My Anemone Behavior ~???

[mikeyVR4]

Hello.

I have a Mini Maxi Anemone and a Bubble Tip Anemone. My question is with my BTA and I have had it for over 4 months now. The first week it moved around to find a spot he liked and stayed planted for 3.5 months. Up until last week, he was been moving around and I am unsure why. He eats every 3-4 days and poops normally.

I am afraid he will end up touching some of my LPS or SPS coral and kill/damage them. I hand feed the BTA and never felt any stinging sensation. (If I touch my frogspawn I DEFINITELY feel it).

Should I be worried that he may come into contact and kill my other corals? I may have to trade him in today at the LFS

My water parameters are great and I checked them more frequently since his latest movements. I am just not sure why he's moving.

Currently, he is at the bottom corner of my tank behind some liverock.



Thx.

 

[mikeyVR4]

Any help would be appreciated guys

 

[Allmost]

double check salinity and KH.

if good, try not feeding it for a while, see if it stops moving. that's how my old rose BTA was ! when I fed it, it moved in the coming days ! then I stopped feeding it ... still going strong after at least 9 years.

 

[mikeyVR4]

double check salinity and KH.

if good, try not feeding it for a while, see if it stops moving. that's how my old rose BTA was ! when I fed it, it moved in the coming days ! then I stopped feeding it ... still going strong after at least 9 years.

Okay thanks.

Salinity has been steady at .25 and I have been raising my KH the past few weeks from 8.3 to 11. Maybe that could be it.

For now, he has remained in the corner and now planted its foot on the rock. But then he usually roams at night. We shall see.

Thx.

 

[OrionN]

Salinity measure in part per thousand (ppt). Natural sea water(NSW) about 35 ppt. Specific gravity measure in gm/ml. NSW about 1.025 gm/ml.
I can guess what you mean but if I take what you wrote literally, it does not make any sense

 

[worm5406]

I agree Minh. It is funny to see the salinity reading some times. It takes a bit of puzzle work to figure out what a OP states. They seem to forget that one Zero.

 

[bues0022]

IME, one of the biggest reasons for a BTA to "move all of the sudden in an established tank" is from unstable water parameters. Maybe your water change had slightly different water conditions, house is closed up and running AC leading to a change in CO2 concentration in the air thereby affecting the water pH, etc. I also am a firm believe that just because you measure certain water parameters does not mean the water parameters are particularly stable. Getting a graph from a pH probe will show what I mean - it changes throughout the day.

 

[Allmost]

yea the KH change is the Issue, keep it stable and it wont move.

others .... we are a bunch of reef heads here ... .25, 1.025, 35 ... when speaking of salinity, we can all tell what it is so lets not be peaky about what is typed. we dont say "my Calcium concentration is CA++ = 400 PPM" we say CA at 400 .... and we understand each other just fine

 

[bues0022]

Doing what you say inherently leads to assumptions. You k ow what they say when you assume something....

There is absolutely no harm in asking for clarification to make sure it's not a typo, or that the OP maybe doesn't have something major goofed up.

 

[OrionN]

pH shift a lot when you add alkalinity or kalk into the tank. Both need to add really slow or else it stressed the animals in the tank.

Like I said before, I can guess you mean. "salinity of 25" I guess that you mean specific gravity of 1.025 mg/ml. This is just a guess. Better to be clear and communicate what you mean.

 

[worm5406]

Getting a graph from a pH probe will show what I mean - it changes throughout the day.

This is a graph from only 2 days. Yes it is not a large increase, it does show that there is some breathing/heartbeat throughout the day.

It is even stranger to look at over a 7 day timeframe.

 

[bues0022]

Thank you for putting that graph up! I know that the fluctuations are typically slight throughout the day, but many times we get into a habit of thinking parameters in our tanks are more constant than what they really are. I have known some people to have an even bigger swing in their pH (0.3 day/night at the worst). IMO, the animals in our tanks are more sensitive than our test kits, and some react while others don't. They can feel the swings, and I believe despite test kits showing relatively stable numbers, these fluctuations can be a cause for wandering anemones.

 

[justthewife]

Did you change anything in your tank recently? Flow, add or remove rocks, new coral, new lights, new fish or inverts?

 

[OrionN]

....... I have been raising my KH the past few weeks from 8.3 to 11. Maybe that could be it. ...

I think this was the problem. How have you been raising it? Specifically if you use Bicarb, how fast have you been adding it? I find that adding Kalk or Sodium Bicarbonate fast will irritate and stress the animals.

 

[Lostinthedark]

When is the last time you cleaned your powerheads? I know if I don't clean mine every few months they slow down considerably. Quick vinegar bath fixes that. Might be the flow slowed down around him. Or maybe he just got bored and wanted a new view.