Anemone on my finger leather coral

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

Kara

AC Members
Feb 21, 2003
36
0
0
51
Fort Lauderdale
Visit site
When I woke up this morning and turned on the lights to the tank, I saw that my long tenticle anemone (which is quite large) relocated and now is resting up against my rather expensive blue finger leather coral. The anemone's tenticles are laying on my finger leather. I didn't notice any of the 'burn' type damage from the anemone on the leather, then again the anemone still wasn't fully awake and my leather hadn't totally opened either (none of his polyps were out and the fingers weren't fully extended). I couldn't stay and see what happened because I had to go to work. Now I'm afraid of what I might find when I get home!

Is this new real estate arrangement going to hurt my leather? Will the anemone attack (sting) my corals and/or corals hurt the anemone?

The anemone also is possibly in range of a blue mushroom, a large star polyp colony, button polyps and branching frogspawn.
 

afkouns

AC Members
Feb 22, 2003
36
0
0
Visit site
My anemone destroyed my polyps. As for mushrooms and leathers, I took out the anemone before it could cause anymore damage. My maroon clownfish was upset with that and kept jabbing my hand when i was removing the anemone. The clownfish is fine. My corals are safe and I won't ever put an anemone back into my reef. Good Luck!
 

Kara

AC Members
Feb 21, 2003
36
0
0
51
Fort Lauderdale
Visit site
When I got home the leather was all closed up still. I promptly called a LFS and they agreed to find a new home for my anemone . I didn't want to keep my adorable little tomato without having an anemone friend for him. I took the anemone and clown there that night.

Unfortunately, my blue leather isn't doing so well. He has the brownish burn marks on the side that was facing the anemone and hasn't opened yet. The guy at the LFS said not to loose hope because even severely damaged leathers can come back.

I consoled myself by buying the most gorgeous bright turquoise trumpet coral I've ever seen.. and a rock with few blue/orange ricordia.. ;)

After talking to the guy at the LFS he said 'No anemones in reef tanks!' The potential for damage to corals is just too great, not to mention that anemones have strong 'bodies' that can easily move rocks. Ok, so now I'm going to save up for a 20 gal tank and have a dedicated anemone tank.
 

afkouns

AC Members
Feb 22, 2003
36
0
0
Visit site
Good call. If the burn mark isn't to big, you can cut it out and then give your leather a concentrated iodine dip for a few minutes then put it back into your aquarium. I did this once for mine and it worked great. Good Luck.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store