Green Malu Sebae Anemone (Heteractus malu)

[Ocean Hugger]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+4&ddid=104900

I bought this anemone knowing that sebae anemones aren't the easiest to keep, but i also know that is due to the fact that many that come into the trade have already expelled its zooxanthellate. Does this seem like a promising specimen or should i cancel the order before it ships?

p.s- any tips on keeping a sebae so i can up the chances it will survive?

[bradleym]

Same as what they say for specs. Plus 0 nitrates and phosphates if possible. Bright lights and feeding twice a week or so. That should do it. The one in the picture looks really good so if it shows up like that it might be easy to care for.

[Ocean Hugger]

Thanks that was help full. Im putting in a 10 gallon with a protein skimmer and going to run Mactrobactor7 and does vodka to keep the nitrates and phosphates down. And will have a two lamp 12w t5 structure over it. What should the photoperiod be??

[bradleym]

Well for starters, the site says 30 gallon minimum and that's not really negotiable. Next, vodka dosing is dangerous on a tank that small. And last, no anemone will do well in a new tank. Your tank should be at least 6 months old. So right off the bat I'd say reconsider.

[garygb]

It should be in a larger tank than a 10 gallon. The tank needs to be well-established for a period of 6 months, preferably a year. If you can don't have a well-established tank of 20 gallons minimum, preferably 30g, then I would say cancel the order. I haven't tried vodka dosing before, but I have heard some people say that their anemone didn't do well with it. As far as photoperiod, for t-5s 10-12 hours is about right. An anemone is going to need a fixture with 4 bulbs, individual reflectors, and good quality lamps to thrive.

[Ocean Hugger]

[QUOTE=bradleym;17976363]Well for starters, the site says 30 gallon minimum and that's not really negotiable. Next, vodka dosing is dangerous on a tank that small. And last, no anemone will do well in a new tank. Your tank should be at least 6 months old. So right off the bat I'd say reconsider.[/QUOTE

Thanks you. But the tank has been running for a year it use to be a seahorse tank and it was emptied and re-seeeded with live sand from my 5 year old 120 gallon SPS system. the tank is going to have no rock just a 4 inch sand bed due to the fact that these animals like to have their feet in sand. I beg to differ that vodka dosing is dangerous in small tanks you just have to know what you are doing and not over dose. I guess what i was first asking was mis understood. I was asking is if it us normal for malu sebae anemones to have white tentacles cause i know if other sebae anemones are white you shouldn't buy the anemone

[bradleym]

Strictly speaking to your question, that anemone is healthy looking in that picture and should not be avoided IMO.

However be warned the anemone will grow big enough to touch the front and back glass at the same time, if it does actually survive in your proposed setup.

And Gary knows his lighting, so +1 to his lighting recommendation.

[Toddrtrex]

If it was me, I would cancel the order -- your tank isn't big enough, size-wise. Then there are the issues that come with a 10 gallon tank (( or any small water volume tank )). You state that you will have no live rock -- do you have a sump, or are you planning on just the sand for filtration? IMO, a lot of people under-estimate how much waste anemones put out.

As for vodka/sugar/carbon dosing -- you couldn't pay me enough to try anything like that again in any of my anemone tanks again. And think it is even worse with a newly introduced anemone.

[Ocean Hugger]

Yah i work at a LFS so i am confident in my ability to keep it alive i just didn't know if it is normal for Malu Sebae to be white in coloration. Thank you for all of your help. Im going to listen to each of your suggestions and make sure the tank is ready for him when he arrives on Tuesday and if he isn't happy i will take him to work and sell him.

[Big E]

That tank is too small & you don't need MB7 & vodka for a ten gallon tank, nor does the nem need it.

Malu's still get 12" in diameter & that's not small.

I question whether that's even a malu.......looks nothing like mine which is an H. malu. I saw that specimen & decided against it because of the white tentacles(possibly mildy bleached) & that it may be some other species.

[Ocean Hugger]

That tank is too small & you don't need MB7 & vodka for a ten gallon tank, nor does the nem need it.

Malu's still get 12" in diameter & that's not small.

I question whether that's even a malu.......looks nothing like mine which is an H. malu. I saw that specimen & decided against it because of the white tentacles(possibly mildy bleached) & that it may be some other species.

Please explain to me why I would not need to dose vodka and dose MB7 if anemones need perfect water pram. Does your statement completely contradict their requirements then. And again i wasn't asking for your approval i was wondering if Malus where naturally white. Thank you

[Toddrtrex]

Please explain to me why I would not need to dose vodka and dose MB7 if anemones need perfect water pram. Does your statement completely contradict their requirements then. And again i wasn't asking for your approval i was wondering if Malus where naturally white. Thank you

Not sure if you want an explanation or not -- your post isn't very clear. First, there is no need to dose vodka and/or MB7, or any of that other stuff to get to the water parameters that anemones require. One of my S. Haddonis has been in my care for 12+ years now, and I have never dosed vodka/MB7 (( the closest I ever came was TM's Bio-actif salt, and that caused me nothing but troubles )), it is amazing what good filtration, water changes, proper bio-load and an appropriately sized tank can do for the health of an anemone.

There can be some white stripes in a healthy anemone (( one of my Haddonis, and one I sold, both have "white" stripes )), but if the H. Malu was fully white, that wouldn't be healthy.

[Big E]

Please explain to me why I would not need to dose vodka and dose MB7 if anemones need perfect water pram. Does your statement completely contradict their requirements then.

Sps are really the only animals that need very low nutrient levels & a ten gallon tank is very easy to maintain at acceptable levels for an anemome or Sps for that matter, but there can be challenges based on how quickly things can change in a small tank.

There's a higher chance of it getting sucked into an overflow or powerhead in a small tank like that before it settles in.

And again i wasn't asking for your approval i was wondering if Malus where naturally white. Thank you

You asked for tips on keeping a H. malu anemome so I gave you my suggestions/opinions based on my experiences of owning one for 4 years. I think those tentacles are slightly bleached, but overall it looks like a healthy specimen. I would expect them to darken up some over time.

The main reason I passed on it was I had to make sure it was an H. malu as I wanted it to reside in the same tank in near proximity of the one I have.

[2Addicted]

How are you going to keep it out of the powerheads in a ten gallon?

[demonclownfish]

listen to these guys...... you cant always get positive answers either.

[Flanders]

Please explain to me why I would not need to dose vodka and dose MB7 if anemones need perfect water pram. Does your statement completely contradict their requirements then. And again i wasn't asking for your approval i was wondering if Malus where naturally white. Thank you

where did you ever get the idea that dosing a sugar source would be a requirement to achieve good water parameters? people have been keeping successful reef tanks long before this method became popular.

[Ocean Hugger]

The idea of using MB7 and vodka occurred to me because I knew that putting an anemone in a 10 g with the amount of waste they produced, could not be exported out of the tank by a hang on filter and protein skimmer alone. Please tell me if there is a cheaper and better means of keeping nitrate nitrite and phosphate low in such a small water volume.

[Toddrtrex]

You mean besides getting a properly sized tank?

I would do frequent (( at least twice a week )) water changes if I had to keep an anemone in a 10 gallon tank.

Like I stated above, the one (( only and last )) time I tried anything like vodka dosing ended very poorly when done with newly acquired/stressed anemones.

[kulture]

I knew if I looked I would find who bought that nem.. I was on the phone with liveaquaria and it disappeared!
Nice buy. Wish it was me...

Hope it lives well for you 10 gallon or however u keep it.

[kulture]

Yah i work at a LFS so i am confident in my ability to keep it alive i just didn't know if it is normal for Malu Sebae to be white in coloration. Thank you for all of your help. Im going to listen to each of your suggestions and make sure the tank is ready for him when he arrives on Tuesday and if he isn't happy i will take him to work and sell him.

I'll take it if ur gonna sell.. Shipping an all.

[Toddrtrex]

I'll take it if ur gonna sell.. Shipping an all.

Not the place for that kind of post.

[kulture]

Not the place for that kind of post.

Sorry. Didn't know/realize that wasn't allowed.

[Flanders]

The idea of using MB7 and vodka occurred to me because I knew that putting an anemone in a 10 g with the amount of waste they produced, could not be exported out of the tank by a hang on filter and protein skimmer alone. Please tell me if there is a cheaper and better means of keeping nitrate nitrite and phosphate low in such a small water volume.

stock the aquarium appropriately - cheaper and better.

[Ocean Hugger]

Sad to say the anemone arrived dead. It had already expelled all of its insides and the water in the bag was born. This is the first thing that has died in the bag from liveaquaria.com. The box had no heat packs and being shipped in cold weather i think a huge temperature drop killed it. I was really looking forward to this anemone.

[Nebthet]

Let liveaquaria know immediately.

I have to wonder what they have been up to lately though. They should know better that they have to ship with heat packs this time of year. You are not the first to have this issue with them.

[kulture]

That is too bad.. I would have liked to see pics and seen that nem mature... I just ordered also from the Den and Liveaquaria this past weekend and all of my livestock came in with heat packs... But were a little beat from the shipping.. I think fedex isn't helping the cause either..

Did you take pics as u opened the box? Did they give u a refund?
I'm just wondering about their service.. Like I said I had no problem and would order again.. Unless u convince me otherwise...

(lol and maybe next time we'll battle again for a nem! Jk!)

[krak256]

i actually bought a similar malu from DD. so far its doing great. i would like to see how if it retains its current colors

[StephenInVa]

i actually bought a similar malu from DD. so far its doing great. i would like to see how if it retains its current colors

pics?

[StephenInVa]

Did you take pics as u opened the box? Did they give u a refund?
I'm just wondering about their service.. Like I said I had no problem and would order again.. Unless u convince me otherwise...

I wouldn't 2nd guess their customer service. You may hear of a problem or two on rare occasion but from my experience it can't be beat. Usually a DOA or death within the warranty requires nothing more than a phone call or email to them and they refund the full amount of the purchase minus shipping.