Anemone is literally inside out

LucyMollyMaryJane · Jul 31, 2023

My anemone has turned itself inside out.
I have read the other posts that claim this, and they are not the same. I do understand they close up for various reasons. He has not closed up. His foot is sucked up underneath him and he has pushed out through his mouth. See pics.
Any thoughts or explanations are appreciated.

Jay Hemdal · Aug 1, 2023

LucyMollyMaryJane said:
My anemone has turned itself inside out.
I have read the other posts that claim this, and they are not the same. I do understand they close up for various reasons. He has not closed up. His foot is sucked up underneath him and he has pushed out through his mouth. See pics.
Any thoughts or explanations are appreciated.

Hi,

Expulsion of the guts is pretty common in dying anemones, what you are seeing is the mesentery tissue. Sorry, but I think the chances of the anemone retracting this and recovering are slim to none. You will want to dispose of it before it begins to decompose and foul the water.

Now - why this happened is tough to say.
How long did you have the anemone?
What species is it?
What are the water quality parameters?

Jay

LucyMollyMaryJane · Aug 3, 2023

Thanks for the response Jay.
I had removed the anemone from the tank prior to the pictures. I figured it was a goner at that point.
Very weird situation, the anemone looked healthy and happy 12 hours before this.

We had the anemone for about a month. It was happy and seemed to have found a home that it liked. It was a small long tentacle.
Tank parameters are all consistent and basically at the middle of recommended ranges. The rest of the tank is extremely happy. I have a mix of soft, LPS, SPS, verts, and fish. Two other anemones in the tank and they are happy and healthy.

Jay Hemdal · Aug 3, 2023

LucyMollyMaryJane said:
Thanks for the response Jay.
I had removed the anemone from the tank prior to the pictures. I figured it was a goner at that point.
Very weird situation, the anemone looked healthy and happy 12 hours before this.

We had the anemone for about a month. It was happy and seemed to have found a home that it liked. It was a small long tentacle.
Tank parameters are all consistent and basically at the middle of recommended ranges. The rest of the tank is extremely happy. I have a mix of soft, LPS, SPS, verts, and fish. Two other anemones in the tank and they are happy and healthy.

LT anemones don't always adapt well to aquariums. If you want to try another, I would suggest trying a captive propagated bubble tip anemone (BTA).

Jay