Anemone - home sweet home?

[Bobindy1]

The good news? TBS sent me LR that was WAY beyond anything I've seen anywhere - stunningly wonderful.

The other good news? As a "bonus" I guess, they sent me a (condy?) anemone along with the other critters I ordered.

The bad news? My set up is new. Less than a month going. I really am only ready for LR and tank janitors. Plus, I know almost NOTHING about how to care for this lovely fella... He does seem to be thriving (had him now for 5 days) and I just successfully fed him a small chunk of raw oyster. But I think he'd be better off somewhere better prepared for him. I do NOT want to kill something so lovely as he (she?).

Should I take him to my lfs and trade him for something? If so, how would I get him dis-loged from the 2 rocks he has himself kinda wedged between.. He picked out that spot pretty quick and has stayed put. I'm terribly afraid of damaging him if I try to move him.

Any advice out there?

THanks in advance!

[OrionGirl]

Identify him first, and decide if you want a condy if that's what it is. Condy's are fairly hardy--given enough lighting and food, they survive fairly well. But--they aren't really that desirable, as they don't host, and pose a serious threat to any corals, fish, and inverts you add to the tank.

[mogurnda]

I wish Richard wouldn't do that. It sounds like a nice "freebie," but has all the disadvantages Orion mentions.

If the anemone migrates somewhere where it can be removed easily, I would trade it. They are fairly cheap, though, so you probably won't get a lot. If it settles in and thrives, then you can work around it.

[Bobindy1]

Thanks for the insight. I confirmed, with TBS that it is indeed a condy. He parked well away from the corals that came on the rock, but I do want to put a few fish in this tank... So, Dave, when you say if he thrives and settles in, I can "work around" him, do you mean, that I should plan NOT to add fishes? I think it's pretty and all, but I don't think I want to devote my entire 46 gallons to him.

More questions: If I keep him well fed, is he more likely to stay put and leave everything else (like fish, eventually) alone? How large could he get? Lastly, does he present a fairly large or fairly small bio-load... say, as compared to a clownfish - just as an example?

Thanks again to you both for your informative replies.

[mogurnda]

By working around, I just meant that you should keep corals at a distance. It's still no guarantee, since the anemone may still move around a bit.

I wish I could answer the question about fish eating, but I have neither done the experiment nor read a lot about it.

[OrionGirl]

I can relate my experience. I got one when my tank was about 6 months old. He moved around within a specific range--he'd creep around a rock, back and forth. Never really roamed the entire tank, just moved around that corner. The fish learned to avoid him, but most all of them (a blue damsel, a bicolor angel, a yellow tang, and a pair of engineer gobies) sported stings at some point in time--little white patches that would fase back to normal within 3 days. The condy was moved into a different tank after it started killing polyps. The fish in there--a trigger, a lion, and a burrfish--took a few hits, then everyone but the burrfish learned to avoid it completely. The burrfish was constantly getting stung. The condy 'died' a couple of times--completely disappeared, no sight of it, only to show up a few weeks later, with shorter tentacles and full color. It eventually died--not enough food for it in the FO tank.