Anemone color question...

[Volturi21]

Like others said, it's bleached. As for the cause, I'm not exactly sure however I do have my theories though. (I can see this already turning into a debate with Todd saying it's not the lighting while others saying it is the lighting.)

Lets break it down:

When the OP got the RBTA, it's more then apparent that it was a healthy RBTA full with zooxanthellae algae. Not only do the latter pictures portray a very bleached RBTA, they also show a diminishing size of the RBTA. That's starvation. Based off the picture, the RBTA is at the very bottom of a 30 inch deep tank. Whether or not some of you think this is the cause, I honestly think the lighting could have something to do with it. I think there is another underlying factor but I'm not sure what. Not enough details have been given out yet. Parameters with numbers of the tank are useful but are not everything. Something is obviously stressing out the RBTA, whether it may be light, something else or a combination. I say it's a combination of problems.


Edit: I just read that you've had the anemone for 6 months. Any serious problem would have killed an anemone much quicker. Six months is usually about the time frame it takes to show drastic signs of starvation. Lets see what others say. Try moving the rock that the RBTA is attached to towards the upper half of the tank. If the rock the RBTA is on is essential to the integrity of the rock structure, then trying moving the RBTA by itself instead.

 

[Doomed]

I should clear up that in the second pictures they are not opened all the way up because that was soon after the lights had come on..

 

[Nynke]

I have some of those pink anemones
They are under a 150watt MH now.

My anemones where already pink when i bought them. They where pink for over 1 year already in the aquarium shop, after i bought them.

That why i asked about my lighting, if it whas enough for a bleacht red bubbletip.

( 1 of my bleacht bubbletips is just as big as yours on the photo, i hope we both can nurse them back to health )

" Woaaah i just looked in my fish tank and 1 of my anemones just splitted, now my biggest anemone isnt so big anymore "

 

[Doomed]

Yeah mine was huge before it split too. Probably 14 to 15 inches across.

 

[elegance coral]

I feed it mysis shrimp and small pieces of frozen regular shrimp once a week.

Personally, I'd step up the feeding to once every couple of days, or more. The anemone is no longer obtaining nutrients from its zooxanthellae, so food becomes much more important. When feeding "regular shrimp" (I assume grocery store shrimp) I would peel it and rinse it very well before feeding.

Damn. Thanks guys. I'm gonna have to have a word with the guy at my LFS. If I'd of known I wouldn't have bought it..

I wouldn't say anything to the LFS. The anemone appears healthy in the first pic, so the LFS isn't at fault. Anemones often have a hard time acclimating to a new aquarium. It's just one of the sad realities of keeping anemones.

Your anemone bleached at the bottom of a 30" tank, with 150W MH's. Knowing this, I would second the suggestion to move the anemone higher in the tank. I would not attempt to remove it from the LR, if at all possible though.

 

[Doomed]

Ok thank you. That's what I'll try.

 

[dots]

I don't know for others personal experiences, but I had better luck with anenome eating PE MYSIS shrimp, rather than larger pieces like silver sides. I would go as far as turning off the pumps and placing it on the oral disc and letting it grab hold of it prior to restarting the pumps.

Forgetting to turn the lights off if you don't have a timer or a SG spike could have triggered the bleaching too......a split may occur as a survival instinct when a stressor occurs. I would guess that something happened a week or so before the split took place.

Take care of it, its a nice piece and would hate to see it waste away.

 

[Mavrk]

Like mentioned above, feed more frequently for the time being. It looks like the reverse of what I got. Mine was nice and pink (and bleached) when I received it (from online vendor), and then darkened up over time.

Before:

After:

 

[Nynke]

Like mentioned above, feed more frequently for the time being. It looks like the reverse of what I got. Mine was nice and pink (and bleached) when I received it (from online vendor), and then darkened up over time.

Before:

After:

How much did you feed it and whats your lighting ? And how long did it take to regain the color.