Anemone Question

[rwyankees]

We started a reef tank about 2 months ago and everything has been going great. We purchased an anemone and a clown fish together already mated ... when we first put them in the tank the anemone was big and really for lack of a better word "Fluffy" over time it has shriveled up and changed all sorts of sizes. We were told that it shrivels up to expell it's waste. lately it has been looking really flat not really flowing the clown will swim in it once in a while. We were told that if it was dying that the clown would have nothing to do with it. Also I can now see it's mouth more then the other colors... It used to be a rusty red browninsh with green tip colors ... Now it is mostly green and then its mouth. Any Ideas on what might be going on would be great.

 

[cmejaf30]

IMO (though I don't have a whole lot of experience with it) it sounds like your anemone is going through a stressful time. What kind of lights do you have on your tank? If there is different lighting in your tank vs what was in the lfs then that may have an impact on the color. If the anem is opening and closing quite frequently and moving around a lot, this is a sign that it is unhappy and trying to find a good spot to settle down. Your tank is fairly new; I would advise against getting one so early on a new tank...most require pristine water conditions to survive. Are you running a skimmer on your setup? What are your water params at? Salinity? All these factor into the health of your anem. They can be very cool (I love my BTA) but can also be a hassle and stressful. When was the last time that you fed it? When you say "over time" what time period are we talking about? More details would be great...hopefully we can hash out the issue...good luck!

 

[rwyankees]

Right now we are running 2 T5s. We have had our water tested once a week since it cycled and all the levels are prefect. Amazingly we have had great luck with it. We are running a skimmer on our tank. The SG is 1.022. I have been giving silversides to him and the clarkii has been picking them up and giving it to him.

I have been reading It might be a lot to do with stress. I had to move the rocks around to take a fish out (wasn't sick just traded him out for a different fish) and that possibly caused some stress on him.... but not sure.


Thanks for the reply and any other info you may have would be great.

 

[cmejaf30]

how long have you had him? Based on what you've said I can't think of any other issues that might be happening...when he closes up a lot does he excrete anything from the mouth? If not, then this is a sign of stress...if so then I believe he is doing fine...just expelling waste. Hopefully he can find a good place to settle down and establish himself in an area. My BTA moved all over the first week that I had him, but he's found a good spot now and hasn't moved in about a month...

The one thing that I would raise would be the salinity. I wouldn't recommend anything below 1.025 (mine is sitting at 1.026-1.027). They are very delicate creatures with regards to this (because their entire bodily functions are based off of osmotic properties and salinity conditions). How did you introduce him into the tank? Did you do the drip method (starting a gentle drip from your tank into his bag so that the salinity equals out over a gradual time)? This is an important step...if you just placed him in your tank and there was a .005 difference in salinity, this could be quite a shock to a sensative creature like an anemone. IMO I would bring the salinity up GRADUALLY to about 1.026ish and see how he responds to that. What other livestock do you have in the tank?

 

[rwyankees]

well we have 3 damsels that never died during the tank cycle. 1 Dwarf lion, a powder blue tang, a clarkii, a coral beauty, a cucumber, a sea apple , and turbo snails and blue hermit crabs. I will try bumping up the salinity thanks for the tip. I know I should do it gradually but just how long should I take to get it from 1.022 to 1.025? Week? 2 weeks? longer, shorter? Everything else is doing amazing. Couldn't ask for the tank to start off so good, and all the fish get along. The only thing I am worried about now is the anemone. If nothing else let me know and I will see if I can get a pic maybe that could shed some light on it.

 

[cmejaf30]

wow congrats on getting and keeping a powder blue in that tank. Just be forewarned that he WILL outgrow that tank and you will either have to upgrade to a bigger tank (probably a 125 for him) or trade him in when he gets big. They are very territorial (especially with the coral beauty...angelfish tend to be a littie territorial too) and both species require swimming room (the tang moreso). You haven't lost any damsels to the dwarf lion? That's good...

As far as the salinity increase you could probably take care of that in about a day or two...break it up into about two 10% water changes or so in about 48-60hrs and increase about .0015 per time...it's not THAT big of a change but...it's still a change and better to err on the side of caution. What are you using to check salinity? Refractometer or swinging arm hydrometer?

Like I said that's good that everything is doing good in that tank (for it being fairly new). Aside from from a small goby or wrasse I'd say you are close to your livestock maximum for that tank (as far as fish go).

Let me know how things are going...

 

[Mike de Leon]

It's your lighting that needs to be increased for sure.
I have a huge magnifica that went through the same thing.
I had him under close to 300 T5 and did okay for a while. Then it started wilting.
Converted to halide three years ago and couldn't stop the growth!
Good lk with yours!