Anemone problem

[pjos11]

I got a Malu Anemone about 5 weeks ago and got a lot of stick for putting him in my young tank so please don`t attack me this time.

Well since he has been in my tank he has stayed in one place. He has never eaten anything as far as I know. He has deflated a couple of times but has never really Puffed up, if that is the correct way to explain it. He also doesn`t seem to stick well because if I turn my pumps up they would move him from his position.

Some of you guys thought he wouldn`t make it but he looks fine up to now. I also got a Clown fish which never leaves him so as to help perk him up in some way.

Should he be eating every couple of days? Is there anything I can do to help him eat?

All tank parameters are good.

 

[hansonfam]

Okay that fact that it has not eaten in five weeks is not a good thing
What are you trying to feed it? Silversides are usually a good choice. What is the colour of this nem?
And of course what are your params and what lights do you have over it and where is it semi attached to?

We'll help you figure it out. Its to little to late to attack you now
Now you just have to figure out how to get this poor guy to eat and get himself secured a little more.

Lisa

 

[pjos11]

I have fed the Anemone shrimp, prawn and lately silversides. It brings the food into its mouth but isn't long before spitting it out.

I have posted a picture to show you the colour. I have read about bleaching and I can't tell because it has always been the same colour.

The Anemone is in the bottom right hand corner, he is not buried in the sand but I have him kind of placed between two rocks, he seems happy enough here and has never tried to move.

The parameters in the tank are as follows: -


Amonia - 0
Nitrate - less than 12.5 mg/l
PH - 8.0
Calcuim - 4.20
DKH - 10.6

My lighting is 2x 150 watt MH and 2 x 30 watt T8 blue actinics.

I also have a UV steriliser but I have switched it off.

 

[hansonfam]

IT looks bleached. Is it white or brown? There are no white anemones only bleached ones.I would say you need to get it to eat. I am in the middle of bringing back a somewhat bleached LTA that was not sticky at all and was unable to take the food itself. Try holding a small 1/2 inch piece of silverside very softly at its mouth and see if it takes it. Maybe it is just to big.Mine will spit it out if its to big.I know that they are either rock or sand dwellers so maybe try and dig a hole for him in the sand where it is. Place his foot in there and then cover the foot back up. Has worked for all my lta;s but they don't like rocks But maybe he will attach to the rock under the sand...Make sense..lol

I would definetly try to feed it though. But maybe someone with a little more experience with the malus will chime in...
And you need to bring up that ph to about 8.2..8.0 is a little low

Oh yah and you can have your u.v going it won't hurt it. Mine runs 24/7

Lisa

 

[raoul]

I agree with the bleaching diagnosis. FWIW - I've seen nems like yours in worse shape make it. There isn't anything we can do about your tank being so new, so you just need to do everything else you can I guess, and hope to beat the odds
You may also consider trying mysis shrimp, you can use a turkey baster to gently spray the shrimp on the tentacles and by the mouth. The draw back to this is that it's a little harder to see if the nem eats it because it's small, and sometimes the same color. The size probably has something to do with it, we've had ours for almost two years now, and it will spit out food if it's too big. Just some ideas, good luck and keep us posted!