CondylactisFAQ2

FAQs on Condylactis Anemones 2

Condy's and Clowns can go together, though not naturally

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Anemone Success
Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Update and help needed please. 8/8/15
Hi Bob and crew!
<Joanne>
I contacted you about a month ago regarding a red gorgonian I had inherited that was in bad shape. I kept up with the tlc, cut away some tissue I suspected was not healthy and now the gorgonian looks brilliant (pic attached) the polyps have grown larger and nearly every single polyp comes out now, with smaller ones appearing.... So pleased and thanks for your help.
<Ahh!>
A few days ago I purchased the contents of a marine set-up and paid slightly over the odds in my opinion but I felt compelled to when I discovered the contents were being kept in a 26 litre tank! These are a 3 inch maroon clown, two blue/green Chromis, a rock goby, a 2 inch sea hare, a green Goniopora and an anemone!
<Yeeikes!>
The Goniopora he didn't have a clue what it was and it's in bad shape, I would say a quarter of it remains (pic attached)
<Mmm; not.... just the Gorg and what appears to be a pinkish Condylactis gigantea>
I know they aren't easy to care for but am hoping I can rescue it with some care?
<.... not easy to care for... Like "dirty" water, must have indiv. polyps fed... See/READ on WWM re this genus of Poritids husbandry>
(I have a purple Goniopora and a green Alveopora that are doing great)
<Oh!>
The anemone is probably three inches diameter but I am unsure if this is a Condylactis or a Macrodactyla doreensis,
<The former almost certainly>
what do you think please? I am target feeding enriched mysis at the moment and it Is taking these, I realise it will probably need larger bites as it gets bigger, I'm just hoping it survives. Thanks in advance. Joanne :)
<Thank you for this report. Bob Fenner>

re: Update and help needed please. 8/8/15
Thanks Bob! Think I may have to rehome the Condy at some point as there's not an awful lot of room in my 300l cube tank if it decides to go for a walk about and I have a fair few corals im there.
<Uh, yes. Trouble>
It's a shame but at least it's not in a 26l tank still.
<For sure. BobF>

Re: Condylactis 3/6/13
I am still hung up on Condylactis. After all the thinking and taking Condy
back to PETCO, I still wonder if, when I return from Fl in Nov with my red mangrove seeds and even more dead coral, I shouldn't take a chance on another Condylactis. They are SO beautiful and SO interesting. Would they surely die at 87F?
<No>
How can anything that doesn't have a brain be so interesting? or is it just hypnotic, like a cobra?
<Perhaps>
Also, I prefer Peter. The only person who calls me Pete is my father.
You don't want me to get you two confused.
<Heee! The stone it is then.>
Peter
PS I assume you like "Bob", over Rob, Robert, or Bobby. Please inform if otherwise. I admit to being a big fan of Bobby Goren. although the series aged him.
<Interesting... like "the man of Tao" (I only wish), I don't care what you (all) call/label me>
There is a director of SVU among my neighbors. He has done some of the best episodes, in my opinion. Also, I have been reading Robert Frost's North of Boston. Great poetry, and highly recommended, and free from Amazon Prime. But, one of my favorite friends as a kid was Bob (not Fenner, White). I wonder what happened to him.
<... live to your memory if nowhere else. B>

Condylactis question... gen. (beh., sys., fdg...) Reading 6/29/10
Hello!
<Hi there>
I recently purchased a Condylactis anemone and, after making laps around the tank for a while, it attached itself to the underside of some live rock in the front center of the tank (beginners luck); so that when it deflates it just kind of disappears into the rock crevice. It's amazing to see.

As a new saltwater aquarist, I'm very confused by some of the actions of the anemone and was hoping you could give me some advice on if something is wrong or if my anemone is simply overactive. It seems like it deflates
every night but just temporarily to expel waste.
<Natural behavior>
When it does this the tentacles just deflate and go limp. Is every night normal or am I possibly overfeeding it?
I've tried to stick to 1 or 2 small frozen brine shrimp feedings
<Poor nutritionally>
per week (smaller then a dime size chunk that I warm to water temperature).
I'm also slightly concerned that the frequency of deflations may be a bad sign. I will say that it does not have a gaping mouth at all and it wants to try and stick to everything in the tank, which I've read are good things.
My main question is that last night I saw the anemone suck in all of its tentacles, which left essentially a fleshy stump on the rock. When I looked closer I saw my emerald crab directly underneath the anemone. Is this a bad sign or is it just a defense mechanism?
<The Mithraculus may be bothering the Anemone>
Do I need to separate the two creatures?

I had read on the site that these two can have a symbiotic relationship or at least cohabitate but they don't really seem to get along (maybe the crab holds a grudge from when the anemone tried to eat it...). Maybe this is something that will get better with time? This morning the anemone was fully inflated and fine again.
I just want to make sure that I don't need to make immediate changes to the tank. The water conditions are all well within range and all the creatures seem to be very active and happy.
Tank contents-
12 gallon Aquapod with carbon, foam, and bioballs
~15 lbs live rock
Scooter blenny, firefly goby, 2 percula clowns (all very small)
Small emerald crab
3-4 snails, 2 hermit crabs
Condylactis anemone
Bubble algae :(
Thanks for your help!
Greg
<Welcome. Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/condyanemones.htm
and the linked files above... your specimen is likely under "lit", lacks nutrition, may well eat the fishes jammed in here. Bob Fenner>

Possible Condylactis, Anemone Care – 4/24/08 Hi Guys <Hello Jim, Brenda here!> First of all thank you for your time. <You’re welcome!> My question is about my anemone. It was sold to me as an "Atlantic Anemone". It was bright white with purple tips and a bright pink/orange foot. <This sounds like it is a Condylactis Anemone. More information found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/condylactis.htm > I have been unable to find good information on the care of this critter. Every source I find give totally different care suggestions and I fear its health may be failing. It does not appear to be unhealthy except it has lost the bright white color and has turned tan/brown. <This is good! It is regaining its zooxanthellae. Feed it 2 – 3 times a week with small portions of meaty foods such as Mysis shrimp, Krill, Silverside, or raw shrimp found at your local deli.> System information below. I have a 55 gal. system about 2 years old. The nitrates are a little high at about 30ppm. <You need to work on getting this down to zero.> 80 deg water temp. gravity 1.024. <Slowly increase to salinity to 1.026 by gradually topping off with pre-mixed saltwater.> dKH 8. Hardware: It has a wet dry filter system with a 500 gph pump, a hang on refugium with a 13 watt 10000k light, 4x65 watt light with 2 12000k daylight bulbs and 2 true actinic bulbs, protein skimmer, one power head, about 70 pounds live rock, 2" sand bed. Live stock 2 Percula clowns 1 green chromis 1 fire fish 2 shrimp 1 clown goby 1 royal Gramma an assortment of snails and hermits 1 sand sifting star 1 urchin 1 small Xenia coral Thank you Jim <You’re welcome! Brenda>

Meaty food for Anemone... learning to distinguish feeling from fact 7/16/05 Hello again and thanks for you help, <We'll see> My anemone reappeared after shrinking itself and hiding behind and under one of my live rocks. As you stated in someone else's question, my Florida Condy planted itself in an undesirable place that I have to work around with my rock work. But enough about its selfishness to change the fishes habitat. <...?> I know it's good to feed the anemone meaty foods a few times a week to preserve its life. I feed it plankton occasionally but as for the meaty foods do blood worms work? I fill a syringe with them and water and shoot them out an air tube into the anemone's tentacles. I know this is usually used for fresh water fish but wasn't sure if they were good for salt. If not would the baby shrimp work, same small tubular pieces but with shrimp. Or would it be better to buy frozen fish at a local supermarket and defrost parts of it and cut it up for the anemone. I know there's a FAQ on feeding for them, but i didn't know if the blood worms was good enough. Thanks for your efforts, knowledge and site Jason <... please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/condyfdgfaq.htm and... the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Condy Anemone - 07/11/05 I recently bought a Condy anemone and added to my collection of a BTA, sailfin tang, regal tang, copperband butterfly, diamond goby, algae blenny, serpent star along with several inverts and a few mushroom corals and button polyps. <> I awoke the next morning to find that my Condy inevitably moved to my power head and is no longer with us today. <<Sadly...an all too common problem with motile inverts.>> The problem is that the next day all my fish showed very distressed breathing and the regal and butterfly have now died to the sailfin, goby, and blenny are doing somewhat okay still showing difficulty breathing, however all the inverts including the coral and BTA are doing just fine. Could this outbreak of death and destruction be caused by the Condy dieing and possibly releasing a toxin into my tank. <<Strongly coincidental at the least. I think a large water change/carbon filtration are in order here. Eric R.>>

Anemone loss trouble in turn? Checking on the checkers on the checkers... 7/12/05 Bob, Was reading through the sent mail. A query from Nathan on a "Condy Anemone". Writer states Condy got stuck in power head and he lost it. Then, lost a couple sensitive fish the next day. The writer asked if death could have been caused by toxins from the dead Condy. Eric R. wrote "strangely coincidental". My opinion is the death of the fish was caused by this. Seen it too many times. Agree? Regards, James (Salty) <Mmm, I'd almost bet Eric meant "strongly" rather than strangely. Eric? BobF> <<Hmm, yes...maybe my poor choice of wording. I definitely meant to imply the incidents were very likely related. Eric R.>>

Condylactis Anemone - 06/01/05 I recently bought a Condy at my LFS and the salesman told me that pretty much any clownfish would host with it. <<Really? I would disagree considering this anemone is an Atlantic specie and clownfish are NOT found in the Atlantic. This unnatural mix usually winds up with one or the other animal being killed. Do have a read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/condylactis.htm >> Well with more research I found that the only decent choice would be a tomato clown. <<Hmm...based on what criteria, I wonder?>> Are there any invertebrates or fish that will naturally host with this anemone and will it cause problems with the animals I already have in the tank? I have... 1 3.5 in dwarf fuzzy lionfish 2 damsels 2 hermits 1 chocolate chip starfish <<I'm not aware of any symbionts for the Condylactis anemone, <<A few crabs, shrimp... RMF>> as for your existing tank inhabitants, a large Condy could pose a threat to your fish. Regards, Eric Russell.>> Condy and emerald?..... Nemo and Dory? Hi WWM. I have a question for you guys. Is there a connection between Condy anemones and emerald crabs? <Evidently so: http://www.tmbl.gu.se/pdf/TMBL_pdf/Library_and_databases_pdf/examensarbeten_pdf/Lisbeth20p.pdf > I introduced my Condy (since it was in a in-tank refugium) into the main part of my 55 reef and the emerald crab shot right to it. Always staying right by it like a clownfish with anemone. Perhaps it needs comfort? No predators in my tank. I don't know if you guys have heard of this relationship but it kinda seemed weird to me. This is not the first time this has happened to me. Different emeralds and different Condys. What are your thoughts? Keep up the good work. Teddy <Will try, am trying. Bob Fenner>

Tipped Over Condy Anemone - 04/25/05 Hello, <Greetings> your site is great, I spend all my free time reading on it. Anyway, I got a Condy anemone the other day, and it was doing fine, it moved off the rock it came with and found a piece of live rock to perch on. At first it was at the top, then it was sort of on the side so it would stick out to the side instead of straight up. < Not uncommon when introduced to new surrounds/lighting/flow > Then this morning I found it all shriveled up with some orange stuff coming out of its mouth. < This in itself is not indicative of a problem. The "mouth" also serves as the anus...likely the anemone was performing a water-change and expelling waste. > It looked pretty much dead, but when I got home today I noticed the orange stuff was gone and it looked big again. It looks perfectly healthy, but the only problem is that it is laying on its side on the sand not attached to anything. My clown is still in it, not really minding the new location, but it worries me why it isn't stuck to anything. I have plenty of lighting and my nitrate is at zero. I am sorry if an issue like this has been brought up before, but please try to explain to me why it is just laying on its side. < If the anemone is not damaged/injured, it may just be looking for a more desirable location. I have seen these anemones sink their feet in to the sand rather than attach to rock. Also, please be aware these are not hardy/easy anemones to keep, just (unfortunately) cheap and rather easy to come by. > Also can you tell me if any kinds of hermit crabs prey on Condys? I heard that red legged ones are their natural prey. 
Tipped Over Condy Anemone - Revisited - 04/25/05 Thank you for this information. If you would like to see a picture of it now: go here: _ http://pokemon706.com/sick.jpg_ (http://pokemon706.com/sick.jpg) < Doesn't look promising my friend > I was telling you that it was clearing up, but now more is coming out, and that picture is starting to look good compared to what it looks like now. < Not looking good, likely this animal will not survive. > Could it be doing this because I fed it too much? (I put in a cube of frozen food and my clown just carried it to the Condy for him to munch on) I have learned my lesson to put smaller pieces in my tank. < Indeed, feed diced, meaty food stuffs. THAWED Mysis shrimp/plankton. > Also how do you recommend feeding them brine shrimp? When I let the cube thaw in some water it just breaks apart. Should I use a syringe and inject it near it, just like you would use the project "MicroVert"? < Yes, use a syringe (Turkey baster) to "gently" release food to the anemone, although this one looks to be beyond that. > Also today I did a water change, I hope it helps it. Also, you said these aren't the easiest to take care of. Should I try a bubble tip anemone instead? My LFS always has the green ones in. They seems to look very healthy. 
Tipped Over Anemone III - 04/26/05 Hello it's me one more time. < Hello again! > This morning when I woke up, the Condy was done excreting that orange stuff. It is actually looking up. This morning he is semi-inflated and his foot looks like its regaining its shape. So maybe with proper water quality (and the help from my clown) things could turn around? < All good to hear, hopefully you will prove me wrong and be able to save this animal <G>. Do have a read starting here to glean more info << http://www.wetwebmedia.com/condylactis.htm >>. Also try doing a Google search re captive care/husbandry for this animal. Good luck, and do let us know how things go. Eric R. >
Tipped Over Condy Anemone IV - 04/26/05 Me again, anyway, I got home from school today and I noticed that he is deflated. He still looks alive though, and it seems that his foot is stuck to the glass a little bit today. Maybe things are starting to look up. < We can hope. > But maybe not. My mom also said that during the day his foot got really big. I don't know what that means. < Possibly a manifestation of some physical injury. > For a 10 dollar thing this thing sure is a lot of trouble. *looks at bubble tip anemone through store window* *drools* < Wrong attitude my friend! You obviously have some concern or we wouldn't be having this conversation, but do reconsider how you view the life under your care. > Also I have heard that anemones must have iodine in their water. What is the purpose of this? < All living creatures require iodine to live. Some aquarists will dose iodine due to its rapid depletion from skimming/uptake by the animals, but dosing iodine can also be easily overdone. Best to replenish nutrients/trace elements through frequent partial water changes, many benefits to this. > Thanks as always. < Welcome as always, Eric R. >
Tipped Over Condy Anemone - It's Alive! <evil laughs>) - 04/27/05 Hello, right now it is fully inflated, and it is stuck to the side of the glass (may be moving now) But best of all its pointing upward, its not on its side or anything. < All good signs. > It seems to have responded to when I gave it some micro-vert. < Not likely. Micro-Vert is geared towards FINE FILTER FEEDERS, not appropriate for this animal. You need to feed fine meaty foods as discussed previously. > I am so happy and wish to share you with a before and after photo... But it is night time and I don't want to disturb it. (Plus its much better during the day.) Anyway does this make me an expert now? You said only experts can take care of them). < Not what I said, but close enough for the sake of argument. Are you an expert?...hardly my friend. But if you're serious about learning to take care of this animal, and are willing to dedicate the time to research and study, you could become "expert". Regards, Eric R. (who doesn't consider himself an expert after more than 30 years of keeping wet pets) >

Bubble Tip Feeding vs. Condy Feeding - The Problem Child Hi WWM Crew, <<Hello Thuy. Marina this morning.>> I love your site. I literally spend hours reading through problems and advice to find the right mix of answers to solve my problem. I have a 20G, with LR/LS, 1 yellow tail damsel, who gets along fine with my “Nemo” Ocellaris, which I acquired from a friend that wanted a gold maroon he saw at an LFS that responded to nearly any anemone it encountered. It was pretty cool. (I wanted a blue tang instead of the damsel but I know it gets big and my tank is way too small for it). I also have A bicolor blenny that hides a lot, but is cute when he comes out; a cleaner shrimp; tiny hermit crab with plenty of empty shells, some snails, and a colony of button polyps. <<Sounds like a nice mix you have there.>> Anyways, I just recently acquired a BTA and a small Condy from an LFS that had to move out of the building. (these will be my last tank mates for this tank, I hope to take over a 55 Gallon soon =D to upgrade). <> The Condy is so simple to feed, because it sits upright and eats anything I drop on its tentacles, and food seems to stick to it better. <<Slightly stronger nematocysts. Plus, some animals are like weeds, it seems that the stuff you don't REALLY want is the stuff that does the best in a given environment. Take Aiptasia for instance.. or don't. ;-)>> But the Bubble is so much harder, since it likes to sit sideways on my rock.

<<Well, it takes a little more attention, but should accept small bits of food blown into its tentacles.>> I looked at your site and found awesome advice like the ones below. Food seems to fly away from the BTA when I try to feed it. I think I need to mash up the meat more to blow towards the BTA like you guys have said. This really isn’t a question, just liked your advice and wanted to make a distinction that my Condy is like the easy child, and my BTA requires more attention, but both are well worth it =D. <<Ah, yes indeed!>> The "Nemo" seems to like my button polyps... but is now curious of the Condy, noticeably acclimating to it, (seems painful to watch too). <<Not at all. It seems that clowns "know" that rules were made to be broken, don't they?>> The mouth is not to be fed, but rather the tentacles. Stimulate receptiveness by putting a very small amount of food or thawed pack juice (literally just a quarter or half teaspoon) into the aquarium about 15-30 minutes prior to feeding. Also, be sure to thaw frozen food in the fridge or cold water to retain nutritive quality... but strain and discard this liquid just prior to feeding (scrubbing excess nutrients from pack juice to avoid feeding a nuisance algae bloom in the aquarium). Once thawed, ameliorate the mysids/meats in a slurry of aquarium water and gently squirt this in a stream towards the anemones tentacles Try using a length of tubing connected to a turkey baster to gently direct thawed, frozen Mysis shrimp or plankton into the tentacles. <<I believe you're quoting here, yes? Another method that allows much greater control is to get, if you CAN, a large volume syringe, such as those used for equine/bovine care. Turkey basters and bulb syringes (a.k.a. snot suckers) require a really finely tuned hand to control well. I ALWAYS end up making a mess of things using those.>> Thanks for all the advise and hard work on this website. TT <<You and all others are most welcome. It seems our intended purpose do hit the mark. Marina>>

Condy anemone is tipped over Hello I have a Condy anemone I just purchase, it is doing well, and eating and such, but it is tipped over to one side. I touched the bottom of its "foot" that isn't touching the rock and I noticed it isn't sticky. Is it possible that part of its "foot" lost its stickiness. Or is this just a normal thing they like to do? <Not normal... not healthy. Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm. Scroll down to the Anemone section... re anemones period, their systems, health... and particularly the Related FAQs on Condylactis in particular. Bob Fenner>
Re: my Condy anemone is tipped over - Stop Resending! Hello, I guess my anemone lost all its stickiness, b/c when I woke I found it stuck in my powerhead. It was not a very good sight. Do you recommend bubble tip anemones? I have heard you say that they are hardy. If so does it matter what kind? Or are all bubble tips good? <Uhh, reading is even better... please stop writing... and read... what you ask is posted over and over on WWM. Bob Fenner>

Condylactis Anemones Hello, <Good Morning> My name is Savanah and my brother has recently started a saltwater tank. He got a Condy Anemone and it was doing fine. Then one night when we got back from dinner the anemone was in a ball and there was no tentacles showing at all. Is it dying? What do we need to do? Please help us if you can. <Savanah, you don't list any specifics on the tank...size, lighting, etc. Condys do what you describe occasionally. Also, check your ammonia and nitrite levels. Do a Google search on the Wet Web, keyword "anemones". There you will find information on keeping these anemones. James (Salty Dog)>

My Husband the Condylactis >I posted this on your chat forum site as well, but thought I would email you directly. >>I personally don't usually visit the forum, let's see what you have for us today. >My husband (who is like a little kid in a candy store at our LFS)... >>As have I been in the wholesaler's. >...decided to buy some clownfish over the weekend. We have a 55gal tank w/approx. 60-70lbs of live rock, and live sand. About 10 snails, and 10 crabs. The tank has completely cycled and we just started adding new critters last week. He brought home some xenia and a couple featherdusters early last week. And then just like an impatient 2yr old, he went back and bought 2 clownfish and a Condy anemone a few days later. >>You do have your hands full, don't you? My fianc?and I are delaying a new tank because we keep arguing over stocking (what) and husbandry. >He said he was told by a girl at the store that the fish would use the Condy as a host, which I have since found out, sounds highly unlikely. >>NOT unknown, but then again, Clownfishes have been known to host powerheads. This is not, however, their natural state, as the Condylactis as an Atlantic native, and Clownfishes are Pacific only. >The girl also didn't bother to ask him what else was in the tank, and my idiot didn't offer the information to her either. >>Well, she probably wouldn't have known what to do with the information had he given it to her anyway. >My problem now is that the Condy is basically attacking our xenia!!! >>Uh oh! Time to sell it back to that girl, methinks. >I don't know what to do. >>Remove it. We really do discourage people from placing motile, stinging inverts, such as anemones, with sessiles for exactly this reason. >We move it to the opposite side of the tank, and the next morning, it's back on top of the xenia again. Is this going to kill my xenia? >>Very well could, or at least greatly limit its growth. >Or what should I do with the Condy? >>Send it back. >It basically sounds like the Condy is just going to be a nuisance to our tank. Are all anemones like this? >>Essentially, fundamentally yes. >Do we even need an anemone for the fish? >>Not at all! Also, many folks are finding that their tank-bred/raised Clownfishes don't seem to KNOW what to do with anemones. This won't harm or affect the fish negatively at all. >I'm apologizing for my husband's childish behavior in advance.... He now understands why it is important to read up on everything before you buy it! Robyn Sampson >>Short, swift, sweet lesson. Not so much childish as impulsive, and I suffer from the same malady on more than a few occasions myself. Marina
My Husband the Condylactis - Follow-up >Thank you very much for you helpful insight. Glad to say the Condy is on its way back to the store. >>Robyn, you're very welcome. A warning to be prepared, when people get into this hobby it can quickly become an addiction. Impulse control is the biggest problem. Marina

Condylactis anemone Hello and I thank you in advance for your help!! My husband and I set up our salt water tank about 6 months ago. It is a 29gal. We used live sand and live rock... we have 2 damsels, 2 emerald crabs, 4 hermit crabs, a cleaner shrimp, a clownfish and an anemone.. a Condy (I think). The anemone has a orange/peach body with white tentacles that have a small purple dot on the tip of each tentacle. << Sounds like it. >> For the first few days it looked perfect. We test our water regularly and find no major shifts or abnormal levels. But one morning I woke up to find it had unattached itself from a piece of rock and fell behind the rocks. It was completely withered. It looked very dead. My husband picked it up and moved it to the center of the tank where the lights are bright and by the next morning it looked perfect again. We thought it was a one time event due to temperature...It was up to 80 due to the heat turning on in the house. (First cold night of Fall and we failed to think to adjust the tank heater.) But within a week I noticed it withers again. It has continued to wither every few days. We have fed him several times and for the most part appears very healthy. But he continues to wither often. Please help us... we have tried to figure out what we are doing wrong or if the anemone is unhealthy and should be removed from our tank. << Well the biggest question is what type of lights you have? I have a 29 gal with two 150 watt halides. I'd recommend at least four 55 watt pc lights in that tank. >> Our local fish shop says it is normal, but I can't see how this is normal. << My Condy does the same thing. But it withers once every few months, so this may be a problem. >> I thank you again for your time and help in solving our withering anemone mystery. << Please check lighting requirements and see if that is the problem. >> Becki Varner << Blundell >> Condylactis anemone in new hands 9/9/04 I got a Condy anemone that came with some LR and I have no idea really what they eat, how to feed them or how to know when to feed them I have been doing tons of research but cant find what I need <look harder my friend... the information is sitting there in the archives and beyond. Use the Google search tool on the home page (wetwebmedia.com) with key word/phrase searches for things like "anemones feeding", "Condylactis", etc> I wasn't planning on an anemone for a few months at least also its kinda turning a little brown and I'm wondering if its my lights I only have 2 18 watt lights which I know is way to low <this is very low light indeed... concerning. And the anemone is turning brown from the waning of UV reflective pigments and or the increase in zooxanthellae trying to catch the weakly available light> is there even a chance of it making it with those lights <not likely my friend> cause I'm only 15 and cant really get the money all that quickly to buy new lights but any info will do it seems to be doing somewhat good but I really don't know any help is good <understood... do try to keep this anemone in the top 10" of water for maximum light exposure... and feed it finely minced meaty foods (krill, mysids, plankton, etc) a few times weekly> Thanks Andrew <best regards, Anthony>

Anemone In Distress? Hi <Hi there! Scott F. here today> Have recently purchased a Condylactis anemone. Brought it home, and it was doing well for about a week. Now his tentacles seem to shrivel up. Why does it do this? It seems to do this to all areas of itself so I am not sure if something is wrong or not. I took a sample of my water to a fish store and everything checked out. Please help. Thanks <Well, there are many factors that affect anemone health. Water chemistry parameters are just part of the equation. Look into nutrition, etc. as well. Lighting is another very important factor, perhaps the single most important factor. Light intensity, specifically. Re-asses your environmental parameters, and adjust as needed. We have lots of good information here on the WWM site! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Splitting Condy Concern Very important question for you. I have this Condy anemone and it seems to have split overnight is it ok??? <Without a picture I cannot be certain, although it sounds like your anemone has reproduced asexually. Provided it's in a good environment, it should recover just fine. You shouldn't worry about it unless the clone moves towards neighboring corals.> how do i help it <Observe it for several weeks and watch its overall condition. Feeding it krill, squid, shrimp, or other meaty foods will help benefit the anemone.> also how does this happen/ why??? <Asexual reproduction is common in some species of anemone- it's a way to make an exact copy of the original anemone as its offspring.> thanks for your help <No problem. Keep in mind that a picture of the anemone would really help in this situation, as I cannot be completely sure that the anemone is asexually reproducing. If you can take a picture of the anemone and send it to us it would help out a lot. Take Care, Graham.> Thomas Wood