Need some anemone advice

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

I need some opinions. I brought home my first nem the other day. He looked great but went into hiding. He came out yesterday and I offered it a small piece of cut shrimp. Today his mouth looks like this and only half of him seems to be opening and extending. His color is great throughout except for his mouth. It is white and stays open. Is it stress? Did I feed him too big of a piece? Is he splitting already? I do not have prior experience with these. Thanks. Light is an AI Prime HD. Water test from today in pics.

 

[OceanL0ver]

When it comes to anemones you just keep good water parameters like you are doing and let it be. It will pick the best spot for itself. I wouldn’t worry about what it’s doing. Could be many things, all which are out of your control imo. Keep giving it food once or twice a week. I use krill. I started with one RTBA and I now have 9.

 

[OceanL0ver]

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

When it comes to anemones you just keep good water parameters like you are doing and let it be. It will pick the best spot for itself. I wouldn’t worry about what it’s doing. Could be many things, all which are out of your control imo. Keep giving it food once or twice a week. I use krill. I started with one RTBA and I now have 9.

Should I be concerned with the gaping mouth? The color is what scared me. Thanks for the input.

 

[OceanL0ver]

I wouldn’t be worried because there is nothing to do differently. Let it get settled. Offer food and be patient is my only advice. Good luck

 

[OceanL0ver]

Is you salinity ok?

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

1.024

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

Thanks again

 

[ThunderGoose]

Ditto what @OceanL0ver said. Anemones will find their spot and settle in. I've seen mine with an open mouth quite a lot (usually in the morning). No biggie. I don't target feed mine - she gets plenty of light and can scavenge from the water column. It seems that feeding can trigger splitting and since mine is freaking HUGE and I only have a 55 I don't want her splitting too often because I don't have the space! (sure, you can sell them but getting them off the rock - oy!)

 

[Venator]

It seems that feeding can trigger splitting and since mine is freaking HUGE!)

Man, I wish I had your problems!
But yeah, I put nems on the bottom and let them go where they wanna go. I also find feeding stuff like R-Roids or whatever help coloration, marginally to drastically, and sometimes even growth. (I also like watching them eat...)

 

[Jeff_H]

As others have said, I would not worry about it based on what you have reported. I have 6 BTAs in my tank and on any given day one (or more) can go from looking beautiful to deflated with an open mouth within an hour. I The open mouth can sometimes be related to it expelling waste. I've also noticed them act this way more frequently after I first put them in the tank. Maybe it has something to do with them acclimatizing. Good solid and stable parameters, light and the right amount of flow seem to be the key in my limited experience.

Good luck!

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

As others have said, I would not worry about it based on what you have reported. I have 6 BTAs in my tank and on any given day one (or more) can go from looking beautiful to deflated with an open mouth within an hour. I The open mouth can sometimes be related to it expelling waste. I've also noticed them act this way more frequently after I first put them in the tank. Maybe it has something to do with them acclimatizing. Good solid and stable parameters, light and the right amount of flow seem to be the key in my limited experience.

Good luck!

Thanks. It's mouth is looking better but this photo is how he gets. Only half of his body is out and inflated. The other half stays almost in the hole and doesn't get as large.

 

[Jeff_H]

Good to hear it's looking better... I quarantine all of mine for a couple of weeks in an established 10-gallon tank with no fish before they go in the main display tank. All of them have exhibited interesting behavior during the first few days before they settle in, plus I don't think any of them ever took food for at least the first five days.

I think getting your first BTA is like having your first kid.... With the first one, you freak out at every little sneeze, but after you get some experience you just roll-with-it unless someone shows up broken.

Which brings me to something I can't tell from your pictures. If you have any powerheads in the tank I would strongly recommend you put a sponge on it/them permanently or at least until it stops moving around. Based on the white rock color around the bta, I'm assuming there is not a lot of light hitting that area which means it will likely move again once it starts to settle in. I've had one of my six manage to get in the powerhead twice and the sponge saved it both times. I guess some of them just like to wander around more than others. lol

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

Good to hear it's looking better... I quarantine all of mine for a couple of weeks in an established 10-gallon tank with no fish before they go in the main display tank. All of them have exhibited interesting behavior during the first few days before they settle in, plus I don't think any of them ever took food for at least the first five days.

I think getting your first BTA is like having your first kid.... With the first one, you freak out at every little sneeze, but after you get some experience you just roll-with-it unless someone shows up broken.

Which brings me to something I can't tell from your pictures. If you have any powerheads in the tank I would strongly recommend you put a sponge on it/them permanently or at least until it stops moving around. Based on the white rock color around the bta, I'm assuming there is not a lot of light hitting that area which means it will likely move again once it starts to settle in. I've had one of my six manage to get in the powerhead twice and the sponge saved it both times. I guess some of them just like to wander around more than others. lol

haha, thanks, I did this the day after I bought him.

 

[gig 'em]

BTAs anchor their foot underneath rocks and in crevices, where it's positioned now is not alarming. It could also be adjusting to your lighting and will hide in the shade because it's not used to the intensity of your light. As long as it isn't inflating/deflating or the tentacles slowly shrinking to tiny nubs you should be alright. Just part of the acclimating process.

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

BTAs anchor their foot underneath rocks and in crevices, where it's positioned now is not alarming. It could also be adjusting to your lighting and will hide in the shade because it's not used to the intensity of your light. As long as it isn't inflating/deflating or the tentacles slowly shrinking to tiny nubs you should be alright. Just part of the acclimating process.

Thanks, he does seem to change for the worse in the middle of the day.

this was taken at noon today.

this was taken at about 8 tonight. I fed it a small piece of shrimp and it is acting so much better. I'm thinking that it got weak from the three days in hiding with no light. It recoils from my light when I put it on the normal setting so I have it on acclimation mode reduced by 35 percent. I am starting to cover the lid to only shade him to try to get it to come out a little more but I am seeing that I just need to leave it alone and feed it every few days a small amount.