Is my LTA dead or pooping

J

jacobzking

New member
Is my LTA dead or just literally taking a crap? He seemed fine this morning and suddenly after feeding him he shriveled up and looks like this. He has been nice and open up until now, and his tentacles are nice and sticky. He's still attached to the rock... water levels are good (0 ammo, 0 nitrite, 0-5 nitrate, sg 1.025, 8.3ph, 77.5°, 440 calcium, kh 9)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGXIjARQ9jM
 
The link to the movie doesn't work for me.

IMO, if he's not moving around I wouldn't worry about it much. My LTA is not shy about moving if he's in the slightest unhappy.
 
i think he was just pooping. I just hadnt seem him look that unhealthy before. Glad I dont look like that when I take a crap.
 
Have you had him very long? Just wondering, because LTAs generally like to be in the sand next to a rock, with their feet attached to the bottom of the tank. Looks like yours is on top of your rockwork.
 
****UPDATE****

i guess he was just crapping, he opened up shortly after that and seems to be fine. to answer the other questions: tank is a 125gal long. there's plenty of sand but he just likes that rock. had him a little over a week. tank seems to be great. all my fish seem to be in great shape (minus the anemone which Todd think look like crap... and this is my first anemone so I'll trust his judgement... that's why I was a little freaked out when he was crapping cause I thought it was dying).

Todd, I'll post an update on the LTA when he's not having a BM so you can see if he looks better. Actually, I just looked at the original video I posted and he looks WAY different now. Now, he has a lot more of a "rose" color to him. I see what you mean about him being bleached before.
 
Dude, not to nitpick, but looking at the other threads posted, you seem to ignore everyones advice/suggestions and do your own thing anyway... your tank is WAY too new for the anemone... this hobby has a responsibility to the livestock... to give them a GOOD life, not to display them for a week, then toss them because they die...
We all make mistakes, and HOPEFULLY, we all learn from them. but to have the dying critters over and over again, it's time to put the brakes on and quit torturing these LIVING creatures for your entertainment...
 
Your anemone doesn't appear to be healthy, but its not dieing from what it looks like. Also they like sand beds and are never normally on rock work unless theres issues like maybe old/stock bulbs that are not good or insufficient lights, it also could be water parameters. The rock work looks like it does not have coraline,algae or buildup at all on it which makes me think this tank is pretty new. So with that said, you will have a tough journey to keep him alive and I would be doing water changes weekly at a minimum or even twice a week wouldn't be a bad idea to keep all levels stable.

Just My .02
Conrad
 
Conrad25 said:
Your anemone doesn't appear to be healthy, but its not dieing from what it looks like. Also they like sand beds and are never normally on rock work unless theres issues like maybe old/stock bulbs that are not good or insufficient lights, it also could be water parameters. The rock work looks like it does not have coraline,algae or buildup at all on it which makes me think this tank is pretty new. So with that said, you will have a tough journey to keep him alive and I would be doing water changes weekly at a minimum or even twice a week wouldn't be a bad idea to keep all levels stable.

Just My .02
Conrad
Click to expand...

It's a brand new tank and he only has weak T5 lighting over it. He already had a shark die in the tank. Many people have given advice, he has taken none of it. Click on the link that Todd posted above, it shows the other thread where he asks about this particular anemone.
 
SkullV said:
It's a brand new tank and he only has weak T5 lighting over it. He already had a shark die in the tank. Many people have given advice, he has taken none of it. Click on the link that Todd posted above, it shows the other thread where he asks about this particular anemone.
Click to expand...


Oh thanks for pointing that out. This was someone that took everyones input including mine previously with a grain of salt. Why bother asking if you don't listen?
 
Skull, Conrad, 5ft...

first off, the LFS sold me a diseased shark; that's why it died. secondly, no other fish have died in my tank. some of the rock has plenty of coraline, but the anemone chose that rock. why he didnt choose the sand, I don't know. there's plenty in the tank (more than enough for my ray to bury himself).

on to the facts... there's about an inch of live sand on the bottom (100lbs). I have some large rock that's pretty much 100% covered in coraline (some is, some isn't). my water parameters are near perfect (my SG is a little low at 1.025, but I have to compromise to keep everyone within their range). ammo 0, nitrite 0, nitrate between 0-5, ph 8.3, sg1.025, kh 9-10, calcium 440, 4x 21w lights on for 10 hours a day (about 18" above the anemone).

as soon as youtube goes back online (cant post video at the moment) I'll post a progress video. i can say that his color looks much better than he did when i brought him home.
 
The fact remains that that isn't enough light for an LTA (( M. doreensis )), and they are still sand dwelling anemones and your sandbed isn't deep enough for it.
 
Jacob, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt and I do not know that much about anemones, that if you do not upgrade your lighting that LTA will bleach out and die. The rest is what it is, if you can keep it stable then that is fine, but you simply do not have the necessary lighting for that anemone.
 
Last edited:
jacobzking said:
why he didnt choose the sand, I don't know. (more than enough for my ray to bury himself)…..
4x 21w lights on for 10 hours a day (about 18" above the anemone).
Click to expand...
Toddrtrex said:
The fact remains that that isn't enough light for an LTA (( M. doreensis )), and they are still sand dwelling anemones and your sandbed isn't deep enough for it.
Click to expand...
Conrad25 said:
Your anemone doesn't appear to be healthy, but its not dieing from what it looks like. Also they like sand beds and are never normally on rock work unless theres issues like maybe old/stock bulbs that are not good or insufficient lights, it also could be water parameters.
Click to expand...
Why hasn’t it chosen the sand? See above. It’s not just that it likes the sand the way you may like red and I may like blue. Why don’t you see polar bears in the desert? They prefer the cold/ice. Same goes here. An LTA will not be on the rocks if it is healthy and proper conditions are being met. Obviously the proper conditions are not being met – so it is altering its patterns in an attempt to stay alive. I’ll also admit I’m a bit nervous about a ray in such a new tank, and – from what I’ve seen about rays before – not a big enough tank.
My best advice is to slow down, read lots, and don’t trust everything the LFS has to say. If you aren’t going to heed the advice of the experts here, they will discontinue answering questions when they know their tips are falling on dead ears.
 
SkullV said:
Jacob, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt and I do not know that much about anemones, that if you do not upgrade your lighting that LTA will bleach out and die. The rest is what it is, if you can keep it stable then that is fine, but you simply do not have the necessary lighting for that anemone.
Click to expand...

I'm confident about everything else in my tank and the tank itself... its just the anemone that needs upgraded living conditions.

-How much more sand does it need? There's 100lbs in there now, about an inch thick.

-How much lighting (feel free to point me to a "kit") will this guy need? I just don't know that I'm willing to spend an arm and a leg on lighting just for that LTA. Especially if the lighting is sufficient for everything else in the tank other than my $40 LTA.

Here's an updated video on my LTA. Compared to the first video, his color looks WAY better. Maybe he's not healthy, but for what its worth, he looks to be improving; not declining in health:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQiJxxvC0eo


here's when I first got him (bleached):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXoQCfkyYZo


As far as the ray... my tank is a little on the small side but not too bad. He's a male and wont get as big as a female. Plus my 125 is a 125 long (72") so he has plenty of room. I'll likely end up with a 300-500 gal tank by this time next year. For the moment, the tank is more than ample for my little ray.
 
I paused both videos and went back and forth...maybe it is my eyes, but it looks about the same, if not slightly worse. The top left quarter of the oral disc seems a bit lighter in the new video.

Would need to have at least 3 inch sandbed (( could be that deep locally )) for it to be happy.

What do you consider an arm and a leg? For some $500 for lighting wouldn't be much, whereas for others $300 would be too much. If you aren't willing to get the proper lighting (( if it costs too much )), then you should have never bought the anemone in the first place.

An observation; if you are worried about spending too much for lighting now, how is the "300-500" gallon tank going to happen?
 
Toddrtrex said:
I paused both videos and went back and forth...maybe it is my eyes, but it looks about the same, if not slightly worse. The top left quarter of the oral disc seems a bit lighter in the new video.

Would need to have at least 3 inch sandbed (( could be that deep locally )) for it to be happy.

What do you consider an arm and a leg? For some $500 for lighting wouldn't be much, whereas for others $300 would be too much. If you aren't willing to get the proper lighting (( if it costs too much )), then you should have never bought the anemone in the first place.

An observation; if you are worried about spending too much for lighting now, how is the "300-500" gallon tank going to happen?
Click to expand...

Great points and I have to +1 to all his comments.:thumbsup: Going larger doesn't get cheaper or stay the same by any means in this hobby as much as we would like it too. If it did, I would already have a 500G tank:lol2:

Conrad
 
Toddrtrex said:
if you are worried about spending too much for lighting now, how is the "300-500" gallon tank going to happen?
Click to expand...

a) I don't want to spend too much on lighting, especially if I'm going to upgrade the tank before too long (unless I can use the lights on a larger tank).

b) I didn't realize the anemone would need so much light when I bought him; first anemone obviously. an anemone was never part of the plan, but the LFS had him and the clown that was already being hosted, so I bought the combo.

my main goal is to have a ray or two and a shark, and maybe some "filler fish." I can justify spending $5-7k on a tank if need be, to satisfy my shark/ray urge. But I can't justify spending $500 on lights for a temporary tank. However... I won't mind spending the money on lights IF they could also be used to satisfy a 300-500gal tank. I think when I build my next tank, it would be 8' or 10' long. so if I can buy 2x 36" lights that I could also use on the larger 8' tank then I'd certainly consider it.
 
Toddrtrex said:
Would need to have at least 3 inch sandbed (( could be that deep locally )) for it to be happy.
Click to expand...

i'm going to buy some more sand for the tank today. no harm in more sand, right? how can I add another 50-100lbs of sand in to the tank without completely clouding it up and irritating the fish?
 
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