Trying to save my anemone

danii

New Member
First post, looking for help.

I don't know what type of anemone it is but it looks like this:

(evidently I must have 5 posts before I can link to images, but please copy-paste this and remove the star: http:*//i44.tinypic.com/wmnuzb.jpg)


It used to be about 5x bigger with long healthy looking tentacles. It's been like this for about a week and it's also uprooted itself from its cozy rock area and come out to the front of the tank.

For 2 nights in a row, not yesterday but the days before that, I've force-fed it brine shrimp. Just like a pea-sized ball each time. It won't take the shrimp in with its tentacles, at least not before the clown steals it. It looks a bit better after this! But I'm kind of scared to continue force-feeding too often.

Can anyone offer any thoughts? Thanks!!
 

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
wmnuzb.jpg
 

whippetguy

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
First off, welcome to Reef Sanctuary!

Cool looking anemone. What are your water parameters? How long has the tank been set up? What kind of lighting do you have? The clown looks big compared to the anemone, could it be loving it to death?
 

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
I'm having a hard time ID'ing this nem but it sure has a pretty pattern on the disc. Has it lost color?

To help you we need to know more about your tank. Pretty much all nems require very strong lighting and an extremely stable, mature tank. Usually recommended the tank be established for at least a year, especially for first-time nem owners. By stable I mean mostly alkalinity, temperature and salinity. Ammonia should be zero, nitrites zero, nitrates <10 ppm. So tell us a little more:

How old is your tank?
Lighting?
Temps?
Alk?
Salinity?
Water quality tests? (ammonia, nitrite and nitrates)

When feeding try something a little meatier. I've never seen my nems accept small bits like brine or spirulina. Silversides are great, maybe 1/2 of one depending on the size. Piece should not be bigger than the mouth.
 

danii

New Member
Before I answer all questions, here's some tank background info. This anemone has been living in this tank for 10+ years, with the same clown for 10+ years. :) Usually this anemone is huge and the clown fits nicely in it. The tank was originally my dad's before he died, and he knew a lot about maintaining it. I picked up a good amount of knowledge from helping him out with maintenance over the years, but the real technical stuff (like any number calibrations) I don't know too well. Since I'm not up to servicing this tank, my mom & I have a professional come in every 2 weeks to clean it and make whatever adjustments. (He's not coming this week so I ran to the internet for help)

Tank age: 15 years
Temp: looks like 86F/30C
Lighting: 2 UV lights, Sim System Tek Light .. it cycles through a full day light, evening light (all purpley), and night setting
Volume is 77 gallon tank ..
Salinity: currently 1.026
other requested info: all I can say is the water quality is professionally serviced every 2 weeks, and no problems reported last servicing

Thanks for the welcome!

My main question is how often is it safe to feed (I give it a pinch of compacted brine, just a bit smaller than the mouth)?
 

danii

New Member
I managed to locate an old photo of what it usually looks like (once again remove the star): http:*//i41.tinypic.com/vhc5xh.jpg
 

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
Very nice tank. Hopefully we can help you get it back in shape.

86F is very high temp for a reef aquarium, most are kept in the 75-80F range and we try to keep temp swings to no more than 2 degrees. Do you have another way to check temp and be sure it's not a faulty reading? A fan blowing over the water will help reduce temps 2-4 degrees if you don't have a chiller plumbed into the system.

Difficult to say more without knowing the water parameters. When you say compacted brine do you mean a frozen cube? Generally I feed my nems something larger and meatier, like a silverside or maybe 1/2 depending on the size. I feed about once per month but they can be fed more frequently. If the tentacles are sticky and it's grabbing food that's a good sign.
 

Ratpack

Active Member
How long has it been small like this? My RBTA does this periodically for a day or two and then comes back to full glory. If you have a Fish Store, take some water by and usually they can test it for you and give you some idea of the parameters. Like others have said, hard to tell much without the water parameters. How old are the bulbs in the light? Has flow in that area changed?
 

Blue Space

Well-Known Member
I would call your fish service and have them send someone to perform water tests to see if water quality is a factor. Nems can behave strangely at times as others have explained. But the first step in finding out if there is a problem is to verify the parameters. Anyone can learn to use hobbyist test kits that come with easy to read instructions. I first started testing using API products.
 

rufus2008

Active Member
I used to feed my bta cut up shrimp, but it used to multiply often. Do I never feed mine and I still have two.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk
 

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
It looks like an LTA and it looks like the size has been drastically reduced which usually indicates that he's slowly starving. Anemones do inflate and deflate but in the first photo it isn't deflated. To be able to help you we need to know the parameters and what type of lighting and how many watts ??? I tried looking up the Sim system tek light and I can't find any info on it, is it LED, T5, VHO, or Metal halide ?
 
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