Orange Tube Nem won't stay buried.

[Englishmatt]

Hi,

Purchased an OTA last night and bought him home. I have a 150G reef tank. Nem looked good in the store. When I got home, I temp floated and then buried the nem in my fine sand base. Buried it all the way up to the mouth.

I turned off my MP40s so he wouldn't get blown all over the place.

After about 30 minutes of him being in the sand, he's laying on the surface.

I move him to a different spot, bury him again. Another 30 minutes go by and I can literally watch this thing pull itself out of the sand.

I bury it again and go to bed. come down this morning and it's laying on the sand....again.

I bury it again, this time closer to the rocks...and guess what...it's doing the same damn thing...

Tentacles are all OUT, but very floppy...not standing up like in the store. I understand he may be "adjusting"...but I wasn't prepared for the "Not staying in the hole I made him" situation... Don't want him getting destroyed by the MP40s...but I can't leave them off forever.

Am I missing something here???

I have Bright light, Low Light, Mid light conditions if required...I've tried all 3.
I have High Flow, Low Flow, Mid flow locations if required...I've tried all 3.

I thought the Tube Nem didn't move to much? More of a bury it an forget it type approach?

 

[bradleym]

Usually they are "bury it and forget it" but this one must be ****ed. They don't care about light, but they prefer the lowest flow possible.

Did the nem come with a tube? If not, it may not be healthy in the first place, as the tube is their protection and they only abandon it in extreme circumstances.

Also, please post your parameters. Maybe there is something about your water that upsets it.

 

[bradleym]

Usually they are "bury it and forget it" but this one must be ****ed. They don't care about light, but they prefer the lowest flow possible.

Did the nem come with a tube? If not, it may not be healthy in the first place, as the tube is their protection and they only abandon it in extreme circumstances.

Also, please post your parameters. Maybe there is something about your water that upsets it.

 

[Englishmatt]

Water parameters in my sig line are accurate.

The Nem did come with a tube. He lost if once I added him in my tank. I also read that when moving these nems from one DT to another, you should remove the tube. It's a SOFT tube, not a hard tube. It's just slime and rocks.

He is generating slime, each time he pops out of the sand he has some sand stuck to him.

Update: About 1 hour ago I cut a sort piece of PVC tube buried that in the sand and slid him into the PVC. I made sure the tube was in the lowest flow part of my tank, with good but not direct light. He's about 3" from some mushrooms that are excelling in the same location.

He "appears" to be doing slightly better. By that I mean he hasn't climbed out of the PVC yet.

Tentacles are still floppy, not sticking up off the sand, but looks like he trying to lift them up.

He's very cool looking, I want to do what I can to give him the best chance.

 

[yardboy]

I'd be interested in others experiences with flow with Cerianthus as I see these all the time in the channel at St. Andrews Bay and there is some serious flow during tidal changes. I've not had one in my tank due to their reputation for being fish eaters.

 

[Englishmatt]

yeah.....wierd about the "fish eating" reputation. I wonder if there is another species that people confuse.

Everything you read says they are filter feeders that like the occasional meaty treat.

In fact, I've seen these in a few LFSs and they are always in a slow flow tank with loads of small fish, inverts, shrimps etc...for resale.

Odd....I hope he makes it. He is awesome looking under the Actinics.

 

[jfarr]

i have a purple tube that used to move its way all around the the tank finally i had a rock with a good size recess i put him thereand has been happy for 2 years