From 29 flat back hex to this 20L.....
I have learned to love the anemone even more over the past months, since adopting my first one.  My biggest fear was difficulty in keeping them alive, which hasn't seemed to have been much problem so far.  After I brought my 2nd and 3rd anemones home, I decided that they needed a change.  The 29 flat back hex that I had started my salt water tank in, just wansn't the right tank for salt water anything.  It is a beautiful tank, but everything I have chosen to keep has needed length/area, and light.  I have since moved tanks, and we are now happy in a 20L tank, with the light fixture from the 29 flat back hex and a 50/50 bulb.  Plans are to get an appropriate sized strip light for the 20L this summer, when I can afford one. 

The move has been successful, without any losses.  Lucky seems to love his new home, with more caves than before, and the anemones seem to have flourished.  My concerns for moving the tank came from one of the 3 anemones.  It didn't seem to fare as well as the others, moving around much more often, and never really opening itself up fully.  It looked "sad", and I was at a loss to help it.  My water quality was in good shape, and the other anemones seemed to be doing real well.  I am feeding the tank Formula food, and the anemones always caught their fair share.  Finally the day came when I looked into my tank, and this anemone had simply shriveled to nothing.  When it disappeared altogether one day, I was not surprised.  During the course of the past 6 months, anemones have caught my fascination entirely.  I have collected more, and taken many new pictures, which I'm about to share with you quite soon.  (finish reading first, please)  When I made the move from 29 to 20L tanks, I found this missing anemone.  It was small, shriveled, but seemed like it was trying to open up just a little.  My heart skipped a beat at finding it still alive, and it is still with us.  The struggle continues each day, although it does open up once in a while.  It has found a piece of rock to attach to, under one of the caves, where it seems to be finding shelter from the other tank mates.

My collection now includes 4 rock anemones and 2 condylactus anemones.  I am still searching for a scientific name for the rock anemone, as I now believe that it differs from the plume anemone just slightly.  I am on a daily watch of the anemones, noticing how they expel waste, how often, how they react to different lights I have been using for photography purposes, how they react to each other, and so much else!  My favorite time is watching them at feeding.  I currently feed about twice a week.  The pictures you are about to view are very dear to me.  They are some of my best work, and I have turned them into another screensaver cd!  I also have chosen to create canvas prints of a few of them, limited edition collection, and the first 8 are going to the channel 10 tv auction, in southeast Wisconsin.  This is in support of public television.  I so enjoy the nature shows and documentaries they often air, and have learned so much.  Even my macaw watches the children's programming every day during the week.  He's a big fan of Sesame Street!   As soon as the auction is over, I'm going to be posting the remaining prints for sale here.  There will be a small digital pic/sample of each one, and a value for it.  If I get time, I may auction them online, and in that case, would post a URL here, for your ease in bidding.  Anything raised in these print sales is going to be contributing on my eagerness to attempt goby breeding.  This venture would mean an extensive article, with detailed study as to the success or failures of the attempt.  I have already found a foster home for the 2nd goby should this not work out.  Details about this will be posted after the auctions, sometime in early June. 

Thank you for reading through the details.  Those of you who have not skipped through the important part, now have something to look forward to.  Those out there that didn't bother to read the whole article will now be missing out on something really wonderful. 

CLICK HERE for the most recent pictures, and some of them are clickable, so check them all!

Tonight I brought home a blue linkia starfish, so watch my starfish article for an update soon!