Anemone ID and help with attaching

[ostrich]

First question, is this a Heteractis aurora? Guessing from lots of googling. If so, how large does it get? Fish store told me it was fine for my 10 gallon but I'm starting to see some posts online about it getting 10 to 20 inches in size...

I've had this anemone now for about 3 weeks and he keeps floating around the tank unless I secure him. I tried leaving flow off for several hours when I first got him, and he didn't attach. During the night he found a place he liked in the sand, stayed there for a day, then moved around in a 3 inch circle over the course of 2 days until he uprooted himself and floated off into a corner of rocks.

For a little while I left him to do what he wanted (if he uprooted himself he must have not been happy right?) but after several days of being in that corner (where he floated to) he still hadn't attached. Eventually I placed him inside a "shield" I made from a plastic cup to keep flow off of him to give him time to attach to a piece of plastic I placed on the sand (which I would then bury after he attached), which he promptly hated and I removed because he looked like he was going to die. He was in that for about 2 days. I've let him float around until he landed in a corner and left him there for 5 days. I removed him (because he was getting 0 light and was not visible so no fun, and he hadn't attached anyway) and let him float into a different corner for 4 days.

I thought I finally had luck yesterday night when he landed on a rock and it looked like he might have grabbed onto it. He stayed there for about 12 hours (it really looked like he attached, and maybe he did!) but then this morning he was floating around again.

As far as I can tell, his foot is fine. I've fed him twice so far and he ate fine, he puffs up during the day with lights on and then goes crazy at night (retracting, opening his mouth, puffing up, pooping, w/e) but he WILL NOT ATTACH. Anyone have any tips?

Tank is about 8 months old, has 7 other corals that are all doing great/growing new heads/polyps. Consistently at 35 ppt, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite all 0/low, 77-77.5 degrees, using instant ocean reef crystals.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This can grow to paper plate size.
Attaching to rock- loose rubber band for a week or so or in a cup with a rock and it’ll attach to the rock

 

[Hingle McCringlebery]

If I had to guess... I'd say its a bubbletip based on the pics you have. It would help if you could show the pedal disk (aka foot) of the anemone. The color and presence of verrucae can help in narrowing down what it is.

That being said, I want to piggyback on your nem ID question with my own nem. I was told its a "Green Tip Anemone" but have no idea what that means. The colors are all jacked up in the pics because they're under ~18k LEDs and taken with my iPhone. The pedal disk is either pink or light purple with no visible verrucae. The tentacles appear to be evenly spread across the oral disc and are short and stubby and are a cream color which iridesces green. The oral disk measures about 2 inches across when expanded and the foot can extends about 2 inches too.
It seems to like the light but closes up when it gets its fill. My best guesses is that is a baby BTA or heteractis magnifica (really tiny???) but I think both of these guesses are wrong. So I ask you Reef2Reefers... what the heck is this?

 

[GoReefin]

They both look like bubble tips to me. They like to attach to rocks.

 

[GoReefin]

First question, is this a Heteractis aurora? Guessing from lots of googling. If so, how large does it get? Fish store told me it was fine for my 10 gallon but I'm starting to see some posts online about it getting 10 to 20 inches in size...

I've had this anemone now for about 3 weeks and he keeps floating around the tank unless I secure him. I tried leaving flow off for several hours when I first got him, and he didn't attach. During the night he found a place he liked in the sand, stayed there for a day, then moved around in a 3 inch circle over the course of 2 days until he uprooted himself and floated off into a corner of rocks.

For a little while I left him to do what he wanted (if he uprooted himself he must have not been happy right?) but after several days of being in that corner (where he floated to) he still hadn't attached. Eventually I placed him inside a "shield" I made from a plastic cup to keep flow off of him to give him time to attach to a piece of plastic I placed on the sand (which I would then bury after he attached), which he promptly hated and I removed because he looked like he was going to die. He was in that for about 2 days. I've let him float around until he landed in a corner and left him there for 5 days. I removed him (because he was getting 0 light and was not visible so no fun, and he hadn't attached anyway) and let him float into a different corner for 4 days.

I thought I finally had luck yesterday night when he landed on a rock and it looked like he might have grabbed onto it. He stayed there for about 12 hours (it really looked like he attached, and maybe he did!) but then this morning he was floating around again.

As far as I can tell, his foot is fine. I've fed him twice so far and he ate fine, he puffs up during the day with lights on and then goes crazy at night (retracting, opening his mouth, puffing up, pooping, w/e) but he WILL NOT ATTACH. Anyone have any tips?

Tank is about 8 months old, has 7 other corals that are all doing great/growing new heads/polyps. Consistently at 35 ppt, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite all 0/low, 77-77.5 degrees, using instant ocean reef crystals.

You can keep H. Aurora in a nano. I have mine in a 13.5g fluval evo...

 

[Bepis]

Looks like a bta both of you, tho the first is harder to tell

 

[Born2beblack]

Bta from looks but they can have so many shapes and looks
Sorry to hear the bad luck mate
I thought mine was gonna die or never come out again but turns out it just wanted to split

 

[chizerbunoi]

Welcome to Reef2Reef.

I can’t tell from those images but the tentacle appears to have the concentric rings around the tentacle similar to a Heteractis aurora or could be a Heteractis malu. Is the column white and leathery with wart like bumps?

For attaching I would advise that you find a corner with low flow or arrange your rock work so that the rock surrounds three sides of the anemones base. It will feel more secure that way. It will then attach to the rock and work it’s way down.

Your tank looks fairly new and bare. If you don’t have many corals then perhaps turn off some powerheads until it attached. Or just keep the return pump on only with other power heads off. Will really depend on what else is in your tank.

 

[ostrich]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Posted a pic of the "foot" as well, and I haven't been able to get a nice photo of it when its not so contracted but it does not have any warts/bumps on the tentacles at all. Beyond that it does seem very similar to the aurora. I have a mushroom, 2 zoas, GSP, duncan, and 2 im not entirely sure ( I think cyphastrea and a leptoseris?).

I did leave my powerhead off for a full day and it did not do anything, not even move around. I also tried twice to just leave it alone for 4-5 days each (it was in a corner of rocks where it was pushed to by the flow) and both times it didn't even try to attach. I'm trying the shielding thing again (plastic cup around it with the bottom cut off) and will see if that gets it to settle or at least move, but if it doesn't I might just return it...

 

[dedragon]

imo definitely not a bubble tip, you are most likely right with beaded anemone but maybe it is a sebae anemone but hard to tell. BTA dont have that patterning on the tentacles

 

[dedragon]

also post parameters, lighting, flow information will help. how long have those rocks actually been in the water because they are white

 

[GoReefin]

imo definitely not a bubble tip, you are most likely right with beaded anemone but maybe it is a sebae anemone but hard to tell. BTA dont have that patterning on the tentacles

This is when I first got my H. Aurora. Imo you are probably correct. I can see slight banding on the tentacles. OP can try and bury the foot in the sand and see how he does. These guys need a good 3 inches of sand to be happy. Put a rock next to where you bury the foot down in the sand.

 

[ostrich]

I upgraded from 3 gallons to 10 gallons 3 months ago, and bought new dry rock which are the white ones. I do have other rocks from the 3 gallon that are 8ish months old and were live rocks when I bought them.

I checked a few days ago and params were 8.2 or 8.4 ph, 35 ppt, 0-0.25 ammonia (hard to tell with my kit, I'm waiting on a new one, but I did 20% water change to be sure), 0-5ish nitrate, 0 nitrite. Nothing other than coral, copepods, and worms in the tank and I only feed maybe once every week or two weeks.

Flow is a jebao wavemaker () on the 3rd lowest setting.

Lighting is 2x LEDs () at each end of the tank, held about 15-16 inches above the water level.

 

[ostrich]

Also the anemones foot has almost always been retracted up against the body of the anemone so I cannot bury just the foot. I've only seen the foot extended twice and the second time it looked like it had grabbed onto a rock (and after a day it had detached again) Is that a bad sign?

 

[GoReefin]

Also the anemones foot has almost always been retracted up against the body of the anemone so I cannot bury just the foot. I've only seen the foot extended twice and the second time it looked like it had grabbed onto a rock (and after a day it had detached again) Is that a bad sign?

Hopefully no damage to the foot. Just dig a small hole in the sand in a low flow area and place him over the hole. Hopefully he will bury himself over time.

 

[chizerbunoi]

No idea what this upvote button does but I agree with above ^^

I would not worry that the foot is curled up. Lots of other anemones do that as well. The acclimation period is the hardest. If it doesn’t mount it’s foot just focus on bringing its health up. Don’t feed more than a small pellet size at a time.