anemone

[chavez]

hi i got a magnificent anemone and im having trouble feeding it. anyone have tips on how to do this task properly?I'v had it for a week now and it still has not taken any food!

[KingAmir]

hi i got a magnificent anemone and im having trouble feeding it. anyone have tips on how to do this task properly?I'v had it for a week now and it still has not taken any food!

Buy some Brine Shrimp or Fresh saltwater shrimp. Turn off your wavemaker and give directly the food to the anemone's mouth.

[chavez]

Ok I'll try that, I have been trying to feed it plankton cause that's what it was feed at the fish shop. I have tried going directly to the mouth bit it just pinches it shut really thghtly.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I feed my bubble tip anemone raw shrimp, silversides and squid. Don't feed foods that are naturally too small. Brine shrimp can be used to try and stimulate appetite but it has no real nutritional value.
Buy the foods whole and cut them into pieces that are the same size as its mouth. Any bigger and it will probably regurgitate it later.
IMO, silversides are provably the better food source because its a whole fish. Guts, bones, eyes, not just meat. Its also good to soak the food in vitamins and fat suppliments like Kent Zoe and Selcon. It helps provide a more balanced nutrition.
You should feed 2-3 times a week as well.
If it doesn't accept foods, you need to list your tank size, lighting, water perameters, age of the tank,
And lighting schedual so we can see if there any issues.

[chavez]

Thx that was helpfull. I just came home and found his mouth was wide open with this white tongue like thing was coming out so i tried to feed it plankton as thats what i have at the moment and it did eat it. So now i feel a little better that it did eat!!

My tank size is 72"x19"x19" glas is 5/8" thick, i have 4 t5 bulbs @54 watts each(2 blue and 2 white) and its fan cooled. I have 200 pounds of live rock some tonga and some fiji, i also have a 2"live sand bed. I run a SWC protine skimmer and have a 30 gallon sump with ATO.

I started my tank on dec 4/2010. I have 2 perculs clowns, 1 cleaner wrasse, 1 yellow tang, and a bunch of snails and crabs like 15 each.And now my newest addition my green magnificent anemone.

My tank water parameters are as follows:
Amonia-0
Phosphates-0
Nitrites-0
Nitrates-0
Ph-8.0-8.4
calcium-400-500highest
kh-143.2
salinity-1.023-1.024
temp-79-80 ferenhite

Also when you say raw shrimp you mean the stuff we buy at a grocer or the stuff i would eat? Forgive me for my lack of knowledge cause i never had a saltwater setup before!

Also i have the opertunity to get more tonga rock is that a good idea or no? ill try and post some pics soon.

[chavez]

here are some pics of my tank, nothing to spectacular.unfortunatly my anemone is not in these pics.

[chavez]

Here are pics of my anemone and clowns. Let me know what you guys think.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Keep in mind that nems don't usually do well in young tanks. The experts don't recommend adding them to a tank younger than six months old. Some even recommend 12 months to allow for the tank to mature. Nems in general have a poor survival rate in the home aquarium so it's important to have the highest water quality, proper lighting and a mature tank to increase your chances. Also, feeding your nem the right foods can help a lot.
I use raw shrimp from the frozen section of my grocery store. I thaw it out, cut it into small pieces, rinse them in RO/DI water,soak them in vitamins and feed the nem 2-3 times a week.
I feed primarily silversides though. Probably 2/3 of the time.
I'm not sure your lighting is enough, long term. The general rule is 3 to 5 watts per gallon of water.

It seems like you may be moving a bit too fast. You've got a lot of livestock already for a tank that's only a couple of months old. Slower is better when it comes to your tank. There's been tons of threads about people having problems because they were moving too fast.
Also, do you use a quarantine method for new additions? If not, you may want to consider it. You've got a pretty big tank that can house a good amount of fish. Using a quarantine method would help you protect your fish from disease and infection. I'd rather lose one fish to disease or infection in a quarantine tank than lose all of my fish in the display tank.
Feel free to start a build thread so others can track your progress.
Nice tank by the way!

[chavez]

Thats kindda the way i was begining to feel that i was going to fast, now you have confirmed it. I dont use a quarintine tank didn't know i had to do that i just aclimate them before adding.

Just a little note i never actually caught my levels spike at all dont know if i just missed it or has it not happened yet?

I was starting to think about setting up a refugium in my sump but dont know how to go about it or if its worth it what do you think.

Also what are my chances of keeping what i have in my tank alive seeing the tank is only a few months old?

P.S. thanks for all your help so far.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Quarantining new additions has been debated to death but it make sense to protect your investment against disease, infection, and any other nasties that are found in the wild (assuming the livestock came from the ocean). Leebca has a few stickies in the fish health/ care/ disease forum. You should take some time and read them. I've never seen anyone who wished they never quarantined their new adds but there are plenty who wish they did. Some fish need to be trained to eat prepared foods without competition. Also, if the fish were wild caught, some time in QT will help them get used to captive life without the stress of other livestock being around.

I'm not sure what happened with your cycle. If you never saw any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, I would say the cycle never started but it's hard to believe after over two months. The cycling of a new tank can take as little as a few weeks to as long as a few months. At the very least, I wouldn't add any livestock for another few months to be sure the bacteria has colonized and stabilized. I would check amm, nitrites and nitrates once or twice a week to see if they become detectable. If you end up seeing spikes, it might be time to return your livestock and allow the cycle to complete. It might be better for you to return the nem now because of how sensitive they are to new tanks.
One more thing... Are you sure your test kits are accurate? Could they be expired? What test kits are you using (brand and type).

Posting pictures of your sump, plumbing and equipment might help us see what you have to work with as far as fuge conversions go. Someone else would have to chime in on that because I have no experience in that aspect yet.

Assuming your tank did go through a cycle, your fish and clean up crew should do fine while your tank matures. The nem would be the exception. Corals should wait too.
Stay on top of your water testing and be prepared to take the needed actions if things start to go wrong.
If your tank did not cycle, it's possible your livestock will survive but they definitely will be suffering from toxic water conditions. Cycling tanks with live fish used to be the normal process long ago but it has been proven not necessary and cruel to the livestock.

The best thing to do now is read read read. There are some good books out there and there is a wealth of good information on Reefland. I think I've read every sticky on Reefland. Most two or three times. Even now, I still use them as references when I have questions. Feel free to post questions on things you don't understand and you'll find that there are lots of people here with all different levels of experience that are always willing to help .

[chavez]

Well i guess everyday i learn more, the lfs said i should be ready to house an anemone and the clowns i have needed it as well, i guess i was a little gulable. I tried to take the anemone back and he said NO and now it look like it will probaly die, i hope not. I have been feeding it daily cause when i do it looks a little better.

When i set up i did no testing at all for the first 3-4 weeks so i may have missed the initial cycle, I was told it was a waste of my money to test for the first while. The test kits i use are API REEF MASTER TEST KIT, AND THE SALTWATER MASTER TEST KIT. They consist of calcium,carbonate hardness,phosphate,nitrate,nitrite, high range ph,and ammonia. As far as the refugium goes i dont know if i need one or not ill see what other people think. I Also have bio balls in my sump to help build the good backteria not sure if thats any good the seem a little smelly.

I think i'll start a build thread and see where that takes me, not sure how i do that either so it may be awhile before you see it.

Thanks agian for your help hope to hear more soon!!

[chavez]

Oh and i forgot to ask about my test kits There are no expiary dates on them so how do i know if they are any good?

[okiestranger]

hey chavez


Best way to check your test would be take some water test it with you tests then take the same water to a lfs and compare results. most lfs will test you water for like 2 dollars.

[okiestranger]

Oh yeah i say ditch the bio balls. FoMoCo advised me to do so and I am glad i did. A build thread is a good idea the amount of info others offer here is priceless.

[chavez]

Thx chirs ill try that, what do you thik about the rest of my posts any suggestions?

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Oh and i forgot to ask about my test kits There are no expiary dates on them so how do i know if they are any good?

There should be a way to cross reference the lot #'s to get the manufacturing date. Maybe contact API? I use the same kits. I've had them for 9 months.
not testing those first weeks/ months is probably why you didn't see the cycle. 0ppm on the nitrates is odd though. The API nitrate kit is very sensitive as to how you mix them. The few times I initially got a 0ppm reading was because I didn't follow the directions exactly. When I did, the measurements were much more accurate. Be sure to shake bottle #2 for 30 secs and shake the tube for a full 60 secs after adding bottle #2.

As Chris said, Bio media usually doesn't benifit reef tanks. The can trap junk and become a source of high nitrates. If you have enough live rock, 1-2 lbs per gallon of water, that's all you need for Bio filtration.
Do look into more lighting though. I don't think you have enough for corals or a nem.
That sux that your LFS gave you the wrong info and left you high and dry with a nem you're not ready for. Looks like they were just trying to make money off you. Even worse that they wont take it back for some store credit (most good stores will) especially since they told you your tank was ready.
keep up with those daily feedings, hope for the best but expect the worse.

[chavez]

Ok, i just finished a nitrate test and i seem to have a hard time reading the findings so i took the cap off and looked down the test tube and i got a reading of .5. I don't know if thats a good way of reading my test so i looked online and found a hagen 100$ test kit which is supposed to be the best what do you think good idea or is it a waste?

[Original Fin]

No need to spend that much for an easier to read test kit. Try Salifert. Totally different test method that doesn't require you to guess at color gradients.

[Original Fin]

You meant to say nitrite though, correct? I know the API nitrate test only goes down as low as 10ppm. Are yo sure you were using the right reference card?

[chavez]

where can i get these and do they come in kits with more than 1 test?