New anemone, need help.

[Chag]

I just got my first anemone about 3 days ago. I think it is a RBTA? I've never kept an anemone before and I want to know if he is healthy or not.

The front tentacles are always contracted when the lights are on and the anemone is shrunken down too. At night after the lights go out, he stretches out and flops around in the current and sometimes will get twisted a few times on his foot. (looks like wringing out a rag). I've fed him brine shrimp and and raw shrimp. This morning I saw him all puffy. Are these normal behaviors?

You can see what I'm talking about here in the picture.

 

[WDLV]

It's not the best looking one I've ever seen but that may just be because it's still acclimating. If it's deflating fully and reinflating fully I would be concerned. It looks to me as though the RBTA pictured has recently been divided manually. This might explain the different tentacle lengths or it may just be acting unpredictably (normal).

I do see that it is attached; which is a good start.

What kind of lighting are you using and how old is your tank? How are your parameters? Anything out of whack?

 

[Chag]

My lighting is 2x18w Nova Extreme t5. The tank is a 10 gallon nano. Water params are all good. Everything in the tank is healthy cept some xenias.

I got the anemone from a local reefer who was getting out of the hobby. It was an impulse buy. My tank is AIO and has been up for about a month. Nothing has died in there cept 1 hermit crab. I think he was ripped out and killed by the CBS.

I know I shouldn't be keeping anems at this stage and I originally didn't plan on having one, but this thing was so pretty and cheap, I had to get it. Now that it is here, I just want to do everything I can to make it work, especially since my baby clowns already bonded with it.

Here is a pic of the tank

 

[Chag]

It's not the best looking one I've ever seen but that may just be because it's still acclimating. If it's deflating fully and reinflating fully I would be concerned. It looks to me as though the RBTA pictured has recently been divided manually. This might explain the different tentacle lengths or it may just be acting unpredictably (normal).

I do see that it is attached; which is a good start.

What kind of lighting are you using and how old is your tank? How are your parameters? Anything out of whack?

I have only seen it inflate this morning for the first time right before the lights went on. It stays small and scrunched down during lighting. At night it doesn't inflate... it just stretches and looks....long and floppy:rolleye1:.

My CBS is over by it a lot during the night time, looks like he is picking through the tentacles? I plan on getting rid of him anyways. He is pure evil.

 

[timjoemak]

Dear chag, I've asked this to other people as well, but how do you keep your sand so AMAZINGLY clean? And btw, I think your RBTA has made a fantastic start by clinging onto the rock and are you sure that is a 10 gallon nano? because it looks much bigger than I think it is Cheers mate.

 

[WDLV]

I think it'll be OK. Particularly since you got it from another reefer and it's been in captivity for at least as long as they had it.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Chag, move it up into the rockwork, about midway up the tank. Once it gets accustomed to your tank it will likely start to wander to find a comfy spot. Since you are using PC's it will want to be nearer to the light.

 

[Chag]

Dear chag, I've asked this to other people as well, but how do you keep your sand so AMAZINGLY clean? And btw, I think your RBTA has made a fantastic start by clinging onto the rock and are you sure that is a 10 gallon nano? because it looks much bigger than I think it is Cheers mate.

Thank you . The anem came with the rock he was attached to. So I had no part in that. the clowns are about 1/2-3/4inch so you can judge by that how small the tank is. The sand came clean like that, I haven't done anything to it at all. Maybe my CUC(3 nassarius, 3 hermits) keeps it that way? I have pretty good flow over them cause the MJ900 stream comes from the left wall and bounces off the front glass. Oh, I just cleaned up some of the larger rubble in the picture with......chopsticks.

So the anem is acting normal with all the twisting, stretching, shrinking?

 

[Chag]

Chag, move it up into the rockwork, about midway up the tank. Once it gets accustomed to your tank it will likely start to wander to find a comfy spot. Since you are using PC's it will want to be nearer to the light.

I think the lights are T5s HO 10k/460 actinic. I can try moving it up. Will the clowns still live in it? How will I know if it is happy at its new location?

 

[gweston]

As others have said.. I'd just move it up a bit higher in the tank and just give it time. RBTA's love rocks and aren't sand dwellers. If they can wedge their foot in a crevice and peek out, they seem to be happiest.

My RBTA is very happy in my 29gal under (2x)10k&actinic T5HO's. Mine opens up during the day. The tentacles tend to deflate and it shrinks a bit at night. But it does different things depending on it's mood and whether it has been fed (or is taking a dump). I was new to anemones when I got it too, and at first was very concerned about it's behavior. Turns out it was pretty normal for it. Sometimes they will shrink up or hide. Sometimes they may twist themselves. If they want to move, the will move.

You should get very concerned if it does any of the following

-loss of color/bleaching
-foot detaches for an extended period of time and sort of 'lays' there.
-if its mouth is agape, sagging, or at worse expelling 'guts'

A dying/dead anemone can foul a tank something serious and in a short time.

Luckily my RBTA stayed very close to where I wanted it to stay. Center of the tank about midway tank depth. I try to keep it happy by feeding it just a little bit of quality mysis (unfrozen) twice a week. Be very careful to not overfeed. That way it feels like it gets it's light and it gets it's food where it is. For a critter without a brain, they apparently can be picky LOL.

 

[Easily Distracted]

I am in no way an expert but I've been watching CSI and have a theory. ; )
Could the anemone be acting normally during the day and just acclimating and at night when the shrimp gets bold and comes out it irritates the anemone making him expell water as a defensive reaction causing him to flop around at night? I say you bring that CBS in for questioning.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I would keep an eye on those clowns, given the size of the anemone compared to the clown, they could very well cause some stress/damage.

 

[Chag]

thanks for all the help guys. the CBS is gone, I just traded him in and purchased a cleaner shrimp. The guy ate a hermit and I've seen nips in my clown's fins. I'll keep what you guy say in mind.

I hope the clowns aren't stressing the anem. They are the main reason I'm trying to raise the anem.

btw, CSI is win.

 

[WDLV]

I would keep an eye on those clowns, given the size of the anemone compared to the clown, they could very well cause some stress/damage.

This may be another explanation to why the tentacles are a little shorter in places. The previous residents may have "loved" it a little too much.

 

[madkat]

WDLV, what Chag fails to tell you is his tank has only been setup a month. added fish at day 2 and cleanup crew at 3 everything else has been added the first month.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841147

will it survive? maybe does he care I don't think so. He is trying to prove a point that he can keep all things alive without following the standards that we all have followed.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840981

 

[WDLV]

10' pole........................................................................................................................................................................................................Me.

Second thought...

Chag,
I am a rebel too. As such, I do apperciate the sentiment but there are certain things that you need to know and be experienced with before you should attempt going rogue. When people with experience ranging 5,10,20 or more years all tell you the same thing based on their experience, they're telling you so that maybe you will not have to make some of the same mistakes that they have had to go through to be able to pass that information on to you. That advise may or may not match a particular application and will differ from person to person and system to system... sometimes significantly. The basics remain the same.
I think people on this and other forums will continue to try to help you but I hope your attitude has or will change regarding the advise you get from those who have come before you have tried to pass on. Try to go with the majority when you get conflicting advise. When you have a solid handle on how things work in a system, then you can start tweaking this and that to observe the different results and see if your ideas work.
Starting out the way you are I suspect that you will have a lot of failures. I hope that if you still decide not to listen to us that you at least learn from your mistakes.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Well said Walt. Hopefully it won't fall on deaf ears.

 

[Chag]

This may be another explanation to why the tentacles are a little shorter in places. The previous residents may have "loved" it a little too much.

I moved the anem and his tentacles are normal length now. I think the short tentacles in the front are due to strong flow. The Mj900 I have bounces off the front wall and the anem was an inch off the front wall before.

 

[Chag]

WDLV, what Chag fails to tell you is his tank has only been setup a month. added fish at day 2 and cleanup crew at 3 everything else has been added the first month.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841147

will it survive? maybe does he care I don't think so. He is trying to prove a point that he can keep all things alive without following the standards that we all have followed.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1840981

Half true, I am trying to prove a point. Not going to deny that. But I also do care for my critters. If not, why would I be posting here asking for help? People make it seem like I don't listen to anything. The only thing I'm skeptical about is the length of cycling and stocking during cycling. I've listened and read lots of threads before going into the hobby. The tank is DIY and I def didn't pull that out of my butt, it was after reading a 13pg long thread by yousmellfishy. I'm in no way saying cycling isn't need. I'm trying to suggest that the backachingly long amount of time people wait could just be a choice and that it won't be armageddon in your tank if you chose to stock early (If the right amount of precautions are taken).

 

[WDLV]

I believe that there is some truth to this because I have done it many times myself. I am one who does not typically test my levels except for SG. I have done it recently because I was dosing Tech-M for bryopsis in a brand new setup.
I have not done a nitrite, nitrate or ammonia test on any tank in about 10 years and have set up probably 30-40 tanks in that time.

There are certain things that should be considered though. None the least of which are a firm grasp on concepts like filtration, flow and flow-friendly aquascaping, early fish and invertibrate disease recognition and/or proper quarrantine and treatment procedures, knowing how to identify properly cured liverock, what corals and other inverts can survive a mild cycle, what fish can be sustained on a system with little or no pod population, proper lighting to support your inverts (that includes knowing when to change the bulbs), knowing how to identify and correct water parameter problems before they become detrimental to your animals, what fish are compatable, what size and population your system can sustain, how to properly maintain the different grades of sand substrate, what order to add fish in a system of a particular size and a myriad of other things that are not right at the top of my head.