Petco Anemones

[mhaynes01]

Yesterday, I went up to the Petco on Brodie.

I saw something very intresting, they had gotten new stock and with this stock came about 5 condy anemones, 2 of which looked healthy (consequently the biggest), the other 3 were smaller and beginning to lose their color, i dont know much about anemones exept that there light requirement are greater then what then they have at Petco.

so here is my question is a 96 watt PC 50/50 coralife quad, good enough light for these anemones?

Also, They are selling them for 7$$$!!!!!!!!!!!?????????

[dwdenny]

Even though they are cheap I would not buy any live goods from petco at least the ones I have been to. I have read several statements from here and RC saying they are "deathco" As far as light I am not sure but sounds a little to low. Anemones need to be in pretty much dedicated tanks from what I have read they like to move around and could harm other inhabitants in your tank. Hopefully someone else will chime in with more knowledge.

[CD]

We purchased an anemone from Petco once.
Call it a rescue if you will.
Looking for dog food and left with an anemone- par for the course.
It was about the size of a quarter when we got it. It became huge within 2-3 months and had to be relocated to BA's tank since it was taking up the left front of the tank.

I am trying to say that we paid $7 for it also. Condy's are usually pretty cheap and get large pretty quick.
We had it under halides though so I don't know if you have enough lighting.
If you buy it, it will definitely have a longer life than if it stays at Petco.

Chris

[Polkster13]

It really depends on the staff. I worked at at Petco for a couple of years and we had about the same number of loses as any other pet store. As far as anomones go, yes they will travel a lot if they are not happy. You can have them in a tank full of corals and fish. As far as lights go I have kept them alive under NO, VHO, PC and T-5. It all depends on the depth that they are in. I have NO over a 29 gallon with a BTA and it has split 8 times and is doing great. I currently have the two babies in a 135 with 6 T-5 bulbs. They have already tripled in size since I put them into this tank.

[Polkster13]

I also wnet by a pet stoe that specializes in fish and they had dead fish in six different tanks. The owner said that he gets the fish in and one minute they are fine and then the next they are dead. He doesn't understand the loses. Part of the problem is his filtration system and lack of cleaning it on a regualr basis. I would buy fish from PetCo before buying from them.

[Kylaohhh]

Condi's are not nearly as light dependent as other anemone species. I had an anemone in my tank for 6 months with only a Coralife PC quad on that tank. It is still happy and thriving. I recently made a MH upgrade and moved it out of that tank because it was hiding from the light. When I made the MH move, I put it into a tank with only 10,000K bulb. It's been happy there ever since. Obviously, the higher the light quality, the nicer the color intensity of the anemone.

[CD]

Curious...
Were you wanting to buy this anemone in the hopes that your clownfish will host in it?

Wendy

[mhaynes01]

CD you got my alterior motive, dang i thought no one would notice :)

yes i was hoping they would host, i read that occelaris clowns will host with condy's fairly well, and from what i hear my light would work for it. so i Am off to the research wagon to learn more.

thanks

[CD]

http://www.bestfish.com/tips/032698.html

I've never personally seen a False Perc host a condy, but stranger things have happened. :P The above link should help you decide which will be the best anemone to try and get your clown to host. Looks like the Stichtodactyla Gigantea or Carpet anemone is first choice on most recommendations I found. ;)

Wendy

[BIGBIRD123]

The quad will be enough light and as for them being from Petco....GO FOR IT! I had one that lasted for three years from Petco and the only reason I lost it was because it took over my GSM's burrowing spot. The GSM had a spot in the corner that he would burrow down in the sand. I also had one of those floating thermo/refractometers and it would float over into his corner and he would push it all the way across the tank! LOL!

[bigdscobra]

I have a dual 65w coralife light on my 29g. I got a flordia condi from saltwaterfish.com and it seems to be very happy always shrinking itself at night than getting really big during the day. It has been growing so the lighting should be ok. 8) but my p. clown never goes in it though.

[CD]

but my p. clown never goes in it though.


Yeah...that was kind of my point. Whether or not the lighting will work for a condy is rather irrelevant at this point if mhaynes01 has their heart set on something the False Percs will host in. I'll admit I'm not much of an anemone person, but I think if I had his tank, I'd upgrade the lighting and make it a dedicated clown tank with a pretty carpet anemone, and maybe some nice zoas to give it that extra splash of color. JMO :)

Wendy

[Polkster13]

None of the species of clown fish will ever host a condi in the wild. You may get lucky in a tank and have a clown host in it but it isn't a natural association. I have had clowns host in several types of corals including hammers and bubble corals. Of course that was not natural either but I didn't have an anemone available for it at the time. I would seriously consider Wendy's suggestion on the carpet anemone if I were you. Especially if you are trying to get a mated pair and have them breed.

There is a great little book on anemone fish and their host anemones by Daphne G. Fautin and Gerald R. Allen.

You can find this book at Amazon.com using: Book Link (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1564651185/qid=1112958058/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-7061326-8925712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

[mhaynes01]

Wendy, thanks for advice i am going to upgrade my lighting when i get 200$ to blow, if yall dont know , i am a junior in high school, so money is hard to come by until i get a job.

i was going to go with a 2X65 watt coralife fixture , when i got some money , but is there another choice that might be better for anemones? (remember i'm in high school)

I do have some zoo'z or did have some,
all my zoos look like they are dead but recently they look as if they are coming back, opening up and starting to grow out there skirts. is this good or bad what did i do to them?

[mhaynes01]

Wendy, thanks for advice i am going to upgrade my lighting when i get 200$ to blow, if yall dont know , i am a junior in high school, so money is hard to come by until i get a job.

i was going to go with a 2X65 watt coralife fixture , when i got some money , but is there another choice that might be better for anemones? (remember i'm in high school)

I do have some zoo'z or did have some,
all my zoos look like they are dead but recently they look as if they are coming back, opening up and starting to grow out there skirts. is this good or bad what did i do to them?

[CD]

i am a junior in high school, so money is hard to come by until i get a job.


Ok...didn't know that. Well, you can always keep an eye on the "for sale" sections in all the nearby fish club forums...here, DFW, etc. There's nothing wrong with buying used equipment, and you may end up saving a bunch of money, even if you find something that has to be shipped. Be patient. Those clowns aren't going to freak out because they don't have an anemone right now, so you have time. ;)



all my zoos look like they are dead but recently they look as if they are coming back, opening up and starting to grow out there skirts. is this good or bad what did i do to them?


The fact that they are starting to open up is a good thing! Zoas are pretty sturdy, and can tolerate a variation of conditions....maybe the water params weren't quite to their liking when you first put them in, or they didn't like the flow, etc. Could have been a number of things. How mature is your tank? Everything look good as far as water params? Remember too, that besides lighting requirements, that anemones will need excellent water quality. If your 29G is a fairly recent set up, you may just want to wait a bit - this will accomplish a few things...first it will give your tank time to "age" and be more stable, and second it will give you time to do some serious reading on the care and feeding of some of the more difficult anemones (like carpets)...and also give you time to put some money aside to get what you need to make them happy. I know it's hard (believe me, I know), but just have patience, read read read, and choose wisely. :)

Feel free to PM me if there's any questions you have, and I'd be happy to help. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier, but we've been preoccupied with our velvet problem.

Wendy

[CD]

Just read in your other post that your tank is a very recent purchase...March 7th, right? This is a very "young" tank, so my advise at this point is to wait a month or two before even considering adding other items like an anemone. As suggested in the prior post, do a lot of reading, and save up your money for the lighting and any other items you may want. I've always felt that it's better to save up and get what you want rather than settle for whats availb. As I've already mentioned, feel free to PM me with any questions or thoughts you may have. I never mind helping a fellow reefer when I can. ;)

Wendy

[CD]

I've always felt that it's better to save up and get what you want rather than settle for whats availb.

Wendy

To give you an example, I purchased a 175 metal halide for our tank.
That was prior to researching what we wanted to keep in the long run.
I found that 175 wasn't sufficient for our needs and then bought a 250.
Again, not enough research. Now I have 400's.
If I had researched our long term desires, I would have bought 400's to begin with and saved the extra $600-$700 in bulbs, ballasts, and pendants that I have gone through.
Just give some thought to what you want to keep.
Without a job, you are better off saving more money and getting what will work for you. You will find that it costs more to continually upgrade than it would to get what you need from the start.
Just food for thought. ;)

Chris

[mhaynes01]

yeah i totally agree , and all tha talk of anemones is just talk just seeing what my options might be, i may be tearing this tank down in a year when i go to college, so you never know what will happen.

ohh and the 29 was transferred from a 15 that had been setup up about a year. but it is most definently a young tank. i posted somewhere else about lights and i thought this was a good choice, its a metal halide with acintic PC's this looks like something that would keep all soft corals and maybe some hard corals here it is
http://www.hellolights.com/24aqpr1x15hq.html

that looks perfect but it maybe a little overkill for the light but i have heard nothing but good things about metal halides (except the heat thing) either that or 2X65 watt coralife fixture. but like i said above its all talk and just seeing what you guys and gals think of it and wether you would advise it

Thanks

Michael