Anemone disaster

[DerekTF]

I received an rbta last week and introduced it to my tank. The anemone looked healthy and my clowns were hosting in it. The anemone was on the move throughout my tank which I figured was normal.

I had not seen it for about two days and was getting to the point where I was fearing it may have died when I found pieces of it in my sump.

This has raised a lot of questions for me. Idk if the anemone split from stress of moving tanks and only part is in my sump. The rbta was much bigger than what is in the sump. I also have no idea how it would have gotten into the sump let alone have been torn up. There are no power heads in the tank so the only moving parts are the return pump and the protein skimmer.

If the anemone is torn or part is dead in my tank i am assuming i need to find it and remove it? I have a fair amount of rock work so there are plenty of places it could be. I'm really upset and was hoping i could save it but I'm becoming to think that's not possible.

Pictures below are of the rbta when I knew where it was and then what I found in my sump.

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[lilyost4290]

Oh jeez that does not look good. Sorry to hear it. At the condition it's in now it's prob best to remove it before it pollutes the tank

 

[DerekTF]

Oh jeez that does not look good. Sorry to hear it. At the condition it's in now it's prob best to remove it before it pollutes the tank

That's what I figured. Tomorrow I'll have to remove the rock work to look for the rest of it. [emoji17]

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[Swayze27]

What style overflow is in that tank? It may have been searching for flow since you have no poweheads and went torwards where the water is flowing out.

 

[DerekTF]

What style overflow is in that tank? It may have been searching for flow since you have no poweheads and went torwards where the water is flowing out.

I have a drilled tank back left corner. I didn't think there was enough space or pressure to suck the anemone down / through the grated overflow.

There are now power heads but I do have a nice amount of flow in the tank. It's 75 gallons and I'm using a 750 gph return pump. I had two korila 1650's but those were too strong. Blew all my corals basically off their rocks.

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[DerekTF]

I have a drilled tank back left corner. I didn't think there was enough space or pressure to suck the anemone down / through the grated overflow.

There are now power heads but I do have a nice amount of flow in the tank. It's 75 gallons and I'm using a 750 gph return pump. I had two korila 1650's but those were too strong. Blew all my corals basically off their rocks.

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That was supposed to read "no power heads" not now power heads.

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[Swayze27]

You have pick of overflow. That's the only route to sump so.....

 

[raythepilot]

Well to start. When a BTA is moving that means it doesn't like the water.
They have very limited ability to move up stream so they almost always go down stream to an intake or overflow. Your bta had to go down there.
They usually go through in pieces. They get to the outflow and stop when part of them gets pulled off. They cannot go upstream so piece by piece they go down until they cannot hang on anymore and go down.

Actually if you can find good water your bta should live. They only need a small part to survive.

 

[DerekTF]

Well I took all my rocks out and I can not find the other piece of the anemone. Any suggestions? Is it going to be catastrophic if I never find the rest of it ?

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[Swayze27]

It should not be catastrophic, as long as your tank has been setup for a lengthy period of time the ecosystem should do its job. If it's an immature tank or if it were a much larger anemone like a huge BTA, a mag, or carpet then I would worry. If you try again you need to do something with the overflow to prevent this. Also add a powerhead or two and make sure your parameters and lighting are good enough for a nem. BTA seem less picky than other nems but will move like crazy if not happy. Look into something like a jebao rw4 or rw8 powerhead. I have used jebao for the last few years and for the money you get a lot of functionality. If all you have is constant flow from the return line you need something that will create a more random, natural current for anemone and corals to be happier.

 

[raythepilot]

Well I took all my rocks out and I can not find the other piece of the anemone. Any suggestions? Is it going to be catastrophic if I never find the rest of it ?

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When the pieces disconnect from the base they loose their osmotic balance and shrink. You will not be able to find them.
The parts that are in your tank are there and the only thing you can do is a water change. You didn't say how big your tank is. If it's doable change 50% if not change as much as is feasible.

The part that you have in your sump is definitely savable. You need good water. PM me and I'll explain what to do.

 

[MurphyLong]

So, if a small piece of LTA (maybe the size of 2-3 M&M's candies" disappeared after the nem ended up in a powerhead, it shouldn't be a major cause for concern in an established 125g?

 

[D-Nak]

So, if a small piece of LTA (maybe the size of 2-3 M&M's candies" disappeared after the nem ended up in a powerhead, it shouldn't be a major cause for concern in an established 125g?

Nope. Not at all.

 

[MurphyLong]

Nope. Not at all.

Good to know, my LTA made another trip into the powerhead this morning, and this is the 2nd time he's done it. The first time damaged some tentacles, but then he settled back in for a few months, then this morning it apparently tried to relocate, but didn't get far.
I guess I'll find out in a few weeks what the effects of an anemone in a septic tank are.

 

[Kinetic]

Not really sure how small of a piece that is in your sump, but the size of a BTA changes pretty drastically based on how much water they have inflated themselves with. My BTA can be HUGE sometimes, and other times really tiny (like at night).

Could be the whole thing... though I'd think that's a stretch.