Curled tentacles on RBTA?

[Anemia]

I've got an issue with a tank split RBTA clone that I added to my tank 4 weeks ago. The tentacles on one side are beginning to curl. Otherwise, the anemone looks and acts healthy. It eats mysis, formula one, emerald entree, and krill. It acts normal, closes at night, is sticky to the touch, no gaping mouth, the foot looks healthy, etc.

Water parameters are good. Only RO/DI water in the tank.
SG: 1.025
PH: 7.96 - 8.10
Temp: 77 - 79.5
Ammonia: 0 (salifert)
Nitrate: 0 (salifert)
Ca: ~ 420 (salifert)
Alk: ~ 2.95 (salifert)

Inhabitants are:
2x O clowns (who don't give a rip about the anemone)
Kole Tang
Lawnmower Blenny
Green Chromis
Cleaner Shrimp

Can't figure out what's going on, and it's been happening for about 14 days. It's getting worse and I fear the worst. It was housed under T5/LED prior to my acquisition. It is now under VHO and 250w Radium Halide. Extension is good and the anemone has not walked since adding it to the tank, so I question whether lighting plays a part in this...

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[BonsaiNut]

This one is easy to narrow down...

Damage on one side of the anemone is going to be related to some kind of physical irritant, since anything related to water or general environment would effect the entire anemone equally.

Of the inhabitants you have listed, only the shrimp has the ability to nip/pinch an anemone and get away with it. Do you feed the shrimp separately? Is the shrimp always there (where I see it in the photo) just beneath the damaged side of the anemone?

You could try to isolate the shrimp in a small breeder cage for a few days and see how the anemone responds. I wouldn't normally think the shrimp would be the culprit, but this way you could know for certain.

How long has your tank been set up? How long have you had that live rock? Are there any other corals or inverts that could be irritating the anemone on that side? The tank looks very new to me...

I have another suggestion, but first let's see if we can isolate the shrimp.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Double post

 

[Rippinfrags]

+1 for the cleaner shrimp, I had to remove my cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp to allow my h. Malu to settle in.

 

[Anemia]

Interesting thoughts. Yes, the tank is pretty new, I set it up last fall. Maybe jumped the gun a little with the anemone, but after 10 years in this hobby I'm a little more willing to bend some "rules." I also doubt the water quality being a culprit, because it is as rock solid as I've ever had.

The list of inhabitants are complete. There is nothing else in the tank I didn't list. The cleaner shrimp is not always right there near the anemone, but he does get around quite a bit. He is VERY well fed and a voracious eater, so he has no reason to pick at the anemone except maybe out of boredom. I'll try tossing him in the fuge to see if that makes a difference. If it does I guess he'll have to find a new home.

I had a cleaner in a tank with a sebae some years back and never had any trouble with the shrimp getting near it. Always something new in this hobby.

 

[Anemia]

Double post

 

[BonsaiNut]

The only other thing that I would look for would be a nocturnal worm. I have had anemones that suffered similar damage and I could never figure it out... and then I looked into the tank at night with a red-lens flashlight and saw a big worm helping itself to the edge of my anemone. I cornered the worm in its rock, removed it, and the anemone recovered almost immediately.

I would start with the shrimp, however, since he is easy to remove. Let us know if your anemone improves!

 

[jbm421]

I have watched some of my clowns actually bite the tips of RBTA's tentacles off. Looked like they would clean their mouths with the tentacles and when they were done they would bite the tip off and spit it out. I don't know exactly what or why they were doing this just figured I would share my experience and maybe you can keep an eye on them and see if this is maybe what is happening to yours.

 

[Anemia]

I threw the shrimp in the sump last night. I'll give it a few days and see if there is noticeable improvement.

The clowns are either too stupid or too scared to go anywhere near the thing so they are definitely not biting the tips off.

 

[poorguy]

Agreed on the cleaner shrimp. My shrimp always try steal food from my RBTA and nips at tips sometime.

 

[Anemia]

Update (for posterity and anyone interested):

On 3/17 the shrimp had been in the sump for 7 days and the anemone hand continued to deteriorate. At the same time I noticed my Kole Tang had contracted cryptocaryon/fluke/some other white spot. (Anecdotal evidence follows In a moment of panic I returned the shrimp to the DT to see if it could help my tang. At the same time I moved the anemone's rock to a new location. In the last 4 days I have noticed an improvement in the anemone. I don't necessarily tie the anemone's stress to the shrimp at this point since the shrimp is back in the tank and the anemone is looking better every day. I have some suspicions about where the shrimp hangs out in relation the the previous and current location of anemone, but no hard evidence. Previously, the shrimp made its home near the anemone and currently it does not. Draw your own conclusions.

My Kole Tang appears to be free of the white spots. Whether that is directly related to the reintroduction of the shrimp is up for debate. At this point the anemone, the shrimp, and the Kole Tang all appear to be happy and either improving (anemone, shrimp) or thriving.

I'm going to ride it out with the anemone in a new location and see how things progress.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Anemia]

Update (for posterity and anyone interested):

On 3/17 the shrimp had been in the sump for 7 days and the anemone had continued to deteriorate. At the same time I noticed my Kole Tang had contracted cryptocaryon/fluke/some other white spot. (Anecdotal evidence follows: ) In a moment of panic I returned the shrimp to the DT to see if it could help my tang. At the same time I moved the anemone's rock to a new location. In the last 4 days I have noticed an improvement in the anemone. I don't necessarily tie the anemone's stress to the shrimp at this point since the shrimp is back in the tank and the anemone is looking better every day. I have some suspicions about where the shrimp hangs out in relation the the previous and current location of anemone, but no hard evidence. Previously, the shrimp made its home near the anemone and currently it does not. Draw your own conclusions.

My Kole Tang appears to be free of the white spots. Whether that is directly related to the reintroduction of the shrimp is up for debate. At this point the anemone, the shrimp, and the Kole Tang all appear to be happy and either improving (anemone, tang) or thriving.

I'm going to ride it out with the anemone in a new location and see how things progress.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Anemia]

Final Update:

The shrimp coexists with the anemone(s) like a champ. Turns out the anemone was splitting and exhibited some strange behavior before doing so. I now have 3 RBTAs and they seem to be doing fine, even with the shrimp in the tank.

 

[f3honda4me]

Nice!

I finally gave up on my ocellaris hosting my bta. Got a pair of very nice clarkiis. They hosted the nem in less than 5 minutes lol.