At work there is a rose tip anemone. The poor thing has been getting smaller and smaller. Its in a 15 gallon tank underneath a 48" (goes over 2 tanks) 4X54 watt light (2 actinic, 2 10K). The tank has an air stone in it and a sponge filter (also run by air). The water is 78*F. It gets a 5 gallon weekly water change using R/O water and Reef Crystals salt. It won't eat anything that I have tried (krill, silverslides, brine shrimp). It is attached to a small rock. Water parameters test good, specific gravity is 1.023. Is there anything I can do to help it?
Rose Tip shrinking
- Thread starter melgrj7
- Start date
Newjack
Member
Ok first pics would help greatly on advice. When you say its getting smaller and smaller you mean its closing up more and more or accually "deflating"? Could be something, like fish, bugs, worms, agitating it. Other than that I do not know. Kinda need more info.
What else is in the tank?
How long has the tank been set up?
Whats your water perams?
How long have you had the BTA?
How long has it been getting smaller?
What else is in the tank?
How long has the tank been set up?
Whats your water perams?
How long have you had the BTA?
How long has it been getting smaller?
I do NOT have the anemone it is AT WORK. I work at the LFS.
What else is in the tank?
A whole lot of Nerite snails, a carpet anemone (on the other side of the tank) and a bubble tip anemone (also away from the rose). Because it is at the store the stock of the tank does fluctuate, the rose has been there longer than I have worked there, so at least a few months.
How long has the tank been set up?
6 years
Whats your water perams?
0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, Nitates are between 0 and 5.
How long have you had the BTA?
its been at the store at least as long as I have, so a few months or so
How long has it been getting smaller?
A coworker said its half the size it was when they got it in, so I would guess steadily since it came in.
What else is in the tank?
A whole lot of Nerite snails, a carpet anemone (on the other side of the tank) and a bubble tip anemone (also away from the rose). Because it is at the store the stock of the tank does fluctuate, the rose has been there longer than I have worked there, so at least a few months.
How long has the tank been set up?
6 years
Whats your water perams?
0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, Nitates are between 0 and 5.
How long have you had the BTA?
its been at the store at least as long as I have, so a few months or so
How long has it been getting smaller?
A coworker said its half the size it was when they got it in, so I would guess steadily since it came in.
Newjack
Member
oh oh ok im sorry I miss understood. It could be agitated. I would check it for bugs or worms or something. Other than something agitating it I don't know what it could be other than I seen cases where the water temp was getting to hot and they did that but it was quick not over months.
Thank you, when I go to work next I will take a close look at it. If there is something agitating it what do I do? Can you dip anemones like you can corals in the coral cleaner stuff? I honestly don't know a ton about anems, I just do the water changes religiously on that tank and feed them once a week and all the others do well, the carpet is getting huge, this rose is just getting smaller and smaller =/
Iamonlyme
Member
The carpet is aggressive even though they look separated it can still inflict a bad sting also I think salinty 1.023 is on the low end for a nem I might be mistaken but try putting the carpet in a tank by itself and see what happens if it gets better you know that was the problem if not try increasing salinity
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Will the carpet be ok without the intense lighting? We don't really have another tank with that lighting on it. The other anem (the reg. bubble tip) is doing fine and its closer to the carpet than the rose is. I will increase the salinity.
All I can do then is to put them on absolute opposite ends of the tank (which they kinda are, but I can move them maybe a little bit more). I don't want to kill the carpet to save the rose, especially when the carpet is doing so great.
So I've been doing some reading and I think it may be starving. Its quite blanched out, so I guess its not getting food from internal algae, and it won't take food with its tentacles. The article I read sounded just like this little guy and said its a sign they are starving. It recommend cutting up super tiny bits of krill or silversides and sticking them directly in its mouth to try to get it to eat. That they are so weak at this point their tentacles have lost their stickyness or whatever and won't grab food. Its a sign that the anemone was either in the dark for an extended period of time or in otherwise bad conditions and it may have expelled its internal algae. The article said if you can get them to eat by putting food directly in the mouth you can save them but have to feed them like daily/every other day. So I'm going to try that and hopefully save it!
