Yellow Sebae Anemone

[Bill S]

I had an anemone just like that one. 35 YEARS ago. I know it wasn't dyed, because it was LONG before they talked about dying them, and long before anyone would think of dying them. No, it didn't last long - NOTHING did back then.

So, no there's no assurance that it was dyed. There IS an assurance that this will be a very difficult specimen to keep alive.

[OrionN]

I disagree with you Bill. Sebae is an relatively easy anemone to keep in compare to H. magnifica or S. gigantea. The anemone pictured in this thread is an obvious dyed anemone.
Maybe you got one of the very first dyed anemone.

[ErikH]

Keep your eye on it. Anemones are not particularly difficult, but most people buy first, and ask questions later. If your parameters are stable, and consistent with that of a reef tank, your other hurdle would be with lighting. My sebae was in a 31" deep tank lit by a 250wHQI MH. It was at the bottom and flourished, but a newbie mistake cost me that tank (a sea apple).

Anemones are hard to judge when they are dead as well. Sometimes under extreme stress they will invert exposing their mouths which would be gaping. If it gets to that point, try and house it in a QT tank. A 5g bucket could work, and swapping water with properly heated, aerated, fresh SW daily (about 1g or so) should help if it is a WQ issue. Keep the flow minimal, since it is a bucket. Make sure you have sufficient lighting, and keep an eye on the temp. It's good to have a few small backups like this just in case. If after a few days the nem becomes responsive to food, and is extended, reintroduction to the tank should be ok. Just triple check the water over a few days before, keep a log, and run carbon prior to re introduction....

[Bill S]

I disagree with you Bill. Sebae is an relatively easy anemone to keep in compare to H. magnifica or S. gigantea. The anemone pictured in this thread is an obvious dyed anemone.
Maybe you got one of the very first dyed anemone.

35 years ago? I doubt it. Seriously, it was a beautiful bright yellow. ANY pacific anemones were so rare then, it didn't matter - they sold quickly. Heck, even condis were unusual. We would very occasionally got a green carpet. And they didn't do well at all...

I've never seen a Sebae of that color do well - it seems the more exotic the color, the more difficult. That being said, I've had a whole lot of luck with my RBTAs over the years. I was down to 2 a week ago. One decided to crawl through a piece of eggcrate. Now I have 4... One of the 3 pieces is doing great, one OK, and one hanging on...

[aggman]

how does one go about dying and anemone anyway? does the dying process actually harm the organism?

i see these as simply designer livestock, not much different from things like snowflake clowns.

~alex

[Jonthefishguy]

The answer to your question:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

[OrionN]

Bill,
Just because no one wrote about them does not mean that it was not done. In 1980 when I first got into keeping marine animals, the very first animal I bought were an dyed sebae and a pair of tank raised clown fish (Ocellaris).
29 years ago, there were dyed anemone.
There are plenty of documentation of some of these anemones loose these yellow color live and turn into the usual Sebae color.

[aggman]

The answer to your question:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

wow, that is crazy what some people will do in this trade. i personally have never seen something like that, and i am glad, i hope i never do.

~alex

[bms]

Scorpino:

This is the second anemone i have kept so i am not totally new to them. I had a bubble tip anemone in my other 65 gallon that lived 3 years til an earthquake landed a small rock on him and never could recover from a few months ago. whoda thunk it?

Status Update:

he appears to be doing well tonight. i offered him some mysis and brine shrimp today and it took a few tries but he ate it. doesnt seem to be too affected by the accident and no visible damage. i must have gotten lucky and caught it soon after it happened.

[Bill S]

Thanks for the article, John. Minh, I guess I stand corrected. I'm trying to remember the time frame - I'd guess it was probably around 1973? Plus or minus a year? With the hobby in such a beginning stage, it's hard to understand why they would dye them.