Heteractis crisp a trouble....please help

[Tazz11]

Have had this new Nem in my tank for about a week now and it refuses to gain a foot hold on anything or anywhere in the tank. Initially I had a slight nitrate issue which I believe I have successfully taken care of through water changes.

I have also tried reducing the amount of light throughout the day and several different placement option within my display. The Nem seem to be eating when offered food and color seems to be good but every morning ( or almost every morning) I will find it on the Sand bed face down which forces me to move it once again. Can't imagine this is helping the stress level for the Nem and Ionia it's not helping mine.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated or ideas as to how I can help,

Thank you,

 

[Toddrtrex]

What color is the anemone?

What size tank?
What lights?
What are your parameters -- with numbers
What lights? Did you/are you acclimating it to your lights?
How long has your tank been set up?

 

[Tazz11]

the body of the Nem s "yellowish" to beige in color with purple tips on its tents.

Tank is 125 gal that has been in operation for over 6 years. Running 2 10k metal halides 2 48'' super actinics and moon lights at night.

As for acclimation to the lghts I dialed back to about 6 hrs on the halides per day and and for the other 4 hrs just the actinics have been on that was done for about the first three days with the nem being on the bottom of the tank in the sand bed prior to being place in the tank the Nem was dripped for at least 2 hours to be sure.

Tank params are as follows

SG 1.26

PH 8.2
No3 8ppm

Nitrites - no trace amount

Ca 400ppm

I have had good success in the past with Nem but have never had one that refused to attach. All have been BTA's though. Also I have several other LPS corals in the tank at this time and all are thriving.these include A large open brain, a Large Plate Xenia, Kenya's a 5" gionopora, Frogspawn, multiple Zoa's and mushrooms. I know that this is not an indicators that all should be fine with this Nem but I am stumped at this point and just want to do all I can to ensure I do right by the Nem and not just let things get worse from here.


Your help is appreciated

 

[Toddrtrex]

I am going to assume that the SG is really 1.026.

Any chance of getting a picture? The fact that there is some yellow color is concerning -- a yellow H. Crispa is a dyed one.

 

[GrindingNemo]

I have never had much luck with H. Crispa in my own tanks, but the store I used to work in would get them all the time. My advise is to mess with it as little as possible, its not likely to do well if it doesn't have stability. What we used to do to get them to attach was to take a large plastic fountain drink cup (or bucket, depending on the nem size) and cut the top off and stick the top piece in the sand. Then place the nem in the middle so it cant go anywhere. Its probably not ideal, but at least it wont be getting stressed out by being handled every time it floats off to a bad spot.

 

[Tazz11]

Yes SG is 1.026 my apologies....

Anyway i am going to post a pic now of the Nem....it is a poor picture taken with a small auto. As soon as my lights come on I will try to get a better picture loaded so you all have a better idea of what this little guy looks like.

 

[Tazz11]

OK lights are on and have my real camera, so here are some better pictures of both the base and body of the Nem.

 

[Toddrtrex]

After seeing those pictures, I don't believe it is an H. Crispa, but an H. Malu. Though, that doesn't matter too much, since both are sandbed dwelling, and have similar requirement.

 

[Tazz11]

Any thoughts on its health based on the pics provided and what if anything I can or should do to try and help get him comfortable enough to gain a foothold?

 

[Toddrtrex]

My experience with that species is very limited, but it looks fairly good -- excluding the fact that its foot isn't buried. Seems a bit on the light side -- as in color, but wouldn't call it bleached.

 

[ento-reefer]

That nem looks like it is going to be a beauty once it settles in and acclimates to your tank. The tents look a bit stubby, Are they sticky at all? How much flow do you have in the tank? I would try to dig out a nice hole near some live rock so the nem can burry down and attach to the underside of the rock or the glass bottom. Maybe cover it with a plastic basket for a few days until it attaches. My sebae likes what I would call moderate to low flow. It tents are gently swaying with an occasional burst of higher flow. I would feed a little mysis every few days to see if this helps the nem improve. I hope this helps a little. Good luck.

 

[Tazz11]

I had the flow turned off completely for the first couple of days in hopes that this would help it settle in. I currently have one power head running but I have directed its flow towards the back of the tank so any flow that the Nem is getting is traveling the length of the tank and looping back around the front. I took Nemo's earlier suggestion and cut the top off of a large Cup and placed it over the Nem to give it some peace. The tents remain sticky and vary in length throughout the day. I have been spot feeding Mysis every couple of days to help in this transition. so at this point about the only thing I haven't done is to dig out a hole in the sand bed for this guy to maybe attempt to get a foot hold.

Guess that will be the next thing I will do and hope for the best. Thank you for all of your input i appreciate it and I will continue to keep my fingers crossed and keep updating.

 

[Tazz11]

Lost the battle today.....no outward signs of regression went from looking the way it did in the pics above to turning itself inside out in 24 hrs....so ****ed.....hate to ever lose anything for no reason at all....starting to think maybe it wasn't healthy from the beginning.

Clowns are big time upset....guess ill wait a few weeks keep checking my params to make sure all is ok and try again....this time making sure I have a healthy Nem....although I will say this one came from what I would call the most reputable suppliers I have found in my area....not sure maybe it's me.

Thanks again for all the help and input.