Magnificent Stubby Tentacles

[Insane_Realmz]

I've had this amazing Magnificent Anemone for a few years now, but I cannot figure out why he's morphed from a gorgeous Magnificent to a sickly Sebae. I cannot figure out a better way to describe it. He had long tentacles that looked like what you'd see on a reef in the wild. A years passed and he's strunk his tentacles to nubs. Sometimes there are messengies protruding from the tips, with some brown stuff expelled. I've looked all over the internet for someone seeing the same thing and I've found nothing. So I have no idea what to do here.

This nem did suffer a bleaching event summer of 2020. He's since got his color back, but not like the purple/green he had. He's been looking stubby like this since that summer. His tentacles are not sticky. I have to hold food by his mouth like I'm nursing him. He eats, slowly, about every couple days. I vary his diet with scallops, silversides, and shrimp.

He does have a partner younger Magnificent next to him, who is doing so well, it sheds doubt on whether there is anything wrong with the tank system itself. Parameters are on point.

I don't know if my nem is suffering from burns from the lighting (AI Hydras retrofitted with new LED's), or if he just never healed properly from his bleaching event. He looked like this before the young nem was added, so it can't be from the addition. Anybody have any ideas? See the pictures attached.

 

[humphreyhh]

It looks like a weird carpet anemone now...

My friends told me their nems tentacles getting smaller was when they are not comfortable and wasting away. Some people says it's hungry but it's really not...they been eating fine.

Eventually their anemones passed away and only left with a base without any tentacles. They never found out what the causes were....

I hope that is not what is happening with your nem. It's really beautiful.


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[Mikefallen13]

Shrinking tentacles usually indicate starvation, it likely starved due to the lack of zooxanthellae after the bleaching and began to re-absorb its own tentacles to survive. Have the tentacles shown any improvement since the summer?

 

[Insane_Realmz]

I want to agree with you about the starving notion. Other then getting back his color back, his tentacles have actually shortened more and more since the bleaching event.

I feed every 2 days. Even tried smaller portions and daily, but he'd puke up the food. He and I have settled on small (size of his mouth) portions every two days, and he eats with no puking. There's something missing for sure, maybe in his food. He has had two zooxanthallae transplants from the other Mag nem too, and I attribute his color coming back to this transplant. I think the zooxanthallae are there, but no idea on how to get them really popping like before.

I'm open to suggestions, maybe there something I can dose to help?

 

[Mikefallen13]

Definitely very strange.

Sounds like you're already doing pretty much everything I'd recommend to do, its just bizarre to me that the tentacles continue to worsen even though you are actively feeding it and its coloring back up. It definitely seems there must be other factors at play here.

I'm more familiar with carpet anemones, I had one Mag a couple years back and recently picked up another, but hopefully some of the people who have more experience with them will chime in. Best of luck with it, hope it returns to its former glory!

 

[Jamie1210]

that's so crazy! Had I not known, I would have said that it's a different anemone!

I've kept magnificas for awhile now, and I've experienced all sorts of issues with them over the years, but I've never seen one act like yours before.

One thing I *do* know is that having that 2nd mag next to it can't be doing it any favors. I know that you said the problems began before the 2nd one was added; however, what if the original one was on the path of getting better, but, in its weakened state, is even more sickly because of chemical warfare with the mag next to it?

Obviously, there is something that it doesn't like in your tank. I had a mag in a 40 gallon that just suddenly started shrinking for no reason. Lost its stickiness. This is what I did: I would remove it from the system it is in. Take some Live rock, and put it in another tank with some good lighting and a hang on back filter. Observe for a few weeks. Does it seem different? If you feed it (after it's no longer stressed from the move) does it have a better feeding response? Keep on top of water changes. Let it live there for a few weeks and see what happens.

I realized that my mag absolutely HATED my 40 gallon tank. I had no idea why. After noticing that it was much happier in my 20 gallon temporary tank, I moved it to my main 135 DT (despite being full of different other anemones), and it's been thriving ever since.

 

[Insane_Realmz]

He hated the 40 gallon? That is funny. Was it a 40 breeder tank or a tall tank? I was curious about the lighting height. I'm glad he's thriving in your big tank.

 

[Tkieu78]

A buddy told me once that mags are either independent or colonizing. Colonizing mags can tolerate each other and will split. As opposed to the independent ones that get huge and never split and will kill other mags if near.


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[Jamie1210]

He hated the 40 gallon? That is funny. Was it a 40 breeder tank or a tall tank? I was curious about the lighting height. I'm glad he's thriving in your big tank.

Sorry for the late response! It was just an IM Nuvo 40 with 4 bulb ATI T5's. Lighting should have been just right. In the end, I figured that mags are just finicky. Luckily, I have multiple tanks to move them around in to try.

 

[OrionN]

He just need more food, and better condition, maybe more flow and light.

 

[Jamie1210]

any updates? I am curious how this ended up.

 

[Insane_Realmz]

I've changed a few things around the tank, improved water flow, sped up water flow through sump, plumped the Skimmer from the return pump instead of being fed directly from display tank and then flowing to the sump, and replaced the crappy AI light that I was using. I'm now using a Kessil A360NE directly over my nem, and have tuned to a little more blue than what I had. I got this idea from Orion's last post.

My pink nem adjusted after just a week and his tentacles have started to extend a little more. They're still fat and stubby, but less than the picts you see above. I'll post updated picts later. He's kept his pinkish/purplish color and is overall, looking more promising.

My little tan nem bleached out completely though. He did this before the Kessil install, which has made me abandon AI lights altogether. He is slowly getting some color back, thanks to my changes.

So to update, I'm reporting a slow recovery and I am hopeful. Thanks to all for your input.

Cheers.

 

[OrionN]

@Insane_Realmz
Update?