Bubble tip anemone struggling

hrdneglcry

Premium Member
Here is a current pic of my bubble tip anemone. So it was doing well. Eating. Was bushy and full. I moved some stuff around and its been like this for several weeks. It is movinf moving around. I can't get it to eat now because its not full enough to trap anything. It did well right from the beginning until I moved stuff.
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Good news is it’s still attached to the rock and still colored up. That said, I know mine go into freak out mode when I make a significant change. I’d likely just give it more time
 
FWIW I don't feed any of my BTAs and they do very well. Overfeeding has been documented to cause problems with some corals and it seems reasonable the same issue might apply to anmeones.

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How long have you had the 'nem? How old is the tank, and what are your nutrient readings? It looks like the rock it's on has an algal film coating, possibly indicating nutrient issues.

Kevin
 
I have had them for a few months. They were doing well when I got them. I haven't fed this one in awhile. The only reason there is algae film on that rock is because I probably run too much light. My glass often needs cleaning. Take is established. It has been up since since last year I think and the rock I bought was already alive. I got another with it that is in my 120 that hides in a rock hole but is still busy and the hole faces directly up. I have a large one in my 120 that is doing well. Also I just messed with the flow trying to help and may have messed up. But the bigger one so far is easier to manage. The other two seem lost from my limited experience with these. I had one beautiful one crawl into a temporary powerhead after I put Rally Pro in the tank. That was a bad day.
 
I'd run some GAC if you've added anything for parasites, these should be used in quaritine tanks and not display systems. FWIW, just because something is advertised as being "safe" doesn't mean inverts and corals will like it and they may have a negative reaction to it. Microbiomes in corals and inverts and in the water around them are very complex, most additives will disrupt them and I wouldn't use them. Bacterial supplements won't do much damage but keep in mind less than 2% of the microbial stuff on reefs can be cultured and stuck in a bottle. Keep an eye on your alkalinity, calcium, pH and magnesium and do your periodic water changes consistantly and be patient. My go to animals for algae control are short spine urchins, Sally Lightfoot crabs and thin strip hermits. You can also use steel straws with water changes to remove algae off rock. Here's some links on microbiomes, nutrients and steel straws:

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC in reef ecosystems. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching / Curr. Biol., May 21, 2020 (Vol. 30, Issue 13)

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
What's up with phosphate? by Richard Ross | MACNA 2014

Stainless Steel Straws (Beta)

Paper towels for algae
Removing algae on glass
 
I have had them for a few months. They were doing well when I got them. I haven't fed this one in awhile. The only reason there is algae film on that rock is because I probably run too much light. My glass often needs cleaning.
Or, perhaps you have high nutrient levels. What is your Nitrate reading? Even hardy nems like BTAs can be sensitive to high Nitrate levels.

Kevin
 
Can Gyre wavemakers be bad for nems? I have ine in each tank along with power filters and return pumps. So I got a new nem yesterday and shut off the pump to let it settle in. Well the one that was hiding has now crawled out into the opne although it still doesn't look happy. I keep the pumps on low. 30-40% and I have the on pulse and not constant. I may turn them back in though because my sinularia is acting different now.
 
A lot of corals will not expand much in high currents. It's soemthing you will need to experiment with.
 
Pic one is it today but I had tried to turn the wavemaker back on. PIC 2 is actually the best it has looked and that was last week. It was hiding but recently went to where it is now in pic one. It was more open than that but I put the Gyre on. I shut it back off. If I remove this from the rock and put it in a floating basket could that help it more?


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Leave it alone, they will crawl to places they like so moving it just adds to it's stress. For the time bieng I'd leave the gyres off if they are closing up when it's on. Have you run GAC to remove the Rally Pro you added? What are your parameters testing at? Have you stopped trying to feed it? Two things to keep in mind, it can take months for an BTA once stressed to return to it's former size and color and may have adjusted to the point it will never look like it did. With the same thought in mind it may already be over whatever caused it to have issues and continuing to try to "fix" it only adds to it's stress. Be patient, post results for Alk, calcium, magnesium, PO4 and nitrate and any info on current maintenance and past test results.
 
I did test my alk. On my 120 it was like 7.2 on my 90 it was like 5.7. So I tried to raised it a little in both tanks. I did shut off the gyre in the 90. I have the one in the 120 turned low. The nem in the 120 has been good since I got it. Calcium in both tanks is 500 ppm. No ammonia. I run cheato both (sump) but the 120 has two Aquaclear 110s and the 90 only has a Cascade 1500 for filtration plus the refugium sump. The cascade 1500 is supposed be able handle larger tanks than my 90. But my two power filters in my 120 are over kill. Because I had a grouper. They work so well that skimmer doesn't collect anymore. Chaeto growing well on both aquariums.
 
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