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Carpet Anemone Placement – Everything You Need To Know!

There are more people than ever trying to keep anemones in their aquarium tanks and although there are a number of very popular options out there, the carpet anemone has quickly become one of the most popular options on the market.

One thing that we see people having problems with time and time again when they add their carpet anemone to their tank is that they will put it in an unsuitable location that will always cause problems further down the line.

This is why we have decided to publish our own article going over a guide to carpet anemone placement to try and explain the various things that you need to factor in when planning the placement of your carpet anemone.

As all aquarium tanks are different, it is usually easier to explain the various things that you have to factor in when planning the placement of your carpet anemone in your tank as different tanks will require different placements for your carpet anemone.

This is due to the different levels of water flow, light intensity, tank mates, and various other factors that chance from tank to tank.

Where Is The Perfect Carpet Anemone Placement?

The perfect placement for a carpet anemone in your aquarium tank is one that will provide the anemone with everything that it needs to survive and thrive for many years to come.

Although this might sound like a difficult task, it is actually not as hard as you think and as long as you take the time to plan ahead, you should have no problems finding the perfect placement for your carpet anemone.

Depending on your tank setup, you will usually have multiple locations where you are able to place your carpet anemone and have it thrive.

The first thing that you need to do is take a look at your aquarium tank and determine where the different areas of water flow, light intensity, and temperature are.

Lighting Intensity

Carpet anemones usually need intense lighting so depending on what else you have in your tank, you may have to place your carpet anemone closer to the lighting source that you use for your tank.

We have seen some people make a tank setup work with a carpet anemone in it that has a 150 PAR lighting unit but you really should be aiming for a 250 PAR to 350 PAR lighting setup if possible.

This may mean that you have to upgrade your lighting unit as many of the entry level lighting units that come with the more budget friendly aquarium tanks will not be able to provide this level of lighting intensity.

If you are only using a 150 PAR lighting rig then you really do need to place your carpet anemone as close to the lighting source as possible, a 250 PAR or high lighting unit should let you place your carpet anemone in most areas of your tank with direct lighting with minimal issues.

Water Flow

Most carpet anemone setups have a moderate to high water flow level and both can work but the majority of people tend to stick with a moderate water flow in their reef tanks as it opens up the other tank mates that you can keep in the tank.

This means that there are minimal restrictions on carpet anemone placement when it comes to the water flow levels needed and it should be able to work in any location in a tank that has a moderate or high water flow rate.

We have seen some people keep their carpet anemone in a low water flow tank but we would not usually recommend it for most people as you will need some experience to make a low water flow tank setup of placement work for a carpet anemone.

Temperature

Your carpet anemone needs to be kept within a temperature range of 75 – 82°F and this can end up being a large factor in where you can actually place the anemone in your tank.

Depending on the heating unit that you use, you may actually have to place the carpet anemone near your heating unit where as the more powerful heaters or a larger tank with a multi heater setup should allow you to place your carpet anemone where you want with minimal problems.

A carpet anemone really doesn’t do well when kept outside of this temperature range so this is one of the more important things that you have to factor in when deciding on where you place your carpet anemone in your tank.

Tank Mates

Although many of the other anemones that people keep in their tank will factor in the tank mates due to the tank mates potentially nipping or nibbling on the anemone, the opposite is true for the carpet anemone.

As we covered in our article going over carpet anemone eating fish, many unsuspecting reef tank keepers have woken up to find their carpet anemone eating one of their fish.

This can be a real problem that has to be factored in when it comes to placing your carpet anemone and we would not recommend that you place the carpet anemone in a highly trafficked area of your tank.

For example, if you have some schooling fish in the tank, try not to place your carpet anemone where they like to school as your carpet anemone will be able to eat the fish if it catches them.

This often means that you will have to place your carpet anemone near the bottom of your tank but the other fish that you are keeping in the tank will come into play.

Zooxanthellae Algae

You also have to factor in the Zooxanthellae Algae that your carpet anemone has a symbiotic relationship within for your carpet anemone placement too.

For the most part though, ideal conditions for a carpet anemone are also decent conditions for Zooxanthellae Algae to thrive so this is usually a small factor to consider for a carpet anemone.

How Do You Attach A Carpet Anemone?

The next thing to consider is actually attaching your carpet anemone to something so that it does not just float around the tank and this can often be a more difficult task than people first realize.

You really need to make sure that you find something for your carpet anemone to attach to that will not damage the anemone when it is time for it to detach and move.

This usually means either attaching the anemone to a rock or some other type of coral in your tank but you really need to make sure that you do not attach the anemone to something that will damage it when it moves.

You also need to be careful about what you are using to attach the anemone to as you do not want to use anything that could potentially poison your carpet anemone.

We usually recommend using a rubber band or some type of fishing line to attach the anemone to the rock but you really need to make sure that you do not use anything that will damage the anemone or the rock.