Sick anemone? :(

[aydemir]

I got a new bta 2 days ago, and today it looked deflated, and I saw stringy things coming off the foot of the anemone. It also wouldnt accept food, and there are white streaks around its mouth. The mouth however is not gaping open. The first picture is from yesterday, it was looking good, the tips were bubbled and it was fully inflated. It also accepted food readily (mysis shrimp).

today:

Here is the foot, that stringy thing is coming from the foot on the other side, is it rot?

 

[aydemir]

Update: Shot of the mouth, it was after I attempted to feed it mysis, so maybe that is why it is puckered?

 

[aydemir]

Another update, its been about 20 minutes since i attempted to feed it mysis, maybe that is why it is balled up. The stringy bits on the left, and on the filter intake (rot?) is the stuff I was talking about earlier

 

[aydemir]

Right now the tentacles are not visible anymore, they are inside its foot I guess, anybody know what is happening?

 

[Mr. Bill]

Can you post current parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, temp, SG)? What type of lighting and how much flow do you have? Also, how did you acclimate, and for how long?

 

[aydemir]

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm (was 0 yesterday :s)
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5-10ppm (might be over 10 it is hard to tell with my test kit)
pH: 8.0
SG: 1.023-1.025 (hydrometer read 1.024 but is +/- 0.001)
temp: 25 degrees C
20W coralife 50/50 bulb
power filter for up to 10 gal, and a pico evolution pump (up to 160gph)
drip acclimated for an hour

 

[Mr. Bill]

Nems will frequently deflate or close to exchange water or expel waste. They also develop slime around the foot occasionally, which may shed in strings. It looks like it may be having a little difficulty adjusting, although feeding so soon may be the reason (one should wait at least a week). It also may have regurgitated the food, which could elevate the ammonia.

If you have Prime, I'd suggest using it to detoxify the ammonia for the benefit of everything in the tank. Also, a 10% WC or two will help reduce ammonia and nitrates.

The nem may take a few days, but it could still make a full recovery. Just keep a close eye on it. If it loses it's footing and/or the mouth starts gaping, you may need to pull it out.

 

[aydemir]

Ok, thanks so much for the advice. Unfortunately I dont have prime. I will do a WC right away, maybe another later, or tomorrow. The tank is small, so that is probably why the waste has built up so high in only a day. Relocating to a bigger tank soon. Is it normal for the tentacles to go completely inside the foot? There are no tentacles visible right now.

 

[Mr. Bill]

Yes. I've seen that numerous times, even with perfectly healthy nems that were just exchanging water, etc.

 

[aydemir]

Ok, Ill update tomorrow after the water changes, thanks for the help

 

[Mr. Bill]

No problem. Good luck!

 

[aydemir]

Update: After a 10% water change yesterday, I noticed salinity was 1.027! Stupid hydrometer, Im definitely going to purchase a refractometer. Im now slowly diluting back to 1.024, pic of the nem:

clownfish is breathing heavily and swims vertically for a second or two ...is this because of the salinity or not enough oxygen? The other water paremeters are acceptable. I have a 160gph pico evolution pump, and a 90gph power filter, so I thought that would be good enough for water movement/aeration.

edit: And the white streaks around the mouth of the nem, is that normal?

 

[ssgtgonzo]

The streaks may be part of the nem's coloration...so it's not necessarily a bad thing. How old is your setup?

 

[rssjsb]

Those streaks are normal for BTAs. It looks a lot better. Sometimes they shrink like that after feeding or when they're acclimating to a new tank

Having said that, did I read right that you've only got 20 watts of light over this tank? That's not enough light for your anemone. And if it's 50/50, half is actinic, which means that you've only got 10 watts in a spectrum that's useful for photosynthesis.

Is this a QT tank? I know you said you were upgrading, but I wouldn't keep him under those lights for very long.

 

[aydemir]

Yeah Im upgrading the tank along with the lighting, plan on getting an 18" Nova T5HO light fixture, 2 18 watt bulbs, is that good enough? Setup is about 3 months

 

[rssjsb]

36 watts isn't really enough either. How big is your new tank?

 

[aydemir]

Hopefully 30+, would that same fixture be good for 10 gal?

 

[ssgtgonzo]

IME, this is typical behavior for nems that go into a tank that's not mature enough. 3 months is typically not aged enough.

What kind of flow do you have?

Keep in mind the watts per gallon ratio is not effective to determine adequacy of light. 20w is hardly anything, in a 30g, I'd suggest a 150w mh at minimum. But, since it's not had that bright for some time, you will have to do a SLOW acclimation to any significant source of light.

Your nem is not long for this world in its current tank conditions. Good luck, I hope you save this, it's a beautiful specimen!

 

[rssjsb]

I agree that your anemone won't make it 3 months under this lighting. Watts per gallon isn't a good metric. Tank size is only relevant in relation to how deep the tank is. In any event, 36 watts will not be enough even over a 10 gallon tank.

The bottom line is that you need to return the anemone or get your light up to par.

You don't need metal halides to keep BTAs, but you do need to have intense lighting. There are T5 or LED fixtures you could put over a 30 gallon tank that would be just fine, but you will need to make a more substantial investment than a cheap two-bulb fixture to keep any anemone happy. If money is an issue, you can buy something used or get a DIY kit from a number of vendors.

 

[aydemir]

Sorry guys I havent been completely honest, tank is actually a 5.5 gal, I just knew you would be ****ed about it...But I am relocating to a new tank soon, hopefully a 29g biocube.
Anemone today, finally figured out the right white balance for taking pictures (phone)

Also, I mentioned earlier that nitrates were high, the anemone is doing fine, but my clownfish is resting at the bottom and breathing heavily, (nitrates were 20ppm because a shrimp had died ...stupid hydrometer gave me a false reading :headwally
I did a 50% WC yesterday and am going to do a 50% today (gradual changes), but will the clown recover? It is an ocellaris