fingers around to activate the feeding process? (I dont want the clown to eat it before the enemny gets a chance lol)

You can feed your anemone any ole time of the day, providing that it is expanded its tentacles. Simply place pieces of food on the tentacles and let your anemone do the rest. No need to do anything else to "activate" feeding response, presence of food should be enough. Try not to handle your anemone with your hands or fingers, safer for you and anemone

I use long enough tongs to put food onto the tentacles simply becouse my clownfish goes after my fingers as if it was a nice steak or something, if yours is timid then using gloved hand is fine.

As far as food goes, I agree with Ninong, any seafood will likely do the trick. However, I have to say that I had the most success with feeding my enemones silversides and lance fish, but, if those are not available than table shrimp and krill, diced into good size pieces will do. I also experimented with various store bought fish, friend of mine owns fish store and I tried small chunks of salmon flesh and guts, some perch and other saltwater fish and all were consumed.
I think the bottom line is that if anemone is healthy it eats like a pig