Nem Food

[new reef keeper]

What do you feed your nems on?
Been researching nems for a few weeks now and seen a nice gelam in lfs
got talking to shop attendant and was advise to feed "a prawn a couple of times a week"
Before i buy a nem what does anybody else feed?

Thanks Chris

[new reef keeper]

opps just noticed nem forum!!!!! sorry

Mods feel free to move

[instantsquid]

Before you buy a nem - do a LOT of reading. You need to be absolutely certain that your tank is right for an anemone. There's a good read here:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=153667

As far as feeding goes, I used to give my Bubbletip anemone a bit of cockle, mussel, lancefish, etc. But these days I don't target feed it at all. Don't forget they contain zooxanthellae (like most corals) and so are able to make use of the sugars produced by the algae photosynthesizing. Under appropriate lighting, many anemones don't require a lot of direct feeding - they'll grab what they can from the water column.

- Ian

PS - Moved, as requested

[MarineManMercer]

Well not moved as yet,,,i dont feed my nem much and have two in a set up for nearly 3 years.The very odd time i would give a prawn but i believe to much feeding they grow to big for the tank.

[new reef keeper]

Thanks for the move and the advice Ian.
My tanks is pretty mature and about as nem safe as you could get, been given a choclate clown about 5 weeks ago and he spends all his time looking for something to host so thought it was a good time to treat myself and him lol

[Clarkii]

There is a lot more to just what they eat, is the tank ready for an anemone, are you ready for an anemone is the question :)

Different nems I have found tend to favour slightly different foods, My LTA will not touch much else other than Silverside/Whitebait, wont even attach for more than a second to most other meats, prawns etc.

Small fish are usually excepted by most nems, I dice it up a little and feed the same amount once every few days. What is the nem easting in the shop ?

How old is your tank , what lighting do you have, what is your water quality like, stable, for how long ?

How is your experience in the hobby and understanding of the water chemistry you are keeping ?

Anemones require stable, good if not excellent water conditions and good lighting to begin with, more information on your setup and your experience would help as these creatures are far to often killed through many reasons, there life span in captive enviroments is very short lived in most cases which compared to there natural life spans is just shocking. I would always suggest alternatives to anemones if you are wanting clown fish to use it as a host, there are so many substitutes with most being corals which will be a lot easier to keep and in most cases a lot more tolerable of water conditions which are not completely stable which is to be exspected in young systems.

[Clarkii]

Added above reply before others replied.... sorry .. must type faster :)

[Marc Foord]

i don't directly feed my btas - the pair of clarkii clowns tend to take it bits of food....it has now split 3 times and each nem is sizeable (to say the least), so i'd be wary of target feeding them unless you want a tank with just a nem in no time.... :D

[angelfishman]

i feed my two rbta on mysis,krill,whole shrimp and cockle.i feed them three times a week on this.i also have two heteractis magnifica and one heteractis crispa,i feed these once a week on mysis and whole shrimp.derek