Carpet anemone question

bubbaque · May 12, 2017

I am wanting to add a carpet anemone to my 180 gallon. My concern is I read that they will gobble up my fish. How often does this happen and is it a real concern? Do the fish kind of know to stay away?

Cory · May 13, 2017

It may happen by accident when fish stick to it. Once in a year maybe never

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 14, 2017

Depends on the type of carpet. Gigantea's are a lot less likely to eat fish than are haddoni.

Colton T. · Jun 4, 2017

I bought a carpet and one and he got about the size of a small dinner plate. I guess my yellow tang Wich was recovering from starvation and was finally started to brighten up got eaten. So I guess you need to make sure your fish are bigger or keep the carpet small by cutting it.

Reefahholic · Jun 4, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Depends on the type of carpet. Gigantea's are a lot less likely to eat fish than are haddoni.

Randy is right.

The only thing about the Gigantea is that in it's 1st 2-3 months, it can be the hardest Anemone to keep on the planet. This is why most reefers tend to get haddoni's. They're easier and a lot more common. Usually easy to find as well. So the best way to prevent a haddoni from eating fish is get a large clown to host it. The anemone gets used to being touched and they become less aggressive IMO. If the nem never gets fed or touched, the first thing that touches them is usually lunch as they are super sticky and can be extremely aggressive. To answer ur question, most fish do seem to know to stay away. Bottom dwellers often become lunch though. Good luck!