Randy's Red Haddoni

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 23 early afternoon

OK, I built a new home for it. On the assumption that it might be the sand or rock it did not like, I sucked out all of the fine oolitic aragonite sand down to the glass in the area under where it will go. Perhaps it is too fine, perhaps there was something in it that it did not like (H2S, an organism, bits of the old green star polyps that used to live there, etc). Perhaps the rock texture or surface properties were not good.

Anyway, the sand is gone and was replaced by crushed coral. A ring of new rocks was added, as can be seen in the photo. The rock at the back (can't be seen but is under the back one in the photo) is wedged against and under the big, immovable rock structure, and is the one I am hoping it will attach to and under (the "ledge" in the above discussion).

I altered the suggestion a bit to put the anemone in contact with the glass and rock and then back filled the crushed coral, to ensure that if it wants glass, it has a touch on it. If it pulls up, the crushed coral will fall in around it and be back to the proposed plan anyway.

It has looked fine for the past couple of hours after relocation, but I recognize that its "look" is not really the primary concern. If it acts according to history, I should know within a couple of days how it is fairing.

The significant fallback position is to move it to a very bright refugium where I can mess with rocks and sand at will. I hope to not have to do that.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Here's the picture to go with the above discussion:

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, my wife says she's never seen me obsess over something in the tank like this before, and she doesn't like it.

Come to think of it, I don't like it either, but I can't stop.

 

[maxxII]

Welcome to the wonderful world of NAOCD, (New Anemone OCD).

Nick

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Oh is that what its called..I've got it too

 

[Toddrtrex]

Hmmm, maybe that is why I got divorced.

Heck while I was on a hiking trip my tank sitter ( Sugartooth ) even set me a couple of pictures to my phone of my Haddoni.

 

[K9Nurse911]

Hey Randy...any updates?


- Andrea

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 26.

Ok, the first day in the new "home" didn't go especially well, probably partly due to my idiocy. I managed to spill some crushed coral sand onto it, and some went right into the mouth. I carefully took much of it out with a plastic transfer pipette, but could not get it all without risking doing more harm than good. I noticed 24 h later there was a round ball of aggregated sand sitting next to it that it probably barfed out, so hopefully it is all out now.

Anyway, it initially attached to the bottom and nearby rock, then I hit it with the sand, and later that night and the next day it moved across the sand, onto a rock in the front, and then partly up onto the glass where it stayed for much of the day before detaching from the glass and rock in the late afternoon/early evening. It became almost completely loose and on its side again.

Hoping to try again at the same home location without spilling sand on it this time, I gently pushed it back into position looking similar to the last picture above, but not as expanded.

It fairly rapidly attached to the back rock and bottom the way I was hoping, and has now been immobile for a day and a half in that position. It expands during the early AM to mid afternoon, then contracts and waits for night. The mouth is open a bit more than before, and that concerns me more than anything else right now.

Assuming it stays put for a few days (fingers crossed), I may try to feed it it second meal on Friday (3 days from now).

I had decided a couple of nights ago, when it was still moving and detaching each day, that I would put it into its own brightly lit refugium (swapping with the relocated cowfish) if it did not settle down, but since that time it hasn't moved, so I guess it gets a reprieve.

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13574321#post13574321 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
Hmmm, maybe that is why I got divorced.

Heck while I was on a hiking trip my tank sitter ( Sugartooth ) even set me a couple of pictures to my phone of my Haddoni.

wow how can she find time to take care of your tanks when she has a gazzilon tanks of her own?:lol: Must be nice to have a skilled reefer look after the tank.


Randy i hope it turns around for you, you are doing all you can.

 

[BigJay]

It's unbelievable what this thing is putting you through.

I hope it all works out in the end, maybe it'll stay attached this time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 27.

Well, this anemone continues to confound me. It continues to want to crawl up the rocks I've put around it. This morning, after being in the bottom of the "bowl" of the last picture for a couple of days, it climbed up a rock at the left side. And it is now attached to that rock (and maybe under the sand) laying mostly on its side.

I guess as long as it is firmly attached near the rock sand interface, I'll leave it and see what it does.

Any more ideas of why it might be interested in rocks as opposed to the sand and glass bottom?

As an aside, I noticed that my RBTA must have recently split, maybe last night. There are now clearly two individuals. A much easier fellow to care for.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Actually, maybe the RBTA didn't split. Too hard to tell. It either split, or is stretched and is coming out of two holes in the rock.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 29.

Well, I think the anemone is continuing its downhill slide, but I've not given up hope.

For the past few days it has been attached to the rock at the left of that ring shown in the last picture. It is perched on top of the rock like a magnifica, but tipped sideways under its own weight. Not much movement from that spot. Certainly unusual for a haddoni, but not much I can do about it at the moment. It appears strongly attached, and I'm reluctant to continue to mess with it.

Last night it had a feeding response when I fed flake food soaked in Selcon to the fish. I'm not sure if a flake landed on it, but it closed up one portion of its oral disk, and the mouth opened out toward that part of the disk.

BUT, the mouth seems to be getting worse and worse, and is now clearly gaping. It is about the size of a quarter. Nothing is everted, but it is quite open.

This morning I tried to feed it a chunk of silverside soaked in Selcon. It grabbed it, and over a few minutes seemed to try to eat it, with the mouth opening toward the food, but it never went in and the anemone opened back up flat and had not consumed it. It tried putting it on a different part of the oral disk, but little happened. I then let it drop directly onto part of the open mouth. It rapidly took it in and closed the mouth completely for an hour or two.

Shortly after feeding there began a little wispy white "smoke" that puffed out of it for an hour or so and then stopped. I take it that this is a bad sign.

All afternoon, it has been less expanded (as it is each afternoon), and the mouth is gaping again. No smoke since earlier in the day. I've seen nothing ejected from the mouth since the feeding, about 8 hours ago, but I might have missed it.

 

[Freed]

I'd say feed it more often, but the only anemones I have are mejanos and they trive on food so...

 

[Flighty]

Well, It's a boy. I wouldn't call that a good or bad sign, just releasing some sperm.

 

[traveller7]

"breeding" behavior coupled with the rest of the stats would seem to indicate a stress induced event.

fwiw: this was a stress induced spawning event:

 

[puter]

I agree, spawning at this point in the process is not a good sign. From my notes: the several S. haddoni anemones I've noted spawning in this timeframe expired two to three weeks later.

Are you still observing the little brown blobs? I've had S. haddoni anemones hang upside down on the rocks, seemingly purposefully, since they were still producing/expelling those brown blobs.

So long as the anemone is firmly attached I wouldn't mess with it. If it follows the pattern, it'll either expel some wastes and travel back down the rocks within the next few days (hopefully) or it'll release from the rock again (more likely... and not a good sign).

Besides the possibly impractical suggestion of adding a hosting a clownfish, the only other thing I can suggest at this point is ensuring your rock stacks are large enough that the anemone's oral disc doesn't lay over the top of them. That seems to help encourage them to travel down as opposed to up and over.

FWIW, the rationale for placing the anemone on the top of the "ledge" rock is that they can sense flow, light and contact with the rock. For me, they seem to settle when they move and transition from high light on the column to low/no light, and from little contact around the column to lots of contact around the column. When I just put them in a "perfect" location (under a ledge, then fill in the sand) they move almost without exception.

My track record with anemones that haven't settled by this time isn't good and I can tell you lots of things I've tried (antibiotics, heavy feedings, etc.) that haven't been successful at turning things around... terribly frustrating.

Mark

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 30.

Thanks everyone, for the comments.

It is still firmly attached in the same location on the rock. A bit more sperm release for a brief period this afternoon, but little else of note. Mouth open less than yesterday, but not especially well expanded, and it contracted early in the afternoon.

I'd post a picture, but were trying to get ready for a kids Halloween party in a couple of hours. Maybe tomorrow.

Are you still observing the little brown blobs? I've had S. haddoni anemones hang upside down on the rocks, seemingly purposefully, since they were still producing/expelling those brown blobs.

Not so much on the little brown blobs any more, but perhaps a stray one once in a while. A big one or two several days ago.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Day 32

Definitely not where I was hoping to be a month into this.

Yesterday it was still on the same rock as before.

I fed it again a piece of silverside (48 h after the last feeding), this time with bones and all, about 1.5 cm across. It was grabbed, but there was not a good feeding response, and after a while it let it loose.

Determined to not just let it die, I gently let the food drop onto a part of the open mouth. That did get a feeding response, with the internal portions of the mouth expanding up and pulling it in. But the response was very slow. When I had to leave 20 minutes later it was only partly pulled in. I presume it went in all the way, as when I came back an hour later it was gone, but I suppose a fish might have pulled it out.

Anyway, the day proceeded normally till about 4:00 pm when I saw it had completely let loose from the rock and was face down in the sand pit.

So I made the decision to relocate it to another tank. Specifically, I moved it into the refugium that the cowfish was banished to, and the cowfish came home to the main tank. This is on the same system overall, so the water chemistry is the same.

I filled the refugium with some big rocks, crushed coral, and a sloping piece of slate that starts above the sand and goes down under it. I put the anemone directly onto the exposed part of the slate, and there it was attached this morning (about 14 h later).

The refugium is fairly brightly lit. The anemone is directly under a 175 w mh bell reflector with a new bulb. I can easily raise the bulb if less light is needed, but it is getting about the max today, which is less than the main tank by a long shot, but still substantial.

Flow is something I can also control well. Right now it is fairly low, just being provide by the Hagen 802 powerhead that is driving water into the refugium from the sump. I can add more powerheads if people think more flow is needed, but I may take my cue from whether the anemone moves more into the flow that exists now, or away from it.

It was fairly contracted yesterday when I moved it, but this morning it was fairly expanded, but not very much formed up into the flower petal shape that it was when I first got it. More flat.

The mouth is still quite open, about the size of a quarter still (it was even bigger last night)

 

[redfishsc]

Randy, this may have been asked before, and I'm rather blind a 'nems, but would something this red perchance actually benefit from some iodide? I know you are generally "opposed" to bothering with iodide and haven't needed it in the past.

I know the red pigmentation in some animals requires iodine in some form, and I've read some that anemones "require" iodide (this is always said by folks like liveaquaria.com b/c they want you to buy their iodide).