Anemone problem?

A

aydemir

New member
My anemone has taken on a weird appearance with short tentacles, not sure how to describe it so pics:

before
IMG_8550_zps78b777ce.jpg


after
20130529_164242_zpsf74d37e7.jpg


The only thing I can think of that I changed was the lighting in the tank. the tank is 5.5 gallon and had the stock hood and I used a 20 watt coralife 50/50 bulb. I switched to Deep Blue solar flare micro 3 watt LEDs
http://www.deepblueprofessional.com/web catalog/dbwebcat.pdf (page 14)
I have 3 actinic, 1 blacklight, and 2 daylight. I was thinking it was possibly the blacklight since it is the only spectrum of light I didn't previously have. The anemone has been like this since a few days after I added the new lights, and its been about a week and a few days and it still looks like this. Any ideas? I turned off the blacklight for now to see if that is what's causing the problem
ammonia, nitrite - 0
pH - about 8
nitrate <10ppm
sg 1.025
temp 26 degrees C
 
hmmm, the light was an upgrade...not cool.
Also forgot to mention I removed the lenses from the LEDs when I installed them to get more coverage
 
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I really think these output more light than the old bulb... does it look like its on its way out? I have a par38 LED bulb I can hang over and see what happens, but my tank is so small I don't want to risk 'bombing' it if the nem is going to die
 
Not really, it is a full spectrum par38 bulb, with 12 -2 watt LEDs, so the LEDs are actually lower intensity, there's just a lot more light but I don't think any increased PAR values. I removed it because it promoted a lot of nuisance algae growth, I'm assuming because the spectrums algae love are on the bulb.
 
Is your anemone eating anything if you offer it? It could be just shock from the new lighting and it needs time to adjust. I have found in LED lighting it sometimes changes the color of things until they acclimate. Has the anemone moved anywhere else in the tank or does he look like he is trying to get away from the light? I had my anemone hide under a rock for 4 weeks after adding it to the tank with LED's and then came out and was fine. Is he extending at all or staying closed up? LED lights are pretty bright in my opinion.
 
In my opinion though I am not an expert

In my opinion though I am not an expert

I would not write this anemone off just yet. It is hard to tell from the picture what condition he is in. Is he just closed up around himself or are his tentacles actually missing or sparse? Do you spot feed him? How long have you had the anemone? Changes in light affect them. Changes in anything affect them. With LED's in my opinion I believe you lose some of the red popping colors in your tank. What color is he when all your lights are off? What does he do when you shut off the lights? Are there any changes? Does he retract into himself more, does he stay the same, does he come out more? Observation is the key here. Can you post another picture? I have had times when I thought my anemone was a gonner and he recovered. Never lose hope until you have to. Also, what else do you have in the tank? Any other inhabitants and if so, how are they doing under the new light?
 
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Hmm,
I have had a rose BTA for over 4 years. When I upgraded from 55 to 125 gallon tank she looked fine for a few weeks, then looked alot like your nem does. She looked cruddy for a few weeks then has been fine and growing every since. Seems very happy, never moves. I only rarely feed her, but I use ATI T5 system. I have no experience with LEDs and nems, sorry.
Good luck.
 
justthewife said:
I would not write this anemone off just yet. It is hard to tell from the picture what condition he is in. Is he just closed up around himself or are his tentacles actually missing or sparse? Do you spot feed him? How long have you had the anemone? Changes in light affect them. Changes in anything affect them. With LED's in my opinion I believe you lose some of the red popping colors in your tank. What color is he when all your lights are off? What does he do when you shut off the lights? Are there any changes? Does he retract into himself more, does he stay the same, does he come out more? Observation is the key here. Can you post another picture? I have had times when I thought my anemone was a gonner and he recovered. Never lose hope until you have to. Also, what else do you have in the tank? Any other inhabitants and if so, how are they doing under the new light?
Click to expand...

Did yours look like this one? I'm thinking not. Unfortunately, I don't think this guy will make it. In fact, if it can be moved to a hospital tank, that would be best.
 
The anemone did move after I introduced the LEDs, to the bottom of a rock. I couldn't actually tell how it looked because it was in such a tough spot to see, I would've acted earlier seeing it in this condition. I don't normally spot feed other than plankton and kent microvert, but I will be starting to use mysis, maybe soaked in selcon. The nem doesn't deflate that often, it stays like the picture, and when the lights are off it is just a dark brown colour. Other corals in the tank (zoanthids, mushrooms) have responded just fine to the LED lights. I will post a picture later today, hopefully I can save it, clown and nem are so fun to watch
 
Doesn't look like its tentacle are long enough to hold any food. You might try putting a small piece of krill in its mouth.
 
Ugh, I hate to say it but from what I can see from that picture the anemone does indeed look like it is starving. At this point, I would say the anemone needs to go to a hospital tank like the other poster indicated. If it dies, it will pollute your tank and kill the other inhabitants. In my and many opinions, Anemone's should not be kept in tanks under 20 gallons (heck, I think they should not be kept in tanks under 90). They can't get proper flow from powerheads or get proper water parameters/ lighting requirements in small tanks. If you know of someone who can give it proper accommodations, you might want to give it to them to see if they can bring it back by spot feeding. You would have to give it to them attached to the rock it is on and not try to remove it from the rock. They would have to be an experienced reef tank keeper to be able to bring it back as it needs to be protected and spot fed and given proper lighting. So sorry!!!
 
Update: Pic from today, it looks a lot better from the first pic, thoughts? The colour of the nem is the same, the new par38 bulb I have over the tank makes the colour a lot more vibrant
20130611_132941_zps0e3bb904.jpg
 
It looks to prefer it's location, but the light doesn't appear to be adequate over that area. Your most recent photo, appears to be an improvement. Did you reposition the light?
 
I hung the light over so that it was right over the anemone. Also, I forgot to mention it moved to a lower spot close tho this one, but just today came back to that same spot. It was in the lower spot for about 3-4 days
 
Unless the flesh is sloughing and the anemone is beginning to fall apart, it is alive. I see no indication in your photos, that would suggest that it can not be a fully healthy anemone.
 
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