Anemone too far gone?

[3sgterror]

I picked this anemone up from a local reefer, which they were going to throw out.

I know i need to purchase some Cipro and start a treatment in a hospital tank. The anemone is still attaching to rock, but its tentacles are severely recessed and the person said that it doesn't open up much at all any more. The mouth is open much of the time, but I have also seen it closed up and tight.

I figured I would give it a shot at recuperation. I wanted to get opinions if I should spend the money and effort on trying to nurse this thing back to health? Or should I just give up because it may be too far gone.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

I've seen worse. I would give it some time to acclimate and watch it closely. You don't want to stress it out any further with another change. The fact that it's not bleached and still attached is a good sign. If it falls off or it's mouth starts gaping then I would try a cipro treatment.

 

[TxReefer21]

Is it a LTA or bubble tip? Honestly to me it doesn’t look to hot but if the foot is attaching then I wouldn’t see why not. But I can’t be so sure of anything ..

 

[kittenbritches]

Anemones can be shockingly resilient. I agree with PPs that if it's still attaching and mouth isn't gaping, you should give it time and some love.

 

[3sgterror]

Its a bubble tip. Here is a pick with the tentacles starting to inflate a little bit.

Mouth starting to close up further from the first pic. It will take a few days for the Cipro to get here. Hopefully it can hang on until that happens.

Sometimes the mouth is gapping open, other times it is closed up. Should I just leave it alone as long as it goes through these changes?

Only when its gaping full time should I pull it?

 

[TxReefer21]

Its a bubble tip. Here is a pick with the tentacles starting to inflate a little bit.

Mouth starting to close up further from the first pic. It will take a few days for the Cipro to get here. Hopefully it can hang on until that happens.

Sometimes the mouth is gapping open, other times it is closed up. Should I just leave it alone as long as it goes through these changes?

Only when its gaping full time should I pull it?

Give it a go and see what you can do with it. It looks rough now. But once it gets worse than this I would yank it IMO. It will open its mouth to expel any unwanted water in it and suck in new water. At least that’s what my LTA does.

 

[3sgterror]

should I leave it alone and not do a Cipro treatment? Should I just watch it for a couple of days and wait?

 

[blaxsun]

should I leave it alone and not do a Cipro treatment? Should I just watch it for a couple of days and wait?

I would. As was suggested, de-stressing it is probably more helpful at this point.

 

[Dolphins18]

As others mentioned leave it alone. BTA's are incredibly resilient given that their foot is not damaged. I've seen them in powerheads, shredded bubble tips, and still come back in a few days.

 

[SirCrush32]

@3sgterror Any update? Following the thread and learning.

 

[Clown2020]

Agree with everyone’s advise to leave it. I had a rose bta shipped to me that arrived in a similar state. After A day of being left alone it was back to normal.

The fact that the foot is attached and the mouth is closed is a promising sign. In my very limited experience.

would be interested to know the outcome in this case.

 

[3sgterror]

Sorry for the long wait on an update.

The anemone was looking good for a little while. It was cruising around the acclimation box, looking for a spot. It started to even inflate a little.



But then I came home one day and the mouth was gaping open and it was barely holding onto the rock. I decided not to chance it any further and pulled it from my tank. I didn't want to risk it poisoning the rest of the tank.