Anemone not doing so well

[lhorvatt]

We just purchased our anemone on 11/9. All of our tank specifications for an anemone are met. It's got a "belt" of stuff. Should I try to remove it? It's been in the corner lifeless for 2 days. I've read all over the internet that this is what they do. But, what if he's dying? What if we leave his alone so long he dies? How do I tell the difference? And sadly, in this photo it looks like it's mouth is open more wide than a couple days ago.

 

[dedragon]

It looks to be a bleached long tentacle anemone. Leave it alone, that is just the mucus they have around themselves at all times, touching will only hurt the anemone. Dont feed it for at least a month as well. Turn lighting to acclimation mode or dim them if you have the option too. Also how old is the tank?

 

[TokenReefer]

Was it that white when you got it? It looks bleached but alive. Give it good light and make sure your flow pattern is dialed in (not going to change) and let it find it's spot. I would not physically touch it in any way personally..

 

[cclark]

Anemones do what they want. They are a lot more like Jellyfish then people think, closely related. Their are so many variables that could cause anemones to do poorly. Yours dose not seem to be doing poorly, it’s quite inflated which is positive. The derbies just looks like sand. How old is your tank? You said your water is correct, anemones don’t really do well if a tank is under a year old, although you can start introducing around 6 months. If your phosphates and nitrates are in order, id start looking at water flow or light. I’ve seen anemones on deaths doorway still crawling for life. That anemone looks fairly fine in my opinion.

 

[lhorvatt]

It looks to be a bleached long tentacle anemone. Leave it alone, that is just the mucus they have around themselves at all times, touching will only hurt the anemone. Dont feed it for at least a month as well. Turn lighting to acclimation mode or dim them if you have the option too. Also how old is the tank?

Sadly, we've probably only had it set up for saltwater fish for about 4-5 months. We should have done the research, but fish store employees should be educated even more so. It's not been the 6 months everyone talks but I can't take him out now.

 

[lhorvatt]

Was it that white when you got it? It looks bleached but alive. Give it good light and make sure your flow pattern is dialed in (not going to change) and let it find it's spot. I would not physically touch it in any way personally..

Yes it was white when we purchased it.
How would the flow go best? To him straight on or just to the side of him?

 

[lhorvatt]

Anemones do what they want. They are a lot more like Jellyfish then people think, closely related. Their are so many variables that could cause anemones to do poorly. Yours dose not seem to be doing poorly, it’s quite inflated which is positive. The derbies just looks like sand. How old is your tank? You said your water is correct, anemones don’t really do well if a tank is under a year old, although you can start introducing around 6 months. If your phosphates and nitrates are in order, id start looking at water flow or light. I’ve seen anemones on deaths doorway still crawling for life. That anemone looks fairly fine in my opinion.

The tank is only 4-5 months with saltwater fish. All our numbers were spot on yesterday. We've got the flow and light going. Hopefully that'll help. Glad to know someone with anemone knowledge thinks he looks fairly fine.

 

[TokenReefer]

Dial the flow in that best suits the whole tank, not just the nem. It will find a spot that it likes with good flow, good light, and a spot to skulk back into to get out of light (this is important); assuming you have those available to it. Let it do it's thing and find that spot. While it's doing that do not change anything. When it settles in, keep things stable. Basically don't ever change anything again or it might walk...lol Maybe over stating there but stability is key. Keep your salinity stable; get an ato if you can, best stability device in our hobby imo. Let it soak up photo energy for a bit until it settles in. If you feed your tank heavy and it blows all over and some hits your nem you may never have to feed the nem directly; if not you can feed small amounts of meaty frozen (thawed to room temp). Basically just keep things stable for a bit until it starts taking on some color again... All is not lost.

 

[dedragon]

Sadly, we've probably only had it set up for saltwater fish for about 4-5 months. We should have done the research, but fish store employees should be educated even more so. It's not been the 6 months everyone talks but I can't take him out now.

Gotcha, they are salesmen though, the more stuff they sell the better. Everyone has been duped before (me included), especially in the beginning, but its up to us to do the research for everything before purchasing and this forum is great for posting before buying anything if you have any remaining questions.
For flow, what powerheads or wavemakers are you using? I do indirect surging water through the whole tank either with jebao wavemakers or maxspect gyres. The anemone can actually inflate to float and contract itself to get around if it didnt like the location.
TBH i stopped keeping LTA because I would have them a year and they would grow so large they start killing everything around them so I would sell them off.

 

[dedragon]

The tank is only 4-5 months with saltwater fish. All our numbers were spot on yesterday. We've got the flow and light going. Hopefully that'll help. Glad to know someone with anemone knowledge thinks he looks fairly fine.

What is the tank size, lighting, and wavemakers you are using? What settings are you using as well?

 

[TokenReefer]

Turn lighting to acclimation mode or dim them if you have the option too

This is a good idea while its settling in until it starts to color up

 

[cclark]

The key like listed so many times above, and in so many past threads is patience. Don’t create a tank emergency over 1 occupant. You said your tanks still 4-5 mo old. That’s a little early for an anemone. You could have perfect numbers, but not have a tank environment established enough for long term success. Introduce in this order softies / LPS / SPS - Anemones. In any new build I do I wait patiently for my tank to let me know when it’s ready. When you see fewer and fewer algae outbreaks, along with your fist coralline algae bloom, you know your tanks on track. A mature tank just looks different, and shows it’s maturity. The trick is not over doing it.
I would go in this order.

Softies - 4-5 months before introduction
LPS - 6 - 8 months before introduction
Sps / anemones - 8 - 12 months

Buy a Duncan frag and a montipora frag. They are cheap and hardy, but also serve as great indicators of water quality for lps and sps. You start measuring success with them, then you know your tanks dialed in.

 

[lhorvatt]

Dial the flow in that best suits the whole tank, not just the nem. It will find a spot that it likes with good flow, good light, and a spot to skulk back into to get out of light (this is important); assuming you have those available to it. Let it do it's thing and find that spot. While it's doing that do not change anything. When it settles in, keep things stable. Basically don't ever change anything again or it might walk...lol Maybe over stating there but stability is key. Keep your salinity stable; get an ato if you can, best stability device in our hobby imo. Let it soak up photo energy for a bit until it settles in. If you feed your tank heavy and it blows all over and some hits your nem you may never have to feed the nem directly; if not you can feed small amounts of meaty frozen (thawed to room temp). Basically just keep things stable for a bit until it starts taking on some color again... All is not lost.

Thank you for the advice. As we watch and wait, I do feel better knowing all is not lost.

 

[Cell]

How deep is your sandbed? Can you post a full tank picture? The ring around the nem is just shredded skin/mucus layer. You can remove it gently.

 

[lhorvatt]

The key like listed so many times above, and in so many past threads is patience. Don’t create a tank emergency over 1 occupant. You said your tanks still 4-5 mo old. That’s a little early for an anemone. You could have perfect numbers, but not have a tank environment established enough for long term success. Introduce in this order softies / LPS / SPS - Anemones. In any new build I do I wait patiently for my tank to let me know when it’s ready. When you see fewer and fewer algae outbreaks, along with your fist coralline algae bloom, you know your tanks on track. A mature tank just looks different, and shows it’s maturity. The trick is not over doing it.
I would go in this order.

Softies - 4-5 months before introduction
LPS - 6 - 8 months before introduction
Sps / anemones - 8 - 12 months

Buy a Duncan frag and a montipora frag. They are cheap and hardy, but also serve as great indicators of water quality for lps and sps. You start measuring success with them, then you know your tanks dialed in.

Thank you for your advice. I've taken notes and am looking into your suggestions. It's good to know there is a place like this to seek help.

 

[lhorvatt]

How deep is your sandbed? Can you post a full tank picture? The ring around the nem is just shredded skin/mucus layer. You can remove it gently.

The sandbed is 2ish inches. This is the back of the tank where he is hanging out.

 

[TokenReefer]

If you're open do it I'd add some more rock work so there's a dark place for the nem to find. They like a dark cave that they can anchor to that allows them to then stretch out of toward the light. They use the cave to move between light and dark to sort of photo-regulate (made that word up) in case they are getting too much light.

Also, those bubbles might bother the nem; if there's an air hose hooked to that power head (tbh I'm not too familiar with these style ph's)...it probably isn't needed with it pointed at the surface like that, there should be enough air exchange with just the surface agitation

Again, just my thoughts; wish you the best!