Anemone not growing.....

Bcountry · Sep 27, 2014

Hey guys,

I have either a rose bubble tip anemone or a rainbow bta that has remained the same size since I bought it 1 year ago. I have a 120 gallon display with a 15-20 gallon sump. I run only a filter sock, protein skimmer, carbon (in mesh bag), phosguard (in mesh bag). I have a 48" reefbreeders LED light which I have just increased the power to, actinics are 100% and whites/red/purple are at 75%. Anemone was at the bottom of the tank where it kept deflating. I moved the Anemone to the top of the tank where it seems very happy, it has not deflated since. I feed it 2-3 times a week via brine/mysis shrimp. I have two clowns but they do not host. Why is this guy not growing????

sg = 1.024 via refractometer.
Ca - 460
dkh = 9
Temp = was 82, recently lowered to 77
Ph = 8.1
Mg - 1480
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - 0
lighting period 9-5

skinz78 · Sep 28, 2014

Can you post some pic's of it?

Bcountry · Oct 1, 2014

Here he is

SeahorseKeeper · Oct 1, 2014

The nem looks pretty happy to me. I wouldn't be concerned about it. In my experience, nems that stretch themselves out are typically reaching out for light.

Bcountry · Oct 1, 2014

It's just strange, the nem is still only the size of a half dollar or so. The pic is deceiving....

KorD · Oct 1, 2014

I believe that is a watermelon bubble tip nem. they do not get that big (maybe a size of a baseball), but they do split more other then grow.

KorD · Oct 1, 2014

just out of giggles... does yours look like mine?

bairdimusprime · Oct 1, 2014

nems are odd like that. i have two BTA's one grows and grows... the other has been the same size since i got it. they're both clones of the same nem.

bairdimusprime · Oct 1, 2014

ImageUploadedByREEF2REEF1412188521.071006.jpg

Bcountry · Oct 2, 2014

Exactly like yours! What is the name of it, do you know?

Bismark · Oct 2, 2014

I have the same anemone and mines was like 17" when fully opened I got mines off craigslist 2 months ago and it has grown 2 1/2 inches and just split 4 days ago. If you want yours to grow fast and split feed it silversides squid sardines mullets no heads and i try to take off all the skin on fish pieces I feed mines every 2 days nice size pieces and I go to fishing tackle shop to buy my fish food and when they deflate is to flush there system I feed mines and 24 hours later it deflates and all the poop comes out and a hour later is open again hope this helps.

Bcountry · Oct 2, 2014

Thanks! Will try it out!

KorD · Oct 2, 2014

Bcountry said:
Exactly like yours! What is the name of it, do you know?

Mine is a watermelon anomone

AnnaG58 · Dec 27, 2017

I have a white bubble tip anemone that I have had for 6 months. Instead of growing it has gotten smaller. It is less than the size of a dime. It has been moving around, started from bottom of the tank and it is now on the top of the rocks. The tentacles are barely visisble and does not look like they are looking for food. Last time I fed it brine shrimp, the frozen kind you get in cubes from Petco was about 3 weeks ago. Should I try to feed it, even though it does not appear to be searching for food.

Lance M. · Dec 28, 2017

AnnaG58 said:
I have a white bubble tip anemone that I have had for 6 months. Instead of growing it has gotten smaller. It is less than the size of a dime. It has been moving around, started from bottom of the tank and it is now on the top of the rocks. The tentacles are barely visisble and does not look like they are looking for food. Last time I fed it brine shrimp, the frozen kind you get in cubes from Petco was about 3 weeks ago. Should I try to feed it, even though it does not appear to be searching for food.

It sounds like a lack of light. Can you post a picture? White is not good.

You will need to feed it more often, maybe 3 times a week, small portions, to regain some mass.

What is your lighting setup, tank specs, water parameters?

Zack K · Dec 28, 2017

Lance M. said:
It sounds like a lack of light. Can you post a picture? White is not good.

You will need to feed it more often, maybe 3 times a week, small portions, to regain some mass.

What is your lighting setup, tank specs, water parameters?

Agree with the above. Unfortunately their is no such thing as a “white BTA”. Usually with that description, your bta has expelled all of the zooxanthellae (color) and is deprived of 1 of a few things: Nutrients, Light, trace elements or correct and stable water parameters.