# fake anenomes?



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

ive seen countless fake corals and plants, im looking for fake anemones.. bult tips preferably, has anyone ran into any of these on the vast internet? im looking for some that might move in the currents. does anyone have any of them? and are they life like?


----------



## N1z (Nov 21, 2005)

you can get like silk coral plants like freshwater ones they look ok... but i prefer real macoy!


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

good choice with the fake anemones vs the real ones, they are much hardier and don't need that expensive lighting and care! There are several you can find at your local petco/petsmart/lfs which are made from a soft plastic.


----------



## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

ive seen a few in pet stores and they always seemed kinda fake looking, i was looking for something really real looking. i like the living color website for corals, i was just hoping some one might have heard of some new stuff thats "the coolest new thing"


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

I have a fake purple tipped one and a red white tipped one. They look quite realistic, especially in the flow of my power filter. I had a marine expert come in my house. He said, nice purle tipped, they are quite rare, where did you buy it? I said from the decor section of Southern aquatics.lol
That fooled him!


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Well, not all anemones need VERY high lighting IMO, may be just my parents luck but we have some type of anemone under NO floursecents and it's healthy and growing. What suprised me even more was that the clarkii clown took right to it!

IMHO most fake anemones look ugly, supposedly if you position them right they can look pretty cool though.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

I have not yet seen a fake anenome move like the real ones. You can get a condy anenome for probably 10 bux at the lfs. I have 3 live anenomes, piece of cake to maintain check out my avatar..


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I just found and bought a bunch on Ebay last night.


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Sorry but I have to disagree that anemones don't need high light. You may be keeping them now under N.O.'s but anemones are different than your normal coral or fish... they die SLOWLY... over the period of months to a year. Feeding them can keep them going for even longer than that but eventually they will die... An anemone in the wild lives for hundreds of years and can techniqually live forever due to asextual reproduction, so even if you've had them for several years its not much to boast about. Sorry but I stand by my statement as I've seen plenty of anemones at my LFS go and die after months of intensive care... 

With metal halides and feedings I've seen them split... they move too much to go into my tanks though.


----------



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

I second what fish first said. It may be months before you even see signs of a dieing anemone. And by the time it shows signs it is too late to do anything about. 
Anemones are delicate creatures. They need intense lighting and most of them wont tollerate any other light but bright metal halides. Only few species do well under fluorescent. They are very delicate creatures and can easily get damaged due to sub-perfect water conditions. And like it was said above, keeping them for several years is far from an accomplishment, they do outlive humans in the wild. Unless you could provide the utmost ideal living conditions, i would advise you not to get too attatched to em.

What anems do you have? I mean the latin name, since common names are usually loosely thrown around and often given to the wrong species. Also what lighting you got over those babies?


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

I agree fish, light is necessary, but anenomes would be fine in a low light tank as long as the water is optimum and the diet is consistent. The light mainly maintains the beautiful pigments of color.


----------



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

TheReefAddict said:


> I agree fish, light is necessary, but anenomes would be fine in a low light tank as long as the water is optimum and the diet is consistent. The light mainly maintains the beautiful pigments of color.


Anemones mostly feed off the by-products of the photosynthesis done by its zooxathallae, which is the photosynthetic cells that live within the anemone's tissue that give the anemone's that brownish hue. If you dont supply the zooxanthallae with enough light then the anemone goes hungry. The colors of the zooxanthallae arent just for aesthetics. If your anemone bleaches due to lack of light then, unless you hand feed it untill its zooxanthallae grows back -which of course you will need stronger lighting- then you can kiss him goodbye in a short time.

What kind of lights do you have?


----------



## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Cool ! That sounds like a nice alternative to the real thing. Has anyone used the fakes anemones and had their clowns host them ? Won't algae over run them and will the rubber release any harmfum chemicals to the tank with the salt water being aggressive ? Just a thought.


----------



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Theyre usually made of plastics which wont release anything harmful into the aquarium. Clowns woul dpretty much host anything, from HOB filter intakes to carpet anemones.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

I have about 80 watts of light..Yes anemones need at least some type of uv light..the zooxanthallae would die off if it had none eventually in time. With low light levels it still can survive.


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

May I ask... how long have you had your anemones? What gives you the right to say they don't need intense lighting if you haven't had them for long periods of time? A year is but a blink of time for an anemone... which you have so adimantly talked about being experienced for one year... You know what I'd like to see? An anemone that has lived 10 years under inadequate lighting... if you give me an example of that, then I might change my mind. 

This of course excludes the anemones that don't need proper lighting such as rock anemones.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

Calm down little guy..I've had mine for about 7 months...They have no sign of discoloration from since I first purchased them. They have also grown quite a bit..10 years ago you were still in middle school..so whats your point? Common sense


----------



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

TheReefAddict said:


> I have about 80 watts of light..Yes anemones need at least some type of uv light..the zooxanthallae would die off if it had none eventually in time. With low light levels it still can survive.


80 watts?! Im sorry but that is way too little to keep even the easiest to keep anemones. BTAs need at least 200 watts MINIMUM with absolutely pristine water conditions to thrive. Ask around (besides for the people at your lfs) and youll find that 80 watts is wat way too little for any anemone. I take it that you have NO bulbs over your tank? Also what types of corals to you keep? 

Sorry, dont mean to sound hostile, but 3, what looks to be decently sized anems, under 80 watts of light is unheard of.

And also, like we said, 7 months is not long at all. It could be 9 months or even more before you even see signs of a deterriorating anemone. Also they live for lonng amounts of time. The anemone you see in florida today could have been seen by colombus! 7 months is really not long. If you kept him for 10 years without a problem then i would be certain that he was fine. Otherwise, its almost impossible to tell.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

They probaly survived this long because the light fixture is prob 5 inches away from them..I don't have much coral...just a couple of shrooms due to the fact that the anenomes would rape them hahahahaha. I definately want to get more wattage but I still think they would survive under my 80 watts hehehe...Even masters with the most optimal light and water conditions experience death of anenomes.. when you captivate something from the wild it is never a sure thing anyway.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

They probaly survived this long because the light fixture is prob 5 inches away from them..I don't have much coral...just a couple of shrooms due to the fact that the anenomes would rape them hahahahaha. I definately want to get more wattage but I still think they would survive under my 80 watts hehehe...Even masters with the most optimal light and water conditions experience death of anenomes.. when you captivate something from the wild it is never a sure thing anyway.


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

They probaly survived this long because the light fixture is prob 5 inches away from them..I don't have much coral...just a couple of shrooms due to the fact that the anenomes would rape them hahahahaha. I definately want to get more wattage but I still think they would survive under my 80 watts hehehe...Even masters with the most optimal light and water conditions experience death of anenomes.. when you captivate something from the wild it is never a sure thing anyway.


----------



## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

I dont understand what you mean. Your not saying that the fact that you might fail makes it okay to provide inadequate conditions, are you?


----------



## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

80 watts ?! What's that ?! Equivilent to a lightbulb in a household lamp !? Your anemones aren't going to last long.


----------



## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

SO, another 8 page debate on anemones? I'm sure I can find a few topics already discussing this...


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Yes, it's the topic that just won't die.

I've been a reefkeeper for longer than most of you have been breathing, so I hope what I'm about to say will carry a wee bit of weight:

Anemone keeping is not easy. 
Oh, sure, every now and then you run across some peculiar species that does okay despite everything their keeper does wrong, but this is rare. If you really want an anemone, may I suggest that you keep a coldwater marine tank which uses those coldwater anemones of the type typically found along the coast of Oregon. Those beauties are extremely colorful and super-tough, not relying on lighting in any major way, although you would need a chiller.

Tropical anemones aren't so easy to keep, however. Some species are certainly much easier than the others, of course, and indeed some can even become pests, but by and large most hobbyists have no business attempting to keep one. They need good water flow, good water chemistry, good food, good light, good neighbors...you get the idea, and the funny thing is, it is pretty tricky to provide all of those things simultaneously in the confines of an aquarium. Yes, it's doable, but you're gonna have to really work at it. Your better bet is to instead use species which are more tolerant of poor conditions, although most folks don't seem to want to do that, more's the pity, and even worse, most folks don't seem to realize just how poor their aquarium conditions really are much of the time.

Sadly, many of the most unsuitable species for captivity are the very ones most commonly sold as "beginner" anemones. This of course is a recipie for failure, and frankly, it isn't doing our hobby any favors. There are many groups trying very hard to shut us all down completely, and this sort of thing only fuels their fire. Politicians love to feel all warm and fuzzy from doing things that make them think they've accomplished something, and "saving the reefs" by outlawing reefkeeping, even if only by one piece at a time, is just the sort of thing that IS BEING DONE right under our noses. This hobby gives itself a very big black eye every now and then, and the promotion of anemone keeping is one of the ways it does it.

Quit giving our opposition anything to work with against us.

Quit keeping anemones for no good reason. 
( _There are very few reasons which could possibly be considered "good", by the way, and almost none of them qualify for the hobbyist's tank. _ )

Quit trying to encourage others to keep anemones for no good reason. QUIT TELLING NOVICES THAT CERTAIN THINGS ARE EASY WHEN THEY ARE MOST CERTAINLY *NOT* just because you think they are because you've gotten lucky for a short time. Most of those so encouraged will only fail miserably, as is to be expected, and their tales of woe will do much more damage than the loss of their specimens ever could.

Anemones, nanos, parrotfish, cleaner wrasses... the list goes on & on. If we want the legal right to be able to maintain these species in the future when we are finally able to do so with ease, then we had bloody well quit lowering the chances of that by encouraging those who have no hope of keeping them to keep them. Many countries have already banned these and many more species. Heck, even tangs and angels are _verboten_ in Germany and a few other euronations. GERMANY! Those guys have always been decades ahead of us americans in all things aquaristic, so if they can't do it, it quite likely can't be done. Now the one country most likely to figure out how to make keeping all these tricky species is out of the race, leaving it up to us, mainly, and I for one don't want to see us losing access to these and other species just because a few unscrupulous petshop owners and lucky noobs talked a few people too many into keeping anemones and the like. 

KNOCK IT OFF!

Anemone keeping---> BAD! 
Yeah, yeah, there are exceptions to this generality, but keeping them simply for the fun of it isn't good enough a reason, unless of course it's one of those species that has already been studied by experts and found acceptable for general use. Even clownfish farms don't much use them anymore. They simply aren't necessary.

By the way, what is the POINT of keeping an anemone, anyway?
It's a big, slimy, stinky, dangerous glob of oddly-shaped goo which causes nothing but problems in your tank. It fills your tank with filaments and nematocysts, it slimes up the place, it releases objectionable and noxious chemicals, it crawls around all over the place, getting into all sorts of stuff you really wish it wouldn't, and it eats and/or burns your other tank inhabitants. Oh goody.. I can't wait to get something like that into my system. Might as well get a few big urchins while I'm at it, eh?

/rant


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> By the way, what is the POINT of keeping an anemone, anyway?


Exactly. I mean what the hell do you think fake ones are for people?


----------



## TheReefAddict (Nov 21, 2006)

I hear what you sayin dog but I love predators in my tank! hahahaha its worth the slime..I love watching them wrap up live ghost shrimp and choking the life out of them... hahahahaha Im upgradin the lights soon though how many watts should i get for three anems? bout 400?


----------



## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Last night I was in PetSmart and I did see those fake anemones. They do look so cool. I even saw one that looked like a hairy mushroom along with some that looked like polyps. One thing that did come to mind though;the tips of the fake anemones are painted. Will the salt water in the tank eventually peel off the painted tips and affect the tank or the fish themselves ? Just wondered if a fish what would happened if a fish would have ingested it as if it was a piece of flake food.


----------



## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Ice said:


> Last night I was in PetSmart and I did see those fake anemones. They do look so cool. I even saw one that looked like a hairy mushroom along with some that looked like polyps. One thing that did come to mind though;the tips of the fake anemones are painted. Will the salt water in the tank eventually peel off the painted tips and affect the tank or the fish themselves ? Just wondered if a fish what would happened if a fish would have ingested it as if it was a piece of flake food.


Luckliy that's never happened with mine.lol


----------

