Horrible Horrible Anemone
- Thread starter 1GoldClown
- Start date
marc price
Active member
replacing the actinic pc with something closer to a daylight k. ~10,000k or < will yield > lux/lum and par output (t5's/indv. reflectors would be better). you need to maintain stable h20q and get it to eat once or twice/week to bring it back. if it is eating, i think it can recover. good luck.
Last edited:
1GoldClown
New member
I have not been able to get another bulb just yet but is this a most definate thing to do?? And I put a removable sticker thermometer on the tank and it reads 82-84 when the digi is saying 78.2, water feels warm to the touch. So far it looks about the same acts the same and feeding is very hard because it will not hold anything. When I target feed directly to mouth it is not making any changes. If I add Lifo to the food will this help recovery? Bulb and glass floating thermometer are on the way.
I believe the optimal temp for a BTA is NOT 78. Most people keep their temperature too low. From what I have researched (pretty extensively) the optimal temperature is closer to 84. For every two degree drop in temperature, their metabolism slows by 10%. So, if you are at 78, then your anemone is only using 70% of the possible light. Only harnessing 70% of the not so powerful PC lights is not helping this anemone.
If I were you I would increase the temperature one degree every 2 weeks until you get it up to 82. Don't worry if your temperature fluctuates from 80-84. Temperature fluctuation in the reef is a good thing.
I would also buy another thermometer. Go to Wal Mart and pick up a cheap glass one. Look at all the glass ones, and pick one up that reads the same as most of the others.
I would try shredding pieces of raw shrimp with a cheese grater, and use a turkey baster to squirt the food at the anemone. If it doesn't accept shrimp, try something else like scallops, tuna steak, clam, or any raw seafood.
Also, I would stop dosing molybdenum/strontium and iron for awhile. Any decent salt mix should have enough of these.
What kind of powerheads/pumps do you have?
If I were you I would increase the temperature one degree every 2 weeks until you get it up to 82. Don't worry if your temperature fluctuates from 80-84. Temperature fluctuation in the reef is a good thing.
I would also buy another thermometer. Go to Wal Mart and pick up a cheap glass one. Look at all the glass ones, and pick one up that reads the same as most of the others.
I would try shredding pieces of raw shrimp with a cheese grater, and use a turkey baster to squirt the food at the anemone. If it doesn't accept shrimp, try something else like scallops, tuna steak, clam, or any raw seafood.
Also, I would stop dosing molybdenum/strontium and iron for awhile. Any decent salt mix should have enough of these.
What kind of powerheads/pumps do you have?
GoBigOrGoHome
New member
I'd stack the rocks differently to get your anemone higher in the water column if you can't change the bulb. I have an RBTA in an 8-gal biocube (18w PC's) in which one of the bulbs doesn't always turn on the past couple weeks... gotta get that looked at. Criticize me on that one all you want, but the anemone looks great, feeds aggressively, and is overall very healthy, and I've got 5 other, larger, higher lighting tanks to move it to that are already housing RBTA's should its condition begin to worsen. The reason for its well-being, I believe, is that it is so high in the water column that it's tentacles touch the surface of the water when fully extended. IMO, if the anemone is still attached to the rock and is not melting away, it can certainly be brought back. Aside from the bleaching, those pictures don't look too horrible, although you can't see the mouth, and that very well might look bad.
Continue to try to feed it, put it higher so it can photosynthesize, do something about your water clarity (carbon), change some water to ensure good growing conditions, and it just might be on the road to recovery.
Continue to try to feed it, put it higher so it can photosynthesize, do something about your water clarity (carbon), change some water to ensure good growing conditions, and it just might be on the road to recovery.
GoBigOrGoHome
New member
Huh?
1GoldClown
New member
OK we have got some good news.... my baby ate some brine and she also held on a little better than before. Walmart has floating glass thermo's? Anyway I think this will turn around. On the other hand I have a 17 gallon hex and I am wondering what I can house in it... something different and unique. ALL IDEAS TAKEN SERIOUSLY!!
The temperature on a reef fluctuates daily. It doesn't stay the constant 80 degrees like many people keep their tank at. The temperature goes up and down all the time and reefs see swings of 5,6,7 or more degrees daily.
Thermal stress is not brought on by a certain high temperature. For example, if my tank gets to 87 degrees (2 degrees above the normal high, nothing bad will happen. Now if someone who doesn't let their tank get above 80 lets the temperature rise to 87, that 7 degree difference will cause trouble for everything in the tank. Try researching a bit on "Thermal stress." It is pretty interesting stuff. It has made me realize that most of the population keeps their tanks temperature way too stable.
To add onto that...
If corals, anemones, and fish weren't able to tolerate rapid changes in temperature they all would have died thousands of years ago.
If corals, anemones, and fish weren't able to tolerate rapid changes in temperature they all would have died thousands of years ago.
K9Nurse911
New member
Hey 1goldclown- we're in the same area...I'm aalso in the Tampa Bay area...we have a few local clubs, with lots of knowledgeable (and kooky) people 
I have only been reefing for about 8 months, so I'm not knowledgeable enough to offer advise on nursing your nem...I've messed up a few times on my own with them...however, if you PM me, I can put you in touch with some locals that are pretty knowledgeable and would most-definitely help you out.
- Andrea
I have only been reefing for about 8 months, so I'm not knowledgeable enough to offer advise on nursing your nem...I've messed up a few times on my own with them...however, if you PM me, I can put you in touch with some locals that are pretty knowledgeable and would most-definitely help you out.
- Andrea
marc price
Active member
next time try a small pencil eraser size morsal of suppermarket table shrimp.
Good to hear that the anemone is eating a little. Marc's advice sounds good, brine shrimp isn't them most nutritious food to feed it.
As for your 17 gallon, you could keep a BTA and a clown. If I had a spare 17 gallon to set up, I would get several rock anemones (Epicystis crucifer) of varying colors and have them on a large piece of live rock as the center of attention. They are easy to keep, natives of southern florida and the carribean actually, and you could get by with either PC or t-5's. They aren't host anemones, so I wouldn't plan on keeping a clown with them.
As for your 17 gallon, you could keep a BTA and a clown. If I had a spare 17 gallon to set up, I would get several rock anemones (Epicystis crucifer) of varying colors and have them on a large piece of live rock as the center of attention. They are easy to keep, natives of southern florida and the carribean actually, and you could get by with either PC or t-5's. They aren't host anemones, so I wouldn't plan on keeping a clown with them.
1GoldClown
New member
I have a saltwater multipack of food, go figure. I will try the shrimp.
K9Nurse911- thank you for the info, if you could PM me the full info and that way I can set myself up for the club!
Garygb- I was actually thinking of putting the current BTA and clown I have now in there are starting out with some new clowns. I kinda like Tom. clowns. And where can I find lighting for a tank of this shape and size that will be sufficient enough to keep anemone's and or coral?
K9Nurse911- thank you for the info, if you could PM me the full info and that way I can set myself up for the club!
Garygb- I was actually thinking of putting the current BTA and clown I have now in there are starting out with some new clowns. I kinda like Tom. clowns. And where can I find lighting for a tank of this shape and size that will be sufficient enough to keep anemone's and or coral?
Slakker
Premium Member
A 70w clip-on halide lamp would be great over a 17 hex I think.
Personally, having seen a BTA that was nearly 2' in diameter, there's no way I'd put one in a tank that small (nor would I put tomato clowns in a 29g, but that's just me.)
Definitely don't move this anemone to a different tank until it's healthy.
Personally, having seen a BTA that was nearly 2' in diameter, there's no way I'd put one in a tank that small (nor would I put tomato clowns in a 29g, but that's just me.)
Definitely don't move this anemone to a different tank until it's healthy.
1GoldClown
New member
Slakker- I agree completely with not moving the anemone until healthy and as for the 70w clip on would that be sufficient and where can I price one or even a brand name to look.
Publix supermarket gets a point from me being as they gave me 3 huge shrimps(haha) for FREE. They looked at me crazy when I said " Can I have just ONE shrimp?" Anyway got the new food for Saturday feed-time.
Garygb- I was looking at rock anemones at saltwaterfish.com and was wondering haw many of these I can put on one rock, in one tank etc...
Publix supermarket gets a point from me being as they gave me 3 huge shrimps(haha) for FREE. They looked at me crazy when I said " Can I have just ONE shrimp?" Anyway got the new food for Saturday feed-time.
Garygb- I was looking at rock anemones at saltwaterfish.com and was wondering haw many of these I can put on one rock, in one tank etc...
To answer your question about E. crucifer, in a 17 gallon tank, I would say 3 or 4 should be fine. They get about 7-8 inches across. I have two and they are very nice. They don't roam and they have a reputation for being quite hardy. You would be fine with a 70 watt halide with this species. They are less light demanding than many of the host anemones. However, mine are under 150 watt MH toward the bottom and seems to love it. They like to attach in caves in the liverock or to the liverock just under the sand. They are quite sticky and I would expect they could nab small fish like gobies etc. I don't know if you plan on having any fish or not, but if so, I wouldn't trust anything too tiny. If it were me, I would most likely have no fish in a tank that small (perhaps one royal gramma--since they are from the Carribean too). You could have zoanthids, mushrooms, other atlantic/carribean species of cnidaria. I ordered mine from Sea Life Inc. and they were in great shape, however, I checked and right now they aren't offering any of that species for sale at the moment. I saw where That Fish Place/That Pet Place has some, and for such a hardy species, I think you would be okay ordering from them. I personally would want to get a variety of colors, e.g. tan and green. I would love to have one of the orange ones, but they seem to be rather hard to come by. This is one of the few species of anemone that has successfully sexually reproduced in hobbyiest aquariums.
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