Anemone Help!

[MountainFish]

So I'm pretty new to the Saltwater Tank game. My tank has been established and cycled for about 3 months now. I have had a Purple Tipped Haitian Anemone for about 1.5 months now. When I first got it, the tentacles were a pearly white... but over time, and especially in the last week the color of the anemone has changed to more of a brown fleshy color. I'm wondering if this color change is normal or because of a lack of Iodine? I feed it a small piece of brine shrimp about once a week. I have yet to supplement for anything (iodine, etc.) Should I be providing something i'm not? Please give a newbie some pointers!

Lighting
2 - 96W PC 10,000K Daylight Bulbs

Water Flow
SEIO 2600 Super Flow Pump (on lowest setting)
Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump on Protein Skimmer
(2) Emperor hang-on Filters - approx. 300g/h (no carbon packs)

Water Quality
1.023-1.024 salinity
0 ppm - amonia
0 ppm - Nitrites
5-10 ppm Nitrates

 

[reef dummy]

You just opened up a huge can o worms. I'll let others chime in though, short on time.

 

[BigAl07]

Hello MountainFish and welcome to RS!

First off what size tank do you have?

Your lights are WAY on the low side for an anemone. PC is very low intensity regardless of what size tank and the deeper the tank the lesst they penetrate. High Quality T5's or Metal Halide are what most Anemone need for long term success. Your LFS or whoever helped you set up should have helped you out here. Time for a new LFS and/or friend.

Your tank is very immature for an anemone. They require (not like/need but require) the best water quality and husbandry possible. It's suggested that a tank be "stable" (not just full of water but demonstrates a long term trend of stability) for 9+ months before one is added to a system. This is to let any problems of the system come to light and be resolved as well as allowing the aquarist to learn how to handle problems quickly as to minimize the impact on the tank.

Good for you for NOT supplementing anything. Water changes will take care of that especially for a new system.

Do you have someone who has INTENSE lights who may be able to try and nurse this animal back to health? That's probably it's best (maybe only) chance for survival? Anemone are HIGHLY photosynthetic and even though they do eat and get some nourishment from food the majority of their energy comes from the light. They have a VERY slow metabolism and can look healthy for weeks or months and then suddenly start to go down hill. I think this is what you're seeing.

Sorry about the tough news but you need to know the facts.

Good luck and hang in there. This is a GREAT hobby to be a part of

 

[BigAl07]

*** Moved to the Anemone Forum ***

 

[MountainFish]

Thanks for the advice...

It's a 55 gal tank.

I know I moved a bit fast on everything, I was hasty(admittedly as a new-comer).

I bought to lights off a friend of mine who decided to give up the hobby. Thanks for the advice, I guess for now I can only wait and hope. I live in a small mountain town and I'm probably the once reef tank owner within 60 miles... so i guess i'm kinda SOL

 

[BigAl07]

Well look around on our sponsors and you can find a suitable light easy enough.

Just keep in mind that when the anemone expires it's got some potential to "Nuke" the rest of your tank. Once it's a goner it needs to come out quickly or you can have some serious "issues".

I live in a VERY mountain town but after being in this hobby a while it's amazing how many others are doing the same thing. It never hurts to ask around

good luck and we'll help in any way we can.

Allen

 

[reef dummy]

Mountainfish, if you really want to save the little guy you might want to try a cheap home depot mh fixture over him until you get a better fixture. They put out good light but are not very attractive on a reef tank. It would probably work on a temporary basis though.

 

[fivel]

The upside is that the small brown coloration you are seeing in your anemone is the new algae inside of him growing - which is what photosynthesizes and feeds the anemone. There really isn't any such thing as a pearly white anemone in nature. When it comes to anemones, the white ones strictly mean they have bleached (all of their internal algae has died) and they are slowly starving. However, supplemental feeding will help him - although I would target feed him a small amount of food daily, not just once a week.

Your lights are a little under par, although it is possible to keep an anemone under PC lighting - I still strongly suggest upgrading at your earliest convenience for the overall health of the anemone. I've nursed a bleached sebae and a bleached bubble tip anemone back to health - so it's certainly possible.

Best of luck to you, he's definitely going to require special care and attention if there's any chance he'll survive. Welcome to the boards and feel free to ever ask us anything that you can think of. We have a lot of experience on here and can help in pretty much any situation find out one solution or another for you. We've also spent a lot of money on ideas that in the long run didn't work out - so our experience can save you some money as well from not making the same mistakes we did.

Keep us posted...