Missing Anemone

[lviva003]

Hello everyone,

Last week I decided to buy a RBTA from my lfs. The anemone was in great shape and had amazing coloration and it was about three inches or so. As soon as I got home a let the bag sit in my tank and then dripped acclimated the anemone. The first day, I thought the anemone was doing great and looked healthy, it looked the same way it was in my LFS. On day two, the anemone was nowhere to be seen. I did some research and came into the conclusion that the anemone is just trying to find it's sweet spot. As the days went by I started to become more concerned because I could not find any sign of the anemone. It has been a week since I got the anemone and I have yet to see any sign of the RBTA. I have searched almost every corner in my tank and I have not been able to see it. The only part I have not checked is underneath my rock because all of my rock are glued together, but I highly doubt the anemone can be there since the rock is buried into the sand. Therefore, I don't think the anemone would actually dig into the sand I buried itself there. I was wondering if anybody can share their experiences with their anemones as to how long the anemone can disappeared for? Also, I wanted to know if I should start getting really worried since anemones need light for survival and I highly doubt my RBTA is getting any lighting whatsoever.

Tank specs:

6 month old (I know is somewhat new, but I have been very attentive to my tank)
36 gallon
HOB aquaclear filter running FLOSS, GFO, and Carbon. (Floss is changed every week and GFO and Carbon is changed every two weeks)
HOB reef octopus skimmer
1 25mpw jebao pump
Apex controller
Reef Breeders 24 photon
BRS RODI Filter
Salt Mix: Crystal Sea Marine Mix Bio-assay Lab Formula Mix
Water Changes: 6 Gallon water change perform weekly

Inhabitants:

1 black and white clown fish
1 six line wrasse
1 bi-color blenny
1 firefish
4 hermit crabs

Corals*:
Pink tip frogspawn
Fathead frogspawn
Rasta Zoa
Green Zoa
Trumpet Coral
2 ricordeas
blasto
duncan
red mushroom
*All of my corals have been thriving and multiplying.

Parameters as of today:

PH: 8
Temp: 78.5
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm

Please any help would be greatly appreciated since I do not want my tank to crash.

Thank you,

Luis

 

[Silvergryphon]

Do you have any form of a cover over the intake to the aquaclear filter? Might check the filter to see if it got sucked up inside.

 

[lviva003]

Do you have any form of a cover over the intake to the aquaclear filter? Might check the filter to see if it got sucked up inside.

I checked the filter and skimmer and i have not found any sign of the anemone... I dont know what to do anymore, this anemone is making me very worry about my tank.

 

[lviva003]

I have a question, worst case scenario, if the anenome died in my tank, will my tank crash?
and if so how long would that process take? Any warning signs besides high ammonia? Thank you.

 

[neontreefrog5]

if it dies it will most likely cause a tank crash. itll foul the tank up very very quickly. this happens whenever anything dies really, but in a few cases things can poison the tank upon dying due to poisons in their body. things like boxfish (secreting ostracitoxin) and sea apples. they might hide under rocks when theyre new, if theyre stressed, or if theyre going to die. i would just check to be sure before it does end up dead and making the water nasty.

 

[adakin]

I'm also a new BTA owner, so I don't have any experience, but it seems like the only thing you can do at this point is wait. I would think a 3" BTA can get pretty tiny when it's deflated... very easy to be in a crevice and not noticeable.

I would make sure you keep running carbon and monitoring things closely.

There's some good anecdotal evidence here about a dying BTA not crashing a tank (depending on tank size, time left in tank, etc.).

 

[kmb06015]

Strange, my BTA disappeared last night as well. I looked for it all over this morning, hoping to find it hiding under a rock or something when I get home from work.

If a BTA could cause a tank crash, how quickly would it happen? Worried if it died I wouldn't be able to find it.

 

[Kaman8]

You will defiantly know if the nem is dead in the tank, the water will smell really really bad.

 

[HVAC Guy]

Not much you can do but wait at the moment. Ive had anemones go missing for 3 months and crawl out from the back. They can hide well at times, depending on your aquascaping.Youll know within a day or 2 if its dead.

 

[lviva003]

Thank you everyone. Ill keep an eye out to see if there are any signs of the anemone and ill keep you guys posted.

 

[SammyL]

Any update on this, did you find him?

 

[lviva003]

Any update on this, did you find him?

Unfortunately I never got to see the anemone again. I am really disappointed. Every once in a while I try looking for it, but there are never any signs.

 

[SwampyBill]

It may just be hiding from that powerful Photon lighting, & still turn up. They can shrink up to almost nothing when hiding or acclimating to lighting.

 

[Silvergryphon]

Mine will disappear into the rock work for a while, squeezing through spots you'd never think it could fit through, then pop up somewhere else completely.

 

[lviva003]

It may just be hiding from that powerful Photon lighting, & still turn up. They can shrink up to almost nothing when hiding or acclimating to lighting.

I have my lighting set at 30% max. I do not want to lower or increase intensity of my lighting since the corals are doing great. The anemone has been in the tank for 2 months, is there still a chance it can still be acclimating? I hate to say it, but I think the anemone is dead. There has not been any sign that is alive for two months. Thanks everyone! if it ever shows up I will definitely let you guys know.