Sebae sensitive to RB light?

fdonophan

fdonophan

Franimal
I'm noticing an odd pattern - wondering if others have ever noticed something similar.

My Sebae I've had for about 2 weeks now doesn't seem to like only the Royal Blue lights on. It acclimated extremely well, hasn't moved from where he originally settled, and pigs out on mysis (it's about 4.5" - 5" across when fully extended. Didn't go for the pieces of silversides, so sticking with the little mysis for now.) He fluffs out completely and seems very happy. Doesn't even seem to mind during the day when my enormous hermit crab "sits" on him.

Here's the quirky part - At night when all lights are off he is fluffy and happy, mouth closed. When I turn the blue's on in the morning to "wake up" my critters, he deflates, shrinks up and even sticks his guts out a little. When my full day lights come on around 11:30 - Noon he fluffs right back up and closes his mouth back up and looks happy and healthy again. In the evening, when it's just blues again, same thing - he deflates and looks PO'd!!

Is that even remotely normal? Is it just moody?
 
Here's a pic from a minute or two ago where he's deflated. My camara has a flash, so the colors aren't accurate. He's under straight RB leds right now, and this picture makes him look dyed - he's not at all. Naturally he's a cream color (NOT bleached white) with bright purple tips.

IMG167.jpg
 
Here, during the day, he's fluffed out even though my hermit is right on him. Water is cloudy from a water change/sand stir but it's full daylight.

IMG165.jpg
 
Seems very odd to me. I would say the rb lights have nothing to do with the "sebae" showing signs of stress. I have an h. Malu and my LEDs are setup so that initially my rb LEDs come on first(similar to you) so far my h. Malu seems to almost enjoy the cool blue lights more than when my main lights kick on. However, with that being said if it appears that the blue lights are bothering your "sebae" anemone, i would reduce the amount of time the rb lights are on. You are using a timer correct? What light period are you using on your tank? Duration? Etc. lastly, it always helps if you can post a picture.
 
Sorry, I was writing that as you posted the pictures. I would definately toss that crab in your sump, it could cause problems with your nem.

Ps. There are two types of sebae anemones, you have a h. Crispa. It's gonna get big!
 
My light schedule is RBs from 9:00/9:30 to about 11:30 when the timer turns the full daylight on. Basically I manually turn the RB on while I get ready for work. The timer turns the Daylights off about 9:30p, and the RB's continue to run until I again manually turn them off before bed - Roughly 10:30/11:00p.

Params, BTW, are all clear except for Alk which is a little high. This morning Amm, Nitrite and Phos are all 0, Nitrates about 10, pH 8.2, Calc 440, Alk 15dkh. No mag tests - waiting for delivery.
 
Rippinfrags said:
Sorry, I was writing that as you posted the pictures. I would definately toss that crab in your sump, it could cause problems with your nem.
Click to expand...

No problem, I figured as much. As for the crab, the sump is definitely being considered. My fiance found it for me though - he'll be heartbroken if I take it out of the DT. It hasn't caused a problem yet - now, for instance, the nem is still deflated and the crab is nowhere near it. It doesnt pick at the nem, just sits on it now and then for some reason. Guess the stingers "tickle." The nem, miraculously, doesnt seem to mind at all.
 
Just a guess, since you keep your royal blue lights on all day long, your h. Crispa might be receiving to much of that particular light spectrum. If you are unable to put your royal blue lights on a timer, I would turn them off before you go to work in the morning or maybe try not turning them on at all and see how your nem reacts.
 
fdonophan said:
No problem, I figured as much. As for the crab, the sump is definitely being considered. My fiance found it for me though - he'll be heartbroken if I take it out of the DT. It hasn't caused a problem yet - now, for instance, the nem is still deflated and the crab is nowhere near it. It doesnt pick at the nem, just sits on it now and then for some reason. Guess the stingers "tickle." The nem, miraculously, doesnt seem to mind at all.
Click to expand...

Trust me I know how the fiancé thing goes, but in this case overrule him and tell him the crab has to go. It's really not good that the crab is able to sit on top of your anemone. Sometimes the toughest decision is the right one. I recently had to sell my fire shrimp and move my cleaner shrimp, because they found my anemone as a good food source!
 
Okay, the RBs are 2 ecoxotic stunner strips (the ones that came with the fixtures.) I turned them off, and manually turned on my panoramas WITHOUT the strips, and the nem is already filling out. For what ever reason, that being the only variable here, I have to assume it doesnt like those strips.

I have 3 strips I bought seperately that are 3:1 white to blue. 2 of them are currently over my sump. When I get home tonight I think I will change them out so the 3:1 strips supplement the DT and an RB and the other 3:1 can go over the sump for now. I'll keep the same lighting schedule, using the 3:1 strips as my in-between light and see how everything reacts.

All my corals seem happy with the light as is, so I don't want to adversely affect them either. Guess we'll see!
 
Did you acclimate it to your lights?

How do you know it is naturally that color? Looks like every other (( slightly )) bleached H. crispa that I have seen.
 
Todd:

When I introduced the nem to the tank, I acclimated it light-wise using no lights or only the RBs, then RB only on his side and full on the other side so he had some exposure, then slowly introduced the full daylight I think 3 days into having him.

As to the coloring, I will clarify. I was attempting to explain that the color in the picture is not accurate because of the flash reacting with the strong blue light. By 'naturally' I meant the color as he appears to the naked eye, which a creamy color, not the yellowy dyed appearance of the photo. I know he is a little bleached, but he's not white.
 
IMO/E, 3 days it not nearly long enough to acclimate to lights, especially for a slightly bleached H. crispa.

I have always left my lights at their normal height and photo-period, and used 3 layers of window screening b/t the tank and the lights (( supported by egg crate )). Every 5-7 days I would remove a layer.
 
Hmm... Okay, how about I swap out the stunners for the different color temp tonight, and run ONLY the stunners on the timer for a few days and leave out the full daylights, then slowly add the dayligths in a week or so? If not I can grab some screening from Home Depot on my way home tonight.
 
The stunners do nothing but add color, no PAR value to speak of, so I highly doubt they are an issue at all.
I do agree your nem is bleached, and it may not be in best health.
It could be reacting to a number of things.
Screen is a great way to acclimate to different lighting.
 
Ok, I'll grab some screen and back off the lights some. I wish my fixtures were dimmable - looks like the new ones from Ecoxotic are going to be dimmable, but I just bought these a few months ago.

Going back to the original post though, too much light doesn't actually seem to BE the problem. The nem fills out completely under the full lights, including with the blue stunners. It only deflates under the RB stunners. If davocean is correct that the stunners alone put out no PAR and another article a ways back is correct that anemones can't "see" light, then why in the world does it ONLY appear stressed under royal blue light? It isn't time sensitive - trying to figure this out this morning I turned my daylights on over an hour earlier than usual, and the nem IMMEDIATELY began filling out.
 
Could be a number of things or coincidence.
Ecoxotic just came out w/ an inline dimmer switch that will work for you, I think they are like $14.
Check their site.
 
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