crazedACD

My boss wants me to order a "couple" of anemones to sell at the store, particularly a bubble tip.

Learning the saltwater stuff has been a challenge for me...I had very little knowledge when I started out there. Now I feel I have a good understanding of FOWLR..setting up/maintaining them and the different species & compatibility, diseases, etc...but trying to keep anemones and corals and stuff is going to drive me crazy, I know it. It was like pulling teeth to let me have a bag of shrimp for the predators (before I came they mostly fed the puffers/triggers/eels freshwater feeder fish). To be totally honest I don't even have test kits for the tanks . Is there anything in particular I should know before keeping these in the commercial tanks? This is what I'm working with:

Are there any anemones that would do better in a situation like this? I don't even know what kind of lighting I have, I think it's just long fluorescent bulbs. Where should I...put the anemones? If they attach to the live rock can I remove them to sell them? Sorry, I have no idea about any of this.

aquarist48

Hello Crazed. Sounds like you have your hands full. Hopefully someone will give you some tips and suggestions today.
Ken

pepetj

For commercial purpose care things are different (in terms of cost-efficiency, among other variables like quality, price, volume).

I would dare to suggest, based on my "common sense" (which fails more than I like to accept) that you should consider and keep all of them as "in-transit anemones", in tanks with just aragonite sand and no live rock. Hopefully you can arrange a tank with at least four inches (six better) of sand bed. Figure out a way to use at least additional lighting if it is safe and you have the room for it (e.g. by placing either a small MH rated at 70W 14,000K or at least a couple of T5HO in a 50-50 combination).

All anemones (as far as I know) stay alive through endosymbiotic zooxanthellae, which needs adequate light (intensity and spectrum wise). If they die, the anemone is doomed even if it remains alive (they turn all white, which might look like "clean" to us but is a bad, tragic thing for them).

I figure keeping the zooxanthellae alive to be the top priority -second only to careful acclimation- for "in-transit" care. I have no idea if the "not feeding for a day" rule (used for in-transit care of fish) applies here or is detrimental not to. Hope a Fishlorian with experience help us out here.

Putting the ones considered as a "pest" aside (e.g. aiptasia), it is difficult to consider any anemone as "hardy" but at least some species are so much delicate or difficult to keep that I guess are the ones you should avoid (e.g. Hawaiian anemone: Heteractis malu, Long Tentacle anemone: Macrodactyla doreensis).

Given that you can keep stable (and hopefully healthy) water parameters, try to get farm raised (as opposed to wild caught) specimens. The bubble tip might be your best choice. Directed feeding (e.g. using a turkey baster) could help them, as well as supplementing iron.


Hope this helps.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

nemo addict

Most shop display tanks are very shallow so MH lighting is not needed, water quality and feeding however is ,
If you are a busy LFS then you shouldnt have them there long enough to need feeding,
and as above put anemones in a tank with just sand, dependent on size of tank and anemones you can put 2-3 of same species in one tank

ATP

why sand?

question:
In the shop,is the filtration for you saltwater tanks all connected to one major filtration system? (or multiple tanks connect to one big filtration system) If you already have liverock in you filtration, you won't need any for the tank the anemones will be put in. So I would just leave the tank empty with the anemones(same species in one tank or area)

As for the lights,
MH would be needed, but as said before, if the tank is shallow, MH is not needed so you could use either VHO, HO or PC's for a small tank.

Other than that, maintain good water quality and feed ones a day. Corals should not be much different and should be easier (for most. depends on species)

You can put them on live rock if you want. It moves around on it's own so either way if it sticks on the rock or glass, you'll still have to take it off.

You start by rubbing the base of the anemone and sometimes rubbing with ice makes it easier. After part of the anemone lets go, insert your finger under it and start lifting it off slowly and gently. After a few minutes, it should let go. Do not use too much force