Help w/ my 1st anemone!

OK, I bought my first anemone, a GBTA. It's a decent size... around 4" base.

Anyways, I fed it for the first time today, pieces of cut up table shrimp that it readily accepted this morning.

I come home in the evening and the shrimp pieces are covered in mucus slime and being rejected by the anemone. I thought maybe the pieces were too big, so I cut up a couple of smaller pieces and it doesn't want anything to do with the food at all.

It's got a nice green color to it and it is bubble tipping so I assume that it's in good condition.

Am I doing something wrong? How should these act? I was told to feed it once a week. It has put itself in a crevice on some LR but it's still "blooming" its tentacles.

 

I feed mine mysis but they will eat when they want don't force it. Try mysis or silversides

 

How do you spot feed it mysis? With a baster?

 

Target-feeding with a baster works well. Only a small amount should be given, and no more than once per week. You should also wait at least one week with a new addition to allow it to fully acclimate itself to it's new environment before feeding.

 

Some people even suggest waiting longer. When I got my first ever anemone, a GBTA like you, I rushed it, tried to make it go where I wanted it etc, it never settled and ended up dying. The next one I got was nothing like that, I waited and waited, didnt feed it for 2 weeks until it had been stationary for a few days.

Just remember GBTAs can survive off light alone. So dont fret to much. Leave it be and let it sus out your tank.

 

most common mistake is over feeding. dont forget an anemone remains a photosynthetic creature, it aquiers most of its food via light. personally i feed mine small chunks of cod fish (no bigger than a finger tip, mine are larger than 4" however) once every week or two weeks. however they are able to catch daily amounts of food when i feed my fish in much much smaller quantites.

what you saw i believe is the Nem who processed some of the shrimp then spat out what it did not need. this is a survival mechanism and shows that it (for now) has enough energy and health to do so. otherwise the shrimp would not be digested and would end up rotting inside the nem and eventually kill it.

remove food that has been covered by "slime" as no other creature (at least from what i have seen in my tank) will touch it and it will foul your water.

adequate light and small feeding no more than once a week and you should be good. assuming your water parameters are in check.

also dont move her where you want to see her. this will only waste her energy and stress her out. let her be, she will find a place she likes if your water and lighting is adequate

 

Cool, thanks. I actually didn't know they used photosynthesis for energy.