Fishtastrophy
Community Member
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2020
- Messages
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I wanted to share a story of danger, drama, suspense, and a thrilling plot twist!
A few weeks ago, I had a small Rainbow Anemone in my Observation Tank, along with a new Goby/Shrimp pair I was keeping an eye on. The nem got stuck in a small powerhead which I, in hindsight, underestimated just how small the guards really needed to be to keep them out. He lost about half his tentacles, I turned it off when I found him and he crawled out overnight.
Over the next couple of weeks, he fluctuated between looking good and looking pretty horrible. Eventually, he turned the corner, climbed up on my glass and started looking super bubbly on the side which had survived. In addition, he ALSO started growing bunches of new tentacles on the side that was a little mauled. It was a good day.
Then one morning I went to check on him and found only an oily splotch of water where he used to be. I looked ALL over the place and couldn't find him. I pulled apart a couple of rocks I had in the tank, except for the one housing the new goby/shrimp. But I did shine a flashlight in most of those holes as well, and couldn't find him.
I pulled my HOB protein skimmer apart. Nothing.
I pulled my HOB filter apart, even though the intake strainer had extremely small openings. Nothing.
There was nothing more to be done.
I researched spontaneously dissolving anemone. I kept looking for him. For the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out.
Then today, about a week and a half after the vanishing act, I was performing a water change and decided to pull apart the HOB filter for cleaning. Now mind you, I took it apart when I was looking earlier as well.
Don't you know, hanging off the bottom of the filter basket was a disgusting yet familiar blob.
I thought for sure it was dead and fouling the tank (I guessed I was lucky it was holding onto the carbon box), but decided to do what I could to give it a chance. I took it over to my sink, and while I was getting a box to move it with, it fell off by itself. I scooped it up, went back to the tank, and gently lowered it into the water, onto a rock. Nothing to do but wait.
I went back to the filter, cleaned it all up, changed the sponge, replaced the carbon, lined it all up nicely.
I noticed the little blob, now the size of about a dime, had righted itself and was sticking to the rock! Yes!
I was cautiously pleased with myself, but couldn't quite fit the filter back in the case. I tried mildly forcing it a bit (usually it was just stuck and needed to be massaged into place), but then wondered if something had fallen out and was under it. I removed it, felt down with my hand - directly into something squishy!
I freaked out, pulled the whole thing off the tank (which I hadn't done prior, lord knows why), and there were not one, but two other small dime-sized anemones sitting under where the filters went! I ran and got a plastic spoon, gently managed to nudge one of them off the plastic wall, and scooped up both one at a time. I placed them down onto the rock gently, and both attached within a few minutes!
One of my hermit crabs came over to see if it was some new food, and now one of the small anemones is riding it like a rodeo!
I am SO relieved it managed to live. I have NO idea how it got there. I was under the assumption that they can't lift themselves out of the water from what I've seen before, but either he went up over the waterfall and squished himself down into my filter, OR he squished his was through an SD-card sized opening in the filter, survived the impeller, survived the UV light, went through another SD-card slot opening, and got stuck at that point under the sponge filter. It just.. seems more likely he somehow went up and over the waterfall.. it's maybe 1/4" above the waterline. I DO have netting and some craft supply plaster guarding it against jumpers, but there is some space where the water comes out...
Must have been quite a stressful ordeal for him to turn into three of them.
Now.. I wonder how one of the three amigos is going to get off of the hermit crab...
A few weeks ago, I had a small Rainbow Anemone in my Observation Tank, along with a new Goby/Shrimp pair I was keeping an eye on. The nem got stuck in a small powerhead which I, in hindsight, underestimated just how small the guards really needed to be to keep them out. He lost about half his tentacles, I turned it off when I found him and he crawled out overnight.
Over the next couple of weeks, he fluctuated between looking good and looking pretty horrible. Eventually, he turned the corner, climbed up on my glass and started looking super bubbly on the side which had survived. In addition, he ALSO started growing bunches of new tentacles on the side that was a little mauled. It was a good day.
Then one morning I went to check on him and found only an oily splotch of water where he used to be. I looked ALL over the place and couldn't find him. I pulled apart a couple of rocks I had in the tank, except for the one housing the new goby/shrimp. But I did shine a flashlight in most of those holes as well, and couldn't find him.
I pulled my HOB protein skimmer apart. Nothing.
I pulled my HOB filter apart, even though the intake strainer had extremely small openings. Nothing.
There was nothing more to be done.
I researched spontaneously dissolving anemone. I kept looking for him. For the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out.
Then today, about a week and a half after the vanishing act, I was performing a water change and decided to pull apart the HOB filter for cleaning. Now mind you, I took it apart when I was looking earlier as well.
Don't you know, hanging off the bottom of the filter basket was a disgusting yet familiar blob.
I thought for sure it was dead and fouling the tank (I guessed I was lucky it was holding onto the carbon box), but decided to do what I could to give it a chance. I took it over to my sink, and while I was getting a box to move it with, it fell off by itself. I scooped it up, went back to the tank, and gently lowered it into the water, onto a rock. Nothing to do but wait.
I went back to the filter, cleaned it all up, changed the sponge, replaced the carbon, lined it all up nicely.
I noticed the little blob, now the size of about a dime, had righted itself and was sticking to the rock! Yes!
I was cautiously pleased with myself, but couldn't quite fit the filter back in the case. I tried mildly forcing it a bit (usually it was just stuck and needed to be massaged into place), but then wondered if something had fallen out and was under it. I removed it, felt down with my hand - directly into something squishy!
I freaked out, pulled the whole thing off the tank (which I hadn't done prior, lord knows why), and there were not one, but two other small dime-sized anemones sitting under where the filters went! I ran and got a plastic spoon, gently managed to nudge one of them off the plastic wall, and scooped up both one at a time. I placed them down onto the rock gently, and both attached within a few minutes!
One of my hermit crabs came over to see if it was some new food, and now one of the small anemones is riding it like a rodeo!
I am SO relieved it managed to live. I have NO idea how it got there. I was under the assumption that they can't lift themselves out of the water from what I've seen before, but either he went up over the waterfall and squished himself down into my filter, OR he squished his was through an SD-card sized opening in the filter, survived the impeller, survived the UV light, went through another SD-card slot opening, and got stuck at that point under the sponge filter. It just.. seems more likely he somehow went up and over the waterfall.. it's maybe 1/4" above the waterline. I DO have netting and some craft supply plaster guarding it against jumpers, but there is some space where the water comes out...
Must have been quite a stressful ordeal for him to turn into three of them.
Now.. I wonder how one of the three amigos is going to get off of the hermit crab...
