Help my heteractis magnifica is white and closing up all the time

[8220]

Hi I have a heteractis magnifica, that is turning almost white. I know what that means and I am doing my best to turn him around.

I got him under 39 W Actinic 15000 kelvin T5 light. I feed him 2-3 large table shrimps soaked in food enricher 2 times a week.

He sits up high around 9inches under the bulbs and he is in moderate to strong current.

Most of my levels are ok.
No3 is around 5+ though

His tentacles are only 1 inch long.

What else can I do to help him get back some zohant?

 

[elegance coral]

While I don't believe that magnifica is the high light demanding anemone many others do, I still think you are way low on lighting for this animal. IMHO, you should invest in better lighting, real quick, or find a new home for this anemone.

 

[8220]

okay so you do not think that T5 is good enough?

If T5 is okay what do you recomend?

Oh i see now I wrote 1x 39 watt but that is misleading in the area he is there are of cause 4 bulbs

 

[elegance coral]

They can be kept under T5 lighting. You just need quite a but more than one 39W T5.

 

[Toddrtrex]

okay so you do not think that T5 is good enough?

If T5 is okay what do you recomend?

Oh i see now I wrote 1x 39 watt but that is misleading in the area he is there are of cause 4 bulbs

What size tank?
How do you have your lights set up? Is there one bulb or 4?

 

[OrionN]

2-3 large table shrimps twice a week is too much for Magnifica. Does he eat it or regurgitated after a few hours?

 

[8220]

it is a 250 G tank I have 8 x 39 W T5 they are set up 4x4 side by side

The tank is 29,5 inches wide with 4 T5 over.

It is a bit difficult to explain but he is well under 2-3 of the lights he is around 9 inches away from the light.

 

[8220]

2-3 large table shrimps twice a week is too much for Magnifica. Does he eat it or regurgitated after a few hours?

Never seen it regurgitated. I tend to feed him when he closes up. Then after a half hour or so he will open up again

 

[OrionN]

It is liekly that he regurgitated and the other animals clean it up. I would not recommend feeding the anemone when he deflated.

 

[bradleym]

it is a 250 G tank I have 8 x 39 W T5 they are set up 4x4 side by side

The tank is 29,5 inches wide with 4 T5 over.

It is a bit difficult to explain but he is well under 2-3 of the lights he is around 9 inches away from the light.

So basically, you have 2-3x2x2 foot sections (approximately) of tank space and each 3 foot section has it's own 4 bulb T5 fixture. I am going to say that I think you should have a 6 or 8 bulb T5 over each section. I would wait for more opinions as I don't use T5s, but there's my 2 cents.

 

[garygb]

T-5s are fine, but actinics are practically useless. If you like blue, get ATI Blue Plus bulbs, they have the highest PAR of all the T-5 bulbs and produce a blue tint. It definitely sounds like your mag is need of stronger light.

 

[BonsaiNut]

This thread is worthless without photos

 

[8220]

Hehe you are so right ;=)

Here is some shots, it was a bit difficult with out the clowns getting in the way

I went out and bought some Giesemann Powercrome aquablue +, they should kick some @$$€
I really hope this works

 

[M Woodhill]

Hehe you are so right ;=)

Here is some shots, it was a bit difficult with out the clowns getting in the way

I went out and bought some Giesemann Powercrome aquablue +, they should kick some @$$€
I really hope this works

sorry for my humble words

but this seems too different than mine

it seems more like a carpet to me

 

[deangelr]

Wide base, shape of the mouth, tentacle distribution, as well as shape and size.. Looks like a sick mag to me..

Is it hiding from the light?

 

[garygb]

It does look sick. I would suspect water quality. Though you said your nitrates are 5, I would suspect higher. I wouldn't be surprised if phosphates, ph, etc. are out of wack. Test kits are not always accurate. Water changes with the appropriate specific gravity would be my first order of business. Also, making sure the skimmer is working at its optimal level. What are the rest of your parameters?

 

[8220]

Wide base, shape of the mouth, tentacle distribution, as well as shape and size.. Looks like a sick mag to me..

Is it hiding from the light?

Yes it moves away from the light sometimes, which does not make sense to me

 

[psusocr]

im never seen a mag with tentacles so short.. Maybe someone else can also verify it is a mag..

 

[deangelr]

Yes it moves away from the light sometimes, which does not make sense to me

That is strange.. I would do a water change.. Given the way it looks right now I would also feed it every 3 days or so as long as it will eat.

 

[8220]

I just measured my levels this morning.

Po4: 0-0,6
No2: 0
PH: 8,5

All my corals LPS,softies and SPS are acting perfectly normal... I am really in doubt here