What is the minimum light requirements for anemone?

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Brenden

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What is the minimum light requirements for anemone?
I was in the LFS the other day and they had some in a tank with very minimal light. I had seen them there several times like that.
 
If you do a search on Dr Ron Shimek's forum on Reef Central, you can find the thread where he espoused feeding to be much more important than lighting. He stated that it is possible to maintain anemones under low light conditions as long as they are fed well enough.
My sebae lived under NO fluorescent lighting for almost ten years until it's demise when my air conditioning failed and I had major losses.
My present sebae, and my rose bubble both do quite well under the NO lighting I still use today over all ten tanks. (only half have corals and inverts)
 
thats a fairly general question. many anemones have different lighting
needs. BTA's seem to do ok under 3 WPG as long as you feed them regularly. Carpet anem's seem to need at least 5. aiptasia seems to thrive under any light.

I think its ok to say that all anems contain symbiotic algae and that the more light the better, and less you will need to feed them.

just because the anems at the LFS are under low light does not mean they don't need it.

We want our anemones to thrive not just survive
 
Please disregard anything Dr. Ron has to say in regards to anemones. The information he provides in this regard is complete nonsense.


Cheers
Steve
 
Steve, I have a high regard for your knowledge so I'm interested in your comment. I've read Dr. Shimek's article on anemones and lighting that rayjay mentions. Why do you think he's wrong?
 
I have a carpet anemone under 210watts (~2.8 WPG). Obviously not quite enough light, but he survives off filter-feeder additives, and spot feeding every 2-3 days with a piece of krill. MH is definitely in need (or replacement PC for my two NO fixtures).

Step-father's pink-tipped anemone's (yes he has two in the same tank) survive at the bottom of a deep 150g with only PC lighting, but almost daily feedings.
 
steve-s said:
Please disregard anything Dr. Ron has to say in regards to anemones. The information he provides in this regard is complete nonsense.


Cheers
Steve

That's a pretty blunt conclusion, isn't it? "Complete nonsense"? I'd like to hear more about the specifics of this, if you could. I mean, you are asking all of the readers of this board to substitute your judgement for his - maybe a few specifics would help.
 
yes please expound on your ideas where he is wrong. I read what he had to say and it sounded feasable but also a little off to most everything else I have read.
 
I think Dr. Ron's point in the thread that he wrote was not that you should go ahead and get one with sub-optimal lighting, but rather that with the feedings they would continue to sub-sist (I think he even reiterates this at the end of the thread). It certainly doesn't mimic their conditions in the wild. They wouldn't seek out that environment and they aren't going to be happy. They may wander more, they may get hurt or they may sting your other tank contents. It is a good idea? Probably not. Is it possssssible? Probably. For them to keep their color, they're going to need optimal lighting. It is the difference between keeping an animal and keeping an animal happy.

Most anemones require 4-6wpg of light, from what I understand.
 
Well, I know Dr. Shimeck's qualifications, but I don't know where to find Steves to see how he is qualified to make this judgment. Can anyone direct me as to where I find them? Unfortunately I don't know Steve so I don't know how to take his posting at this time.
I do know that if I listened to many of the hobbyists I've encountered over the last 11 years, I would never have found out that I can keep almost any softie and LPS coral normally kept in a reef tank, and under just normal 40 watt fluorescent lighting. I was told I couldn't keep my sebae anemone, nor my clams under the lighting I have.
I was also told I couldn't keep cleaner wrasses.
That being said, I was also told by Dr Shimeck and many hobbyists, that I had to feed my anemones and my corals. I don't do that either, at least not directly. I feed my fish and the corals like the anemones and everything else, fend for themselves getting what they can from the water column.
I'm certainly not qualified to pass judgement on Dr Ron, and, after seeing Steves pictures, I doubt very much I'm qualified to pass judgement on his statement regarding Dr Ron. Now where the heck do we go from here?
 
this could become a pretty interesting thread. Bottm line...anemones need light. they rely on zooanthelea algea in order to retain their pigmentation and to aid in the transfer of nutrients to the animal. Light is food and energy, this is how it is designed. You may be able to sustain an anemone for a period of time using high protein target feedings but this is completely un-natural. There is a huge difference between an animal surviving vs. thriving in a tank.
 
I did not mean to stir anythng up. The reason for my question is I am getting ready to buy lights for my aquarium and was going to go with 4 -250 MH retros or 2 of the 2 -250 watt 10K Metal Halide bulbs 2-110 watt VHO actincs, 2 - 4" fans canopys that captivereefs.com sells. It crossed my mind if I bumped the wattage up to 400 on the lights could I support anemones? (tank is 96x35x36 525 gallon)
 
I'm am certainly not out to besmear Dr Ron nor any other person of this forum or others. So please do not read it as such. His name was brought up as a reference in this thread and I use it only in that manner.

The simple fact is, the "experiment" in which the basis of the doctors advice comes from is a tank where several anemones where kept in less than adequate lighting and overfed. Other than his diploma, Dr. Shimek provided no actual documentation of his own with the exception of quoting the references of some books/articles written by collegues. In fact every request for visual proof or progress on the "experiment" was ignored. An 18 months duration is in no way a resounding success by any means. The previous thread in which he first put forth this "perspective" is no longer viewable it seems or I would definately link to it. The thread some are speaking of recently is not the original.

I am no doctor of anything but I can do is offer you experience. I have kept several species of anemone for many many years (7+ actually) all of which I still have with the exception of one, a saddled carpet. In that time I have never directly fed one of them. Anemones are largely carbohydrate dependant for the most part but do require supplimental proteins. I am by no means suggesting the anemone requires light and nothing more, quite the opposite in fact. A majority of it's requirements are indeed met by the consumption of sugars produced by the zooxanthellae in it's tissues but the goal is finding a balance between feeding and lighting.

More often than not in a system containing fish, they will feed indirectly. They really require no extra supplimentation in such a system. Direct feeding over and above that (with the exception of BTA's) is often the result of their death. Either that or you end up with a gargantuan that requires an upgraded tank or returning. None of which are in it's favor of long term survival. Anemone fish also play no real role in it's survivability. They do not purposley feed their host, groom it nor aide it in any real way. It's a one sided relationship.

In the absence of fish, supplimental proteins should be small and infrequent for the same resons as above. The blanket statements some make concerning their care can often be more damaging than helpful. Many types of hosting species can be grouped into a like manner of speaking but each should be evealuated based on species. There are many non hosting species that contain little or no zooxanthellae and soley survive on solid foods.

While some things in this hobby might be probable, we are charged with keeping the optimal environment, not the minimal.

Cheers
Steve
 
your not stirring anything up. In my first post i was going to say that many people have strong opinions on this topic. I try and avoid it as much as i can. I use what works for me and others use what works for them. I have had good luck with strong lighting and feeding 1-2 times a week for the anems i keep under PC. My BTA that's under a 250w MH I feed about 2-3 times a month.

About your lighting. the MH is great lighting much more intense than vho and pc but if I'm reading right your tank is 35in deep? I would go with 400w MH if you can. then again the 250's would give you a nice highlight
area at the top of the tank and you could still keep some lower light corals at the bottom. Remember that most pet store anems have been kept under low light for a long period of time and they will need to be acclimated to the MH.
 
While some things in this hobby might be probable, we are charged with keeping the optimal environment, not the minimal.
That about sums it up...better then I could have.
 
Since we are being techinical let me rephrase my question so it can not be misunderstood. Will a anemone be HAPPY :D in a 525 gallon tank with 1400 watts of lighting :?: If not how about 2000 watts :?: If that is still not good enough I will not get any until I add more lights (if I do) :|
 
Ok I'm probably going to get slammed for this but who cares. to be honest with you I hate the watts pre gallon rule. yes its a nice general measurement but its just to general. It does not account for light intensity
or placement. I just dont think that 250watts of VHO, NO, or PC are comparable to 250w from a MH. the other thing is I currently have only one 250w MH over my 58 gal. its in the center and I keep my clams anem
and other highlight demanding things under it.

If you have a 10,000 gal tank with one 250w MH light I would think you could still have an anemone as long as it was placed under the light even though you only have like .025 watts per gallon.

Yes I think you will be ok keeping an anemone under 250w MH.
 
Steve S. advice over Dr. Rons any day of the week for me! When you get to know Steve and read his post you will understand what I mean. Until then......... :wink:
 
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