PLEASE HELP MY LTA and BTAs!

[justino2224]

Hello, Everyone! I am a newbie to the saltwater aquarium world (2 years). I have a 40 Gallon tank and everything in it is thriving and doing well---with the exception of my anemones . When I bought them, they were beautiful--long tentacles vibrant orange and now they have declined over the last 3-4 months and just barely open up. This is depressing as I feel I have done something wrong, but all of my parameters seem to be in a proper reference range (I think) and do not fluctuate that much. If anyone has any suggestions on parameters, lighting, feeding (they will eat) or anything else PLEASE let me know. I dont want them to die, but bring their former beauty to my tank.
Parameters:
Alkalinity-10.0dKH
Phosphate-0.10
pH-7.5
Nitrate- 0mgL
Ammonia 0.00 ppm
Nitrite- 0mgL
Calcium- 440ppm
Salinity- 1.025

Ive attached images of how they used to look when I forst bought them, for comparison.

ALL help or ideas are greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much in advance.

 

[justino2224]

 

[vetteguy53081]

Both look bleached. With nems, you want to avoid the extremes- Extreme light and extreme Flow.
Take some time to get parameters just right and introduce in a tank that is a few months in age which assures that conditions are stable and safe. Anemones prefer warmer temperatures on the alkali side. Monitor water conditions regularly to avoid any major changes. Ammonia and nitrate levels should be near undetectable using a good quality test kit and Not API either.
Here are some water parameters to follow.

• Water temperature: 77°F - 80°F (stay close to the middle of this range)
• pH level: 8.1 to 8.3
• Alk: 8 to 11 dKH
• Salinity: 1.024 to 1.025
• Nitrate < .5
• Phosphate < .04 - .06

When you first introduced these anemone to the tank, the flow should be minimal until the anemone got settled in. Your new anemone will move around the tank it finds a suitable spot to call home.
Anemone lighting is a very important aspect of their care. They need a lot of light to thrive because they’re photosynthetic which means that they absorb light to produce food and growth. The anemone has zooxanthellae in its body, which are symbiotic microorganisms that they feed on. Without proper lighting, the anemone will expel the zooxanthellae and turn white. This process is called bleaching and often leads to death.
A moderate amount of flow is recommended. Too much flow will cause the anemone to stretch out and look stringy. Keeping things moderate will help avoid this from happening. Avoid directing your flow directly at the anemone. These anemones enjoy subtle movement at all times but too much direct flow hitting the anemone will force it to move.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello, Everyone! I am a newbie to the saltwater aquarium world (2 years). I have a 40 Gallon tank and everything in it is thriving and doing well---with the exception of my anemones . When I bought them, they were beautiful--long tentacles vibrant orange and now they have declined over the last 3-4 months and just barely open up. This is depressing as I feel I have done something wrong, but all of my parameters seem to be in a proper reference range (I think) and do not fluctuate that much. If anyone has any suggestions on parameters, lighting, feeding (they will eat) or anything else PLEASE let me know. I dont want them to die, but bring their former beauty to my tank.
Parameters:
Alkalinity-10.0dKH
Phosphate-0.10
pH-7.5
Nitrate- 0mgL
Ammonia 0.00 ppm
Nitrite- 0mgL
Calcium- 440ppm
Salinity- 1.025

Ive attached images of how they used to look when I forst bought them, for comparison.

ALL help or ideas are greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much in advance.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

LT anemones are a bit tougher to keep than BTA.

What type of lighting do you have over them? A lack of light will cause anemones to shrink and become pale.
What food have you been feeding them?
Any corals in the tank? How are they doing?

Jay

 

[Dbichler]

Your anemones need food you have 0 nitrates which they need some of.

 

[Cell]

That sandbed 2 yrs old too?

 

[Jekyl]

All solid advice above. Bring nitrate up. Mine do best between 10 and 20. What type of lighting do you have?

 

[justino2224]

Both look bleached. With nems, you want to avoid the extremes- Extreme light and extreme Flow.
Take some time to get parameters just right and introduce in a tank that is a few months in age which assures that conditions are stable and safe. Anemones prefer warmer temperatures on the alkali side. Monitor water conditions regularly to avoid any major changes. Ammonia and nitrate levels should be near undetectable using a good quality test kit and Not API either.
Here are some water parameters to follow.

• Water temperature: 77°F - 80°F (stay close to the middle of this range)
• pH level: 8.1 to 8.3
• Alk: 8 to 11 dKH
• Salinity: 1.024 to 1.025
• Nitrate < .5
• Phosphate < .04 - .06

When you first introduced these anemone to the tank, the flow should be minimal until the anemone gets settled in. Chances are, your new anemones will move around the tank until they finds a suitable spot to call home.
If they start to move towards any coral, simply direct your water jets to the coral. This will discourage the anemone from anchoring near it. It will move to another area to attach.
Anemone lighting is a very important aspect of their care. They need a lot of light to thrive because they’re photosynthetic which means that they absorb light to produce food and growth. The anemone has zooxanthellae in its body, which are symbiotic microorganisms that they feed on. Without proper lighting, the anemone will expel the zooxanthellae and turn white. This process is called bleaching and often leads to death.
A moderate amount of flow is recommended. Many aquarists soon find out that too much flow will cause the anemone to stretch out and look stringy. Keeping things moderate will help avoid this from happening. Avoid directing your flow directly at the anemone. These anemones enjoy subtle movement at all times but too much direct flow hitting the anemone will force it to move.

Thanks so much for all of the information! I appreciate it. So since my pH is 7.5--how do I increase it without using chemicals?
Also, If the nems rid themselves of their zooxanthellae due to improper lighting conditions, is it possible my lighting is not right? Ive attached some pics of my current tank light. I can adjust the parameters of blues and reds, but dont exactly know what the need of each. Sorry for all the questions--I just really want them to thrive and to be happy.

 

[justino2224]

Ok! so they do need nitrates? Ive always been told to keep them at zero, but maybe thats more related to fish care. How do I increase them?

 

[justino2224]

That sandbed 2 yrs old too?

It is, yes.

 

[justino2224]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

LT anemones are a bit tougher to keep than BTA.

What type of lighting do you have over them? A lack of light will cause anemones to shrink and become pale.
What food have you been feeding them?
Any corals in the tank? How are they doing?

Jay

Thanks for the welcome! The name of the lighting device I have is called All Prime 16. Im thinking maybe the lighting parameters are not calibrated to what they need?
I feed them freeze dried shrimp (daily), Phytoplankton, mysis shrimp, and an invertebrate solution. I dont use all of these daily.
I do have one small coral, but she doesnt look like shes doing well either. They seem to be facing the same issue.
I also have a clam, but its thriving!

 

[Dbichler]

Ok! so they do need nitrates? Ive always been told to keep them at zero, but maybe thats more related to fish care. How do I increase them?

Yes anemones need nitrates and fish do not need 0 nitrates actually fish can tollerate extremely high nitrates. Wouldn’t recommend that though. 5-25 is what I shoot for.

 

[justino2224]

Thanks for the welcome! The name of the lighting device I have is called All Prime 16. Im thinking maybe the lighting parameters are not calibrated to what they need?
I feed them freeze dried shrimp (daily), Phytoplankton, mysis shrimp, and an invertebrate solution. I dont use all of these daily.
I do have one small coral, but she doesnt look like shes doing well either. They seem to be facing the same issue.
I also have a clam, but its thriving!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

LT anemones are a bit tougher to keep than BTA.

What type of lighting do you have over them? A lack of light will cause anemones to shrink and become pale.
What food have you been feeding them?
Any corals in the tank? How are they doing?

Jay

Its a Mushroom Finger Coral, I believe

 

[Cell]

It is, yes.

Nice, it looks pristine.

 

[justino2224]

Nice, it looks pristine.

Thank you! The sand sifting starfish does a great job! We've had it for about a year. She enjoys shrimp too.

 

[Jekyl]

Stop feeding them so much. I never directly feed mine and they're huge. What ever they catch on their own is fine. Have you looked into light setting for the AI prime to make sure they're right? Many people seem to use the AB setting.

 

[justino2224]

Stop feeding them so much. I never directly feed mine and they're huge. What ever they catch on their own is fine. Have you looked into light setting for the AI prime to make sure they're right? Many people seem to use the AB setting.

I have looked into it, but didnt notice and AB setting. Ive been reading up on light parameters and found out they prefer more blue than white and I think my light was very white. I turned it to 75%blue 25% white and am seeing how they respond. I will look into this AB setting as well.

 

[justino2224]

I have looked into it, but didnt notice and AB setting. Ive been reading up on light parameters and found out they prefer more blue than white and I think my light was very white. I turned it to 75%blue 25% white and am seeing how they respond. I will look into this AB setting as well.

I was told to feed them every day if they are bleached in order to keep their nutrition up, I can cut back though.

 

[Spare time]

I'd add some amino acids to help counter 0 nitrate. You can feed the anemones pretty frequently. There is a good paper on feeding bubble tips. Your pH is not 7.5. That is extremely difficult to achieve in a reef tank. Also, how high is the light mounted? It should be roughly 13 inches off the water surface

 

[laverda]

I question your alk and Ph numbers. Typically with alk at 10 i would expect your PH to be much higher. Alkalinity at 10 is on the high side. Zero nitrates are a problem. Nitrates are a food source for anemones. Anemone farmers feed them nitrates. They love high nitrates. In my experiance they will thrive with nitrates as high as 120. Othere corals may not do so well with nitrates that high though. There are threads here on increasing nitrates. I almost never feed my anemones directly.
I suspect lighting is also part of your issue. Anemones love a lot of light. Generally it is hard to give them too much light. White and blue both add up to provide the amount of light they need. How many hours you have your lights on each day is also important. Your trying to mimic the sun as best you can with artificial lighting. You want to make changes gradually especially to your lighting. I would put your lighing back to what it was before and slowly increase the blue 10% and possibly the white 5% every couple days. You don't have to go by a specific AB program if you prefer more white in your tank. Depending on how many hours a day your running your lights you may want to increase how long they are on as well. My tank is mostly white. I don’t like the blue look as it is not natural and my fish look like crap under blues. I do have more blue in the mornings and evenings.