Why is my Rose Bubble Tip turning Brown??

[Marcellina]

My rose bubble tip is not Rosey anymore? What could be causing this?

I have a Rose Bubble Tip in my tank for almost a year. Its always been in the same exact spot from the first day it settled in my tank, had beautiful rose bubble tips and kinda greenish base.

My clowns have been hosting it and another Green BTA in my tank as well. They have even laid eggs on the rock next the both of them.

In the last coupe of weeks its turned browish, dingy color and its split for the first time. Both RBTA's are brown and small.

I have been feeding the tank Coral Frenzy and Marine snow and Phytoplanton (alternating) bc I have sponges, gorgonias and zoas. Could that be affecting the color of the Rose Anemone? The Green one is still green.

 

[greg 45]

Can you please post a picture. Spliting is because nem not happy for some reason flow , lighting change in tank paramaters.

 

[Marcellina]

Ok here are some pictures I took of both of them. I dont have before picture but it was a beautiful reddish pink tips, the bubble tips almost seemed illuminated and it glowed under the blue lights. Now it looks like in these pictures.

 

[Dre]

I would test alk and nitrate. How often you feed?

 

[Marcellina]

I feed the tank daily.

I target feed the anemones Maybe once every 7 - 10 days. I feed them frozen krill.

That last picture worried me when I took it but it was just moving itself to another part on the rock.

Nitrates are low, I have 22 mangroves in the refugium that help keep them low. Its a 29 Gallon tank.

 

[Dre]

Check alk and hold back on some of the liquid stuff..

 

[andylee]

Lighting?

 

[crox99]

Marcellina,


what's your alk at?

 

[Marcellina]

The alk is 12.

My phosphates are too high! They are 2.0! Could that be it?
Nitrates are 0.

The lighting is the same since they have been in the tank. They are Tao Tronic Leds. I have them set at 50% blue and 20 % white. Ive tried putting the whites lower and higher to see if that would make a difference.

They were a bright orangey red, then they turned this greenish brown, split a couple weeks later, now are tiny. One is open and small and brownish green and the other is partially open.

I've read a couple of places online that they could just be going back to their natural color? that all healthy anemones are brown? It just means they are storing their food so they get darker? If thats true that kinda sucks since I paid more to get a bright orangey/pink red BTA.

 

[Marcellina]

On a side note all my other corals and anemonies, zoas gorgonias etc are very healthy colorful and great polyp expansion and growth.

The only complaint other than the rose bubble tip is that the glass gets a film every day, due to phosphates I know! I just put a phosphate removing pad in the sump area. Also used a phosphate removing material called PURA Phosblock.

 

[ming]

high phosphates shouldn't really bother soft corals much. Alk seems a bit high though.
But I suggest doing a large water change regardless because w/c usually resets your parameters

 

[Marcellina]

I actually did a 10 G water change this morning ( I have a 29G tank) and just tested the ALK again bc I think I might have miscounted drops when I did the alkalinity test

It reads 10 now.

 

[pecan2phat]

I've kept my nems in very high Po4 (specifically 2.75ppm) and alkalinity at 13+ so I would not say that they can't tolerate those conditions unless it was an abrupt change.

 

[h2o]

Some led wash out the color the other half cant keep bta for long. u need a radion or kessil at least and good flow

 

[Marcellina]

I have very good flow in my tank no dead spots. Medium movement where it likes to stay. The phosphates may have been like that awhile I dont think it was a sudden spike.

Im not sure if its just an unfortunate thing that its changed from the beautiful color I got it as to this color but its still healthy? Usually I hear you should worry if it lightens or bleaches?

I wondered if it could be the lights but I have another bubble tip that is fine and the rest of the 'high light' corals are thriving and growing steadily. Its actually kind of hiding from the light sometimes.