Hiding anemone

[Wrench]

I got a RBTA 3 days ago and he's acclimated well to the tank. After a few hours it plumped right up and seemed pretty happy. I placed it in medium flow and about half way up from the bottom under my MH lights. It stayed there all day and didn't move but overnight it moved to the bottom and all the way in the back of the tank. I thought these guys liked a lot of light and good flow? It's in a shady spot of the tank with very little flow. What gives? The spot it's in right now is also impossible to reach with my hand so I will have an extremely difficult time feeding it. Is there anything I can do or should I just let it be? Below are a couple pics. The first is when it initially went in the tank and the other is after 8 hrs and it plumped up.

 

[Slakker]

I think a lot of people are going to tell you to just keep an eye on it and move it only if you absolutely must. It seems most likely that it's acclimating to your lights and tank and will find a new spot for itself when it's ready.

Unless it starts to show signs that it's dieing, general approach to stuff like this seems to be pretty hands-off.

Hopefully someone with a little experience will jump in and have something to say, as I speak only from what I've read.

 

[Wrench]

What are some bad signs I should look for?

I've had the lights off since yesterday afternoon when I went out of town for new years. I got back a couple hours ago and since the lights have been on since then, it's opened up more but the tentacles are back to being pretty thin.

 

[rssjsb]

I know it's nerve-wracking, but Slakker is correct. Relax - it's just catching its breath (so to speak).

Don't touch it or move it unless it's absolutely necessary (e.g., it takes up residence on top of a prized coral). Especially if you can't really get to it easily - it's very easy to tear the foot and do permanent damage. Also, don't worry about feeding it - it isn't ready to settle yet and may not eat anything anyway.

After a few days, you'll see it sticking several tentacles experimentally into the light. You can try to feed it something (mysis or tiny pieces of squid or krill) at this point, but it may not take the food. More and more will come out until it has decided it's ok and comes out. It may move a fair amount before it settles into a good spot.

I've got two, and both went through this process. One took a couple of days to come out, the other one (that was sort of in bad shape when I brought it home) took nearly two weeks to come out and fully inflate. Both are very healthy now.

HTH.

 

[rssjsb]

I was working on my reply when you posted your other questions. Watch the foot and column, if it starts to dissolve, it's going to die and you need to get it out fast.

Otherwise, hang in there. Your tank is probably too new for an anemone - most folks recommend that you wait six months until the tank stabilizes before trying it. Now that he's in your system, though, just make sure your water parameters stay in tip-top shape.

 

[Wrench]

Ok thanks. My plan was to wait and see what happens. . So far it looks good still as far as I can tell. It's extended pretty far to a diameter I would say is close to 8" and I see no signs of bleaching or bloating. I will attatch another pic to give you an idea of the condidition of the foot. It still looks pretty much the same at this point.

As for the tank, parameters have been stable for a while now. I hadn't planned on getting an anemone yet but a local guy was in a tough spot.

 

[Wrench]

I came home today and found the anemone to have moved up a bit, pretty close to the top of the tank. I got a good look at the foot and it still looks as it does in the pic above. So it seems that it's happy now just looking for a place to settle down.

When should I try to feed it?