Bulb Anemone & Coral Banded Shrimp

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Stoffer

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 11, 2003
Messages
40
Location
Troy, NY
I have a green bulb anemone that my clown really likes, but I also have a coral banded shrimp the has the habbit of walking over it and causing the anemone to retract under a rock. It's completely retracted at least once a day; is this healthy for the anemone, and if the shrimp is the cause should I remove it?
 
It's known to be reef safe, but also known to pick apart corals and anemones looking to get at their food. He doesn't seem to be doing this, just walking over it.
 
Most likely the anemone has lost it's "stickiness" which is not really a good sign and will probabley not have very strong nematocysts to fight back.

What are the tank specs and lighting? Does the BTA have good color?

Cheers
Steve
 
I'm not sure what you mean about the stickiness... I talked to my local aquarium store and they said that it's probably ok, since it'll retract evertime something foreign touches it. I have a 20 high tank, and a 2-bulb 65 watt light, the one with 1 red and 1 blue, made by coralife. I also have an ecosystem40 filtration system (forgot the technical name for it again). I checked my density today and it's at 1.023.
 
All hosting anemones are at least somewhat sticky to the touch much like the "stickiness of scotch tape. It is a good sign of a healthy anemone as well as a tightly closed mouth and vibrant color.. As it gets larger it should gain in defenses and shouldn't really be a problem.

The light sounds good but I would suggest eeking up the SG closer to 1.025 over a week or so. Nothing too fast or you'll shock the tank. Sensitive inverts do much better in higher more natural salinities and temps closer to 80°.

The LFS is basically correct that the anemone would be fine for the most part but if constantly bothered, it may start to wander which could cause problems. For now I wouldn't worry though.

Cheers
Steve
 
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