Bleached Bubble Tip?

[djgoodbody]

First of all thank you for taking time to read this thread, my girlfreind decided to buy a white bubble tip anemone yesterday for our Ocellaris clown and was sold what she beleived was a brilliant white BTA, as the shop had no blue lighting it was assumed that the colour would be shown when in our display tank and under the night light. The anemone looks to be in good health and there are no obvious signs of diminshed health, it came attached to live rock with a good foot hold and even ate after 10 mins of introduction to the main tank, it is active but never moves off of its live rock,just left and right by a couple of inches. It does not hide from my metal halide and basks on its rock. Heres the problem.....when we have just the blue light on, the anemone has no color what so ever, its a translucent white with a tanned foot and thats it,was very dissapointed!! so i done some research and everythings pointing to bleaching, however the anemone is not showing symptons of a typical bleached anemone,it does not hide,isnt constantly moving, hasnt got a gapping mouth etc etc. I decided to contact the pet store and explained my problem, i was told that this anemone was indeed an all whiite rare BTA and infact it was a clone off a larger split anemone and had been in the shops tank for 6 months, theres no way i keep bleached anemones is what i was told by the shop manager. So to conclude i dont know wether i have a very poorly,badly bleached BTA in need of care and recultivation of internal zoa,or a rather rare brilliant white variation????? Any help would be greatly appreciated ,images to follow shortly, thank you Dan.

 

[stingythingy45]

Dan,

That pet store has an idiot working there giving you bad info.
There is no such thing as a "rare white" bta anemone.
It is either green,red or maybe something else,but always dark.
It will darken up once the zooxanthellae gets eough of the halide light to grow again.
Please reconsider not giving this place any more business.Deception seems to be rampant in some fish stores.

 

[djgoodbody]

Thank you for your swift reply stingythingy45, please view enclosed images of this "rareity" found in original post. So am i right in assuming he can still be healthy even though hes bleached?, and any thoughts as to why hes not hiding up and avoiding my halide. Any suggestions on feeding him, from what i understand 90 percents done through photosynthesis so would there be much point in manual feeding him?

 

[djgoodbody]

Also while im on the topic, i keep figure 8 puffers which are classed as brackish end species but i have acclimatized them to marine conditions, they are thriving without any problems....... until introduction of BTA!! Having an inquisitive nature has lead to my smallest puffer "Slim" being stung, or so i think. Being as hes not a true marine fish he leaves all my soft corals alone but eats any thing which moves around them and i have noticed before hes not to keen on my zoas or GSP matts and keeps away as they must give him a little sting, this morning however i found him under a rock ledge looking sorry for himself and lacking all color, this is very unusual for slim as hes the most active out of the 3 of them so i assume hes felt the wrath of the BTA, hes still eating though so i dont think life threatening?? obviously he would have no immunity to these sorts of stings being from brackish environment, the problem is i no off no1 else who keeps Figure 8s in full Marine so opinions are few and far between, any ideas?

 

[stingythingy45]

You can feed the BTA if the tentacles are sticky.I'd try squirting some mysis on it.
Also,where did you find info that a BTA will hide if it's bleached?BtA's will do what they want they sometimes wander or stay put.Never where you want them to be.lol

As for the puffer,if it is truely brackish then there might be long term problems.
Fish that are kept in high salinity water eventually can develope kidney problems.
Just because it is doing well now,doesn't mean that it will last.
I'm not a expert on puffers,just going by what I've read.

So now you have a situation,cause BTA nems need salinity at 1.025.

 

[djgoodbody]

Thank you again for your response, just fed him some krill which it seemed to appreciate,tentacles quite sticky aswell,my SG is1.024 so will consider increase, i read alot into BW puffers(difficult to state comphrehensively wether figure 8 puffers are true brackish or marine as they are localized and isolated around tidal estuarys) before converting them to marine,and the majority of ppl who had tried have noted an increased life expectancy from the average 3 to 5 years in captivity(FW ranging to brackish) to 10 to 15 years in full marine. Also an increased immunity to most common parasites and infections is apparant when they are in a higher salinty,along with noticable improvement in colour and increased spawning rates. It does have its disadvantages to for example the anemone sting but overall the majority agree its good for the puffer. The common FW mollie will benefit in the same ways and another good example of fish SG adaptation, love my puffers to much to risk there long term health. Thanks again Dan.

 

[bradleym]

Thank you for your swift reply stingythingy45, please view enclosed images of this "rareity" found in original post. So am i right in assuming he can still be healthy even though hes bleached?, and any thoughts as to why hes not hiding up and avoiding my halide. Any suggestions on feeding him, from what i understand 90 percents done through photosynthesis so would there be much point in manual feeding him?

The anemone you have is showing several signs of being unhealthy. Along with being bleached, the tentacles are much too short, a common result of starvation. The tentacles should be prolific and large enough to hide the base when healthy. Or about twice as long as the base if not bubbled up. Since the anemone has no way to process light, it depends almost entirely on the food you are giving it. I would recommend small pieces of food every other day for several weeks. It may decide to move later when it is healthier, but sometimes an unhealthy nem will sit still because it just doesn't have the energy to go find a better spot.

 

[stingythingy45]

Agree with Bradley.
Hopefully the nem will get back some color and pull through ok.
The small bits of food will help a lot.
Hope you didn't pay too much for this "special" white nem.
When it turns color and gets healthy be sure to get your money back from the monkey that sold it to you.

 

[djgoodbody]

Thanks for your comments guys, the nem cost 25 quid so not happy,only upside is that i got given the live rock it was on for free and it had 2 medium feather dusters and 2 or 3 brittle stars inside rock! so do you think it can recover?not to far gone by looking at pics? any suggestions on what i should say to fish shop manager? will feeding him once daily not speed up recovery rate instead of every other day? Ta again guys

 

[stingythingy45]

Well,if the nem does well and turns out to be a Ruby and splits,like they often do.
Then you'll make back your money selling it to a local reefer.
If it takes food by al means feed it.But I'd only try like every other day or every 2 days.
The fact that you have good lighting is the key.

 

[djgoodbody]

Hi again,i am using a 150 watt Mh combo with 2 acintic T5 30watt blue lights in a 77gl bow front aquarium,about 3 watt per gallon, is that sufficent enough? As for feeding he took 2 bits of krill earlier but has just spat 1 back out after 2 hours?didnt get a chance to see if it was just shell as clown had it in a flash!Going to try daily feeding varying between cockle,mussle,krill and artemia,show me your colors!!!!any other suggestions to hasten the nems health would be much appreciated,thanks again Dan.

 

[sjwitt]

Your lights should be fine. As others have said the LFS person is an idiot or a liar ... you have a bleached and starving nemmie BUT do not over feed it in the hopes of it bouncing back quickly. That will only make things worse. If it eats too much it will regurgitate and get no benefit. Feed every other day a small piece of raw, meaty seafood (what you listed is fine) piece should be about half to a quarter size of a garden pea. That's it. It could take as long as a year for this nemmie to recover it's color so you must have patience. Go to this thread and check out a nemmie sicker than yours and how it's recovering (over 3 months so far) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2007119

Also, I too had a brackish puffer (black spotted not figure 8 but they are similar) Had him many years if SW reef ... lots of personality and very cool. I think your puffer will be okay and has probably learned his lesson (they are very smart). Mine, unfortunately, somehow ended up in the sump and got stuck in the return pump. I'd had him for years (since I first started my first tank... was very bummed).

Anyway, good luck with your nemmie. It 'can' recover but it WILL take time.

 

[djgoodbody]

Thank you sjwitt for your thoughtful answers, and attached post. The anemone regurged a bit of krill last night so i have not carried on feeding, also about an hour ago it let some whits stringy stuff from its mouth,like white hair, im thinking internal organs? very pxxxxd off with it actually as dont think there is that much i can do for it, can attach pics if needed. Also the Figure 8 is back to his normal self today, fully coloured and actively hunting, so happy bout that. Dont want to loose anemone so if any1 has any other suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks Dan.

 

[Catchoftheday]

Your lights should be fine. As others have said the LFS person is an idiot or a liar ... you have a bleached and starving nemmie BUT do not over feed it in the hopes of it bouncing back quickly. That will only make things worse. If it eats too much it will regurgitate and get no benefit. Feed every other day a small piece of raw, meaty seafood (what you listed is fine) piece should be about half to a quarter size of a garden pea. That's it. It could take as long as a year for this nemmie to recover it's color so you must have patience. Go to this thread and check out a nemmie sicker than yours and how it's recovering (over 3 months so far) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2007119

Also, I too had a brackish puffer (black spotted not figure 8 but they are similar) Had him many years if SW reef ... lots of personality and very cool. I think your puffer will be okay and has probably learned his lesson (they are very smart). Mine, unfortunately, somehow ended up in the sump and got stuck in the return pump. I'd had him for years (since I first started my first tank... was very bummed).

Anyway, good luck with your nemmie. It 'can' recover but it WILL take time.

Yes you got that right my Nem was on death door for sure and it still is a a battel getting it back to health . All i can say is please please take your time feed every other day small pices f sea food i also soak the food in selcon this help BIG time if it does not eat the food you will need to hold it there till the moth swells up . Dont rush this take your time and also takes pictures of the progress.

 

[djgoodbody]

thank you catchoftheday, will follow ur advice,u seem to be the leading expert in nem replen lol (should copyrite that!)also how big was yours when it was at its worst?mines just over an inch,seems really small. Ihave noticed the nems mouth open quite oftern to,does this happen when nems are moving? hes been steadily moving for 2 days,not far though. Earlier today it seemed to be spitting white stringy material,i hope its not internal organs,any ideas?will be updating with info and images regularly,ta 4 reading Dan.

 

[sjwitt]

thank you catchoftheday, will follow ur advice,u seem to be the leading expert in nem replen lol (should copyrite that!)also how big was yours when it was at its worst?mines just over an inch,seems really small. Ihave noticed the nems mouth open quite oftern to,does this happen when nems are moving? hes been steadily moving for 2 days,not far though. Earlier today it seemed to be spitting white stringy material,i hope its not internal organs,any ideas?will be updating with info and images regularly,ta 4 reading Dan.

Haha... I called CatchoftheDay the "nemmie wisperer" :bounce2::bounce1:

 

[sjwitt]

The white strings could be just spawn... mine did that too and scared the you know what out of me. If it's stressed (and this one is) it may be trying to reproduce. Don't panic. Seriously read through that link and use the methods described. Be patient. You'll know when it dies, believe me. It will literally melt and smell horrible.

 

[Catchoftheday]

Haha... I called CatchoftheDay the "nemmie wisperer" :bounce2::bounce1:

you sre did i will post a new picture tomorrow if i can get one my GBTA has moved right next to the Bleach BTA . Thank as always for the kind word

 

[Catchoftheday]

thank you catchoftheday, will follow ur advice,u seem to be the leading expert in nem replen lol (should copyrite that!)also how big was yours when it was at its worst?mines just over an inch,seems really small. Ihave noticed the nems mouth open quite oftern to,does this happen when nems are moving? hes been steadily moving for 2 days,not far though. Earlier today it seemed to be spitting white stringy material,i hope its not internal organs,any ideas?will be updating with info and images regularly,ta 4 reading Dan.

You are welcome . Im not sure what the white stringy thing is i will try and do some research for you and see what i can find out . One of the things i did was but my Nem in the light i moved it from the dark place it whent and put it were the was more light and has not moved since .

 

[djgoodbody]

You are welcome . Im not sure what the white stringy thing is i will try and do some research for you and see what i can find out . One of the things i did was but my Nem in the light i moved it from the dark place it whent and put it were the was more light and has not moved since .

Yes it was definatley not waste product being spat out, i initially thought stomach but spawning seems a more logical explanation. Am i right in thinking because hes bleached he will not benefit from being moved up the tank as he has no zoa inside him to give him nourishment through the algaes photosynthesis?and also he is only an inch across, is that really small? Going to feed him some pulverised cockle soon, see how he likes that, thanks for your comments guys will post some pics later.:rollface: