RBTA look normal?

[mav3rick478]

So my tank is about 8 months old and I added the anemone a few weeks ago. Bought him from my LFS who had him for 2 days, they offered to hold him for a week but I figured to reduce the stress of multiple tank moves just buy him then and there and roll the dice. Put him in a crevice on the left side if my tank and he had never moved, he seems to like it there even when the hermit crab who used to hang out in that hole bothers him, another story in itself.

So my tank is a 28 gallon bowfront, I change water every 2 weeks, about 5-7 gallons with RODI. Have a Reef Octopus 90HOB skimmer, 2 powerheads, a mini UV sterilizer, and am running a Reef Breeders Superlux unit. Lights are on for a total of 9 hours, blues on for the 9 and the whites for a total of 7 hours. I use Seachem A & B formula, was using the Kent Nanoreef 2 part but when I ran out Petco did not restock for a couple weeks and do i went with the Seachem stuff.

It seems every once in a while he closes up and I read that was normal, he usually does it overnight but sometimes I see him shriveled up with some brown stringy stuff coming from his wide open mouth and I can't tell if it's normal or if I should be concerned. This usually happens around 8-9pm when I have noticed it. He actually does eat, I've fed him a couple times. A week between each feeding, I give him a small piece of wild caught salmon that a customer of mine gave me. I've never seen evidence of him spitting it up, actually once the fish touched him, he grabs it and swallows it right away. Pics below.

When I first got him.

When he first started hosting my Ocellaris, which was a week later.

How he usually looks now.

When he shriveled up expelling brown stringy stuff.

 

[Bogue Chitto]

That's usually normal for some, but it shouldn't stay that way too long.

 

[mav3rick478]

Thanks. When it does happen he usually perks back up within a couple hours. Should I keep doing what I'm doing like feeding it weekly or try not feeding him or fed him more often?

 

[Airborne12B]

Has your Ocellaris started "dive-bombing" it to feed it? How long between hosting and now? If it's a brown stringy substance it's most likely expelling zooxanthellae. Science is unsure what prompts this behavior, but it is believed changes of some sort are likely to trigger it (i.e new lights, new tank, salinity swings, etc). Observation is your greatest ally with anemones. If it were me I would continue the feeding if it still remains sticky and eats. It has some wonderful color! Have you noticed any changes in color? I swear, I'm almost done (lol)! Does it expel every night? Is 8-9 close to the end of your light cycle? Does it seem that there is a pattern in its closure, or does it seem to slowly spend more time closed?

 

[aquaman183]

Maybe you have your whites on too long? I'm not sure if too much light intensity/exposure effects anenomes specific, but 7 hours is a good amount of time imo. And 5-7 gallons sounds like a pretty big water change..I have a 40B with a 25 gallon sump, and I only do 5 gallon water changes with no problems. Not sure if the two are related, just throwing stuff out there for more experienced people to comment on and help me learn something too!
Good luck!

 

[mav3rick478]

Has your Ocellaris started "dive-bombing" it to feed it? How long between hosting and now? If it's a brown stringy substance it's most likely expelling zooxanthellae. Science is unsure what prompts this behavior, but it is believed changes of some sort are likely to trigger it (i.e new lights, new tank, salinity swings, etc). Observation is your greatest ally with anemones. If it were me I would continue the feeding if it still remains sticky and eats. It has some wonderful color! Have you noticed any changes in color? I swear, I'm almost done (lol)! Does it expel every night? Is 8-9 close to the end of your light cycle? Does it seem that there is a pattern in its closure, or does it seem to slowly spend more time closed?

He hasn't started feeding the anemone at all which is kind of annoying me right now. The last time I had a Haddoni host a clown the clown would take the food from where ever I dropped it in the tank and drop it right on the mouth of his host. No color changes as far as loosing color, he did gain some green on his base. Doesn't expel every night that I am aware of. He is usually open every day. Yes the 8-9 is close to the end of the light cycle. Whites off at 10pm with the blues on for another hour after.

Maybe you have your whites on too long? I'm not sure if too much light intensity/exposure effects anenomes specific, but 7 hours is a good amount of time imo. And 5-7 gallons sounds like a pretty big water change..I have a 40B with a 25 gallon sump, and I only do 5 gallon water changes with no problems. Not sure if the two are related, just throwing stuff out there for more experienced people to comment on and help me learn something too!
Good luck!

I hope the whites are not on too long because I think I finally worked out the right combination for length and intensity so that I do not have too much nuisance algae and still keep the corals (zoas, frogspawn and favia frags) and anemone happy. I really should get a PAR meter to see. I would think the water change wouldn't be too much considering how much my skimmer removes and how dark and stinky it is. I have cut down on the number of days I feed the tank to see if that helps any but mainly to help with nuisance hair algae and bryopsis.

I'm going to feed the anemone tonight since I skipped his feeding on Sunday because I was worried that maybe the salmon was no good for him. I would think it was fine because it is wild caught here in the Bay in San Francisco and was for me to eat.

 

[mav3rick478]

So I think I've figured it out, it seems to happen 1-2 days after he is fed or he somehow eats something. Guessing its him pooping. I fed him this past Sunday and last night when I came home from work he was shriveled up with a long brown stringy thing caught against the rock above him. Then he was fine by the time my white lights turned off.

 

[TrevorHenry]

You could possibly be feeding him something that is to big, possibly porportion it down a bit. If they eat something that is to big I've noticed mine to just throw it back up later. Smaller works for me.

 

[mav3rick478]

I've never seen him reject any portion I've given him. I usually keep the portion small because he is small (maybe 3" diameter, if that), its usually no bigger than the size of a steel cut oatmeal grain.