Once in a Blue Anemone

[BlackLagoon]

I bought this Blue Anemone from a guy who told me they are collected near Vietnam. He said they're rare in the US because most of them are imported to Japan. I didn't care, I took one look at it and I knew I had to have it. It settled in very nicely and opened up right away. On the morning of the second day I looked in my tank and it was gone. I figured it didn't like the spot and moved. I looked all over the tank and to my horror discovered it stuck to the grill of my Vortech MP40, it was hamburger. I probably should have turned down the flow for a few days until the Anemone anchored itself. I've never seen another one for sale since and most people I tell the story to say they never heard of a Blue Anemone. My question is, does anybody else have one of these or know where I can get another one? Has this ever happened to you with an Anemone?

 

[fasteddie99]

It looks like a dyed LTA to me. could be wrong tho

 

[davocean]

I had one similar a few years ago and I see them now and then, but never see them stay this color.
I personally don't think it is a natural color, the white for sure is not natural, I'm not sure if the blue is from being a bleached purple LTA/doreensis, which is a natural color.
It's foot appears to be set, not sure what made it release, but mine released after foot was set too, which is odd IME.
I've seen other posts of this color newly purchased, I've never seen a mature LTA this color.

 

[BlackLagoon]

I had one similar a few years ago and I see them now and then, but never see them stay this color.
I personally don't think it is a natural color, the white for sure is not natural, I'm not sure if the blue is from being a bleached purple LTA/doreensis, which is a natural color.
It's foot appears to be set, not sure what made it release, but mine released after foot was set too, which is odd IME.
I've seen other posts of this color newly purchased, I've never seen a mature LTA this color.

I bought it from a reputable online retailer so I can't believe he would sell something dyed, but as P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute."
The foot of this Anemone by the way was bright orange. Hearing that it probably would have lost its color makes me feel a bit better about what happened. Thanks.

 

[davocean]

This was mine, and it was even more blue at purchase just like yours.
It was just never happy, released numerous times, which I don't find to be the norm in healthy LTA's.
Even more so, it was housed w/ 2 other LTA's that were perfectly fine, so we can eliminate water params or tank conditions.
On top of it(in case anyone argues that it may have been bothered by the other nems) it was placed in tank first before the other two nems, and the issues came before they were added.
Notice the other two had no problem setting foot, and were perfectly healthy.

 

[davocean]

I bought it from a reputable online retailer so I can't believe he would sell something dyed, but as P.T. Barnum said "There's a sucker born every minute."
The foot of this Anemone by the way was bright orange. Hearing that it probably would have lost its color makes me feel a bit better about what happened. Thanks.

I also bought mine from a reputable dealer, and while they are well known for having high end corals, I honestly don't think he knew all nems and natural colors of all.
Nems are still such a mystery to most even in the trade.

 

[BlackLagoon]

It looks like yours had an orange foot too. I see the similarities, did you know yours was dyed when you bought it, or did you find out the hard way like I am. What other colors of Anemones are dyed?

 

[davocean]

I learned two hard lessons w/ this tank.
While the blue LTA never seemed happy, I kept nursing it, thought it was going to be ok a few times, was anxious to see natural color because I had heard after purchase it may not be a natural color.
The other two LTA's(which also came w/ a premium price) were perfectly fine, healthy, foot set, eating.
Next lesson...I fed all 3 of these a small piece of silverside, watched them immediately recede, realease, and melt w/ 24 hours.
I had read about silversides being an issue for other reefers/nem keepers, but sadly didn't believe it until it happened to me.
I'll never feed silversides ever again, too many safer choices.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Wow I never heard that about the silversides. I have two RBTAs and one GBTA and I hardly ever feed them and they seem to be loving life. I'm sure they're snagging some Mysis when I feed my fish though. One of my RBTAs is huge and there is a pair of yellow stripe maroon clowns that host in it. Every so often they'll spit food into the Anemone, pretty cool.

 

[davocean]

Yeah, a few other very experienced nem keepers had a similar outcome w/ silversides.
I mainly spot feed scallops now, mysis at feedings.
On top yours and my experience on this blue LTA, at the time I purchased this I actively searched out for ANYONE on here or elsewhere to seek who may have a blue LTA, and a few people had them at purchase, new, but no one was able to show a mature healthy blue LTA.
Each one I found had perished rather early on.

 

[marc price]

The LTA's displaying translucent tentacles of cobalt blue on white are not dyed, just bleached.
I once picked up one at a Petco, actually got help here to figure it out. Unforchantly same fate as yours only gorier, thing released from the vortech and was welded to and hanging off the heater
I've since seen others at Petco with some of the same colors and in the process of bleaching where i could still see sections of what it looks like when not bleached. They're definitely not the purple color morph davo' guessed, more a burnt sienna (brown) with paynes grey (green-blueish gray) tint, (sorry strong art background). Probably have a pic in one of my older deactivated cell phones, if i find it i'll post, not hopeful though.

 

[phender]

The good news is, the are not uncommon although yours is bluer than most I have seen. The bad news is, when they recover their zooxanthellae they become brown with a faint bluish green tint like marc said. Because they have lost their symbiotic algae they are a little more delicate to keep until they regain it.

 

[OrionN]

I agree with Phil here. Your anemone is a bleached (not competently since there seem to be a little brown/yellow on the oral plate). It will brown-up once it become healthy and will be much less blue

 

[davocean]

I don't think OP's is still alive, so I don't think browning up is going to happen unless I read something wrong.
I would really like to see a healthy blue one, this one time I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[BonsaiNut]

This is probably what they look like unbleached. I have seen numerous "blue" ones - but never an unbleached blue. I believe they are probably like bleached S. crispas - they look prettier bleached, so that is how they are sold.

 

[marc price]

+1, Yes that is exactly how the blue morph looks unbleached.

 

[davocean]

Pretty, but looks much more grey than blue to me, at least in that pic, but I guess calling it a grey doesn't make it sound so enticing.
I still say the many vendors that sell these listed as a blue, or the "phantom blue" as I've seen them called and posting pics pretty much exact to OP's original photo are BSing a bit.
I really like that greyish one, but if I bought that LTA judging off the pic and expected that color I would be a bit dissapointed.