Is my anemone dead ???

[Calvin Bosarge]

He is usually the size of like two softballs ... Came back from vacation for 5 days and he looks like this ... What should I do ?

 

[joshkirkland83]

I would say yes.

 

[Calvin Bosarge]

Last night he blew back up a bit then back to this size this morning ...

 

[Calvin Bosarge]

Anyone else have any advice ?

 

[joshkirkland83]

Anyone else have any advice ?

Check ALL water parameters. He didnt just get like that. Post your results. How old is your tank?

 

[steelheader.262]

Have you tested your water to see what the problem is?

 

[twilliard]

That is not good.
First I would remove him. They make a mess when they die.
Next is understanding that anemones are very sensitive animals.
How was he acclimated?
They acclimate well to a vast range of water chemistry if acclimated properly.
When I get them in I drip acclimate for 2 plus hours.

 

[corey.nolta]

Is it a new addition??? My carpet did the same thing when I first got it. The first two days, it looked awesome! Third day I came home from work and looked the same (deflated/like death). Thought it was pretty much a goner. I researched and asked questions like a mad man trying to figure things out. Was told to give it a few more days, that it was most likely expelling the old LFS tank water (nems are ~90% water) and taking in my new tank water. So I Gave it a few days, and lo and behold, it's a beauty. That was about 4 months ago and I've never had an issue since.

Day Three

Taken about a month ago

Crappy cellphone pictures

 

[Calvin Bosarge]

Here are my parameters .... Ph-8.1 nh3-0. Nitrite-0. Nitrate-100. Salinity- 1.024. Temp- 78f. Phosphate- 0.25. Calcium-400. Carb hard- 175

 

[Naiad]

Is that actually a 100 NO3 or 10.0?

 

[happyhourhero]

Yeah if your nitrates are 100, I would say that's no good. Salinity is a tad low as well. Hopefully it rebounds. I have had mine for a couple of weeks and cant really say I am comfortable with how anemones behave.

 

[Calvin Bosarge]

Is that actually a 100 NO3 or 10.0?

Yea 100...... What can I do to help lower it

 

[nanoman28g]

Yea 100...... What can I do to help lower it

Massive water changes! 100? That's way too much. How old are your test kits? I had a result like that when my tester was expired. By the way, my tanks have 10ppm or less nitrates. If nitrates are really that high, that becomes very poisonous to your entire tank.

 

[Naiad]

Big question. Was it that high prior to vacation? In order to lower it you have to find the source. Overfeeding, infrequent wc, massive die off of something, or your source water could all contribute.

 

[nanoman28g]

Big question. Was it that high prior to vacation? In order to lower it you have to find the source. Overfeeding, infrequent wc, massive die off of something, or your source water could all contribute.

Very good comment. I still think that the test result of 100ppm might be inaccurate. If it really was at 100ppm, I think that everything would be dead inside that tank.

 

[trio91]

That is not good.
First I would remove him. They make a mess when they die.
Next is understanding that anemones are very sensitive animals.
How was he acclimated?
They acclimate well to a vast range of water chemistry if acclimated properly.
When I get them in I drip acclimate for 2 plus hours.

I'd take him out.....

 

[Naiad]

Very good comment. I still think that the test result of 100ppm might be inaccurate. If it really was at 100ppm, I think that everything would be dead inside that tank.

I would for sure get a second reading. Though i have worked with levels that high and it depends on what else is in there. Corals would probably die but as long as it isn't a spike fish can tolerate levels that high. They slowly become acclimated. In the long run it shortens life expectancy because their bodies are working harder to maintain themselves but it won't out right kill them.

 

[jaws789832]

You might have to spend a little money on this one but you need to get the nitrates down. The dead or dying nem could have caused it to spike but regardless of what caused it water changes are your friend here. No matter what though its going to take a few of them to get it to drop into an acceptable range so have plenty of salt on hand. If it has been running that high for a while I wouldn't try to do it all at once. A series of 30-40% water changes every day. Remember doing a 30% water change will drop 100 down to 70 then another one will only drop it to 49 (70-30%) so each water change removes less and less nitrates. If the nem doesn't perk up a bit I would remove it as it will just spike your nitrates even more. Judging by all the snails and crabs around it I would say its fairing real bad.

 

[Trex]

How long have you had the anemone before the trip?

Did you have a tank sitter for your trip?

How did you handle evaporation during the trip?

I would start doing a series of large water changes.

 

[joshkirkland83]

What brand tests are you using?