Anenome Problem and Misc...

[helliott]

I've been pursuing the salt water hobby for about 3 or 4 years now and my current tank has been running since May of 2007. It is an Aquapod 12g with no modifications. I have added a Fission Nano Skimmer (not sure if it works properly but after cleaning it during each water change there is a noticeable amount of 'gunk' inside so I figure it might be doing some good).

My livestock consists of the following creatures, in order of when they were added:

5 Hermits
2 Turbo Snails
1 Blood Shrimp
1 False Percula
1 Royal Gramma
1 Molly Miller Blenny
1 Conch Snail
1 Bubble-tipped Anemone
1 Bichrome Blenny (hitchhiked on the rock that the anenome was on)
1 Bristle Worm (also hithiked on that same rock)
A Colony of Yellow Polyps
1 Featherduster
1 Giant Turbo Snail
A Colony of Button Polyps

My problem, as you will see in the pictures, is that my anenome has gone through a transformation since it has lived in my tank and I fear that this change is for the worse. Although I do frequent water changes (about 25% every 2 weeks w/ small replacement of trace elements) and the other livestock in my tank seem to be adapting well to their environment, the anemone does not seem to be thriving. For the first few weeks that I had it, I did not directly feed it and observed that it did eat occasionally just by the food falling onto its tentacles. Eventually, the anemone started to shrivel and change from an obvious green to a brownish color. After noticing these changes I began to manually feed the anemone some mysis shrimp on a more consistent basis and the anemone is still alive as it eats. Also, the anemone has moved twice. When I first got it it was on top of the rock it came on and the water flow caused it to move to the side. Recently, the anemone has moved back to the spot it originally was, though this may have been caused by altering the water flow again. At any rate, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what could have caused this change and are there any ways to return the anemone to its former glory? Also I just purchased a serpent star, is there anything I should be aware of considering the other members of my tank? Hope you guys can help!

This is the anenome when i got it:



Then it changed into this:



And now it looks like this:



Here are some more pictures of my tank for your viewing pleasure:

[Toygrr]

hmm, it looks dimm, is it your lights? or jsut the camera. If i were you i would quarentine the anemone for a while. keep all your water perams in check, temp, nitrates, nitrites, calc, alk, ph, ammonia ect.

[Illuminati]

A serpent star in a 12g tank!

Is this stock lighting or the Aquapod with the Sunpod Metal Halide fixture?

What are your parameters?

[helliott]

It's stock lighting - 2 27W Dual Sunpaqs...I was told by the LFS that these were sufficient, is this not so?

Same LFS told me I shouldn't have problems with the serpent star either, it's fairly small at any rate.

I will try and post my parameters as soon as possible. Last time I checked they were all in the appropriate ranges.

[johno4]

Not enought light.

[reefman13]

First off, you bought a bleached anemone right off the bat. And then, added it to a tank that did not have enough lighting (a.k.a. not the right conditions either). So here's what I am going to say, you need to upgrade your lighting ASAP. Because if you don't the anemone will surely die. You have about a month before it will completely just turn into a pile of goo and foul up your water.

This is what I would recomend:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Current-USA-16-5...sid=p1638.m118

On a side note, you have quite a bit of crap on the floor of the aquarium. So in that respect, I would recomend you get a couple of these from your LFS:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1763
-I would say 2 of those

Hope I wasn't too harsh, but I hope it helps....

[helliott]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate your honesty. As fate would have it I purchased 2 of those snails and they are already burrowing into the sand. As far as the lighting goes, how difficult is it to install and are there any models that aren't so expensive? Also do you think moving the rock w/ the anemone farther up towards the light might help?

[Lance M.]

Because you have a AP unit you can't really get the cheaper units since the tank isn't a standard 24'', or 36'', etc. so your only real choice is a MH pendant, like Dave points out. And also like he says, over time the nem will slowly whither away to the point it starts to fall apart and kill everything in your tank.

Also when feeding nems- feed them meaty foods (squid, scallops, cocktail shrimp, siversides, etc.) 2-3 times a week when they are bleached like the one you have and then you can reduce the feedings as it gets healthier (regains the zooxanthellae) and at that point it will get a lot of it's food from the light. Mysis shrimp aren't all that great unless you soak them in vitamins and feed the nem a clump of it at a time.

And 10-15% pwc every week would be good also, instead of a large one every two weeks, especially since your tank is relatively new (less than a year old). Once the tank stabilizes more, every other week would be fine but weekly is still good.

[Illuminati]

I would return the anemone tomorrow along with the star, even if he gives you nothing for them it's better than killing them in your tank. Starfish that get to be a foot long don't belong in nanos.

[helliott]

Here are my parameters so far as I could test them:

Specific Gravity 1.024
PH 7.9
Ammonia 0
Nitrite < .2
Nitrate < 10 ppm

I'm thinking your suggestion to return the anemone is probably a good one if the lighting is insufficient. I wonder why my LFS would allow me to purchase a serpent star knowing I have a 12 g AP. I specifically told the guy before I bought it and I have dealt with him before, he has been helpful in the past. At any rate, if I don't end up changing my lighting in this tank, how does that restrict me in terms of corals? I want to begin building up my coral collection and don't want to repeat the same mistake I made with the anemone. Thanks again for everyones input.

[NanoReefWanabe]

WOW...
your lights are too low...and no, putting the anemone at the top of your tank will not help it...
your PH is getting too low
what is your alkalinity at, and what is your calcuim at?

you should not ever be able to detect any nitrite in your tank past the cycle..
SO if your tests are tell you you have nitrite you have a serious problem in your tank..

how are you testing your SG...?

in a healthy well established tank this anemone would have a fighting chance...in your tank i dont think so....do you have any friends with established tanks that could revive him for you while you get your parameters up to spec?

with your lights i would only try to grow:
ZOOs
Button polyps (like you already have)
and various softies...Colts, Kenya trees, Mushroms, and maybe leathers..

Some LPS might be able to live in there...Hammer, frogspawn,

No SPS< No CLAMS< and No ANEMONES

i am certain this post sounded far more harsh then intended...

PS. your guy...the guy at the LFS...go kick him in the nuts for selling you a sick anemone, then kick him again for selling you an anemone in the first place...

i have a brittle star in my tank...started at 5" across total....now he is well over 8", they grow fairly quick...i dont see the big deal with them in a nano...i can barely ever se mine as he is curled up in the rocks most of the time...hiding in holes i can barely get frag plugs into..when and IF he ever out grows the tank i will be sure to move him off...or hopefully upgrade..

[helliott]

NanoReefWanabe, thanks for all the input. I've been doing some research and tend to concur with you on the serpent star. Shouldn't be a problem, and can easily be removed if it ever does grow to be a problem. I'm certain now that my tank is not suitable for the anemone, will return tomorrow, thanks all, good night!

[Toygrr]

most definately dude, pc's dont do great past like 8" of water (so ive been told) get t5's or a hqi fixture.

[helliott]

Update: my tank has been running for around 6 months now. Just tested the water:

PH = 8
AM = 0
NI = 0
NA = 5
SAL = 1.022

Since my last post I decided to keep the anemone and move it closer towards the light. I noticed an immediate improvement which was only furthered when my clownfish decided to host the anemone while I was away on vacation. I'm glad I didn't listen to half the advice in this thread, as my clownfish wouldn't be as happy as he is now if I had.

[aaronpentz]

ALK and CAL dont really effect the BTAs. You need to be concerned with Nitrates, Phosphate, Salinity, And temp. As for lighting I have seen BTAs under many kinds of lighting.

This website has a lot of Information.

http://www.karensroseanemones.com/

From the pictures it looks like you had bought a really bleached anemone. and from the latest picture it looks like its getting some of its color back. which is a good thing. Now a few things. is the mouth closed or gaping. and is it sticky. Also Silversides is the best food for BTAs that I have found.


As for water testing.

The ideal is to have Zero

Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

But its not bad to have some Nitrates. Most people with larger tanks have a hard time keeping the nitrates under 20 with no adverse effects on their tanks.

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro...-overview.html

This pages give an explanation on what the reading should be and an explanation of them.

[NanoReefWanabe]

a Clownfish will be happy regardless of having an anemone to host in, provided water parameters are good...the symbiotic relationship they share is more beneficial to the nem then the clown...as it is provided with food and protection...the nem only protects the eggs of the clowns...if you clown isnt breeding it likely couldnt care if your nem was a nem or a power head..

i am glad to hear it is doing better...