Anemone dying

[CTurtleGirl]

I have had this anemone for 7 years now. It is a heteractis aurora and hosts a mated pair of false percs. Ever since I did the last water change it has looked really bad, shrunk up, withered, does not react much when touched. I'm afraid its pretty near death. Now my clownfish won't even go near it, they just kind of hover near by looking sad. I checked all my water levels and they seem to be normal although my dkh was a little low but nothing to warrant this reaction. All other corals seem fine. It has been hot here lately and the tank got kinda hot a couple of days but nothing that hasn't happened every summer since I got the anemone. What is the normal lifespan for an anemone in a captive situation? Should I just consider it old age? Another question, if it does die, how will this affect the clownfish? Should I get another anemone right away? It is hard to find a heteractis aurora in the area now for some reason so will they host to say an e quadricolor (bubble tip)? Thanks for any advice!

CTurtleGirl

 

[Anonymous]

Corals and anemones are capable of living hundreds of years, though in the wild most succumb to predation long before that. In our tanks with the proper perameters and no predation you should be able to pass them on to family members for generation after generation. Your clowns will be fine without an anemone as they'll host in just about anything from algae, to corals to powerheads.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Len]

:welcome:

Sorry about the anemone. I doubt old age contributed to its demise, but there simply isn't enough data to know why its health has deterioted. But seeing as how the condition started with the water change, I suspect it is something related to that event which common test kits can't test for. Perhaps try another water change with a new batch of salt and freshwater.

H.aurora is a nice anemone, but it is hard to find specimens these days. Don't worry about the clowns as David says. They will likely host in a BTA if you want to give that species a try.

Personally, unless your anemone is "melting" away (tissue necrosis), I'd keep it in there and give it a chance at recovering. A lot of times, dying anemones simply shrivel up until they finally disappear. IME, it won't negatively impact your water much, but keep an eye out on the situation.

 

[CTurtleGirl]

Thanks for the replies. It still seems to be hanging on. I increased water flow a bit. It has not detached from the bottom yet so thats a good sign. The clowns "slept" in it last night. I did another water change to see if that helps and upped the alk a bit. Wish me luck! I'm just kinda sad cause I've had it so long. Every once in a while it would shrink up and spit out some zoo but it hasn't done that this time. The clowns are just so protective of their anemone and they spawn all the time around, that is why I wanted to replace it if it does die. I prefer the anemones that like a sand substrate like this h aurora. I know BTA like rocks and carpets just get too big for my 75 gal. Any other suggestions of my anemone does die for a sand loving anemone?

Thanks
CTG

 

[Carlos Torano]

:welcome:

Sorry about the anemone. I doubt old age contributed to its demise, but there simply isn't enough data to know why its health has deterioted. But seeing as how the condition started with the water change, I suspect it is something related to that event which common test kits can't test for. Perhaps try another water change with a new batch of salt and freshwater.

H.aurora is a nice anemone, but it is hard to find specimens these days. Don't worry about the clowns as David says. They will likely host in a BTA if you want to give that species a try.

Personally, unless your anemone is "melting" away (tissue necrosis), I'd keep it in there and give it a chance at recovering. A lot of times, dying anemones simply shrivel up until they finally disappear. IME, it won't negatively impact your water much, but keep an eye out on the situation.

Hey Len,

Where's my welcome? :wink:

 

[NRichwine]

How's your anemone doing? Any chance bristleworms are bothering it?

 

[Anonymous]

How are you mixing your water change water? Are you letting it circulate for 24 hrs? Have you tested your new mixture at all?

I would mix another batch up and test the mixed water to see if there is a problem with it.

 

[CTurtleGirl]

Well my anemone is still alive and slightly more inflated but still not even close to the way it was. The clownfish sleep in it again but haven't spawned since the anemone hasn't been feeling well. I have increased water flow, tested mixed water. I mix the water in a garbage can for at least 24 hours. I think its all a water flow issue at this point and I think it might take some time for the anemone to recover. I have been battling turf algae for years and the way that I control it is to take every rock out and pull off as much of the algae as I can and then put the rocks back in. I do not disturb the rock thats right next to the anemone because that is where my clowns spawn and most of the time there are eggs there. When I put the rocks back in this time I think I didn't leave enough spaces for the water to flow from the back to the front giving the anemone way less flow than it was used to. What do you all think?

CTG

 

[Anonymous]

Well my anemone is still alive and slightly more inflated but still not even close to the way it was. The clownfish sleep in it again but haven't spawned since the anemone hasn't been feeling well. I have increased water flow, tested mixed water. I mix the water in a garbage can for at least 24 hours. I think its all a water flow issue at this point and I think it might take some time for the anemone to recover. I have been battling turf algae for years and the way that I control it is to take every rock out and pull off as much of the algae as I can and then put the rocks back in. I do not disturb the rock thats right next to the anemone because that is where my clowns spawn and most of the time there are eggs there. When I put the rocks back in this time I think I didn't leave enough spaces for the water to flow from the back to the front giving the anemone way less flow than it was used to. What do you all think?

CTG

Could be. I know my anemones have gone through cycles of looking well inflated to looking a little stump, bright green to a pale green etc. Small impacts on the tank have great consequences on the sensitive inhabitants, and anemones show it quickly.
Does it feed at all? As long as it is feeding, it should be fine. Try spot feeding it, see how it reacts.