HELP! Anemone dying due to salinity drop.

chaostactics · Jan 7, 2020

3 ATO and back up failed in the on position and I ended up with a specific gravity swing from 1.025 to 1.020. The anemone has started to spew its guts through its mouth and the foot is semi detached.

I'm working on bringing the salinity back up. But at this point would you pull the anemone so it doesnt nuke the tank (6" Heteractis, in 90 gallon water volume) or give it the day to try and recover. No SPS or LPS in the tank just other anemones, fish, and zoa/paly.

lapin · Jan 7, 2020

If you have a QT tank set up you could go that route with a good light and water movement.
If you can get the salinity/alk back up quickly it can stay in your tank. Be sure to cover your power heads as it wants to find a new home because of the accident. (foot is semi detached)

chaostactics · Jan 7, 2020

At a suggestion from a member of my local club "If you want a better response try reef to reef and tag #reefsquad @Amoo and @OrionN "

kireek · Jan 7, 2020

Sorry for your troubles. I am hopeful that the anemone will be okay.Wherever you decide to keep it be sure to raise the salinity up slowly.I would add some activated carbon to help with toxins that may have released.Mainly Ammonia and possibly palyotoxin

chaostactics · Jan 7, 2020

Update: Tank is back to 1.025, anemone has reattached its foot. Guts are still part way out but not as dramatically.

OrionN · Jan 7, 2020

It is kinda late now, but I would not have increase the salinity like that. The reef animals can tolerate decrease in salinity much better than increase. When I need to increase salinity, I just add salt water as top off and wait for the tank to evaporate and salinity increase slowly this way.

If there is danger of detachment, I would put something on the anemone so he wont float away (ad into your PH or overflow). Try to keep the water stable and hope for the best. You can put him in a floating basket or put a strawberry basket over him to keep him from floating. Take good care of him and hope for the best.
What kind of anemone is he? Heteractis is a genus name, not a species name

Good luck

OrionN · Jan 8, 2020

how is he today?

huckjai · Jan 9, 2020

OrionN said:
It is kinda late now, but I would not have increase the salinity like that. The reef animals can tolerate decrease in salinity much better than increase. When I need to increase salinity, I just add salt water as top off and wait for the tank to evaporate and salinity increase slowly this way.

If there is danger of detachment, I would put something on the anemone so he wont float away (ad into your PH or overflow). Try to keep the water stable and hope for the best. You can put him in a floating basket or put a strawberry basket over him to keep him from floating. Take good care of him and hope for the best.
What kind of anemone is he? Heteractis is a genus name, not a species name

Good luck

Definitely agree with this one. Livestock can tolerate a drop in salinity oppose to a quick upward swing in salinity. Especially going from 1.020 to 1.025 right away.

Ebisan · Jan 9, 2020

Glad to hear things are ok. Has happened to me before. My ATO stuck open and salinity dropped to 1.020. Increased salinity back by adding salt to tank. My anemones (20 of them) survived.

chaostactics · Jan 9, 2020

Update: It made it another day or so before beginning to extrude again. It slipped out of its basket and took the journey to the great beyond via powerhead

Malifry97 · Jan 9, 2020

chaostactics said:
Update: It made it another day or so before beginning to extrude again. It slipped out of its basket and took the journey to the great beyond via powerhead

Man I’m sorry to hear that

OrionN · Jan 9, 2020

Sorry.

Jon Fishman · Jan 9, 2020

huckjai said:
Definitely agree with this one. Livestock can tolerate a drop in salinity oppose to a quick upward swing in salinity. Especially going from 1.020 to 1.025 right away.

I disagree actually...... depending on what you consider to be “quick”

When you get a fish shipped, likely hyposalinity...... you acclimate for what? 90min or so before dropping it in? That is probably the same salinity swing he was doing, just with the entire tank vs a single bagged fish.

OrionN · Jan 9, 2020

Jon Fishman said:
I disagree actually...... depending on what you consider to be “quick”

When you get a fish shipped, likely hyposalinity...... you acclimate for what? 90min or so before dropping it in? That is probably the same salinity swing he was doing, just with the entire tank vs a single bagged fish.

You lower the QT tank to the salinity of the shipping water.

Jon Fishman · Jan 9, 2020

OrionN said:
You lower the QT tank to the salinity of the shipping water.

If you quarantine I suppose

OrionN · Jan 9, 2020

I don’t QT fish for disease but I have QT tank to get the fish acclimated to captivity. If the salinity gets s significantly different I slowly bring it up with evaporation.
i QT corals clams and anemone very carefully.

dadnjesse · Jan 9, 2020

chaostactics said:
Update: It made it another day or so before beginning to extrude again. It slipped out of its basket and took the journey to the great beyond via powerhead

I would do a big water change