Anemone hitchhiker

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Dakarta

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I have been looking to upgrade my 8 gal nano for quite some time. It is nice but I wanted something I could put a fish in and have some room for it to swim. I came across a good deal on a 21 gal on a local forum. The tank was established and has been for two years.
I went and picked up the tank last night. We put all the rock in a 5 gal bucket filled with water. Left a little bit of water in the tank so the snails and serpent star would be ok. The rest of the water we put into 5 gal jugs. It was about an hour drive back to my house, and one of the bottles of pre-existing water spilled during the trip.
When I got home I started putting the rock back in the tank I saw a weird jelly like thing on one of them. I proceeded to put the water back in the tank slowly. as the water reached the jelly looking thing it "fluffed" up. I ended up being short about 2 or 3 gallons, so I had to use some water I had made up for the 8 gal tank so I could get the pump on and get water circulating. I figure that was almost like doing a 10% water change.
Best I can tell the Jelly like thing is a bubble tip anemone. It is quite small, base pedal is about between the size of a nickel and a quarter. It's kind of hard to tell since it is down in the rock crevice.
At first it was out and all puffed out looking pretty good. I turned the blue LEDs on for a bit and it seemed to shrink back a bit. This morning I turned the blue LEDs on for a few hours and then kicked the white LEDs on for a few hours. It shrank back all the way to wear I could barely see the tentacles and saw mostly just the pedal. When I went back to just the blue LEDs it came out just a little bit more.
I did a quick check of the water parameters, because we stirred up some sand and stuff when we moved the rocks. I had some high numbers which I am concerned about.

I did not realize the anemone was there. I don't want to get rid of it or lose it. I am really worried that is going to happen. Does anyone have any suggestions of actions I might take to give the little guy the best chance of surviving the move? thank you.
 
It might be a pest anemone, And if it is you should remove it from your tank asap.
Do google search for Manjano or Aiptasia removal.
They will infest you entire tank.
 
not a pest I recognize those. I do have a couple aiptasia I do need to get rid of those. Little suckers popped up while I was doing some work to the tank today.
pics coming soon
I am at work right now, got some stuff happening. I took some pics today after I did a few things to the tank will update as soon as I can once things settle down
 
I am working nights so I had the lights off on the tank all day. When I woke up at 1pm the Nem was out a little bit. I moved the rock scape around this afternoon. Got the the rock the Nem is on a bit more out of the flow path of the pump discharge. He came out a little bit more.
As I thought my parameters were way to high for my liking. I went out and got some bio filter media, and some carbon media. Put those in the back chamber along with a little filter floss and some live rock.
When I went to go to work I turned the tank lights on to get some pics. I could actually see the "bulbs" on some of the tentacles.

From some of my reading around the forums I believe I have a green BTA and it seems they tend to shy away from the light a bit. So hopefully it is happier now.

I think I might leave the lights off a bit longer until the tank gets settled in a bit more. Any suggestions on how long?
I'll also try to take some more parameter readings to see if anything I've done has made a change for the better.

pics of the little guy in just a few
 
having some issues with the photos apparently I took them as RAW images and now have to convert them but can't download a program to do it on the work computer. gonna try to do it on my tablet during lunch.
 
Looks like baby bubbletip
That's what I was thinking too.The guy I got the tank from did confirm he had a BTA in there at one point.
I am really worried I am going to lose it.
My plan is to leave the lights off for at least one more day then I will run just the blue LEDs for a few days. then work on getting the white LEDs on with the blues. I picked up some frozen food to feed it but not sure when I should start trying to feed.
 
I came home this morning and he was inflated much more, out of the little crevice he is in. Was closed up a bit though. When I turned on the lights in the room he opened up. I think I might put the blue LEDs on for a few hours before I go to work.


I think he is a bit bleached. All the pics I have seen of them they have more color. Any suggestions on what I can do to remedy that? Lights? Feeding? I appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks.

Going to check my water parameters in a few minutes and post those too.
 
LRS Reef Frenzy is what i feed my nems daily, i have a green BTA which was see through upon arrival and now its as green as they come
good lighting is a must as well
 
Ok. Thanks for the info. I will look into getting some LRS Reef Frenzy. I didn't have any food at first. Didn't expect to have anything in the tank. I bought some frozen cubes yesterday just in case so I could spot feed him.
I'll get the lights on too. I think now that he is inflated he's a bit happier. I was worried at first because he shied away from the lights.

You've been a great help Baird. Thanks!
 
Water parameters are looking so much better than what I had the other day.

Salinity 1.025
pH 8.1
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
KH 10
phosphate .25
Calcium 460
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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