I got my carpet anemone 3 days ago. On the first day he was fine, 2nd day he shrunk a little bit, lost his stickiness, and what looking like his intestines were coming out of his mouth. Later that day he was looking normal again. Now today he’s looking the same way he was yesterday and just an hour ago I thought he was doing good. His foot still has a good hold and there’s what looks like white smoke coming out of his mouth. Should I take him out? Is he going to poison my tank? Is he dying?
Carpet anemone dying?
- Thread starter Kylie
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Taylor t
Well-Known Member
Welcome!
More info is needed for accurate advise. Maybe a full tank shot could help better, along with details about your system, including numbers of your tests, and age of tank.
Just my gut, that guy is in real trouble. Sorry to say.
More info is needed for accurate advise. Maybe a full tank shot could help better, along with details about your system, including numbers of your tests, and age of tank.
Just my gut, that guy is in real trouble. Sorry to say.
Taylor t
Well-Known Member
Haddoni are normally sand dwellers, several inches of sand is what they seem to like most the time.
The tight pulling together of the disk, and the shape of the disk says to my eyes it’s in real stress. The ones I have had that “smoke” out the mouth (good description you made) if I took action quick they can recover if action is taken quick enough. Action or no action can storms on a lot of things, refer experience, tank age and stability, and condition of anemone.
It dying doesn’t reflect on you personally, or your reef skills, it could have been in poor shape before you got it. These things have an amazing way of looking ok one minute, and nose diving the next. How long it’s been like that can affect its ability to rebound.
The tight pulling together of the disk, and the shape of the disk says to my eyes it’s in real stress. The ones I have had that “smoke” out the mouth (good description you made) if I took action quick they can recover if action is taken quick enough. Action or no action can storms on a lot of things, refer experience, tank age and stability, and condition of anemone.
It dying doesn’t reflect on you personally, or your reef skills, it could have been in poor shape before you got it. These things have an amazing way of looking ok one minute, and nose diving the next. How long it’s been like that can affect its ability to rebound.
Agree^^ and we really need tank specs, lights, time running, water params.
The smoke is sometimes a bad sign new like this, and if it goes back and forth looking good then bad, often that is a sign of bacterial infection, and may need cirpo treatment.
Some anemones are more challenging than others, this would be one of those.
The smoke is sometimes a bad sign new like this, and if it goes back and forth looking good then bad, often that is a sign of bacterial infection, and may need cirpo treatment.
Some anemones are more challenging than others, this would be one of those.
My tanks has been up and running for a little under a year now. My nitrates are 10 and nitrites and ammonia are 0-0.5. I do have it in the sand and my sand bed is really deep. I’ve never really had a problem with my water. The picture I uploaded was taken a Couple of months ago. I’ve completely changed the scape and placement of corals and anemones since then. But the carpet is in the middle of the tank and it is getting flow. I run my lights for no more than 8 hours a day.
Taylor t
Well-Known Member
Beautiful tank 
nice scape too. I think with your anemone I’d be careful and keep a close eye on it. Your eyes are the best judge of how it’s doing, pictures can be misleading. If you continue to watch it go down hill I would for sure pull it in a few days, no longer than a week. But if it’s in bad shape inside (smoking could be insides rotting or spawn release under stress), waiting a week might not be good, but if it’s not bad inside currently (just a spawn release under stress), waiting a week might be ok to see if it settles in. But those anemones have a hard time making adjustments from shipping or coming from less than ideal condition like a LFS. It’s a gamble - acting too soon is a lot of work, waiting could give it worse odds if it needs help sooner and it’s recoginzed too late, or waiting and it settling everyone’s happy with no action. If it was mine, I’d start making water tonight (10 gallons of it) and see how it looks tomorrow night. IF it looks like it’s still going downhill tomorrow night, I’d put it in a 10 gallon then and make tomorrow’s water at that time. See how it dooes tomorrow, maybe it’s having a rough go in the beginning, but the tightness and shape of that disk I’d personally pull it tonight if it was me, but I would have made water waiting for it when I brought it home that was 24 hours mixed and aerated. If it looks good tomorrow, I’d give it another day, decide one day at a time based on how it goes, but that disk tightness I’ve seen too many times for me they really struggle. You can give them “an internal purge” by changing 100% of the water every night at the same time with water that’s 24 hours old heated to temp and aerated. A 5K led spotlight from the home center clamped on the side of the tank would work fine for light if you don’t have another setup. If it continues to go downhill after a couple days of this, I’d start adding Cipro, and it’s already in place in a weak state, you can just start medicating right then without trying to move it after going downhill even farther. Just a few thoughts. Best of luck. Let us know how it does for you.
nice scape too. I think with your anemone I’d be careful and keep a close eye on it. Your eyes are the best judge of how it’s doing, pictures can be misleading. If you continue to watch it go down hill I would for sure pull it in a few days, no longer than a week. But if it’s in bad shape inside (smoking could be insides rotting or spawn release under stress), waiting a week might not be good, but if it’s not bad inside currently (just a spawn release under stress), waiting a week might be ok to see if it settles in. But those anemones have a hard time making adjustments from shipping or coming from less than ideal condition like a LFS. It’s a gamble - acting too soon is a lot of work, waiting could give it worse odds if it needs help sooner and it’s recoginzed too late, or waiting and it settling everyone’s happy with no action. If it was mine, I’d start making water tonight (10 gallons of it) and see how it looks tomorrow night. IF it looks like it’s still going downhill tomorrow night, I’d put it in a 10 gallon then and make tomorrow’s water at that time. See how it dooes tomorrow, maybe it’s having a rough go in the beginning, but the tightness and shape of that disk I’d personally pull it tonight if it was me, but I would have made water waiting for it when I brought it home that was 24 hours mixed and aerated. If it looks good tomorrow, I’d give it another day, decide one day at a time based on how it goes, but that disk tightness I’ve seen too many times for me they really struggle. You can give them “an internal purge” by changing 100% of the water every night at the same time with water that’s 24 hours old heated to temp and aerated. A 5K led spotlight from the home center clamped on the side of the tank would work fine for light if you don’t have another setup. If it continues to go downhill after a couple days of this, I’d start adding Cipro, and it’s already in place in a weak state, you can just start medicating right then without trying to move it after going downhill even farther. Just a few thoughts. Best of luck. Let us know how it does for you.
Scotty Buttons
Valuable Member
My nitrates are 10 and nitrites and ammonia are 0-0.5.
Are you saying your ammonia is 0.5?
Taylor t
Well-Known Member
Hmm... ^^^^for a reef tank that’s a year old, typically when a system gets to a year old, I’ve always had coralline algae coating everything. Could there be some water level that’s off maybe? Tank looks clean for a year old. Do you scrape the back glass clean? Or maybe the picture doesn’t show. What other corals do you have and how do they look?
It’s looking a lot better now the insides seem to be going back in it’s got it’s stickiness back too. I’m already making water I’m going to do a 100 gallon water change either tomorrow or the next day. Here’s a pic of how it looks now.Beautiful tank
I have a sun coral, anemones, frogspawns, red sponge trees, Kenya tree, elegance coral, a hammer, a Duncan, a maze, a bubble, a devils hand, pulsing Xenia’s, a chalice, Zoas, and a couple other things I don’t know the name of.
Taylor t
Well-Known Member
That explains the glass. It does look better in that pic. hopefully it digs into the sand, you might be able to look under the tank and see it’s foot attach to the bottom. That would be a good sign.
It does look much better in 2nd pic, I notice that is blue, were lights ramping down?
Sometimes when they have bacterial infection they may look better when lights are lower, or they just go back and forth good to bad.
Many of us do have cipro and QT for nems prone to bacterial infections.
I did spot the amo reading and that was first flag, what kits are you using?
There should be no amo on a tank that old.
Was that a typo on 100g WC?
100 would be kind of excessive, and I'd wonder what RO/DI you are using to get that much so soon, maybe you meant 10?
Sometimes when they have bacterial infection they may look better when lights are lower, or they just go back and forth good to bad.
Many of us do have cipro and QT for nems prone to bacterial infections.
I did spot the amo reading and that was first flag, what kits are you using?
There should be no amo on a tank that old.
Was that a typo on 100g WC?
100 would be kind of excessive, and I'd wonder what RO/DI you are using to get that much so soon, maybe you meant 10?
It is dug into the sand it’s st the bottom of the glass but there’s really no way for me to check . Yes I do 2 hours at night of blue light. I ran out of my api reef master so I used a test strip and it said 0-.5 ammonia. I’m doing a 100 gallon water change bc I’m due for a water change my tank is 300 gallons. I’m making water right now I already have 40 gallons ready. It’s just a normal RODI system.
Oh I see, I initially thought o-.5 was calling out nitrates and amo respectively, 0 trates and .5 amo
So you're probably 0
When you get new kits I'd suggest salifert as they are most accurate.
100g is a pretty big WC, make sure the new water params are similar so it's not a big shift in params.
I prefer 10% weekly, or 20% every other week.
Smaller volume done more often makes less chance of big swings or changes in params.
So you're probably 0
When you get new kits I'd suggest salifert as they are most accurate.
100g is a pretty big WC, make sure the new water params are similar so it's not a big shift in params.
I prefer 10% weekly, or 20% every other week.
Smaller volume done more often makes less chance of big swings or changes in params.
