Anemone Help

[Fraggot]

I am currently having dificulty with a Bubble-tip anemone, (Entacmea Quadricolor to be exact) It lost all of its tentacles and seems to have shrunken in size, and has a definite "droop" to it and now more resembles a shapless blob with two hapless Ocellaris clowns floundering about the fleshy mass. Here are the tank parameters:

250 Acrylic
Dual 250 Watt HQI 20,000 K Hamilton
Two SEIO
One Rio 500 AUX
100+ lbs Fiji LR
1 inch aragonite bed
Euro Reef CS Series
Activated Carbon (Changed Bi-Weekly)
Aqua Medic Chiller
Refugium (Chaeto, Sand, etc)

The water parameters are excellent, and nutrients are very low (No3, Phos, etc) Yet this damn anemone isn't doing well. At first I thought it might be because the nutrients are TOO low, but the other softies in the tank are doing very well. What is happening?

 

[55semireef]

Sounds like its starving but yet you have plenty of light for a BTA. Ummm, what do you feed it and how often? How close is it to the light and what size tank is it?

 

[Amphiprion]

If/when you feed, do you make sure the anemone actually gets it (i.e. clownfish don't take it)?

 

[Juck]

How long has it been in the tank? Is it still attached firmly to the rock?

 

[Fraggot]

Its been there for at least a month and definitely has found a spot. I don't really hand feed it anything, and i dont think i'll be able to seeing as how it has no tentacles. It is positioned under a rock where it doesnt get much light, but you'd think it'd find itself a better spot.

 

[55semireef]

Umm try placing a small piece of shrimp or fish on its mouth. See if it takes it in. It is basically starving and if it doesn't get food soon it will die. How close is it to the lighting?

 

[Fraggot]

its pretty close, like a foot and a half from the actual fixture itself.

 

[55semireef]

Its definately getting enough light. Try feeding it like how I said above as soon as possible. These last moments are critical.

 

[zenya]

Re: Anemone Help

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7960196#post7960196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fraggot
I am currently having dificulty with a Bubble-tip anemone, (Entacmea Quadricolor to be exact) It lost all of its tentacles and seems to have shrunken in size, and has a definite "droop" to it and now more resembles a shapless blob with two hapless Ocellaris clowns floundering about the fleshy mass. Here are the tank parameters:

250 Acrylic
Dual 250 Watt HQI 20,000 K Hamilton
Two SEIO
One Rio 500 AUX
100+ lbs Fiji LR
1 inch aragonite bed
Euro Reef CS Series
Activated Carbon (Changed Bi-Weekly)
Aqua Medic Chiller
Refugium (Chaeto, Sand, etc)

The water parameters are excellent, and nutrients are very low (No3, Phos, etc) Yet this damn anemone isn't doing well. At first I thought it might be because the nutrients are TOO low, but the other softies in the tank are doing very well. What is happening?

You got pretty good advise that your anemone is probaby starving. Having said that, where did you buy it from and have you had a chance to see it in the store?

Also, please list your salinity and temperature, at least, having said that your water parameters are exellent is meaningless without specific numbers. Please don't take this as a attack or anything like that. I had kept E.quadricolor for number of years, under similar lighting.., but I fed it quite often. Not to stray off topic, I think your best choice is to try to make sure that it is accepting food. Sometimes anemones come into the LFS in a pitiful state and are being sold to an unsuspecting customer... The results are often is what you see in your tank right now...animal is that been through very difficult jerney.

Good luck!

 

[Fraggot]

SG=1.035
Ph=8.3
No3= >2ppm
Po= Undetectable
Temp = 86.2 (steady)

This Anemone was brilliantly colored and appeared very healthy at the LFS. Granted, I didn't get a chance to see it eat anything. Maybe I should've gave it a steak or something.

 

[Juck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7967269#post7967269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fraggot
SG=1.035
Ph=8.3
No3= >2ppm
Po= Undetectable
Temp = 86.2 (steady)

I think we have a winner. Bring down your SG to 1.026 ,, also,,, 86f is on the limit for a BTA IMO.

 

[Yinger]

bring both down slowly...

 

[Fraggot]

Im sorry, i didnt mean 1.035 i meant 1.025

 

[Juck]

Seems unlikely that an anemone went from 'appeared very healthy at the LFS' to tentacle-less blob in 4 weeks because of a lack of food. I'd be looking for some other environmental cause, starting with temperature.

 

[55semireef]

probably temp and not feeding it.