The Sea Anemone
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Whatever your degree of participation in this hobby, you will continue to find new challenges to spark your interest, capture your imagination, and stimulate your creative abilities. Wherever your particular field of interest may lie, you will always find in this hobby of ours, the wonders and beauties of life's creations. All of us, as aquarium hobbyists, maintain our aquariums primarily for the aesthetic pleasure we derive from them. The scope of the hobby need be no wider than this simple pleasure and enjoyment. However, many are stimulated to study one or more particular facets of a specialized field such as ethnology, genetics, biology, or one of the other scientific pursuits. Whatever we do - however far we may travel in this hobby - we must always be concerned with conservation. Our primary goal should always be to return to nature something in return for the pleasures and benefits we have received. We should always remember to try to learn as much as possible and to record that information, not only for our own use, but for the benefit of others. We should learn to breed the species of fish we maintain so that we do not wantonly endanger the creatures of the rivers, lakes, and oceans by wantonly reducing their numbers until they are in danger of extinction. We have the right to enjoy the life forms in our aquarium, but we have an obligation and a responsibility to sustain, protect, and conserve those creatures from which we have derived so much enjoyment."
When you think of your fish as a pet you'll agree,
they deserve the best care an attention you can provide. A healthy aquarium
is relatively easy to achieve and maintain, but it will not happen by itself...
it depends on you.
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Choosing Your Next Anemone
Many hobbyist's first attempt at keeping marine fish involves the keeping of clownfish. Most are colorful, they have an interesting swimming motion, they are inexpensive and they are relatively hardy. Soon after the purchase of their clownfish many of those same people decide that their clownfish need an anemone. This is where many aquarist meet with their first failure. They find that even given good water conditions and good lighting their anemone still dies six to eight months later for no apparent reason. If the anemone does live, they may find they have a healthy clownfish and a beautiful anemone and neither one will have anything to do with the other. In this article I hope to give you some information that will help you to avoid these problems.
This information was gathered from over 30 aquarists like yourselves (some of them relatively famous) who have responded to my questions via the Internet (a worldwide computer network which has bulletin board services where aquarium related questions can by posted and answered), every clownfish host anemone book or scientific article I could get my hands on (and there aren't very many on keeping anemones out there), and Aquarists in charge of the tropical tanks at several public aquariums. When discussing the anemones I will give the scientific name first and then as many common names as I can before the information. (please understand that until recently not even the scientific names had been standardized) I don't mean to imply that my information is highly scientific; 30 people is hardly a good sampling. Hopefully those of you reading this article will be inspired to send me your experiences even if to tell me that you have had the same experiences.
Possible Clownfish/Anemone combinations
The Changing Drag Coefficients of Sea Anemones
(Condylactus giganticus) in Response to Various Flow Rates.
Proper care of the live sea anemone specimens have to be met in order to assure anemones in good conditions. The holding tank is where the sea anemones reside. It requires a specific gravity of 1.21, a pH of 8.2-8.4, and a temperature of 78-80F. The anemones also require filtered and flowing water to help eliminate wastes, and a constant source of light. It has been shown that light has a direct relationship with lipid content in the anemone's tissues indicating that sufficient light leads to a healthy anemone (Harland et al, 1992). The light should give 3 to 5 watts per gallon of water. The lights should also be 50 % actinic and 50% full spectrums (Henderson, 1996). The flow tank also requires the same conditions as the holding tank but it does not need a light source since the sea anemone is only held there temporarily for testing. Finally, the anemones must be fed brine shrimp approximately three times a week (Henderson, 1996).
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VISITORS
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Welcome!
We provide information on Saltwater Fish and Inverts as well as Freshwater Fish and Plants; we have over 85 pages that serve over 38,000 people monthly. Hopefully, this club will become a source of aquatic inspiration for you.
"ALL our dreams can come true-
if we have the courage to pursue them!!"
"Walt Disney"
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FIELD GUIDE TO ANEMONE FISHES AND THEIR HOST SEA ANEMONES
The symbiosis between clownfishes and sea anemones fascinates diver and biologist alike for many of the same reasons. The sea anemones that play host to the fishes are, like most of their kin, virtually immovably fixed. Each anemone constitutes the territory of its fish, which therefore seldom venture far from it, retreating into its tentacles when feeling threatened. This sedentariness, which so intrigued Dr. Collingwood, allows biologists to do long-term studies, revisiting the same animals repeatedly. Underwater enthusiasts, having once found them, can be assured of relocating fish and anemones on future dives. The fish can be approached very closely, and both partners are extremely beautiful, making them a prime subject of photographers.
GEOGRAPHICAL AND ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION
Sea anemones live throughout the world's oceans, from poles to equator, and from the deepest trenches to the shores, as do fishes. But no one kind of either lives in all places. Of nearly 1000 species of sea anemones, only 10 are host to anemonefishes. They live in the parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans that lie within the tropics or where warm, tropical waters are carried by currents, such as the east coast of Japan (as far north as the latitude of Tokyo!). Because the 28 species of clownfishes live only with these 10 species of sea anemones, they are found in the same places.
"From the time you set up that first 10 gallon community tank it becomes a part of your life. And, as you progress in this hobby - as you grow, experience, and learn - it becomes a way of life.
Perhaps that 10 gallon community tank will be enough to satisfy your interests. Perhaps you will decide to specialize in one particular species of fish - learning everything you can possibly learn about that species, and attempt to breed them. Perhaps you will maintain a larger aquarium or even get into the marine aquarium. "
When most of us started keeping aquariums, we went into the hobby blind. We read outdated books and listened to the self-serving advice from our local fish shops. Only after the death of many aquatic animals and the purchase of expensive, useless equipment did we accumulate the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully keep these creatures. As with anything, there are those who are in it purely for profit, with little regard for the environment. These people range from the collectors who still use cyanide to catch fish, even though it shortens the fish's life, to the retailers who will sell anything to anyone, no questions asked. Looking back on those years of “trial and error” aquarium keeping, I’ve often wondered why someone never guided people through the setup and maintenance of aquariums. Well, finally someone has.M
The Aquarium Club pages are much more than a place to see and learn about aquatic life. Our focus is on raising people's awareness of the environment through information and Internet links. Many hours are devoted to this website. The cost is extremely high to set up and to maintain the sixty plus sites that we operate. We have over two hundred members which depend on our help to maintain their aquariums. The club fees and the help of the members is extremely important to insure the work we are doing. Free advice is just that, it has little or no value.
Our interest extends beyond these pages, to promoting conservation and aquaculture research projects worldwide-from helping understand environmental changes, to saving the endangered reefs, and endangered species with captive bred freshwater and marine life.
It's an exciting time for us.
We've just increased our membership by offering a lifetime membership. Our website allows us to share a wonderful future with you.
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The Sea Anemone
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