Xref: utzoo alt.aquaria:256 rec.pets:2381
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!tektronix!reed!nscpdc!joemu
From: joemu@nscpdc.NSC.COM (Joe Mueller)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.pets
Subject: Re: Anemone
Message-ID: <1011@nscpdc.NSC.COM>
Date: 11 Mar 88 17:05:55 GMT
References: <2909@alvin.mcnc.org> <5003@ihlpg.ATT.COM>
Organization: National Semiconductor, Portland Development Center, Portland, OR
Lines: 33

In article <5003@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) writes:
> >    3. What is the feeding pattern and best food for an anemone?
> 
> I have 2 african white anemones and I have been feeding them both
> hunks of food and as a filter feeder with liquid.
> The other day I took some semi-liquid red plankton made by Jungle
> and squirted it by the mouths of both anemonies.


Using the liquid is a good idea if you don't overdo it and foul the water.
Squirting the food directly onto the animal is a good idea, you may also want
to turn off any power filters during feeding. There is some invertibrate food
from Energy Savers Incorporated (they build halide lights for aquariums) that
I've heard is also very good. (check out almost any FAMA magazine and you'll
find their ads. Another thing to try is frozen COOKED cocktail shrimp. For
some reason my anenomies prefer cooked (and shelled) to raw. Be careful to
check that the shrimp is not seasoned! Many packagers and grocery stores load
them with stuff that I wouldn't think would be too good for in the tank. You
may want to try some food called "Formula one" and "Formula two". It comes
frozen in cubes. One formula is red in color and is high in protein. The other
is green and high in vegetable matter. Both may help insure you get a variety
of vitamins and minerals to your tankmates.

In addition to food, you will want to make sure your tank has enough light.
Many types of anenomies have algae growing within their tissues. The anenomie
derives nourishment from this algae and from my experience will live for
several months without enough light but will gradually loose its color and
vigor until it finally stops eating and dies. One of the major differences in
the "new" minireef tanks is that it has much more lighting than the garden
variety tank available in most pet stores. Most of these tanks have either
halide lighting or sets of 3 or 4 flouresent lights that run the entire length
of the tank. If you have the "standard" single flouresent or incandesant light,
you will probably need to augment the lighting.