Sea Anemone Care

The sea anemone belongs to the phylum Cnidaria. They are sea water creatures and are usually found attached to the rocks. Many people believe that they are plants but the fact is that they are invertebrate animals. They resemble corals and jelly fish. They are found in different colors and add to the beauty of the underwater sea. This is the reason why people have started keeping these beautiful anemones in their house to beautify their aquariums. But caring for sea anemones is not an easy task.

About Sea Anemone

There are many interesting facts about sea anemone. Anemones are usually found attached to rocks or to the base of the sea, they locomote very rarely. They have a sac at the base which has a sticky foot which gets attached to the rocks. The upper part is fleshy and consists of many tentacles which surround its disc shape mouth. This the only passage and it behaves as a mouth as well as an anus. The tentacles consists of cnidocytes. Cnidocytes are cells which help them to protect themselves and also help in catching prey. They are poisonous and paralyze the prey by stinging. Their size ranges from ½ inch to nearly 6 ft in diameter. They eat small fish, worms, small shrimp, etc. They maintain a symbiotic relationship with clownfish and can become good friends with hermit crabs. They can live for 2 years if proper care is taken.

Sea Anemone Care Tips

Sea anemones are very sensitive animals. It is very important to keep their environment and other aspects under control. They are bad in the hands of people who do not have much experience of maintaining sea life or saltwater aquariums. They may also not be able to survive if kept in a new aquarium. Following are some of the sea anemone care tips which will help you to give these beautiful creatures a healthy a long life.

Get a Perfect Aquarium
Sea anemones can grow up to 2m or 6 ft in diameter. Hence they require a large size aquarium. Keep the anemone in at least 30-35 gallons of saltwater. A larger aquarium can give a better environment to the anemone and will help them grow healthy. Place three to four large rocks inside the aquarium as the anemones love to attach themselves to the rocks and very rarely locomote from one place to another.

Maintain Aquarium's Environment
It is very important to maintain the saltwater aquarium environment. Maintain the temperature of the fish tank between 75.2ºF to 82.4ºF. The salinity levels should be between 1.020 to 1.026. You need to have a strong filtration system. Sea anemones require abundance of light hence a high watt metal halide will be best for these creatures. You need to check the temperature, quality of water, salinity and pH on a regular basis. Change 15 to 30% water in every three to four weeks for aquarium maintenance.

Role of Clownfish
Clownfish and sea anemone have a symbiotic relation. Clownfish eat the algae from the surface of the anemone. This keeps the anemone clean and healthy. Anemones also eat the leftover food by the clownfish. You need to first research a bit about the species of clownfish which will best suit the anemone. So if you have a sea anemone or are planning to get one, then don't forget to give them a companion clownfish.

Feeding Anemones
Sea anemones can be fed at least once or twice a week. They do not require regular feeding as they also eat the food left over by the clownfish. The amount of food and the feeding time also depends upon the size of the anemones. Larger species require frequent feeding. You can feed them with small worms, chopped fish and small shrimp.

Health Concerns
Sea anemones, like any other animals, may face diseases. It is very important for the owner to take care of it so as to get them treated in the earlier stage. If you observe color loss, lack of activity, shrunken tentacles, loss of appetite, etc. then this may be a sign of some serious health problem. In addition to this, if you are feeding the other fish of the aquarium with some medication then remember do not feed them with copper based medicines as it can be consumed by the anemones which can be poisonous for them.

You need to take care while putting the sea anemone inside the aquarium as they can sting you like a bee. So, maintain your aquarium and bring a sea anemone only when you are completely prepared to take care of it.