shipped BTA arrived in TERRIBLE shape... any hope?

Zimmer

Zimmer

New member
So I'm fully aware that ordering livestock online is somewhat of a gamble.... I just got a shipment in some snails, shrimp, a few frags, and a small BTA. Everything else shipped well and is looking good. The anemone, not so much. Guts puking out, mouth gaping open, in a cold bag of water :angryfire:. No smell or anthing though, so I decided to acclimate and see.



I followed instructions for drip acclimation, fully planning on taking some more pics and emailing the vendor regarding a refund. But... during acclimation the foot attached to the rock and it looks like the mouth is puckering up a bit. So it must still be alive right? :sad2: What can I do for it? Is it a lost cause or can they come back from something like this?

Anyone have a horrible looking nem like this bounce back? It's in the tank now, lights and powerheads are off, and i have actually seen a few of the little tentacles wiggle and twitch.... My fingers are crossed but I'm not hopeful. What else can I do?
 
The fact that it attached to a rock and is starting to close its mouth are good signs, but that picture makes it look like a pile of crap. Good luck and keep us posted. Be careful though, if it goes south be ready to pull it from your tank before it mucks up your water. If you have some pics of it in your tank that may be helpful.
 
Lol pile of crap = understatement! But......now that I know its alive I want to rescue it if I can! I'll upload another pic of him in the tank when I get back home hopefully the time lapse shows improvement.....
 
Does look pretty bad. If I were you I'd put him right into a hospital tank and treat with cipro ASAP.
 
Update: Well he has expanded and contracted a bunch of times and moved to a different rock a few cm away. Almost all the guts are back inside, but he's still real deflated and mouth is still gaping. I can actually see tentacles waving weakly..... I just am sooo shocked that it's still alive! Trying not to get my hopes up, we'll see what the morning brings! If he's still alive tomorrow I'll update with a picture lol :eek1:
 
It's aliiiiiive!!!!! Last night I was just sure I was going to wake up to a disaster but here he is! Still not out of the woods yet I'm thinkin but what a survivor!!!! He is my Frankenstein :) So now what can I do to get him looking healthier?


 
Oh also question about acclimating to light... mine's not that bright, only 2 T5's and a night time LED strip. I have the LED strip on right now but I was wondering how careful do I have to be acclimating him to my lights? Normally they're on 10-12 hours/day with the LED strip, I was thinking of starting around 4-6 hours and working back up to 10-12?
 
Wow, that's got to be the biggest comeback I've ever seen. Congrats! Had I received that bag initially, it would've went right into the toilet.

Since your lighting isn't that bright, I think you'd be fine just powering everything up. You'll know if it's too bright if the nem tries to shade itself.
 
:eek1: That nem is really, really bleached... I would start with 6 hours of light. If it stays inflated until lights off, you could go a little longer. If your lights are stronger or it's too much light, your nem might move under a ledge or somewhere to get out of the light - not anything to worry about at first. The nem is 'protecting' itself and it should reach out for more light as it needs it. You'll need to be patient to nurse this guy back. Besides being totally bleached, it's looks fairly healthy at this point. I would suggest NOT feeding it for 3-4 days until it settles some more. After that, feeding small, finely chopped portions will help give it a little energy until it starts building up it's algea inside.

Keep posting lots of pics and updates - always good info for those in the same boat as you. There are certain things that scare me to buy online and nems are one of them. It's just so hard to tell if you actually get the nem that was pictured. Be patient and keep us updated!
 
at this point id be more worried about that heater its by than anything else....
either move it to the sump if you have one or mount it side to side towards the top portion of the tank.
 
I am so stoked about how he's doing right now!! I can't even believe it! Rescued him from the heater too no worries :lol2: He's just moved a little lower in the tank, but the tentacles are starting to puff up and I can see the faintest green tinge to them. I think. It might be wishful thinking :lmao:
I'll keep updating as we go, fingers crossed for this guy!!! We're definitely not out of the woods yet!
 
That's a bigger comeback than John Travolta before Pulp Fiction. Relatively speaking, it looks good! Nice work my friend!:thumbsup:
 
LOL @ John Travolta

I will for sure update in 2 weeks hopefully with good news!

At the moment he has buried his foot inside a hollow spot in the rock I put him on, and has been there for the last 8 hours-ish. During that time he's almost constantly inflating and deflating, then sometimes just sucks all the way into the rock. Just when I start to worry he peeks back out. Hopefully he's detoxing?
 
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