red haddoni not sticky as of today (~2 weeks after treatment)

[Tango451]

anything I can do besides water quality?

Was going to put the clownfish that hosted him back in tonight (cinnamons).. but now not sure since the haddoni isn't sticky right now? Should I hold off on the clowns or would putting them in help in some way?

 

[asudavew]

Pics help. Sometimes nems aren't as sticky as other times.
Any other clues to its health?
Have you fed it?
If so, does it have a good feeding response?

How big is it? Clowns can be rough.

 

[Tango451]

Has eaten twice since treatment (however stopped feeding after advised by Minh). He has no reaction to food whatsoever. Will only eat of you put food on his mouth. This is how he was a good while of time.

Sometimes the mornings he looks pretty inflated on his disk in one section which is strange.

He is over a foot in diameter.

The cinnamon clowns were originally removed as they were believed to be stress inducers for the carpet. However is there a possibility their "care" could help him?

 

[Tango451]

All pics are from Monday (yesterday/ a few hours ago)

 

[Tango451]

And here is one from about an hour or so ago after halides were turned off

 

[asudavew]

I've had no luck with nems I couldn't get to eat. But Minh is far more experienced than me. No doubt about that.

In the last pic Your nem looks decent.
In the other pics it looks a little off to me.

How long have you had it?
Where did your purchase it from?

 

[Tango451]

Not a new nem have had him for many, many years. He will eat if food is put over his mouth, just won't react to it. Problem started when I moved tanks - he had this "air bubble" inverted mouth for almost a full year and would eat with it etc.

 

[Tango451]

so is it possible that clownfish (even large and were once a stressor) be able to help anemone get back to normal health by constantly perking it up etc and cleaning it?

 

[Tango451]

also just noticed slight bleaching... several of its tentacles are white with red tips unlike the rest which are red with red tips

 

[Tango451]

anyone have any thoughts on re-adding the clownfish and/or what steps should be taken?

 

[zooman72]

I would give it some time and keep up with the water quality, as I think it looks pretty good compared to what it looked like previously. Maybe also consider a different clown species that is a natural symbiont, such as saddleback's or sebae's, that may not be as "rough" with it (if the cinnamon's are indeed too much for it)?

I have tomato's (similar to cinnamon's) with my new gig carpet, which seems to be as large as your Haddon's, and they present no issues for it. Maybe your previous issues had nothing to do with the clowns, and the nem was ailing independent of their presence?

 

[Tango451]

I think that anemone was sick beforehand (at least not at optimal state considering an inverted bubble mouth for so long) since after treatment he looked so much better and since he was sick, the clowns were probably trying to help perk him up or just didn't want him to get smaller which made him more stressed out and look worse. I added them back in tonight and before the lights went out he was pretty big and perked up (more so then before the clowns were out back in) so I'm hoping it's for the best. They went back to him and the female is staying in him while the male is staying near him but not in him. This afternoon a piece of shrimp fell on an edge of him and he did hold it so he is a tiny bit sticky. When I touched him with plastic tongs today (gently) he didn't stick to them but did react by retracting.

As per water quality, I just did a 50 gallon water change 25 in the morning yesterday and 25 at night. I removed all the rock out of the sump/ cleaned a lot of dirt out and now just have a good amount of chaeto. I also now am keeping the temperature at 80 constant. (Would you raise it? I noticed Minh keeps his at 83 for his gigs but he also has haddonis) I would let it get to 77/78 at night and then it would be 79/80 in the day so I would never run a heater But now i am.

I was considering a different clown species ; however, i figured I would give them another chance. Originally he was hosted by a sebae clown

 

[Tango451]

Here is what he looks like as of right now with the cinnamons back in the tank (it's been 5+ hours). Any thoughts on how he is looking?

(Will also post a pic for tomorrow after lights have been on for a few hours too)

 

[Tango451]

And as for the reason I put the clownfish in tonight... Was on the fence about it because I felt bad for keeping the clownfish in the sump and then in a bucket and it's been over 2 weeks since treatment.. It was more of a spur of the moment, I need to do this type reaction versus logic (I am hoping it doesn't go south)


The other thing is- I do have a phosphate problem at least according to the kit I have been using and was the reason I pulled the rock out of the sump; however, the other carpet who had been in my system for over two months now is perfectly healthy

 

[OrionN]

I would concentrate on getting good water quality and feed him if you can. Just not over feed him. He does not seem to be infected anymore.
Clowns are OK as long as they don't try to dig in and get into the mouth. I never keep Tomatoes family clowns so I am not sure how rough your clowns are to your anemone.
See if you continue water change and maybe add a phosphate binder. If you have a good skimmer, and add kalk, try to spike your kalk with distil vinegar. This will improve the quality of your water and cause you skimmer out put to increase a lot. If you choose to do this, make sure you clean and keep you skimmer in good working condition.

 

[Tango451]

Will do and just to make sure- would you recommend dosing 0.4 ml of white distilled vinegar per 25 gallons of water in the system? If ok, is it fine to keep this constant and not increase or if I do - do I double it to 0.8 per 25 gallons on the 4th day? And I stop once desired water quality is achieved?

Also, should I place it near the skimmer in the sump/refugium and is it ok to run carbon while dosing vinegar?

I have kalk+2 that I'll start dripping again today for the alk once I check my calcium levels.

I have been running a phosphate bone for almost 2 months - most in reactor and the some in media bag however phosphates didn't drop... Either it is a faulty test kit (an lfs checks it for me) or rock was leaching phosphates and the binder took care of the rest.

 

[Tango451]

And here's a pic of him from just now

 

[OrionN]

The vinegar acidify the Kalk water thus disolves more Ca(OH)2. The pH of the solution you added is not anymore acidic however it will have more Calcium and more imortantly carbon source for bacterial growth. This will use up the nitrates, phosphates in your tank. good skimmer is a must becasue these bacterial must be skim out. I add my Kalk in the overflow so it get mix well as it fall into the sump.
I am about to set up a continuous dosing vinegar to my kalk reactore but tight now I just dump 150 ml of the vinegar once or twice a week to my kalk reactor. This just increase foul output of my skimmer and seem to get my water quality much better. No problem with any of the coral (500 gal total system).
Do you add the vinegar continuoustly? it you are .4 ml/hr per 25 gal is OK. If just add manually once of twice a week, this seem low.

 

[Tango451]

If I were to add it manually once or twice a week for about a 200 gallon system (it has more ~250, but I prefer to under dose at first to see effects/ more concerned about putting to much then too little etc) how much would you recommend I dose? 50- 60 ml of vinegar? And if I do not have a kalk reactor should I add straight into the skimmer or just near it?

 

[OrionN]

I would add it to Kalk and slow drip it into the sump. IMO, acid is not good in tank if you can help it. I would start with 30 ml drip in with kalk over several hours. That would be how I add it, when the light is out.