Anemone Emergency?!?

[dankolle]

Hey guys...yesterday I took this picture:

And today I found my anemone on the back of the glass all balled up...is it sick? I took a pic of some shrimp hanging out of his mouth I tried to feed...No other fish or anything are affected...what should I do?

Today:

The quality isn't that good (camera phone). Please help!!

 

[MarinaP]

I assume what we are looking at is the foot attached to the glass.

Test your parameters and read here on anemones' care

http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

It will keep on wandering.

I would scrape it of the glass and position it in another rock crevice again (turn powerheads off for about three minutes and hold it in place gently).

Your anemone does not like something in your tank (phosphates - is that cyanobacteria on the rocks?, - flow, nitrates, etc.)

BTAs do not normally die in less than 24 hours.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Don't feed it while its poopin or when its deflated. It is not dying..its either getting rid of waste(poop) or its changing its water in its body to get use to its new home. They look really pathetic while they are doing this. BTAs do this alot when added to its new home.. they stay like that for hours. I had one that did that all night and then looked great in the morning.
www.karensroseanemones.com <--try that site..she has pictures and a lot of info about btas on her site.

 

[dankolle]

I'll check it out....I need to test my levels again this week...but we are in the middle of a 40+ MPH snow storm right now and I can't get to the office!! The past params were:

pH 8.4
NitrAte: 0
NitrIte: 0
Ammonia: 0

I still need to get a calcium / phosphate test kit...The stuff on the rocks are Diatoms. I have the worlds happiest urchin going to town on it all now (he's crapping a lot). The photo is actually of the Anemone facing the back glass, not his foot. It kind of looked like a dried out flower, maybe 1/4 the size he is while it is open...sorry for this, but he kinda looks like a butt. I tried to move him but he is on the rock so well I can't get him off (I didn't try HARD because I didn't want to squish him) I figured if I fed him he might open up and then I could get him.

When I get into the office again I'll be able to get a better look...makes me feel better that he is probably not dieing tho. I'll keep ya posted.

 

[livingcorals]

ummm If its a BTA I would not scrape it off. If it moved out of the spot it was in and started to sink into itself than moving it would and can kill it. Also no force feeding it. Wicked might be right here. It might be drop'n a nuke there.

 

[dankolle]

Alright...here is the updated situation:

Thats what he looks like today. The thick bulb tips are gone from the original photo and they are really skinny and long now...does that mean it is hungry? Also...instead of being very spread out and open it is really tall and skinny now. Since this is my first anemone I don't know if this is normal behavior or not...

 

[garygb]

Sounds like normal adjusting to new conditions. You could try to feed it a small piece of food and see if it will eat it. Sorry if you've already posted this, but what kind of lighting do you have?

 

[dankolle]

160 Watt HO Fluorescent

 

[livingcorals]

about how close is it from the light?

 

[dankolle]

Probably 12" - 18"

 

[garygb]

If those are t-5 ho flourescents, then that should be plenty of light. Are the bulbs more than a year old?

 

[dankolle]

They are T-12s...brand new bulbs. I want to upgrade to 500 Watts of Metal Halide...but I am under budget constraints this month.

 

[garygb]

Also, what type of bulbs are they (daylight, actinic, 14,000K)?

 

[dankolle]

Two Daylight and Two Actinic

 

[garygb]

If you're thinking 500 watt mh on a 55 gallon, then you should reconsider. That is too much light and will cause a lot of heat/evaporation issues. Two 150 mh would be plenty. Or, better yet, IMO, get T-5 HO and the bulb configuration for just the right color you want and your animals need.

As far as t-12 bulbs, I wouldn't want an anemone to be more than a foot from those, max. I would want the entire anemones body within 12 inches of the bulbs myself. Unlike T-5 (with individual reflectors) or MH, the light doesn't penetrate very well below a foot or so.

 

[garygb]

Actinic bulbs should not count toward total wattage as they do not provide the spectrum of light that zooxanthellae need. Until you upgrade your lighting, replacing the actinics to all daylights would be advantageous to the anemone.

 

[garygb]

When you say t-12, are those VHO or normal output?

 

[bencozzy]

man id go with 2x175w mh(the iwasaki 15000K) great par for the power usage.

should be fun id say do t-5s but they still are not really much cheaper then just MH.

 

[dankolle]

They are 40 Watt bulbs...
Alright: I just got my Tax Refund (THANK YOU BUSH!!) and I think I want to upgrade my lighting system.

I was thinking about putting some VHO ballasts in and running 110 Watt VHO Bulbs...would run me about $25 per bulb and $44 for the ballast. Then two standard 40 Watt Actinic Bulbs for color.

OR

I think MH is the way to go...reading the above I like the 2x 175 idea, but I have never done a MH system before...what kind of heat would I expect to generate? Would I need a chiller? I am looking at getting this package:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~PF1412.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~LTSLQD.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~MB4615.html

 

[hangles]

You will not need a chiller if you keep the bulbs high enough off the water prob. 6" to 8" will work and you can run a small fan across the top of the water if things get to warm. the spider reflectors will work fine and the 14k hamiltons are a nice bulb. good color without actinic help. but i would go with two seperate ballast in case one would shut down you have a back up to keep things going untill you fix the problem. I know phishy business was running a sale on 175w ballast you might want to check there. the bulbs are $ 64.95 and he has coralvue parabolic reflectors for $ 38.99.

Have Fun! Harold