Tips for keeping solitary anemone as a wet pet?

[cellowithgills]

I help take care of 3 6"-8" diameter green anemones at my school (They've had them for at least 2 years). They still need the same lights, so 5,000k will NOT work. 10,000k-20,000k (and you really need at least one 20,000k) is what you need, you just don't need as much wattage. We've got 110w on a 55 gallon, which, with any tropical species, isn't nearly enough. You'll also need to feed about once a week or less.
That being said. You will also need a chiller because the tank has to be kept below 52 degrees Fahrenheit. If it is kept above that it will just wither away and might last a month or two tops.

 

[knifegill]

Good info! I can get it below 52 easily with a heat sink.

At least one 20,000k bulb huh? Does that color come in normal fluorescent tubes?

 

[cellowithgills]

Yeah, they make 20,000k t8's. I also forgot to mention that since greens are are found in rocky area's, I wouldn't do a sand substrate. I'd get a bunch of small rocks for the bottom and put a bunch of bigger rocks on top of that.

 

[knifegill]

So basically a gravel bottom instead of sand? I've got african cichlid gravel that's somewhat coarse. If I mix that with some 1/2" pea gravel would that do? And then a few prominent boulders in the center perhaps.

 

[cellowithgills]

Half inch should be fine. We've got some small gravel then that's covered with piece that are about 3"-6" around, also with some drift wood. You can also pick up a clean up crew (hermit craps (not "normal" ones), snails, urchins, ect. Don't put any star fish with it though)

Here's another thing to think about for when you collect it (I am assuming that you'll be collecting it). You're really going to want to shoot for one that is already attached to something you can take with you. If you have to pull it off of a large rock, chances are that it will get damaged. Even if it doesn't, it may never attached to anything else, and then die.

 

[Joao M]

I help take care of 3 6"-8" diameter green anemones at my school (They've had them for at least 2 years). They still need the same lights, so 5,000k will NOT work. 10,000k-20,000k (and you really need at least one 20,000k) is what you need, you just don't need as much wattage. We've got 110w on a 55 gallon, which, with any tropical species, isn't nearly enough. You'll also need to feed about once a week or less.

You are confusing colour temperature with light intensity.

Kelvins (k) measure the temperature of the light (spectrum). Low kelvins means more whites, yellows and reds; high kelvins means more blues.
Invertebrates do better with lower temperatures of light, because it enhances photosynthesis and therefore is better for the zooxantaella to thrive; higher kelvins only mean nicer (bluer) colors.

The coral farms use 3.000 to 4.500 k lights for some reason...

The intensity is measure in w.

You can have a very strong 400w light at a low temperature of 2.000k or a weak 20w light at a high 20.000k temperature: the first is very strong and yellowish; the latter is very weak and blue.

 

[cellowithgills]

I must respectfully disagree. But that doesn't mean that some people are able to keep anemones with lower K bulbs. I can just speak from what I've seen work.

I thought I'd post a picture of our set up. It's lit by 108w of t5 light (one 10,000k and one 20,000k) Not sure what the chiller is. And It's got a beefy protein skimmer.

 

[knifegill]

OMG, that's so cool! Maybe I'll go a little bigger than 20 gallons, they look pretty beefy. I hadn't realized how bulky they can be.

I'll be running a hose through dirt to drop the temp the last few degrees I need, so chiller type is not important info anyway. I've got to set the dang thing up and get it cycled first and then I'll...locate...a green anemone. Thanks so much for all your help! I'll post pics when I get this set up, but it could be awhile.

 

[Dan F]

OMG, that's so cool! Maybe I'll go a little bigger than 20 gallons, they look pretty beefy. I hadn't realized how bulky they can be.

I'll be running a hose through dirt to drop the temp the last few degrees I need, so chiller type is not important info anyway. I've got to set the dang thing up and get it cycled first and then I'll...locate...a green anemone. Thanks so much for all your help! I'll post pics when I get this set up, but it could be awhile.

These are some photos from the Oregon Coast Aquarium's classroom tank.

I think you might be underestimating how much cooling you will need. A 75W CF fixture will produce a fair bit of heat, and a heat sink won't be able to keep up. The ground temperature should be around 55, but a heat sink works less efficiently the closer the water temperature gets to the ground temperature. It's worth a shot, but I don't think you will keep it under 65 with the lights on, if not warmer. Just an excuse to put a fridge in your basement for a DIY chiller/kegerator.

 

[knifegill]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Oyster drills?


Those are some fatties! Glad to see people succeeding with this concept. I'll definitely be tweaking the setup to ideal parameters before adding the anemone, so if the temp stays too warm I'll solve the issue long before the anemone is in the picture.