2nd attempt at carpet, this time red!

[LesMartin]

Re-read what delphinus and rkelman have said. I doubt that your tank is at fault. IA lot of carpets don't survive for long after shipping. Whether it's due to the stress of shipping or some sort of infection I don't know. I hope that your carpet survives but if it doesn't and you still want one get your next one from another aquarist who's had the anemone for a long time and is selling because it's got too big or is eating their fish. Chances are it'll do just as well in your tank. What about moving the other anemone into your larger tank. Under decent lighting it may even develop a nicer colour. Either way you'll know if it's really a problem with your tank or ( likely ) not. Best of luck with the red.

Les

 

[sufunk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10927376#post10927376 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LesMartin
Re-read what delphinus and rkelman have said. I doubt that your tank is at fault. IA lot of carpets don't survive for long after shipping. Whether it's due to the stress of shipping or some sort of infection I don't know. I hope that your carpet survives but if it doesn't and you still want one get your next one from another aquarist who's had the anemone for a long time and is selling because it's got too big or is eating their fish. Chances are it'll do just as well in your tank. What about moving the other anemone into your larger tank. Under decent lighting it may even develop a nicer colour. Either way you'll know if it's really a problem with your tank or ( likely ) not. Best of luck with the red.

Les

The problem is that i wanted a smaller one because i dont have a ton of room for it in the 180g. If this one doesn't survive, i will not be getting another The stress and aggravation that they have caused me the last 2 months(not to mention $$$) just isn't worth it. It's aggravating because a nice carpet is really the #1 thing i wanted in the tank.

The carpet looked the worse it has(gaping VERY bad) all day yesterday. It is still holding onto the rock so i guess it is still alive but unless a miracle happens, i'd guess it only has a day or 2 left.

As far as moving the other carpet into my large tank, that isn't really an option. That is my 5 year old's tank and she really loves it. I had to deal with ALOT of crying just to take her "Dory" out of that tank and only got away with it by explaining Dory would die in there and that she would still have her Nemo and anemone. Just taking them from her tank would crush her,If god forbid it is my water and something were to happen to either of them in the big tank, she would be DEVASTATED.

 

[triggerfish1976]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10927893#post10927893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sufunk

As far as moving the other carpet into my large tank, that isn't really an option. That is my 5 year old's tank and she really loves it. I had to deal with ALOT of crying just to take her "Dory" out of that tank and only got away with it by explaining Dory would die in there and that she would still have her Nemo and anemone. Just taking them from her tank would crush her,If god forbid it is my water and something were to happen to either of them in the big tank, she would be DEVASTATED.

Is there a clown hosting the carpet now? If so what kind?

 

[rkelman]

I understand your frustration sufunk.. I hope it turns around for you. It may yet. I didn't read back to see if its eating. If it is feed it but not too much and just leave it be and let nature take its course.

 

[sufunk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10928086#post10928086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by triggerfish1976
Is there a clown hosting the carpet now? If so what kind?

I have 1 false perc hosting the nem in my smaller tank. 2 false percs in the big tank but they havent gone close to the red carpet.

Wife just called and asked if i threw the carpet out last night. I said "no" so she looked again and it detached and blew under some rocks. She is getting it right now and calling me back.

She just called and said that it was still pretty firm when she moved it and it was still really sticky She said that it is gaping BADLY and smoking a little. I'll see when i get home in a little bit but i'd guess that the time has come

 

[rkelman]

You only have to take it out if its "melting" or pieces are coming off. If not just leave it alone and wait everytime you touch it you stress it a little more. I agree it sounds bad..

 

[sufunk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10928225#post10928225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
You only have to take it out if its "melting" or pieces are coming off. If not just leave it alone and wait everytime you touch it you stress it a little more. I agree it sounds bad..

I told her to immediately turn the pumps off and look for it. I wouldn't have had her touch it except that she called back and said that it was laying on the back part of my aussie scolymia. I had her put a glove on and handle it as little as possible. I told her to have a bag handy in case it was melting when she touched it. Having been forced to listen to me talk about the tank so much, she actually has a prety good handle on the tank and its inhabitants.

She said it was still sticky and firm, so she quickly moved it away from anything else. I actually would have had her just leave it and wait for me but based on how bad it looked yesterday, i was waiting for it to detach and die and was worried that had happened. I could barely sleep last night worried that it would detach and get sucked into a tunze and get chopped up.

 

[Peter Eichler]

There is nothing wrong with monthly waterchanges, at least not something wrong enough that you can blame the death of your anemone on it. However, I feel that allelopathy is at least partly to blame for what you're experiencing. More frequent larger waterchanges could certainly cut down on the concerns of allelopathy but you're not really fixing the problem.

When it comes down to it, most clown anemones have a horrible survival rate. For the ones that do make it past the retail stage, by the time they reach your aquarium they're pretty stressed. Then people go throwing them in mixed reefs with other anemones and corals. So not only are they fighting to survive from the rough journey they've had, but they have to contend with a toxic soup from other competing animals. The anemone is already expending a lot of energy to recover, but now it has to expend energy to fight off toxic chemicals and produce it's own. Often this will lead to a quick demise or it could take several months to "thin out the herd" of the weaker animals.

Ideally, anemones should be kept in a species tank and just about anything besides a BTA is a big no no in a mixed reef IMO. Anemones live for hundreds of years in the ocean and their reproduction rate is rather low, so providing them with a good environment is important. A mixed reef with another anemone in it is not a good environment for a recently collected carpet anemone.

My advice to you is to give up on your pursuit to keep one of these carpets, at least in your current tank. Though I hope the one that you have pulls through, it doesn't sound good.

 

[sufunk]

I don't have any other anemone in the large tank with the red carpet but it is certainly a mixed reef with alot of various corals.

I do think you are correct though that there must be some kind of fighting going on. I'm convinced something is wrong with my water and is killing these anemones. It certainly doesn't seem to be anything that i am capable of testing, so some sort of chemical fighting must be going on in my mind.

I'm sure the anemones i bought were stressed from being shipped to my LFS but they certainly seemed healthy enough that i cant believe they died as fast as they have.

This will be my last attempt at any anemone for the 180g

 

[DrDNA]

Sufunk-

You're not alone... I have tried three different times with S. haddoni, and each time they have lasted almost exactly three weeks before dieing. I just in good conscience will not put another in my mixed reef, which has a healthy collection of SPS, LPS, and clams. I know how you feel to have everything else in your tank looking great and doing well but not being able to keep a haddoni alive. I won't try another one until I get a species tank up and going (the next fish project....).
The last one I had was one that Liveaquaria sent me by accident... yes a free haddoni... It did great for about two weeks until I did a water change. The water change I did was somehow contaminated with something (still don't know how or what for sure), but it caused the demise of the haddoni shortly thereafter. A later water test indicated the presence of trace amounts of copper, which I have subsequently removed using Cuprisorb.

 

[Jan Helge]

The pink one looks very nice

 

[sufunk]

Well, as the Doors sang "This is the end"!

Just got home and he was melting away. As i picked it up, pieces were falling off

I agree with you Drdna, i just cant get another and watch such a beautiful animal just disintegrate before my eyes. I'm sure i will be tempted but i dont see me getting another anytime soon.


I would like to thank everyone for their responses and help. I don't think i will be visiting this forum much in the future though unfortunately. I do want to say what a GREAT forum this is though. You guys were very helpful(much more so than some of the other forums) and gave me some great advice that unfortunately just didn't work for me. Regardless, i really appreciated the help and support.

Enjoy your anemones guys. I'll be lurking in envy, you lucky s.o.b.s! lol

 

[DrDNA]

sorry to hear it didn't make it. Yes, they can be very tempting, but unfortunately seem to have an abysmal survival rate in captivity. Who knows, perhaps some day you will come by one that has been in captivity for a few months or longer in someone else's tank that he/she wants to sell.

 

[Me No Nemo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10918260#post10918260 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lance M.
I think if you started doing a 25% pwc once a week, you will have better luck with keeping the anemone. PWC isn't just to remove nitrates that build up it's also to replenish depleted trace elements and buffers to the water. I think you will also see your pH go back up to around 8.2 with more frequent water changes and you'll no longer need to dose.

I do a 25-30% pwc every week and don't have any problems with my btas or lta.

HTH

I've had my haddoni carpet for about 4 years now and it's tripled in size. The one you bought sure looked very healthy to me. I'd suggest if you do try another, feed it slivers of scallops soaked in garlic and Kent's Zoe Marine. Mine do very well on this as their diet. I, also, would step up the water changes. I can tell when mine is due as the anemone starts to "flop." I do about 10% a week and once a month 25%. Sorry for your loss. Marcye

 

[Slakker]

I'm terribly sorry to hear that it didn't make it...it seems you did everything right, though. The only thing I would even think to suggest is doing a 10% water change every week, but I highly doubt that would have made a difference in this case.

Seems this anemone just wasn't cut out for life in captivity.

 

[Lance M.]

Sorry to hear.

IME and IMO weekly pwc are key to success, even if you've got 0 nitrates, still pwc. It will greatly reduce/ if not completely do away with dosing of any kind, except for ca and alk in a lps/sps tank.

 

[E.J. Coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10933758#post10933758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lance M.
Sorry to hear.

IME and IMO weekly pwc are key to success, even if you've got 0 nitrates, still pwc. It will greatly reduce/ if not completely do away with dosing of any kind, except for ca and alk in a lps/sps tank.

Water changes are great, but there isn't any way that a lack of water changes will kill an anemone in 20 days unless it wasn't healthy in the first place!

 

[Slakker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10933788#post10933788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E.J. Coral
Water changes are great, but there isn't any way that a lack of water changes will kill an anemone in 20 days unless it wasn't healthy in the first place!

I've got to agree...no amount of partial water changes would have made a difference. Sufunk seems to have done just about everything right.

 

[rkelman]

I'm sorry to hear it didn't make it Sufunk.

 

[Lance M.]

Well from a previous post he says that he did a pwc before he got bought carpets and then 7-10 days after he got the carpets they declined and then continued to decline til their demise. And he only does one pwc a month.

I'm not saying that the lack of pwc killed the anemones, but I am saying that it didn't help the situation and it would of given them a better chance for survival IMO, especially for the red carpet which looked completely healthy at start.

sufunk did pretty much everything we could think of to help them out, except the weekly pwc and the fact that they started their decline 7-10 days after the pwc stands out in my mind. Now whether or not it's just a coincidence that both seemingly health anemones died 20 days after being added to the tank or 20 days without a pwc is a mystery.