Anename help

[njw26]

After several attempts i can't seem to keep any alive. They all start out great. my clowns hosted with them and everything seemed to be going good for a few weeks then out of the blue there dead. I spot feed them with reef snow and they always seem to be happy and out until they die. water parameters are good and can't imagine lighting be a problem



55 gal. no2 0, no3 0, pH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Phosphate 0, KH 214.0, Ca 420

 

[Faye]

First thing is first, it's anemone. Second is what type of anemone was this? How old is your tank? How long have you been in the hobby? Are your nitrates a true 0 and are your phosphates a true 0? Is your tank covered in GHA and cyano? If it is then you have a nutrient problem and your parameters arn't a true 0. What type of lighting do you have? How long have these anemones lasted in your tank until they died? Are you buying them online or from a LFS? THis is all info needed to help you.

 

[njw26]

yeah i can't spell i know that. but any way I'm running 8 t-5 4 10k and 4 6k, no GHA or Cyno every test i do comes out at zero unmistakable. tank has been up and running for 3 months after initial cycle. give or take. they all have lasted minimum 3 weeks two lasted 6 weeks. and they all have come from LFS. which might be the problem but then again you friend got one and his is doing fine. All of them have been BTA's \\

 

[1fishkeeper]

Im going to go out on a limb and say that your tank is still not ready for one. I would have to say that your trying to rush it way to fast. Also what type of anemone are you placing in your tank? Or how about some pictures of them. Maybe your getting some that are way to far gone and cant make a come back from bad health.

 

[Faye]

Im going to go out on a limb and say that your tank is still not ready for one. I would have to say that your trying to rush it way to fast. Also what type of anemone are you placing in your tank? Or how about some pictures of them. Maybe your getting some that are way to far gone and cant make a come back from bad health.

That could be it but ftom what the op describes doesnt sound right. Eight T-5's is a hell of a lot of light for a bta. Are you light acclimating?

 

[njw26]

I didn't light acclimate on the first one but then i did on the others. that was kind of the path i was thinking to much light. everything else seems super happy and like i said they were fine when i went to work but when i came home they were gone. idk i might buy one online and see how that does. at this point the wife calls it the tank of death.

 

[Necidemos]

No offense, but 3 months is also pretty damn quick to be getting any anemones in a tank. I would say after a year you would be better off, but I know people who have had tanks up for years and still can't keep one. They are trickier to keep than most. If it was me, I would try various other things and then after a year and a very well established tank, I would give it another go.

Also, when you say they die out after weeks what do they do? Just float? Do they move or settle in after the first week? No splitting or color changes in the anemone after it's been established for a week or two?

Like I said, be patient and wait on the anemone is my choice. That's a really damn new tank and anemones need perfect conditions in most cases. The BTA's are more forgiving, but even at that, you need a year old tank to maintain one, IMO. I have 3 GBTA's as of right now.

 

[Faye]

I didn't light acclimate on the first one but then i did on the others. that was kind of the path i was thinking to much light. everything else seems super happy and like i said they were fine when i went to work but when i came home they were gone. idk i might buy one online and see how that does. at this point the wife calls it the tank of death.

Three months is early, but that does not mean you can not keep anemones in tanks that young. Usually the six month wait is for the novice. I have a rose thriving in a 40B right now in a tank that is a little over eight weeks old. If you are completely new to reefing, I would also advise you wait. What kind of flow are you giving this anemone? Is it a gentle current over the oral disk? Or is it heavy and really being blown around? BTA like gentle currents flowing over the oral disk. Are these anemones very colorful and slowly turning pale over before they die? If this is the case I would bet dollars to donuts they are being shocked from your light. I really believe four 10k and four 6k is to much for this animal. What is your definition of death? Are they still attached to rock work? The could be taking a dump, or they could be doing a self water change and might not be dead.

 

[Faye]

HOw long are your lights on?

 

[MM WI]

a young tank does make it tougher. make sure you have added some genuine live rock with a healthy batch of micro organisms to support your closed system. I would recommend you let your tank settle/equilibrate for a while as some of the earlier posts suggest. A year is a good suggestion. I would also say to make sure all of your bulbs are only on at the same time a couple hours a day. I more often see people running too much blue, you seem to have a lot of daylight. that would be great for growing sps and some lps but I would think your bta would want more blue. As quick as your nems are biting the dust you may have something else wrong. Have an experienced reefer over for some beers and have him/her look over your set-up.

- Mark

 

[SwampyBill]

As others have said, a 3 month old tank is too new & not suggested for an anemone to thrive. It's possible, but should be best to wait until at least 6 months or more; giving tank time to stabilize & parameters to stop fluctuating. Also, I doubt that feeding reef snow to an anemone is doing it any good. That is for soft corals, tube worms, gorgonians, clams, sponges & other filter feeders. Anemones should be fed small pieces of raw shrimp, squid, mysis, mussels & other meaty foods; & some feed silversides.

 

[zeeter]

Aside from the age of the tank, I'd say light temperature. That's an odd mixture. The 6000K is fine but without the blues it's not going to do much good. Try one of the mixture bulbs that have 6000K and 22,000K for your daylight circuit and get some actinics for the rest of the slots.

 

[J-Burns]

It might help if you could post a pic of your tank and nem. FWIW I also think you have too much light.

 

[Enyo]

I disagree with all the light related comments but agree with the tank being too young.

Bubble tips are highly adaptable to light. The color temperature comment is also wrong, many BTA farms propagate strictly under 6700k'ish light. Sometimes even lower.

There are other things at play aside from light, flow, and basic parameters. Do more research and from now on please buy captive propagated nems so they aren't being ripped from the ocean to be slaughtered.

 

[this is me]

55 gal. no2 0, no3 0, pH 8.2, Ammonia 0, Phosphate 0, KH 214.0, Ca 420

What is your KH level? please indicate the unit you're using.

 

[Faye]

I disagree with all the light related comments but agree with the tank being too young.

Bubble tips are highly adaptable to light. The color temperature comment is also wrong, many BTA farms propagate strictly under 6700k'ish light. Sometimes even lower.

There are other things at play aside from light, flow, and basic parameters. Do more research and from now on please buy captive propagated nems so they aren't being ripped from the ocean to be slaughtered.

eight bulb T-5 put out a lot of light, especially if it is one of the more powerful units. I didn't say he couldn't keep a bubble tip anemone under 8 bulbs, but if he bought the anemones and they were under power compacts and he just put them right under an eight bulb unit he very well could have shocked the anemone to death.