day 8 of deflation, mouth weird

T

timrandlerv10

New member
...so for 8 days i havent freaked out.

it looks like my bta's mouth is a little...everted? not completely, but there is some sticking out of where it should stop. its been like that for a few days, and he's been deflated for a week.

color is very good, he completely deflates at night and inflates marginally in the middle of the day. when he 'inflates' he bumps up against a rock ledge, and that part of his foot sticks to the ledge until the lights go out. he isnt eating and the clowns arent picking at him.


4x56 420 T5, 8 hours
2x150 mh 14k, 3 hours 4 days a week

amm/ites/ates 0
ph 8.1
ca 400
alk 11
phos 0 to .1
mag 1350 (was higher, letting it fall)

mated pair of gsm
bta
caluerpa, halimeda, hair algae
wall hammer, frogspawn, random mushrooms

dose vitamins, iron, marine snow

feed live brine shrimp, frozen cyclopeeze, formula one flake, ora glo pellets


thanks!
 
How long have you had it?

While it is normal for anemones to get smaller when the lights are off, to completely deflate isn't normal, and it shouldn't be doing it during the middle of the day each day either.

"2x150 mh 14k, 3 hours 4 days a week" So you don't run your MH for 3 days each week? Is that 3 days in a row of no MH? I am all for short photo-periods for MH, but 3 hours isn't enough, IMO.

If they anemone is new to your tank, did you acclimate it to your lights?
 
You beat me to it Todd. That nem only gets 12 hours of light each week, of 150MH. I'm more of a T5 guy myself, but that's not a whole lot of light.

What is your lighting schedule, and why so short for just over half the week?
 
He runs 420w of t5 everyday it seems for 8 hours. On a 75 gallon that seems like plenty of light for a bta. I bet its in shock from the mh only being on 3-4 days a week.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15738850#post15738850 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sleeperls
He runs 420w of t5 everyday it seems for 8 hours. On a 75 gallon that seems like plenty of light for a bta. I bet its in shock from the mh only being on 3-4 days a week.
Click to expand...

But those T5's are actinic --- at least that is what I took from it "4x56 420 T5,"
 
2 actinics
2 something else
on average I turn them on 4 days a week...when winter comes and my office gets cooler, I'll put it on a timer and have a few more hours a day

had him for 18 months

thanks for the thoughts, keep them coming!!!
 
No, I turn the MH on 3-4 days a week over lunch+a little. Winter comes they're on longer and more regularly. Been doing that for 18 months.

The MH hasn't been on last ten days.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15739564#post15739564 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by timrandlerv10


The MH hasn't been on last ten days.
Click to expand...

I believe that is the root of this issue.
 
I'd be willing to bet that you will see some changes in anything photosynthetic in your tank if you start giving them the light that they need. For now you could buy one of those cheap timers at the hardware store to automate it a little more. Depending on the health of the nem, it might take a little bit before big changes are noticed. Don't get disheartened if it looks the same for a few days.

Also, why do you only run the MH a few hours for a few days a week? This is a lighting strategy I am not familiar with. Is heat the problem? Not automated? I'm a little confused on what your methods are, maybe you could expand a little for us.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15739754#post15739754 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bues0022
I'd be willing to bet that you will see some changes in anything photosynthetic in your tank if you start giving them the light that they need. For now you could buy one of those cheap timers at the hardware store to automate it a little more. Depending on the health of the nem, it might take a little bit before big changes are noticed. Don't get disheartened if it looks the same for a few days.

Also, why do you only run the MH a few hours for a few days a week? This is a lighting strategy I am not familiar with. Is heat the problem? Not automated? I'm a little confused on what your methods are, maybe you could expand a little for us.
Click to expand...

That was pretty much everything I was going to say/ask.
 
I really don't think that's it because he's lived with it for 18 months. He hasn't gotten the MH lights because he looked so bad (answeri g the 'why not the last ten days' question.

MH lights are really bright, and that replicates the middle of the day/string sun pretty well. Fans also make noise and two lights make a bunch of excess heat, and the office environment suffers for it! The sun isn't full power every day, so I don't think 2 days of cloudy each week are all that bad.

His color is still REALLY good, and foot is still firmly planted, so at least there's that.
 
As far as the images part goes, when you go to the reply screen, there should be a link that helps walk you through posting pictures.

I think your logic on turning the lights off for the past few days is a little bit flawed. Remember that anemones are very photosynthetic, so by not turning on the MH bulbs for 10 days you have essentially starved this animal. Even if it looks bad in the future, keep those lights blazing!

I think if you measured the PAR outside and under your 250W MH bulbs you might be surprised at how much more intense the sunlight actually is. I can understand a shortened photo period, but 3 hours is the shortest I've heard - and usually shorter periods are seen with higher wattage (400W) bulbs that are even more intense. I can also understand a few days without the MH once-in-a-while, but to do no MH three days a week, and only 3 hours a day when they are on is too little light. Remember, you can get sun-burned even on cloudy days. That sun is a lot more powerful than we give it credit for. So even though you are right, the sun isn't at full power every day, our tanks don't output that amount of light.

If the lights are too noisy or create too much ambient heat, run them at the end of the day so by the time the place heats up you're all gone! That way the nem gets enough light, and you're not sweating too much.
 
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