patti@bucket.UUCP (Patti Beadles) (05/06/88)
Seventy dollars doesn't seem too unreasonable for a 20-gallon setup. I figure $15 for the tank, another $20 for the hood and light, $10 for a heater, $15 for a filter (assuming it wasn't a plastic corner- type thingy), and $10 for gravel, food, misc. Seems not out-of-line to me. I wouldn't DARE keep my fish without a heater ... I see major behavioral differences between 72 and 78 degrees. And I respect my fish enough to try to keep them in the best possible conditions. Now for a question. In my 29-gallon saltwater tank, I have an anemone of unknown species. Under normal circumstances he's about four inches tall an opens to about six inches across. His tentacles are purple and white, and about an inch and a half long. (Anyone know the species from this less-than-ideal description?) Since I got him about four months ago, he's been fairly sedentary ... when I put him in the tank he settled himself in and stayed put. Over the last week or two, he's taken to wandering all over the place. He's gone from one side of the tank to the other (and back) over the last few days. Is this a cause for concern? It's not that I mind him wandering, but I hope it's not a symptom of something else. Should I worry? -- ************************************************************************** * The opinions expressed above are a figment of your imagination. * * ...tektronix!teksce!bucket!patti Patti Beadles to non-net types. * **************************************************************************
sabol@reed.UUCP (Bryan Sabol) (05/07/88)
In article <876@bucket.UUCP> patti@bucket.UUCP (Patti Beadles) writes: >Since I got him about four months ago, he's been fairly sedentary ... when >I put him in the tank he settled himself in and stayed put. Over the last >week or two, he's taken to wandering all over the place. He's gone from >one side of the tank to the other (and back) over the last few days. >Is this a cause for concern? It's not that I mind him wandering, but >I hope it's not a symptom of something else. Should I worry? I've seen many types of anemones doing the same thing. You shouldn't be immediately worried about the situation, but there are a few things to check: If you've had the anemone for a good while, try and remember if the coloring (you mentioned purple, I think) of the animal has faded at all. Most anemones have one or more symbiotic algae that grow underneath their skin, and are commonly what give the animals these vibrant colors. The algae is good for the anemone -- it provides food, according to some biologists, and in tests where the algae has been removed, the anemones would become sickly and die after a month or so. What *could* be the situation is that your lighting in the tank isn't up to standard for the anemone's algae -- you normally need at least two florecent bulbs, and in some 'reef tanks', I've heard of people using up to four -- the animal could be crawling up to the lights to get a higher intensity. Always keep a close check on the tank's nitrate and pH levels -- these two levels are very dangerous if only slightly off the norm for anemones (the only thing more sensitive to high nitrate levels is coral). If you've not checked the water recently, do so. Finally, if everything is ok, then don't worry too much -- I remember reading somewhere that some anemones will 'migrate' a bit in the wild: this kind of crawling (and sometimes floating almost perfectly boyant in the tank) is a behavioral mechanism anemones could use to 'get around'. good luck! bryan sabol