Horrible Horrible Anemone

[1GoldClown]

This tank has been running for over a year and have the anemone for about 9 months and it has been in decent shape. Not but about 2 months ago it started turning very ugly on me and has ended up looking like this and have changed the light I was using to waterflow and water tests have been performed. I think there is somthing move than what I can see but cant figure this out. Anemone wont eat and has looked like this for like I said about 2 months. All help is appreciated.

 

[sfarid123]

You need metal Halide for anemonies to thrive. PC lights do not provide enough PAR or Kelvin.

 

[garygb]

I would suggest you start doing regular water changes with a good quality salt (Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals is easy to find and good). I would want to make sure the temp is between say 77-82 for a BTA. Also you might want to test the water with another test kit as the accuracy of test kits vary. I would suggest you shoot for a specific gravity of 1.025-1.026. You said you changed the lights, what type are they daylight or actinica or 50/50? I would differ with sfraid about PCs, if the anemone is within say 12 to 15 inches of the bulbs and there is no acrylic shield, I think PC lighting is fine for anemones, especially BTAs. That species is resilient and yours can rebound if you provide it with good conditions.

 

[Bmgrocks]

PC lighting is sufficient for all corals, the trick is having enough wattage.
What Lighting is it under?

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13799194#post13799194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bmgrocks
PC lighting is sufficient for all corals, the trick is having enough wattage.
What Lighting is it under?

i would like to see some documentation on this.....i dont think anemones are coral either...

 

[ReefNutPA]

FWIW... I don't have halides on any of my tanks. Including those with bta's, crocea clams, haddoni's, LTA's, corals.....

My haddoni I had for 8 years, my crocea clam for over 6, BTA's for over 6..... all under PC lighting in different tanks. Halides are not a "must have" in all situations.

Tom

 

[Lmecher]

Halides or T5's are preferable but w/high enough wattage they can be kept under pc's. I would not attempt but none the less some have success and I say congrats to them.

 

[Lmecher]

I'm sorry to tell you I don't think it's going to make it. Your lighting is inadequite. These need much stronger lighting. I would suggest either get better (more) lights or find someone who could take it and try to save it for you. That might seem an odd suggestion but I would do it to help someone out. I hate to see them die a long slow death. I am sorry but that's the sad truth. : (

 

[Bmgrocks]

wow....why does this always have to turn into an argument....

Now since this is not an argument on weather or not corals, or ASSORTED INVERTS can or cannot be kept or even thrive under Power Compacts, but rather, advising the individual who is keeping the struggling anemone, i suggest we take this little debate elsewhere. and I'm more than happy to fuel your interest for a debate elsewhere.


However,
is the anemone being kept in a biocube or another all in one tank? My personal opinion is the anemone looks a little too far gone, and will need some serious TLC if it were able to bounce back. If the funds are availible, I would suggest upgrading your fixture. Please tell us what fixture your using so we can advise accordingly.

It may be best, if it were moved to another established tank with adequate lighting.

 

[Lmecher]

1goldclown do you belong to a reef club? If you don't you could look up one that is local to you, I am sure you could find someone local to you who'd be willing to help. I have found that sw fish people are genreally very nice, ok some are plain wierd and you all know what I mean but in general nice. If you post on your local club forum you might find someone. I would not hesitate, you've already let this go too long, next time something is amiss act sooner.

 

[Reefbox]

Have you been target feeding it any food?

Feed it some mysis or flake food.

 

[1GoldClown]

\OK sorry for the time away... the anemone is about 14-15 inchs from fixture (all pics below). The fixture I am currently using is a Current 65Wx2 PC bulbs and the lights are Purple,actinic blue, and daylight. Model #'s on bulbs are 2034 & 2036. The lighting cycle is purp.blue on at 715am then daylight at 730am lights off at 5 and 515. Water test have been done through local fish store and am currently looking for good test kits. I just currently bought IO salt to start making my own. Water changes are 5 gallons once a week. I have tried target feeding and it will not hold food at all and the mouth is almost always protruded as is my mushroom coral. I have used brine,flake,squid,blah,blah.... I dose water with molybdenum/strontium, iron, lugols solution, alk, calc. All chemicals are Kent marine except for iron (Natureef). Temperature of tank is hard to keep stable but I manage to keep it from 81 to 79 degrees. But in any normal day it will climb a degree or drop degree at night. The best i do to keep temp stable is keep a heater on water and during night I will put a glass top on to keep heat in and during day it is off hence the light fixture raises the temp.

I went from a Metal Halide lighting system and it was almost to powerful. 250watt 13 inchs from water surface and it burned my anomone and i think thats what started this whole mess. So I dfowngraded or upgraded whatever it is in the situation. I have a 29 gallon glass rectangle with a CPR bakpak the lighting system mentioned above and a viaaqua 2600 returning water from a wetdry and a maxijet 900 turning water in the tank.

Any info on Reefclubs and test kits would be taken seriously thank you.

 

[Lmecher]

Go through the list find a club in your area.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=535

 

[Lmecher]

I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, very reliable. Optimum temp is 78 and temp swing of a degree or 2 is normal. Where do you get your water? Are you using RO/DI? And yes, if it was not acclimated, the extremely intense 250 w.metal halide lighting could have caused it to bleach and slowly decline into what you have now. I would expect you had some heat issues also. I am on a 12 hr. photo period, I'd extend yours a couple of hours.

 

[cich4fish]

The anemone still has a chance but it is severly bleached. Have you changed your bulbs and are you running carbon to help with water clarity?

 

[1GoldClown]

I am not running carbon and I just got this fixture to help solve this problem.

 

[noboddi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13799574#post13799574 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoReefWanabe
i would like to see some documentation on this.....i dont think anemones are coral either...

"Corals" are critters in the phylum Cnidaria. This includes jellyfish, anenomes, corralimorphs, zoanthids, and the different orders of hard, soft, and leather corals.

They are all corals.

 

[Slakker]

No. All coral are cnidarians, but not all cnidarians are coral.

It sounds like this anemones condition has been gradually getting worse for the past several months.

I would consider two things, one, double check the reading on that thermometer. My Coralife thermometer is several degrees different from the floating glass thermometer that I have.
Two, swap out that actinic bulb for another 10,000 Kelvin. It may not be enough to save it, but it will at the very least, provide a lot more usable light for your anemone.

 

[noboddi]

Well, anenomes and scleractinians are both in the suborder hexacorallia, along with zaonthids.

But I have just re-read the section in Eric Borneman's book on Corals, and he does not make a distinction between corals and other cnidarians - he groups them all together. Do you have another source I can look at?

 

[Slakker]

Same subclass, different order. While most, if not all, Anthozoans are commonly called "coral," anemones are generally excluded from the term.

Anthozoa is only one of five classes (or one of two subphylums, depending on the source) belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. Referring to members of the other four classes "coral" would be somewhat akin to calling all members of the phylum Chordata "tunicates."

I am a Chordate, but I am certainly not a tunicate. I do, however, fear that we have drifted a bit off topic.