How to Feed Carpet Anemones

Carpet anemones are giant anemones that require extremely large aquariums. These anemones are poisonous and sting as well, making it difficult to keep many species of fish with them. Only fish, such as clown fish, that naturally live with anemones should be kept in an aquarium with carpet anemones. Some types of carpet anemones are very aggressive, and will move about the tank, knocking things over and eating any fish you have in the aquarium. In order to keep your carpet anemone happy and your aquarium inhabitants safe, it's important to know how to feed the anemone correctly.

Things You'll Need

  • Krill shrimp, marine fish roe or other marine fish products
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Instructions

    • 1

      Shred or chop the food you'll be feeding your carpet anemone into small pieces. Any pieces of food you plan to feed your anemone should be smaller than the anemone's mouth, which is located in the center of the creature. Although carpet anemones will eat food bigger than their mouths, large pieces of food are hard for them to digest and can cause problems.

    • 2

      Sprinkle the food around your anemone. Although anemones can move about the aquarium, it's best to try to avoid this by making it easy for the anemone to reach the food without moving.

    • 3

      Feed your anemone according to what you think is the best schedule. Carpet anemones can be fed as infrequently as once or twice a month. This helps reduce the growth rate, keeping the anemone's size somewhat manageable. However, if offered, carpet anemones will eat up to several times a day. This can be fascinating but also increases their growth rate. Frequent feeding can also cause aggressive behavior in the carpet anemone, leading to attacks on the fish in the aquarium.

    • 4

      Try different feeding schedules and find a balance between the growth, health and aggressiveness of the anemone that works for you and your aquarium. Many aquarists find that feeding the anemone two or three times a week works best.