Brought Home a Rescue Carpet Anemone

[cody6766]

I popped into a LFS today and they had a large carpet that is not doing so hot. I decided I could fit its needs better than they could, since they're not really set up for photosynthetic life, and offered to try to nurse it back to health. I think they had a buyer that backed out on them, which is why they had it.

Anyway, i'm unsure of the species. It looks brown with white tipped tentacles as of now. The tentacles are in what kind of look like ordered columns and have tips that are kind of bulbous. When the store first got it it settled in the sand. I also saw it stuck to the side of the glass. It's sitting on my sand bed now and has been beginning to look better over time. The mouth was opened incredibly wide with the guts flipped outward. It has been slowly closing up since it's been in my tank. It has closed by about half, I'd say. My female Allardi clown has taken to defending and cleaning it up. she's pulled off some of the damaged tissue (there is a tear on the disc) and seems to be encouraging the mouth to close.

The tank is next to empty. It has a few rics, a healing frogspawn, a healing zoa cluster, a pair of clowns, a pygmy angel and a YWG. there is a decent sandbed and a nice rock wall for the anemone to do whatever it wants if it comes around. I assume it's going to remain in the sand, but don't know what species it is.

I'm going to slowly acclimate it under my T5s and MH and see if it comes back to health.

I'm open to any tips as I've never kept a carpet. I've kept a few BTAs and a condy with great success. SPS and my clam were also growing wonderfully in this tank before a bad waterchange crashed the tank. That has since been cleared up and the tank water is back to it's former splendor

 

[shabreeson]

pics?

 

[cody6766]

none yet, I'll try to get some tonight. I wanted to wait until it began to look better. it looked really rough when I added it and looked much better when I left for class. I'm in class right now, but will get some shots when I get home.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I would still take a picture as soon as you can -- that way we can hopefully ID it, will help with the care to give it. While Haddoni and Gigs (( the two most common "carpets" )) have similar care, there are some important differences, mainly flow.

 

[cody6766]

Looking at pics, i think it's a Haddoni. the tentacles are short and I didn't notice spots on the underside. Pics in a few hours.

 

[Toddrtrex]

For now I will take your word for it.

IME (( been keeping Haddonis for 9 years )), they like their foot buried in the sand, right at the sand/rock interface. Flow it really tricky with them, want enough to keep the waste away from them, but not so much that they get "upset". I moved an existing powerhead over a couple of inches, and one of my Haddoni moved all over the place.

Is this for your 33 cube? (( reading your sig )). If so, I suggest using some layers of window screening, 3 layers, removing one layer each week. And do you still have the condy in there? Might want to think about removing it. IME, Haddonis do better without a different species of anemone in the tank.

Lastly, where is that clam? If it is on the sandbed, going to have to move it one day -- Haddonis get very large.

 

[rkelman]

I was thinking Atlantic possibly as well.. (I hope not) Waiting for pics..

 

[cody6766]

it is the 33, but it's all but empty now. I did a waterchange a few weeks ago and introduced some copper to the tank. I had a hole in the powerhead's power cord and I think that was the source. It killed the clam and my SPS. Most of my others made it through to some degree, but are recovering in a BioCube now. The Condy was moved to a 20L months ago. It's hosting a good sized Cinnamon Clown now. I've changed out A LOT of water since the incident and it's now supporting coral life. I have a favites colony that's high up on the rock as well as some rics. The only thing on a the sandbed is the frogspawn I mentioned earlier. It's on the other side of the tank and easy to move.

Here are some pics of the nem. it's looking really rough and I have no idea how readily these things recover.

The nem and it's guardian

close up

It is right side up, that's the gaping mouth you see. It seems to have some muscular control and the tentacles are pretty sticky.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I hate to say it, but I would be really shocked if it made it. I personally have never seen a Haddoni make it after it gets to that point.

How did you remove the copper from the tank? It could have very well leached into the rocks, which will be very harmful to any inverts.

 

[cody6766]

I don't think the copper dose was high and it was only in the water column for a few hours. When I noticed everything going downhill I emptied the tank of life and did a bunch of water changes. I put some test corals in the tank a few days ago and they're looking just fine. I did nothing chemically though.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's beyond help either. I took it as a rescue, so don't have anything but time involved. I just hoped to do what any lover of animals would want to do.

So, best course of action would be light acclimation, keep the flow moderate and indirect and feed when/if the mouth closes up?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Yea, that would be the best course. And I would keep a very close eye on it, they can and will go downhill very fast when they reach this state. And one day it might actually look better, but I wouldn't get any hopes up --- unless it looks better for a week.

Also, should run a poly filter to make sure there are no traces of copper left.

 

[OrionN]

Cody,
That is a dying Haddoni, I am sorry to say.

About copper in the tank, I don't think you will ever get rid of it. It bind quite to the rock and sand and release out in the water when the pH is low. A Rios cracked and leak copper to my tank back about 7 years ago. I tried but never able to get the coral or other animal doing well in it. Snails keep on dying and coral bleach and died here and there. Never grow no mater what I did, they just linger on then died on my. Fish did OK. I never was into crabs and shrimp so I did not have any. Two years after the event, I dump the whole thing and restart fresh. I am really interested in how this tank do if you can update for us (me)

 

[rkelman]

Definitely Haddoni and unfortunately I agree its not going to make it. I don't think a hole in the powerhead cord would leech enough copper to do anything. It was likely the electricity leaking that caused all your issues.

 

[OrionN]

The electric wire exposed to salt water with current running will ionized copper and put it into solution. I assume that the water was mixed with this defected pump will have a large amount of copper in it. Use it to change water will introduce a large amount of copper into the system.

 

[this is me]

To be honest, the best thing to do now is to chuck it before it fowl the tank.

 

[cody6766]

it's coming out today. It's looking worse and I"m going to pull it before it goes to pieces. It started to fluff up and look better yesterday, but then went downhill again.

thanks for the suggestions. Like I said before, no money involved, so no real losses. It just sucks to see such a nice, big animal go down the tubes.

 

[muelpaul]

Mine looked like this 1 day after I got it home from a lfs...

Here it is several months later.....

I was told mine was toast also but I just let it be to see if it would make it.