March 26th 05, 12:27 AM
Hi All,
I've got an anemone who has some issues. I purchased the little guy 5
or 6 weeks ago at a reputable local fish store which had just started
carrying them. It was labled a "purple tip" anemone and after some
extensive web searching I believe it is most likely a Sebae. It opened
up nicely for the first couple of weeks and within the first week my
maroon clown had started sleeping in it! During the second week my
Percula clown got jelous and kicked the Maroon clown out.
At this point I had to leave town for a couple of weeks and had one of
my house mates take care of the tank whil I was gone. When I came back
everything was fine except that the anemone had lost its footing on the
rock and shriveled up a bit. The salinity of the tank had gone up a
bit, and the pH had gone down to 8.1 (I usually try to keep it around
8.4).
Since then he has found his way into a cave like area under a large
flathish peice of live rock that is proped up on one end by another
peice of rock. He hasn't anchored his foot to anything and has not
been opening up all the way. Right now he's upside down with his face
in the sand, looking a lot like a smooshed marshmellow.
After reading the anemone FAQ on reefs.com I've come to believe that he
has been bleached. He was very white when I bought him, with pretty
purple tips on his tenticles. According to the FAQ anemones that have
been bleached (expelled their algae, not injected with clorox)like to
live in the shade while their algae grows back.
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? Should I assume that
he's under the rock because that's where he wants to be, or should I
try to move him out into the light? Should I try to feed him? The
percula clown still visits him every once in a while, but since he's
usually not very opened the fish has largely lost interest.
I also wonder if anyone has an opinion on the statement "there is no
such thing as a healthy white anemone", from the anemone FAQ.
My tank is a 25 gallons, 18" tall by 24" wide by 12" deep with probably
only 20 or 30 lbs of live rock and about an inch of sand. I've not
seen a trace of nitrites or nitrates in over a year, salinity is
generally around 1.023 and temperature between 75 and 78 degrees. pH
is currently around 8.2, working back up to 8.4. Inhabitants include a
percula clown, a maroon clown, a condylactus anemone, two emerald
crabs, a chocolate chip star, and a host of small rock animals. My
lighting is pretty weak, just two 15 watt compact flourecents, but I
think that if low light were the problem the anemone would not have
gone and hidden in the shade. The condy is doing fantastic. He was my
"test anemone" and has doubled in size since I introduced him three or
four months ago.
Thanks for any advice,
Blake.
I've got an anemone who has some issues. I purchased the little guy 5
or 6 weeks ago at a reputable local fish store which had just started
carrying them. It was labled a "purple tip" anemone and after some
extensive web searching I believe it is most likely a Sebae. It opened
up nicely for the first couple of weeks and within the first week my
maroon clown had started sleeping in it! During the second week my
Percula clown got jelous and kicked the Maroon clown out.
At this point I had to leave town for a couple of weeks and had one of
my house mates take care of the tank whil I was gone. When I came back
everything was fine except that the anemone had lost its footing on the
rock and shriveled up a bit. The salinity of the tank had gone up a
bit, and the pH had gone down to 8.1 (I usually try to keep it around
8.4).
Since then he has found his way into a cave like area under a large
flathish peice of live rock that is proped up on one end by another
peice of rock. He hasn't anchored his foot to anything and has not
been opening up all the way. Right now he's upside down with his face
in the sand, looking a lot like a smooshed marshmellow.
After reading the anemone FAQ on reefs.com I've come to believe that he
has been bleached. He was very white when I bought him, with pretty
purple tips on his tenticles. According to the FAQ anemones that have
been bleached (expelled their algae, not injected with clorox)like to
live in the shade while their algae grows back.
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? Should I assume that
he's under the rock because that's where he wants to be, or should I
try to move him out into the light? Should I try to feed him? The
percula clown still visits him every once in a while, but since he's
usually not very opened the fish has largely lost interest.
I also wonder if anyone has an opinion on the statement "there is no
such thing as a healthy white anemone", from the anemone FAQ.
My tank is a 25 gallons, 18" tall by 24" wide by 12" deep with probably
only 20 or 30 lbs of live rock and about an inch of sand. I've not
seen a trace of nitrites or nitrates in over a year, salinity is
generally around 1.023 and temperature between 75 and 78 degrees. pH
is currently around 8.2, working back up to 8.4. Inhabitants include a
percula clown, a maroon clown, a condylactus anemone, two emerald
crabs, a chocolate chip star, and a host of small rock animals. My
lighting is pretty weak, just two 15 watt compact flourecents, but I
think that if low light were the problem the anemone would not have
gone and hidden in the shade. The condy is doing fantastic. He was my
"test anemone" and has doubled in size since I introduced him three or
four months ago.
Thanks for any advice,
Blake.