FAQs on Bulb, Bubble Tip/Rose Anemone
Health 7
Related Articles: Bubble
Tip, Rose Anemones, Entacmaea quadricolor, Use in Marine
Systems by Bob Fenner, Bubble Tip
Anemones by Jim Black, Recent
Experiences with BTA's by Marc Quattromani,
Anemones,
Cnidarians, Colored/Dyed Anemones,
Related FAQs: BTA
Disease 1, BTA Disease 2,
BTA Disease 3, BTA Disease 4, BTA
Health 5, BTA Health 6, BTA Health 8, BTA Health
9, BTA Health 10,
BTA
Health 11,
BTA Health 12, BTA
Health 13,
FAQs on BTA Disease by Category:
Diagnosing,
Environmental (Pollution/Poisoning, Lighting...),
Nutritional, Social (e.g. Allelopathy),
Trauma,
Pathogenic (Infectious, Parasitic, Viral)
Predatory/Pest, Treatments
& E. quad. FAQ
1, E. quad FAQ 2, E. quad. FAQ 3, E.
quad FAQ 4, E. quad FAQ 5,
BTA ID, BTA Compatibility, BTA Selection, BTA
Behavior, BTA Systems, BTA Feeding, BTA
Reproduction/Propagation,
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New Print and
eBook on Amazon:
Anemone Success
Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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Re: E. quadricolor, BTA, Hiding, Acclimation -- 3/16/08 Hi
Brenda, <Hello Akila!> Thanks for your reply.
<You're welcome!> I add the baking soda just to
maintain the pH as mentioned in Dr. Bob Fenner's Marine
Aquarist book under maintaining pH (p.130). My pH is within the
safe limits I guess. <Just be careful not to add too much too
fast. Anemones do not do well with a sudden change. Add it
gradually.> And yes I use the Compact Florescent lights - CFL.
Each has 125W, 1250 Im, 6500K & 50/60 Hz. I have 4 lights
that totals up to 500W & 5000. This is being used on a tank
that is 27 inches deep, 37 inches long and 18 inches wide. Do you
think it is adequate??? <Yes, I believe it is, especially if
the anemone has enough rock that it can climb to higher levels if
it needs to.> I keep my temperature at 25C - 26C (78.8F) and
the salinity at 0.024. <Increase salinity to 1.026 gradually
by topping off daily with pre-mixed saltwater.> As I live in
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) I bought the anemone directly from a collector
and probably it was collected couple of days back. When I saw the
anemone it was in a small tank with starfish and the place was
pretty dark and the anemone was a little bit shrunken up. After
directly putting it to the tank, only a day later the anemone got
3 times bigger than it actually was. Is this a good sign or a bad
sign??? <Anemones will shrink to expel waste and to acclimate
themselves to their environment. If this is happening often, it
is a bad sign. However, since this anemone has only been in your
system a few days, I don't see reason to be alarmed.> And
I do not keep any corals except some dead ones. <Okay.>
Today half of the anemone came out but the other half was still
under the rock. The entire day it was like that. During the day
time the anemone got real big on the side that came out and the
tentacles were long and reaching upwards. But at night it again
went to hiding and also became 3 times smaller. Why is this
change in size??? Is it a sign of bad health??? Or bad
conditions??? Shall I take it out from there and close that hole
with some stones. <No.> Because I can't even feed the
anemone when its hiding as I can't reach its month opening.
<I don't recommend touching the mouth.> Is it possible
to keep some bits of shrimp meat on the tentacles. Is it possible
to feed it like that??? <You bet! This is the best way to feed
in my opinion. Hopefully the anemone is healthy enough to be able
to hold on to the food. If not, place food near the mouth,
without touching the anemone.> I'll get some pictures of
the anemone tomorrow and mail you. <Great!> I'll also
buy another pH test kit along with Calcium and Alkalinity kits
and send that data to you also if the kits are available at the
LFS. Thanks, Best regards. Akila <You're welcome!
Brenda>
Hi Brenda, <Hello Akila!> I have attached some pictures.
<It appears that you have two anemones! This would explain why
it went into hiding. Stress! Anemones do split in two when they
are stressed, resulting in two anemones. Collection is enough to
stress an anemone enough that it will clone itself. More
information here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemonereprofaqs.htm
> I have another problem. I tested my water for dKH and
Calcium. I have 15 - 16dkh & 370 - 380mg/l. Can this be
right??? <It could be. What test kits are you using? Are you
adding anything for calcium and magnesium? For now, stop adding
additives. There is more information here regarding Calcium and
Alkalinity: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm > Best
regards, Akila <Brenda>
E. quadricolor, BTA, Hiding, Acclimation --
3/14/08 Dear Mr. Bob Fenner <Hello Akila, Brenda here this
time!> I have wrote to you a lot of times and you guys have
been a real help to me over the years. <Good to hear!> I
appreciate your advice with regards to what I am facing now. Some
details of my 80G tank would be, I have 1 large canister filter
(works as a refugium for me), 2 power filters (1500lph each),
protein skimmer, UV sterilizer 5W, Compact Florescent lighting
6500K - 400W, <Are you sure this is compact florescent
lighting?> & Chiller. My pH is 8.2-8.4(can't figure
out the exact color from the chart), Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0,
Nitrate <10. I do a 20% water change every month. <I
recommend 10% weekly.> I also add 4 - 5 teaspoons of baking
soda every month along with the water change to maintain my pH.
<Are you testing before adding this? Are you gradually adding
the baking soda?> I don't have fish in my tank at the
moment due to some problems with lifted temperature that finally
led me to buy a chiller. The tank is cycled and I ran it for 2
years with no problems. I currently have 3 tube worms, grape
macro algae (I forgot the name of the algae), and some sails.
After adding the BTA (Rose) 2 days ago it is hiding under a
cavity inside my rock work. It did not come out for a day. I read
a lot of FAQs on your site and learned that this could be normal
until it gets settled in but is there any other parameters or
something else I need to check. <Yes, what is your temperature
and salinity? How did you acclimate this anemone?> Do I need
to get any other equipment or something to make it feel more
comfortable? <Do you know any history on this anemone? Was it
recently shipped? What kind of lighting was it kept under
previously?> I don't understand why it is hiding inside a
rock. <I wouldn't be overly concerned just yet. This
anemone may be acclimating itself to its new environment. Placing
an anemone into a new environment is stressful. > Thought they
liked bright lighting??? <They do, but I'm not convinced
you have extremely powerful lighting.> Can the tube worms be a
problem??? <No. Do you have any coral in the tank? If so,
what?> Also how can I increase the calcium level in my tank. I
heard the tube worms like more calcium in the water??? <Your
LFS should have the additives you need. I do recommend
researching before you start adding chemicals. Here is a good
place to start: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm >
Thanks in advance for your advice, Best regards, Akila
<You're welcome! Brenda>
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Sick Anemone / Possible unknown toxic
conditions... Allelopathy, light, lack of HPO4... --
03/13/08 Hello WetWebMedia Crew, <Brad> First of all your
website is amazing. The wealth of information is so useful. I have
been struggling to find the cause of my problems for weeks now and
I'm finally just going to ask your help. First of all my 75
gallon SW tank w/ a 20 gallon sump underneath has been set up for
about 11 months. Currently in my sump i have: about 10 lbs of
rubble Chaetomorpha macro algae 8 mangroves floating (have had for
month and a half...just starting to grow new roots) <... Mmm,
these may prove problematical with time, growth...> 700 GPH Mag
Drive return pump w/ 500 GPH actual Whisper 20-40 gallon hang on
mechanical filter which i use to run phosphate resin pads <...
these may be an issue> and Chemi-Pure 18' 10,000k Daylight
bulb 6500 k long lasting bulb from Wal-mart <... this as
well> Also my sump is connected to a 5 gallon bucket <What is
this made/composed of?> with filled w/ a deep sand bed probably
3/4 of the way full In the 75 gallon tank i have: about 60lbs of
live rock an inch of live sand 2 Hydro Koralia 1's at 400 GPH 1
Hydro Koralia 3 at 850 GPH SeaClone Protein Skimmer rated for up to
100 gal <Uh, no... I'd upgrade here> Whisper 20-40 gallon
hang on mechanical filter which i use to run phosphate resin pads
and Chemi-Pure 4 46.5' VHO Two Super Actinic R's, 1 Actinic
white 50/50 12,000K, and 1 Aqua sun 10,000K replaced about 5.5
months ago <I'd replace, get rid, cycle out anything called
actinic... see WWM re.> My inhabitants include 1 Green/Brown
bubble Tip anemone Mushroom Coral A few Green button polyps A
couple of clusters of Zoanthids 1 Ocellaris Clown 1 Yellow Tang 1
Engineer goby 2 Peppermint Shrimp 2 Cleaner Shrimp 2 Emerald Crabs
4 blue legged hermit crabs 2 electric blue hermit crabs 2 unknown
small hermit crabs 1 unknown large hermit crab 2 Turbo snails 4
Cerith snails 4 Astrea snails 2 more snails (i can't remember
what their called) Water Quality on average for the last 4 months:
Ammonia (API) 0 Nitrite (Tetratest) 0 Nitrate (API) 10-12.5 Calcium
(API) 400-420 KH (Tetratest) 12-14 PH 8.3 Salinity 1.024-1.025 My
water is RO/DI free from a friend. I do 10 gallon water change
every 3 weeks and top off water every 3 days which i also add
iodine 8 drops (Kent Marine), Iron 8 drops (Kent Marine), Trace
Elements 8 drops (Kent Marine), check my alkalinity (Seachem reef
builder supplement), check my pH, and check my calcium (Kent Marine
supplement). <I'd switch to SeaChem> All this started a
couple of weeks ago when i noticed that my 3 stripped damsels where
too aggressive for the newly added ocellaris pair. I decided that i
needed to give the damsels back to the fish shop where i bought
them and had to take out most of my live rock to do this. I finally
got them out and my clowns started hosting my BTA (I have had him a
month and a half at this point) immediately and all seemed well.
Then about a week later the clown pair stopped hosting the anemone,
they just ignored it for a few days then mysteriously one of the
clown fish started mouth breathing and i noticed one white lump on
his head. Within 12 hours he was dead (i had him for two weeks
exactly). Shortly after (a couple of days) the clown's death i
noticed the BTA's tentacles where changing shape (pic: anemone
health). I watched the anemone closely and he did not really get in
better or any worse. Then a few days later my tank developed an
algae bloom. My friend told me it was b/c i stirred up my sand and
probably had a little die off from removing most of my rock from
the tank. I started learning about Diatom algae and how to control
it and found that it is more of a silicate problem <Unlikely>
then a phosphate problem and that it needs plenty of Nitrate and
plenty of red light. By this time my anemone had moved to
underneath his rock and was acting like he was uncomfortable. I
noticed that he had little nodules on his tentacles (anemone health
1-5) <I see these> and was not inflating like usual. My
Zoanthids and button polyps where all closed up with little strings
of diatom algae hanging of them. <A clue...> I did a 10
gallon water change and scraped the algae off of everything. The
polyps and Zoanthids opened up a little but soon closed right back
up. So i started searching around on your site to see if i could
find anything about the condition of the anemone and possibly to
see if high phosphates or silicates could cause such this burning
scaring on his tentacles. I searched Google as well and even for
pictures but could not find any information on anemone diseases or
toxic reactions except that their is not much known and no way to
really treat them. The anemone has plenty of circulation, decent
light, <Mmm, maybe> and before he showed signs of stress i
was feeding him about 2 times a week (brine shrimp mostly-I know
not very nutritious-have switched to Mysis Shrimp-will buy Selcon).
So i decided to run Chemi-Pure to my tank in case some toxin had
gotten into the water and to do a 20 gallon water change. After the
water change the anemone looked a little better but since then (5
days ago) he has gotten much worse. I read online that if the
anemone has any openings or tears in their tentacles they are
decaying. So i picked up the rock out of my tank and smelled him
but he does not smell bad and he still inflates a little during the
light hours. I noticed that he has been puckering his lips a lot
too. I did another 10 gallon water change today with some distilled
water i bought for Wal-mart thinking that maybe my friends RO/DI
unit needs new cartridges. I also replaced the Chemi-Pure which had
a bad odor as well as my phosphate resin pads. I also stopped
adding supplements into the tank except for iodine, calcium and reefbuilder. I took some advice from your site and bought an
iodine/iodide test kit. Tested it yesterday and found that it is
.01 mg/L which is low so I'm slowly bringing the concentration
back up. Also something i forgot to mention probably about 4 weeks
ago i noticed my shrimp had all developed little black dots on
them. I read that this is commonly due to either high or low
concentration of iodine? <Can be related or not> All the
livestock is perfectly fine right now. The ocellaris is a little
stressed and i noticed he is a little reluctant to eat spectrum
Thera pellets (he has eaten in the past) i have been feeding the
past two days. <Also possibly related> Also i have little
micro bubbles coming into the water from my Whisper 20-40 hang on
filter recently as well as my protein skimmer. Is this ok? Is their
any potential threats to the livestock from tiny air bubbles being
blown all around the tank by power heads. <Likely not an issue,
factor> I'm wondering if my whole problem is iodine in
regards to my anemone? <Mmm, no> Would a combination of low
iodine levels, high nitrate levels, and the presence of phosphate /
silicate cause these kinds of symptoms?. <Actually, the lack of
presence of soluble HPO4 is likely a contributing cause...>
Could the tiny little air bubbles be hurting the anemones
tentacles? From what you see in the pictures is my anemone decaying
alive? If this was your aquarium what would you do next? Thank you
so much for taking your time to read through this and helping me
out. I'm really at a loss right now as far as what to do. Let
me know if you can't open the pictures i attached with this
email? brad <Likely the root issue here is allelopathy. Read
here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm but the phosphate
pads should be removed... and you should do a bit of reading re
Entacmaea on WWM... measure the quantity, quality of light... The
best short/er term solution is to move the Actinarian elsewhere...
as you'll see by reading. Bob Fenner> |
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BTA Health Issue? Failing Anemone, Lack of
Lighting, Use of Copper in Reef Tank -- 2/20/08 Hey Crew, Steve
here. <Hello Steve, Brenda here today!> This is my first time
posting a questions so hopefully it goes through all right. <It sure
has!> I have a BTA problem. I have a 55 gallon tank that has been
set up for 2+ years. About 3 weeks ago I thought I'd change to
stronger lighting and try out some inverts and soft corals. Here are
the specs of the tank: 55 gal All-Glass aquarium, Satellite 48 inch
with lunar lights and two SmartTag 65 Watt 10,000K/460nm actinic bulbs,
<130 watts of PC lighting is not enough to support an anemone in a
55 gallon tank.> 80 lbs live rock (in there for at least a year,
crushed coral substrate, Top Fin 60 tank mounted filter (media changed
one month ago), Protein skimmer that moves 295 gph, <What protein
skimmer is this?> heater and glass hoods. It should also be noted
that the tank is in the sun for about 6 hours a day. Fish included are
one Ocellaris (currently changing to female I believe, started eating
like crazy and getting territorial, she head butts my hand every time I
put it in the water), and a snowflake moray (currently 12" long).
So now to my question, I bought a Condylactis gigantea about 2.5 weeks
ago that seemed to be doing well. I had 1.5 watts per gal when I got
him then upgraded about a week later. I then bought a healthy BTA with
a 3.5" diameter from the LFS. <I don't recommend keeping
mixed anemone species in a tank less than a few hundred gallons.> I
bought the rock that he was attached to in the store to reduce the
chance of injury in the move. I got it into my tank and it opened up
well. I then got a green mandarin that I lost after 2 days (despite
copepod supplement). I then lost the Condy a few days later. The water
levels after losing them were great except the nitrates were a bit high
and pH was a bit low; so I did a 10% water change then did a 5% water
change the next day and added marine pH buffer. The next day
(yesterday) the BTA was shrunken a bit so I tested the water these were
my results: pH 8.35, Salinity 1.023, <The Salinity is much too low
for an anemone. Slowly increase it to 1.026.> Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite
0 ppm, Nitrate 0 ppm, Temperature 79.5 degrees. I was confused to say
the least. He is expunging more waste than I thought he had in his
body. <What are you feeding and what sized portions. It may be
regurgitating.> Right when I got him the waste was the milky
photosynthetic waste but this waste is the fluffy balled variety with
white dots in it. The mouth seems to be wide open all the time,
expelling waste almost constantly. <This anemone is failing
quickly.> I put in Reef Solution yesterday to give him some
filterable food but I only feed him twice a week (a nice ball of
Mysis). The Moray is such a messy eater that the BTA picks up brine
shrimp scraps all the time. <Anemones eat meaty foods. The Reef
Solution will not benefit the anemone. Brine shrimp his little or no
nutrition and is also not recommended for an anemone.> The tentacles
on the BTA are getting shorter and stubbier, as well as getting very
pointy at the ends, sort of like a Christmas light shape. He has lost
all sorts of body mass but has darkened in color. <The short, stubby
tentacles may be sign of starvation. Can you send me a picture of the
anemone?> I was told that the "plant" part of the animal
was starting to take over now that the lights were strong and that he
was developing a sort of "sun-tan." <I assume you mean zooxanthellae, which is the algae that lives inside them. Anemones do
not get suntans. Was the anemone bleached when you got it?> They
also told me that the pointed tentacles were a way of minimizing direct
light to them because it was causing sunburn. <This is not true.
Healthy anemones will find a new location when they are unhappy with
the light. > The neon green he is turning seems to support this
because I assume that it is reflective algae that he is growing.
<Zooxanthellae. > He hasn't really moved at all and is still
shrinking. <It sounds like it is starving, and my not have enough
energy to move. > He is still spitting out fluff-balls of waste and
only has one or two tentacles truly open at a time. I got up today and
two of the tentacles that were open really big all day yesterday were
clear looking and seemed dead. It is also probably pertinent that I
treated icky 1 year ago with straight copper (when the tank was still
fish only) but I would assume that that is not the cause of any
problems because of the small dose I administered and the water changes
I have done since then. <Yikes! Did you have live rock in there at
the time? If so, your rock may be leaching copper into the tank. Copper
should never be used in the main display. It needs to be used in a
quarantine tank only. The anemone will not survive long with copper.
> The clown and moray are eating and acting as healthy as ever. What
is wrong with my BTA? <You have a few things going on here. I would
start by testing your water for copper.> Sincerely, Steve B.
<Brenda>
Injured Anemone, Will it survive? E. quadricolor
-- 1/18/08 Hi WWM crew and thanks for several years of good
advice for weird situations. <Hello Tracy, Brenda here, and
you are welcome!> I have another question for you.
<Okay!> Context - 7 yr old stable 150gal reef w/ 10,000K MH
lighting and no real problems for a long time. Blennies, gobies,
clown, mushrooms, a few SPS, yellow polyp forest, pulsing xenia
that reproduce so madly they pay half my maintenance costs. <A
lot of mushrooms?> Crisis - My rose BTA (favorite thing in the
whole tank, had it 18 months, grew ~10x in size in that time,
skunk clown lives in it) had some sort of horrible, unexplained
accident yesterday. I found it in the overflow box with a piece
(~15%) torn off. <The anemone was not happy. It was looking
for a better place.> The mouth appears badly damaged, the
pedicle is fine, and tentacles are fine. The small piece is
really small, has only 5-10 tentacles on it & is mostly a
blown up balloon. I put both pieces in my refugium, assuming it
was going to die quickly but wanting to give it a chance.
<Many anemones survive this type of injury, including going
through powerheads. Protect all of your intakes. The recovery
process will depend greatly on the health of the anemone before
its injury. I do recommend a water change if you haven't
already.> Well, this morning, all the tentacles are out and
beautiful. The damage is still very severe, but neither piece is
dying quickly. <I'm not surprised.> I am wondering
where and how (if?) to try to rehabilitate it. <Provide it
with pristine water parameters and time.> My refugium has only
a PCF bulb (can't remember the wattage). I replace it every
year, it is bright enough to sustain an insanely thick garden of
Caulerpa, but I doubt it's bright enough for an anemone.
<No it is not. However, the anemone will be ok for a few days
without sufficient light. Moving it again will cause more stress.
For now, let us try to figure out why it moved in the first
place. Also, keep it away from all pumps in the refugium.> I
am obviously very leery of putting a mangled anemone back in the
main tank, where crabs & fish will pick on it; it will wander
restlessly into some bad situation & die in a corner where I
can't find it, etc. <What are you water parameters,
including temperature, salinity, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites,
calcium and alkalinity? How many watts of metal halide do you
have? I also need to know what skimmer and amount of flow you
have in the tank. How often do you feed the anemone, what size
portions, and what are you feeding?> What would you do with it
right now? <Leave the anemone where it is for now and try to
figure out the cause of it roaming. Running fresh carbon will
also help in the recovery.> Under what circumstances would you
feed it or put it back into the main tank? <The anemone is no
where near ready to eat. This will take some time, perhaps weeks
and will depend on the damage, previous health, and if you can
correct the initial problem quickly. You need to wait until the
anemone is completely healed before feeding. Trying to feed now
will only cause more stress.> A few answers in your archive
recommended Reef Dip for injured anemones. Do you think this is
important? <No, and it may be more harmful. I don't
recommend dips for anemones.> Thanks a lot. Tracy
<You're welcome! Brenda>
Re: Injured Anemone, Will it survive? E.
quadricolor -- 1/18/08 Hi Brenda & thanks for your reply.
<You're welcome!> My anemone had been in the same
place, happy, for many months, and growing very fast. I got him
in mid-2006 and he was about the size of a quarter, now bigger
than my hand. I feed mysis thawed in Selcon, 1 cube/week. <I
would feed smaller portions 2 -- 3 times a week. Over feeding can
cause stress. It can also cause the anemone to regurgitate
several hours later.> Not much has changed in the tank lately.
I did recently start adding strontium for some new small SPS
corals, about 3 weeks ago. <Are you testing these levels
before dosing?> Light: 2x 150w MH, 4x 54w actinics, total
watts=529 <Did this anemone typically stay up high in the
tank?> Temp usually 77 (chiller) <This is a bit low, try to
aim for 80 degrees, without going over 82. Increase temperature
slowly.> Sg=1.026 NH3, NO2, NO3=0 KH=8 (constant battle to get
higher, but usually 8 no matter what I do) <A dKH of 8 is an
acceptable range. I would not go much higher, if any. I would
check your magnesium. If you are having trouble maintaining
calcium and alkalinity levels, low magnesium may be the cause. An
abrupt change in alkalinity will cause stress to anemones. So use
caution here!> Ca=450 I actually don't have any intakes or
powerheads in the tank, just a fast/powerful main pump with 2
returns in the tank. <No powerheads!!! Yeah!!! You have no
idea how seldom I hear that! I am a strong believer in not
keeping anemones with powerheads. Congrats to you for not using
powerheads!> The anemone must have dived over the top of the
overflow box, there's no other way in there! <Anemones can
get through very small spaces when flow/suction is involved.
I've seen them get sucked into a rather thick sponge filter
on a powerhead.> I have ~20 mushrooms. I'm about to sell
half of them and 1/3 of my basketball-sized xenia colony. Perhaps
this will cut down on some of the chemical warfare that probably
stresses the anemone. <Removing some of the mushrooms will
help with chemical warfare.> I have carbon and a poly filter
running all the time (time to change, about 2 months old).
<Yes, carbon is only useful for a few weeks at best.> No
skimmer, just a 20gal sump full of Caulerpa and detritivores
(pump & turbulence segregated at one end by a screen). <I
do recommend you purchase a reputable skimmer. This is one very
important piece of equipment for any reef tank.> I'll do a
20% water change tonight and will take any other suggestions you
have. How long do you think I can leave it in the refugium before
the low light starts to impact its recovery ability? <This is
hard to say. Some can go a few weeks or even a few months with
inadequate lighting.> I don't want to go overboard with
the quarantine and end up doing even more damage. <I
understand. I would try giving the anemone 3 or 4 more days and
then re-evaluate. Send me an update on it and I will help you
decide. If things suddenly worsen during this time, let me know
as soon as possible. Keep in mind that when this anemone does go
back to the tank, it will need to be acclimated to the light. It
may also immediately go into hiding (normal) or roam again so you
will need to monitor it. Also, if you can, send me a picture of
the anemone. If you are a member of a local reef club, you may be
able to find someone willing to let you borrow some PC lighting
to put over the sump during this time. You may also want to
consider purchasing some back up lighting. Keeping the anemone in
its current location as long as possible will help greatly. If
you need help finding a local club, let me know. I will find out
what is available in your area.> Tracy <Good luck! I'll
keep my fingers crossed for you! Brenda>
Re: Injured Anemone, Will it survive? E. Quadricolor --
1/26/08 Update and need to move? The anemone(s) are
looking good. Moving around a bit, staying small, and no
necrosis. <Yeah!!!> I have attached pics. It's
been a week. The question of course is what to do now. I
would like to leave them in the refugium for their whole
convalescence if possible, then sell the small one &
reintroduce the big one once they can eat. <You would
need to buy additional lighting to keep them in there much
longer. They are already showing signs of hunger and loss
of zooxanthellae. Unless you can provide better lighting in
the next 2 -- 3 days, I would move them now.> In the
refugium, they sit on the top of a Caulerpa forest just
under the water surface. I gave them a glass bowl to sit in
but they moved out. Ironically, there is a dreaded
powerhead in there; otherwise it stagnates because the
screen holes are small to keep in the Caulerpa. This
weekend I will move the powerhead to the other side of the
screen and just use a hose to get the same flow. The intake
is buried deep in Caulerpa so low risk, but not zero risk.
I took apart the refugium light to read the label -
it's a Coralife 6700k 96 watt PCF bulb, last changed
5/07. They are about 7 inches from the bulbs. In the main
tank they were always in the exact middle. How long do you
think they can be healthy with that wattage? <I would go
ahead and move them now. I would not take a chance on
having them deteriorate.> Usually this light stays on
24/7, but I've been giving them a 12hr light/dark cycle
like the main tank, do you agree with that? <Yes, no
need for a refugium light to be on 24/7.> As for your
other questions - I don't have Strontium or Magnesium
test kits, and just add Strontium. This is one of those
"don't fix what isn't broke" things.
I've never tested for those in 7 yrs. <It is a bad
practice to dose anything without testing. Since you just
recently started dosing Strontium, it may be contributing
to the anemone roaming.> If you think high or low levels
could be affecting the anemones, I could test, which kits
do you recommend for those? <You should be testing
Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium. If your going to dose
Strontium, you need to test it before dosing.> How do I
decide when to feed? Give them x number of weeks looking
good, then try a few mysis? Wait till I can clearly see
nice round mouths in each one? (The little one was mostly
mouth, the big one had most of its mouth ripped out).
<They don't appear to be badly damage in the
picture. I would go ahead and try feeding a very small
piece of food (sliver size). If it takes it, I would try
another tiny piece the next day. I would also get some
window screen and put over your tank for a week or so, to
acclimate the anemone to the lighting.> Thanks for
ongoing advice. Tracy <You're welcome! Brenda>
Re: Injured Anemone, Will it survive? E. Quadricolor
-- 1/28/08 <Hello Tracy, Brenda here!> A few
developments: <Okay!> I talked with several guys from
the Atlanta Reef Club. They all thought that 96 watts over
17 inches (quad bulb) should be fine for anemones for
longer than a week, and wondered if I just needed a new
bulb. <It is possible, but we are already dealing with
an unhealthy, injured anemone. I don't want to see the
health decline any more. We are at the 10 day mark
already.> So I did a little more looking at my setup.
The bulb I had was indeed 96 watt PCF and only 7 months
old, but it had no actinic component! So I replaced it with
a new 96 watt 6700k 50/50 bulb. Do you think the lack of an
actinic component could have caused loss of zooxanthellae
that quickly? <No, the loss of zooxanthellae is not
caused by the lack of actinic. A bulb without the actinic
would be a better choice, yet still not sufficient, in this
case.> If not, I can still move to the main tank but at
least now they will have a day or 2 at a higher light level
to help them acclimate. <You have actually decreased the
lighting by adding the actinic.> I fed them both -
turned off the flow and dropped a mysis right in the middle
of them. The big one eventually, after 5-10 minutes, ate 2
mysis and I see there is a well-healed mouth. <Two mysis
shrimp may be a bit much for this anemone. I would try just
one for now.> I also got him to stick on a small rock,
which will make moving him easier. <Good sign!> The
little one didn't react to the food at all, didn't
close up around it, eventually it fell off and was eaten by
an Aiptasia nearby. <Yikes! The nearby Aiptasia are not
doing the little guy any favors. It needs to be kept away
from the Aiptasia. An unhealthy anemone will not be able to
compete with them.> I am especially reluctant to lose
this tiny one in the tank if it is weak and not eating.
What do you think? <I would move return them both to the
main tank. I feel that the main tank is a better
choice.> Tracy
<Brenda>
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Injured Bubble Anemone - flush or mend? Anemone
Meets Powerhead -- 1/13/08 Hey folks, <Hello Christopher, Brenda
here> So my Bubble bailed on his tomato clown in favor of the
in-port of my power-head (any way I secure the port, something always
finds it's way into "the chipper"). <Ouch! I don't
recommend the use of powerheads with anemones. However, if you must use
them, here are some ideas:
http://www.karensroseanemones.com/coverpowerheads.htm > Long to
short, the bubble anemone is about half ground, foot to tip w/ a
gapping mouth sequestered in a bowl, & I wonder if there is any
sense (or possibility) in nursing it back to health, or if it would
just be toxic to my 24 nano halide coral/clam garden? <Many anemones
have survived powerhead incidents. I would do a water change today and
tomorrow. Keep a close eye on your water parameters.> The water is
cloudy, but the T-Clown, Yellow-head Goby, DOB Damsel & Chromis
seem ok. My environment levels are good & I added a little
pro-bacteria to boost the cycling of any ground anemone protein, &
expect nitrates to increase. <I would rely on water changes to
correct any ammonia and nitrate issues. You also need to figure out why
your anemone started roaming. Anemones move when they are unhappy, in
search of a better place. More information regarding their care can be
found here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm
> Toast or viable? <It is definitely worth the effort.>
Thanks, Christopher <You're welcome! Brenda>
Re: Anemone Meets Powerhead -- 1/14/08 Brenda,
<Christopher> Thanks for the info. <You're welcome!> Soon after my email, I
tossed Mr. Bubbles back in the tank &, after much finagling, including a trip
BACK to the grinder, <Yikes!> I successfully relocated him/her to a better home.
The thing with this one is that he/she was always looking for high-flow from day
one. Now the choice made is a low-flow rock channel far away (in a 24 nano) from
the circ. pump, with fully exposed tentacles, & the T-clown has resumed his
duty. <The clown is hosting an injured anemone? The anemone needs time to heal
before the clownfish is allowed back in.> Lucky for Mr. Bubbles I am a miser, or
I would have flushed only after a few tries. <Ouch! Miser or not, flushing a
live creature should never be an option. Providing an adequate environment is a
much better choice. There is plenty of information available in the links I
previously sent you. Research before you purchase. If you are not up to the task
of providing adequate care, finding it a new home is the appropriate action.>
Now, to catch that pesky Damsel... <Brenda> <<Time for me to leave this
country... RMF>
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