Anemone bleached during shipping?

[Rtaylor]

I’ve already talked with a few folks, but wanted some additional opinions. I recently ordered 3 purple wysiwyg sebae anemones. They shipped overnight and actually shipped extremely well. They were mostly inflated in the bags, sticky, and the water was clear and clean looking. However, the first thing I immediately noticed upon opening the box was that the anemones were all extremely bleached. Like, the foot and body on all of them are completely white. The tips are a pale purple. All of them looked virtually identical in terms of coloration in both the wysiwyg pics and upon arrival. The vendor has been good about it, but insists the anemones looked like the wysiwyg pics when shipped and shipping stress caused the change. Given how well they shipped and that shipping was less than 24 hours this seems virtually impossible to me. I’ve received a lot of shipped anemones, some in terrible (dead) condition and they weren’t completely bleached….am I crazy? Is it possible for an anemone to experience a severe bleaching event overnight yet arrive in seemingly good condition otherwise? The pics are pretty easy to tell apart. The healthy purple looking pics were the wysiwyg pics and the bleached nems are what I received.

I’m honestly just wanting to know if my experience that it doesn’t seem like a shipping stress problem is reasonable or if you all have had different experiences.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Nems don't ship well, and can bleach literally "overnight". give them a few days.

 

[Rtaylor]

Nems don't ship well, and can bleach literally "overnight". give them a few days.

I understand they can ship poorly, that wasn’t my question. I’ve received a few dozen anemones shipped overnight and none have gone from very healthy (in terms of color/zooxanthelle) to bleached before arrival. Even the few anemones I received doa had not completely bleached. Are you saying you have personally experienced an anemone that you know was totally not bleached that bleached 90+ % while shipping otherwise very well?

 

[SlugSnorter]

I understand they can ship poorly, that wasn’t my question. I’ve received a few dozen anemones shipped overnight and none have gone from very healthy (in terms of color/zooxanthelle) to bleached before arrival. Even the few anemones I received doa had not completely bleached. Are you saying you have personally experienced an anemone that you know was totally not bleached that bleached 90+ % while shipping otherwise very well?

Yes, ive seen and heard of it happening, especially with sebae nems. If the nem is otherwise healthy, give it a few days and see how it does.

 

[Rtaylor]

Yes, ive seen and heard of it happening, especially with sebae nems. If the nem is otherwise healthy, give it a few days and see how it does.

As I said, they otherwise shipped very well and are doing fine, but it will take months for them to regain their coloration. Are you suggesting that a bleached anemone will be back to full health in a few days? I've received other sebae anemones including 1 other purple one and none of them bleached significantly during transit. Even anemones that arrived with longer shipping times and in obviously much more stress. Do you have pics of the ones you received before and after shipment? Is there a specific stressor that would cause such a fast decline in zooxanthelle (there wasn't any expelled zooxanthelle in the bags)? I would think maybe high temps, but that definitely wasn't the case on my shipment (WI). I've definitely seen sps coral completely bleach that quickly, but I haven't seen any anemones or even softies bleach 100% during shipment.

How many anemones do you have? How many were shipped overnight? How many were healthy before shipment but arrived bleached? I'd appreciate if you could share pics to better understand the phenomenon.

Thanks

 

[SlugSnorter]

As I said, they otherwise shipped very well and are doing fine, but it will take months for them to regain their coloration. Are you suggesting that a bleached anemone will be back to full health in a few days? I've received other sebae anemones including 1 other purple one and none of them bleached significantly during transit. Even anemones that arrived with longer shipping times and in obviously much more stress. Do you have pics of the ones you received before and after shipment? Is there a specific stressor that would cause such a fast decline in zooxanthelle (there wasn't any expelled zooxanthelle in the bags)? I would think maybe high temps, but that definitely wasn't the case on my shipment (WI). I've definitely seen sps coral completely bleach that quickly, but I haven't seen any anemones or even softies bleach 100% during shipment.

im saying to see if the nem is healthy in a few days, it looked a bit closed up and maybe a bit deflated in the pics. The coloration will return in time if the nem is otherwise healthy. Theres quite a bit around of nems, specifically sebae getting bleached during shipping. For one reason or another, sebae loose their zooxanthelle particularly easily when shipped.

That being said, if you think your nem was swapped out for another that was bleached before shipping, ask with the seller, although depending on who sold it, that may be difficult. It's not my fault its bleached, and if you do not think i'm correct, I respect your opinion.

 

[Rtaylor]

im saying to see if the nem is healthy in a few days, it looked a bit closed up and maybe a bit deflated in the pics. The coloration will return in time if the nem is otherwise healthy. Theres quite a bit around of nems, specifically sebae getting bleached during shipping. For one reason or another, sebae loose their zooxanthelle particularly easily when shipped.

That being said, if you think your nem was swapped out for another that was bleached before shipping, ask with the seller, although depending on who sold it, that may be difficult. It's not my fault its bleached, and if you do not think i'm correct, I respect your opinion.

I'm just trying to understand the situation. The vendor has been very good about it, that's not my concern. I can share pics of anemones I've received and their condition. I typically take a few pics if they arrive in poor shape or differently than advertised, I suppose I assumed most people do, so if you had experienced something similar you might have pictures to share. If you don't want to share what experience you are basing your statements from it's difficult to assess whether or not to rely on them. I'm not saying that to offend or insult anyone, as I said, I'll share the basis for opinions I give, so I didn't think it was unreasonable to ask. If you find it unreasonable, I apologize. I do believe you are trying to help and have good intentions. I have experienced people repeating things they have read or heard and not actually experienced is all. I'm sure I'm guilty of that as most people are, so again, not trying to start anything, just get a feel for where the info is coming from.

 

[Cell]

im saying to see if the nem is healthy in a few days, it looked a bit closed up and maybe a bit deflated in the pics. The coloration will return in time if the nem is otherwise healthy. Theres quite a bit around of nems, specifically sebae getting bleached during shipping. For one reason or another, sebae loose their zooxanthelle particularly easily when shipped.

That being said, if you think your nem was swapped out for another that was bleached before shipping, ask with the seller, although depending on who sold it, that may be difficult. It's not my fault its bleached, and if you do not think i'm correct, I respect your opinion.

I'm a bit confused. Weren't you a new reefer looking for advice just 6 months ago? Now an expert?

 

[dvgyfresh]

nems can bleach overnight , I would bet it was a temperature change among other things that triggered it . I got this anemone bleached and it took about a month for it to recover, I would feed it zooplankton

 

[Rtaylor]

nems can bleach overnight , I would bet it was a temperature change among other things that triggered it . I got this anemone bleached and it took about a month for it to recover, I would feed it zooplankton

Thanks for sharing. My thinking was temp would be the only thing that could potentially cause near total bleaching that fast. I guess I would have thought anything that was stressful enough to cause extreme bleaching in transit would have resulted in the anemone showing other signs of stress on arrival. These were some of the best shipped nems I’ve ever received in terms of their condition on arrival. Inflated, sticky, clear, clean looking water in the bags, mouth not open or gaping. Other than the bleaching they seemed nearly stress free. Surprising to me that they could be both in the best condition yet the worst bleaching I’ve experienced. Idk, I suppose anything is possible.

 

[JonezNReef]

Were they shipped with hand warmers? If so could be culprit for a sudden increase in temp. If no hand warmers then that could cause it to get colder over the time in transport which depends on the vendors location verses your own but less likely to be the culprit of sudden bleaching but there’s a chance.
I recently purchased a bleached Mag that my LFS ordered from a vendor that was said to be red base with purple and yellow tips that supposedly bleached from the vendor to the LFS. I have read and still reading everything I can find to better understand it but the pickings on published research is a bit slim on the pickings.
Temp in the wild seems to be the main cause for it but also says it can happen with other sudden changes like pH.
At least they appear healthy and you have a chance to bring them back. Also seems they are in good hands