Food/feeding plan for Carpet & Bubble Anemone

[chuckdallas]

I bought a Carpet Anemone from the LFS. He sold me a bottle of Zooplan and Phytoplan from the Two Little Fishes company. A week later, another store said that zooplankton and phytoplankton are not what they need...it should be Silversides, in small pieces and preferably mushed a little.

The first LFS said that it was okay to feed Silversides, but only once a month because they will stop filitering if I keep giving it fish. LFS #1 also said I should be giving the Zooplankton on Mon, Wed, and Fri and the Phytoplankton on Tues, Thurs and Sat. He said the dose should be one tiny scoop (included in bottle) mixed WELL with a cup of aquarium water per day, alternating the zooplan and phytoplan every day.

What's the real story...some combo? I have a 120 gallon tank with a 6-8 inch (diamter) carpet anemone and on the opposite end, a small 2-3 inch Bubble Anemone and no coral.

Please help.

[Palting]

To settle the argument, here you go:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+499+604&pcatid=604
http://www.fishlore.com/profile-equadricolor.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm

[Toddrtrex]

What type of "carpet" ?

I have (( and other )) had bad luck trying to mix an S. Haddoni and BTA (( E. Quadricolor )) in the same tank. For me, the Haddoni wouldn't settle in until I removed all the BTA's.

As for feeding, you couldn't pay me to use silversides, and I am not the only one that has had back luck with them. I personally use frozen (( thawed )) krill.

Lastly, I hope you aren't talking about the "yellow carpet" on your sig -- would like to see a picture of it, because the odds are very good that it is bleached.

One more lastly, in time you are going to end up with just one pair of clowns -- the 2 pairs that you have are very aggressive and I see death happening when one pair starts to spawn.

[magman53]

My carpet (had him for two years) I feed prawns as they high in iodine, cut length ways and thin in1/4s, I also feed fish (live sometimes), crayfish, squid (squid is good), the only food I don't feed is muscles as I had a bad experience with them once.

IMO every one says feed small bits, that is wrong imo, I have watched my carpet eat a medium sized regal tang, and it ate it with ease. It has eaten $$$ worth of stock in the past, but I didn't have the heart to give it away. I have seen a friends carpet eat a live long spiked urchin, that the spikes were sticking out of the carpet while it was digesting it. IMO if you got the right lights and water quality, they great aneneomes.

Also when you add more stock, don't do it when the lights are off, rather give the new stock time to see the dangers in the tank, dangers like the carpet. Also I have found that the fish need 30 mins from when the main lights go off, untill the last blues switch off just so they don't get startled and swim into the nemmie. Also if you put a net in the tank, cover the carpet, startled fish and fish that pannic will swim into the nemmie, and mine is so strong that even if you get it out in seconds, it still dies within minutes.

I have found since I have been practising these last three ideas, I have not lost a fish.

[Toddrtrex]

Just because you have watched your "carpet" (( you don't state what type it is )), eat a large regal tang does not mean that feeding them large pieces of food in a good idea. IME/O it is a very bad idea, and could cause numerous issues, the main one being undigested food inside the anemone -- if you are seeing a "waste ball" being expelled by the anemone after feeding it you are feeding it too large of pieces.

My oldest S. Haddoni has been in my care for 12+ years.

[RocketSurgeon]

http://www.karensroseanemones.net/

+1 on wetwebmedia.com



http://freshmarine.com/bubble-tip-anemone.html
=
Feeding & Nutrition:
Bubble Tip Anemone derives its nutrition chiefly through photosynthesis which is performed by zooxanthellae, an acellular photosynthetic alga living symbiotically within the Anemone.
If you do not have clownfish in your marine aquarium then you will need to frequently feed the Omnivorous Bubble Tip Anemone with meaty bits of fish, squid, shrimp or worms.
Add Iodine and Trace Elements to the water as dietary supplements for Entacmaea quadricolor.

[Toddrtrex]

http://www.karensroseanemones.net/

+1 on wetwebmedia.com



http://freshmarine.com/bubble-tip-anemone.html
=
Feeding & Nutrition:
Bubble Tip Anemone derives its nutrition chiefly through photosynthesis which is performed by zooxanthellae, an acellular photosynthetic alga living symbiotically within the Anemone.
If you do not have clownfish in your marine aquarium then you will need to frequently feed the Omnivorous Bubble Tip Anemone with meaty bits of fish, squid, shrimp or worms.
Add Iodine and Trace Elements to the water as dietary supplements for Entacmaea quadricolor.

I am going to have to disagree with that last part -- No point in adding trace elements -- water changes will provide that. Iodine/Iodide is very easy to overdose and can become toxic, and test kits for it are not very accurate. There is no guarantee that any clown will "feed"* an anemone, so not sure why that part is in there. And I would avoid "worms"

* -- JMO -- clowns do not actually feed their anemones, they are just using it as a place to store exact/large food. It just so happens that the anemone eats it -- think of it like a dog burying a bone. Also, a decent percentage of clowns will actually try to steal food from an anemone when it is fed.

[chuckdallas]

Clowns taking food from Nem?? Two days ago, I dropped a small piece (about 1/8 inch) of silverside in the middle of the nem and the Saddlebacks took the fish before the tentacles near the mouth could get a firm grip.

[RocketSurgeon]

I am going to have to disagree with that last part -- No point in adding trace elements -- water changes will provide that. Iodine/Iodide is very easy to overdose and can become toxic, and test kits for it are not very accurate. There is no guarantee that any clown will "feed"* an anemone, so not sure why that part is in there. And I would avoid "worms"

* -- JMO -- clowns do not actually feed their anemones, they are just using it as a place to store exact/large food. It just so happens that the anemone eats it -- think of it like a dog burying a bone. Also, a decent percentage of clowns will actually try to steal food from an anemone when it is fed.

I'll buy every part of what you have said here.
That excerpt was copied from the link above it.

In the previous link made by Palting: liveaquaria.com writes:

Its diet should include chopped fish, shrimp, or worms if a clownfish is not present.