why wont my anemone eat?

AquaMan815

New member
ive got a LTA under about 200 watts of light


hes not quite planted..as i can tel...it looks like he is kinda


his mouth isnt gaping open or anything

ive tried to feed him silversides and bay scallops

he doesnt even react to the food...i know he is sticky because ive felt him...what is going on?


if he wont eat he will surely die
 
2 x 55 watt blue atinic and
2 x 55 watt white for a total of 220 watts

55g and ive had it about a week now
i got it at my lfs
 
It might just be my anemone, but my LTA needed coaxing to eat at first. I would place the food(scallop) near the mouth and it evenually began to eat. After a couple months I introduced silversides and it still ate very slowly. Just today (after having the LTA for about 3 months now) it grabbed the silverside and was aggressive eating it. It was so agressive that my percs did not have time to knock the silverside out of the tentacles.

Just my opinion, metal halides might be better for the LTA so ample light can penetrate to the bottom as LTA's like the sand bed, unless you can place it near the top with your PC's.
 
Anemones are like any other living creature (keep in mind they are not a coral but more like an animal) in that they will not eat for one of two reasons (there are more, but only in rare circumstances).

1. They are not hungry, ie: they do not require any external nutrition. Common actually. We think that they require nutrition when in actuatilaty, they are just fine. Unlike many humans, they will not eat if they don't need the nutrition (sorry.....doctor soap box)

2. They are sick/injured and/or dying. To evaluate this, take a look at it. What is it's color? Bleached white or more "natural" looking? White for any anemone is bad. They are photosynthetic organisms by nature and use solid "food" to supplement their diet. If it is sick and/or dying, then in my experience it is a long shot to get it back to health. PRISTNE water quality is key. More info on your tank and the anemone in question would help.

Many (actually most) anemones do just fine with only good lighting and no supplemental feedings. The most common mistake is to try and feed the anemone when it does not need anthing. When that happens, it usually will spit it out later (usually at night) and the food morsel will either be eaten by other inhabitants or will hide and rot....throwing off your water chemistry.

So, to sum things up, you need:
1. PRISTINE water (aka: ZERO nitrates, nitrites, ammonia; pH ~8.2, dKH ~10, and acceptable Ca as they are not high Ca organixms)
2. Good lighting. LTA's are known for surviving under sub-intense lighting (aka halides) and sounds like you have enough....pending your tank is less than 75 gal.

Again, more info would help.

Hope this helps some.
 
the anemone is a healthy color...not white or anything

the mouth is nice and close..i c it open and close from time to time as it changes in size

my clowns usually knock the food away if i place it near the mouth
the anemone just doesnt seem to want it

perhaps it isnt hungry


should i order a calcium tester to check for that?

and what is dkh? im not familar with that
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11856162#post11856162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquaMan815
the anemone is a healthy color...not white or anything

the mouth is nice and close..i c it open and close from time to time as it changes in size

my clowns usually knock the food away if i place it near the mouth
the anemone just doesnt seem to want it

perhaps it isnt hungry


should i order a calcium tester to check for that?

and what is dkh? im not familar with that

Sounds like it is doing fine so don't try to overfeed it. If the clowns are putting food into it, it should be getting plenty.

If you are keeping corals, you should be testing for both calcium and alkalinity (dKH). There are a number of good test kits out there that any LFS can help you out with.

Hope this helps.
 
no corals yet...although i plan to someday


im currently uprgrading some of my filtration so that i can have an edge on keep some corals healthy

i moved the LTA higher up towards the light...maybe that will help him
 
dKH is a unit associated with the alkalinity level of one's tank. It goes hand in hand usually with Calcium (if you're familliar with 2 part solutions sometimes called A and B these are the levels that you are dosing for)
 
LTA's are typically sand dwellers. It will most likely move off the rocks so make sure you cover those powerheads. I have a purple LTA that eats very aggresively (did so from day one, actually observed it at my LFS before purchasing). It is very well planted in my substrate with its foot attached to the bottom glass through a 4 in. sandbed. It was recommended to me to get the nem to attch all the way to the glass. I actually dug out a hole and placed the nem into it so that it could get down to the glass easier. once it was planted I just slowly filled in the hole and the nem stretched to top of the substrate.
 
I always had the same problem with LTA's not eating, then eventually taking a turn for the worse. I decided one day to try a bubble tip instead, and havent had a problem since.
 
yea bad health is something im not hoping for


ive had two LTA die on me before...they were unhealthy..and i made sure to pick on this time that looked healthy

although i wish he would eat


yea hes back on the sand again...perhaps i will try to dig him ahole and put him in it


but if he does take a turn for the worse.....where can i find good bubble tips?


true percs will do BTA?
 
I have a RBTA that I hope will split soon. It is growing very quickly and will dominate the tank within a few months at the rate it is going.

Scott
 
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