Save Anemones by administering Growth Factor or Antioxidants?

[sugartooth]

I'm just wondering if this would be something that would help healing of small tears and stress, and possibly increasing their chances of survival?

I was thinking of some sort of epidermal growth factor or similar to assist in healing. (I know there was something about growth factor inhibitor that the nematacysts put out as a toxin.)

Or......antioxidants to help with oxidative stress?

I'm not particularly familiar with the physiology or biochemisty of anemones.

I wanted to ask if there was anyone that had more knowledge to provide input.

 

[E.J. Coral]

I think that antibacterials are the best shot at increasing survival. Wounds can heal very fast on there own....

 

[sugartooth]

Oh! Thanks, I wasn't aware that you can give meds to them.
For some reason I thought therapy (clean water) was the only thing you can do at this point.


What can and can't you use on them?

Thanks very much.

 

[E.J. Coral]

do a search on antibiotics and magnifica. There is a guy who has had some success with profalactic deoxy treatments ...

 

[taylor t]

I'm not an anemone expert. I've read lots of things self proclaimed "experts" claim... I have 3 BTA, 1 sebae, 2 carpets, 1 on the way out. I've gone through a few carpets. I can assure you, my system is balanced and aged. My uncle successfully had a gigantea under PC's for 9 months. It died from a major tank crash from too many things, it would take another thread to explain. It wasn't the carpet's fault. It was awsome 2 days before the melt/crash. Uncle's fault.

I'm not sure, but I think the collectors are getting these anemone's from deeper, and deeper waters, just like the elegance corals that used to be easy, which is less light. We all kill our tanks with high light, which stress low light anemone's out when we first get them. I've had the BTA with me for years, under different light, and they do best under PC. MH 150's, they shrivel up and move too much. PC, they loose their bubble tips, stay put, and get huge. Then I cut them. That said:

I think we need more information as to where these things come from under what conditions. We/they blanket state "they all need bright light and lots of current, and lots of food, some small, some silversides, some no silversides", bottom line, they all need different things, depending on where they are collected. I've found current is a huge part though. More important than light.

I wish there were something to add to our tanks to "save anemones". My opinion (and strictly opinion), we don't get enough info when we buy them. I have seen immediate negative impact of bright light on corals/animals in my tanks. I wish I had an answer.

 

[E.J. Coral]

I agree. I for one have successfully kepy a BTA under 32w PC.... That said, strong lighting helps with difficult species. Especially becuase we can't recreate the constant flow of food on a reef, lighting is a constant form of feeding that we DO have control over.

Why have you "went through a few carpets"?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12501598#post12501598 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by taylor t
I'm not an anemone expert. I've read lots of things self proclaimed "experts" claim... I have 3 BTA, 1 sebae, 2 carpets, 1 on the way out. I've gone through a few carpets. I can assure you, my system is balanced and aged. My uncle successfully had a gigantea under PC's for 9 months. It died from a major tank crash from too many things, it would take another thread to explain. It wasn't the carpet's fault. It was awsome 2 days before the melt/crash. Uncle's fault.

I'm not sure, but I think the collectors are getting these anemone's from deeper, and deeper waters, just like the elegance corals that used to be easy, which is less light. We all kill our tanks with high light, which stress low light anemone's out when we first get them. I've had the BTA with me for years, under different light, and they do best under PC. MH 150's, they shrivel up and move too much. PC, they loose their bubble tips, stay put, and get huge. Then I cut them. That said:

I think we need more information as to where these things come from under what conditions. We/they blanket state "they all need bright light and lots of current, and lots of food, some small, some silversides, some no silversides", bottom line, they all need different things, depending on where they are collected. I've found current is a huge part though. More important than light.

I wish there were something to add to our tanks to "save anemones". My opinion (and strictly opinion), we don't get enough info when we buy them. I have seen immediate negative impact of bright light on corals/animals in my tanks. I wish I had an answer.

 

[taylor t]

I've tried saving my share from the LFS. I have also had them shipped to me, either in cold water, cloudy water, a torn foot, you name it, they shipped it that way.

I've wondered if the Fed Ex guy stuck them in a paint mixer. Then I got the same from UPS too.

I really don't think it's a carrier problem. I think it's a collection/holding problem. The last one I got from florida came with a heat pack. It was really warm in the box.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I think the important consideration is when did the damage happen. I have damage two of my Haddonis during attempts to move them -- were in the tank for 7 years for the one, and 8 months for the other. The damage was pretty bad, in the case of my blue one, if I was going out of town when the damage happened, I would have taken it out of the tank it looked so bad. However, since I was around to keep an eye on it I left it in the tank, and it made a full recovery. And sugartooth has seen it in person to attest how it looks now.

 

[E.J. Coral]

Agree 100%. Wounds heal in no time. It's the prolonged stress and exposure to infectious organisms that kill them.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12507196#post12507196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
I think the important consideration is when did the damage happen. I have damage two of my Haddonis during attempts to move them -- were in the tank for 7 years for the one, and 8 months for the other. The damage was pretty bad, in the case of my blue one, if I was going out of town when the damage happened, I would have taken it out of the tank it looked so bad. However, since I was around to keep an eye on it I left it in the tank, and it made a full recovery. And sugartooth has seen it in person to attest how it looks now.

 

[AQUA DAVE]

Dry shipping them is a new method.... They will ship the nem with only half a cup of water so that when the nem expells its wastes that it cannot suck it back in again and again. The Stagnant water conditions in shipping i believe are the biggest problem. They are never exposed to this in natural conditions but anemones are quite often found out of water in a low tide. Meaning that dry shipping is mimicing low tide and they deal with it on an everyday basis. It has worked like a charm for me. Some suppliers and retailers refuse to dry ship because they are unfamiliar with the method. All the anemone needs is to stay damp.

 

[E.J. Coral]

That is interesting. It seems especially applicable to shallow water species such as magnifica and gigantea.

I recently tried a similiar method for "acclimation" of a gigantea: take all the water out of the bag to let the anemone expel all of its water, then drop it in the tank. Worked like a charm and only takes around 5 minutes. The anemone is still kicking...

 

[JamesJR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12500946#post12500946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E.J. Coral
I think that antibacterials are the best shot at increasing survival. Wounds can heal very fast on there own....

I am not sure if adding antibacterial agents would help. I think I read in science last year that many corals have very unique bacterial films that help keep them clean, digest food and prevent other nasty bacteria from taking over them. I wouldn't be surprised if Anemones had something similar

I like your username. E. J. Coral. You a synthetic organic chemist?

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12512677#post12512677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AQUA DAVE
Dry shipping them is a new method.... They will ship the nem with only half a cup of water so that when the nem expells its wastes that it cannot suck it back in again and again. The Stagnant water conditions in shipping i believe are the biggest problem. They are never exposed to this in natural conditions but anemones are quite often found out of water in a low tide. Meaning that dry shipping is mimicing low tide and they deal with it on an everyday basis. It has worked like a charm for me. Some suppliers and retailers refuse to dry ship because they are unfamiliar with the method. All the anemone needs is to stay damp.

Dry shipping anemones has been around for about 20 years. Why anyone would refuse to ship an anemone that way is beyond me...

 

[E.J. Coral]

I like your username. E. J. Coral. You a synthetic organic chemist? [/B]

When sh*t works. The rest of the time I am a slave...

 

[E.J. Coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12517596#post12517596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JamesJR
I am not sure if adding antibacterial agents would help. I think I read in science last year that many corals have very unique bacterial films that help keep them clean, digest food and prevent other nasty bacteria from taking over them. I wouldn't be surprised if Anemones had something similar

Agreed. But someone that I know has been using profalactic (sp?) antibiotic treatments on H. magnifica with stunning results. Interestingly, the same treatment has not helped with S. gigantea.