Unhappy anemone?

[dzarras]

Hi,

I have a new bubbletip anemone that has seemingly chosen a hole in a (live) rock on my reef as its home. It's been in the tank about 2 weeks.
My concern is that only reveals itself for about 3 or 4 hours a day, always in the middle of the daily lighting cycle. Also, when it does come out it, is about half the size of what it was in the store.

The tank's a 75G and has only been up about 2 months, but the water tests very well, I think... ph 8.4, hardness 9.4, calcium 450, very low phosphates, no amonia, nitrates, nitrites. Lighting is 260 watts PC, 50% 10K and 50% actinic. I have two crossed powerheads in addition to the main return. The anemone's in an area of moderate current.

I have one clownfish (who's ignoring the anemone for now), a cleaner shrimp, a reef "cleaner crew" and about 100lbs of fully cured live rock and 4 soft corals that are all doing fine.

I'm wondering if I should "help" it out and try to move it to some other location, but I know that would only be a "suggestion" to it.... it might just move somewhere else, and the fact that it doesn't move out of the hole seems to indicate it's happy where it is.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd say for one thing it's on the borderline of being not enough light. Where in the tank is the anemone--top, bottom, middle? You might try rotating the rock it's attached to so that the opening it's chosen is more toward the light. Also, have you tried to directly feed the anemone yet?

FYI, not a slam, but 2 months is pretty early in a tank's life to attempt an anemone, even an 'easier' one like a BTA. Anemones require excellent water conditions and intense lighting. The lighting is relatively easy, the water conditions usually only come after a tank has been set up and running successfully for several months or even a year or two.


BTW, WELCOME TO RDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Desolas]

What are you feeding it, and how often? If fed well, a BTA doesn't require a lot of light, just some. While they get a lot of energy from their zooxanthellae, it is mostly sugars and of little real substance. They get most of their energy from food, so if your feeding it well it won't need to come out into the light all the time.

But it isn't normal for it to not be out, they should spend most of their time open in an effort to catch food. It sounds like yours has found a location it is physically happy with, you need to fullfill it's other requirements and it should be fine.

From research and experience I've found they require a salinity of 1.025-1.026. Temperature of 78-80F. Alk/Ca like NSW. You must replicate their natural environment as close as you can, they cannot learn to adapt. If you do that you should have success.

For it's location, if it can open and expose itself to light and it is in a rock nook that allows it's oral disc to touch rock when it's open it will be happy, if that's the case I would not force it to move. If it's unhappy with it's location it will move. Feed it as much as it will take, it may simply need more energy. They are always underfed in the LFS.

I hope you have success with this animal, but I also think you're tank is not mature if it has only been up two months. That does not mean you won't have success, but it does make matters more difficult and it also shows a bit of disregard for the animals overall well being. The LFS may make it seem like these are a dime a dozen, all anemones are for all practical purposes endangered and should be treated as such.

I hope things work out for you and your new anemone.

Wes

 

[dzarras]

First off, it is only because I do care about the well-being of this animal that I've made this post... and I appreciate the responses thus far.

The hole is in a large rock that can't be turned without major disruption to the reef. The anemone is mid-level in the tank, perhaps about 10" below the surface.

I haven't been directly feeding it and have read opposing viewpoints on the need for it, although would gladly try. Otherwise, I have to assume it's getting some of the brine and mysis shrimp that I'm feeding to the clownfish and cleaner shrimp, which again, are doing very well.

The anemone's actually out right now and looks very good, other than being smaller than it was at the store.

 

[Anonymous]

Try directly feeding it with a piece of shrimp or something. Anemones grow and shrink rapidly depending on a variety of conditions. My gigantea will be anywhere from 12" to 18" or more on any given day.

 

[dzarras]

Hi Sharkky,

Happy to try that... The anemone is about 3" across, so how big of a piece of shrimp should I try (1/4" cube?, 1/8"?)? Also, I've read about using a turkey baster for this. What do you think? Lastly, how often would you feed him?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Anonymous]

My anemone is doing fantastic. I currently only have 340 watts of light a 260 pc fixture 50%actinic 50%10,000k , and a dual flourescent 80 watt fixture. It was doing fine when I just had a single 40watt fixture with the pc's but was not happy with just the pc's. I do have to feed it weekly to make sure it gets enough nutrition. Don't forget to check your iodide levels either the cnidarians need a hefty amount for proper function. I dose weekly to keep up with my zenia, zoo's, and anemones. More importantly is your alk,Ph, SG and temp.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Sharkky,

Happy to try that... The anemone is about 3" across, so how big of a piece of shrimp should I try (1/4" cube?, 1/8"?)? Also, I've read about using a turkey baster for this. What do you think? Lastly, how often would you feed him?

Thanks in advance!

I feed my meat-eaters diced prawn shrimp from the grocery store. My big gigantea gets a 4 incher all to himself, my BTA (about 4" oral disc) gets a chunk about the size of the tip of an index finger. It's a bit much for it to take, but it's growing by leaps and bounds. Speaking of which, I need to feed it today. Rather than basting it with a bunch of brine shrimp or something, try to get it a largish chunk of food.

 

[Desolas]

Smaller pieces of food will get taken and processed faster than larger, so anything that is <5mm should suffice. I just use my hands myself, it's the most accurate way IMO.

Like already said, any krill, shrimp, meaty seafood should be taken readily. If it was pre-frozen shrimp I would not use it, as most prefrozen shrimp (well, 99%) has a sulfur phosphate as a preservative. May not be harmful, but additives are bad.

If anyone has an opposing viewpoint on direct feeding an anemone and thinks it isn't required, they are wrong, period. Bubble Tip Anemones require food, anyone who thinks otherwise has not read enough about them. Not to be a flaming facist about the subject, but I have pleanty of references that say they do, and none that say they don't. There may be some anemones that do not require supplimental feeding, but this isn't one of them. (I'm not flaming you, just making the point.)

BTA's will often switch from eating shrimp/inverts to fish as they mature also, so feeding something like silversides, or white-fish may be something to try as well. Mine is several years old (in my tank anyway) and will only eat fish now.

Dr. Ron suggests the proper way to feed an anemone like this is to feed it as much as it will eat in one sitting, wait for it to digest, and if you see it deflate and eliminate it's waste wait a day and feed it again the same way. If you do not see it, or it does not deflate and expel waste, feed it again after a couple of days.

I think feeding like that is kind of insane and asking for a tank full of anemones. But that is an example of how much "they should be fed." I think feeding once or twice a week a decent bulk amount is good enough and you'll end up with a lot of respectable growth. I feed mine half the max amount it will take 2 times a week. Mine is huge.

Also yours being smaller than what it was in the store could actually be a good thing, often stressed or anemones in poor light will over inflate. But hiding and only coming out for short periods is bad.

I'm not trying to come off like a d*ck, I'm just really anal.

 

[hdtran]

Fenner et al. recommend feeding anemones (even photosynthetic ones). I have a Condylactis, fairly new, so my experience may not be directly applicable, but here goes:

The advice I was given (Fenner, Calfo, etc. at wetwebmedia) was to feed a small (max 1/4"; look at the anemone's mouth and give it something smaller 8) ) piece of meaty raw seafood, or minced seafood in the water column.

My LFS recommends frozen-defrosted cut-up silversides (even though they do stink), fed directly.

Both recommend "a few" times a week (2-3).

My LFS said to stroke the food across the anemone tentacle to make it fire its nematocysts, which would trigger a feeding response from the anemone (tentacles to mouth, swallowing, etc.).

So, I direct-feed shrimp bits or silversides bits 2-3x/week, using tongs (don't want to put my dirty hands in the water :wink: ). The anemone looks perfectly happy taking it.

Shrinkage and expansion is natural. The other thing that will concern you is seeing the anemone spew yucky stuff out of its mouth. That's normal, it's pooping. (Looks very constipated while doing that, though...)

Which leads me to my next question: If you see your anemone pooping, do you scoop the poop, or do you let the, umm, detritivores, umm, graze...?

 

[Juck]

I have a big condy in my fuge that hosts two spawning Gold Stripe Maroon clowns,,, I've never seen it poop once in 2 years,, I always assumed the fish were eating it,, which is weird,, since a good part of the condy's diet is Clownfish poop in the first place.

My big carpet spews something awful,, I always try to catch the gunk but it's in an area of really high flow and get's washed away pretty quickly,, I've never noticed anything eat it except my zebra hermits,, who eat anything, including each other.