Bubbletip Anemone's health

I have recently put in a BTA in my tank (like a week ago) and he is not
looking so hot. Like a small part of his body (~1/8) is curled up
really small, the rest of him looks fine with his tentacles spread out.
That part that is shrunk I was afraid was the melting look that I have
heard about when they are about to die. I was about to remove him from
the tank, but he is firmly attached to a rock, so I thought maybe he is
all right. I have heard that when they die, they can really put a hurt
on your tank if you don't get to them right away. Anyway, the rest of
the anemone looks fine, with his tentacles spread out, just that one
part of him. Water params look fine. Lights are 4x65w Coralife PCs,
and 1 NOF. I thought maybe it was the lights and I was going to move
that rock to the top, but he is on a big rock that is a base piece of
my rock work. Anybody else seen this before?

Thanks!

nacree wrote:
I have recently put in a BTA in my tank (like a week ago) and he is not
looking so hot. Like a small part of his body (~1/8) is curled up
really small,

Mine can stretch out far from it's foot, so I'm trying to think what the
"small part of his body" would mean. I'd say he's doing fine. I'd
just leave him alone, and keep monitoring.

They also occasionally cycle especially after a good meal, where they
look just dreadful. Don't worry until it's foot actually lets go and it
slumps to the ground in a heap. Otherwise, it's fine and just part of
it's usual activity.

I've had two that died on me, but they didn't do much to my tank. I
wouldn't worry much.

One thing you didn't mention was current. They need a gentle bathing of
current, but not too strong either. Their tentacles should gently sway
in the current.

You may want to pick up a clown fish if you don't have one. They'll
clean and fan the anemone, and are a delight to watch.

--Kurt

Yeah I had mine for about 6 mo. and he shribbled up and a couple of days
later "Wella" I had two. Imagine that.
Leave it be for awhile and I feed mine a peice of shrimp every couple of
days. Bill
"nacree" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have recently put in a BTA in my tank (like a week ago) and he is not
looking so hot. Like a small part of his body (~1/8) is curled up
really small, the rest of him looks fine with his tentacles spread out.
That part that is shrunk I was afraid was the melting look that I have
heard about when they are about to die. I was about to remove him from
the tank, but he is firmly attached to a rock, so I thought maybe he is
all right. I have heard that when they die, they can really put a hurt
on your tank if you don't get to them right away. Anyway, the rest of
the anemone looks fine, with his tentacles spread out, just that one
part of him. Water params look fine. Lights are 4x65w Coralife PCs,
and 1 NOF. I thought maybe it was the lights and I was going to move
that rock to the top, but he is on a big rock that is a base piece of
my rock work. Anybody else seen this before?

Thanks!

Bill Marsh wrote:
I feed mine a peice of shrimp every couple of
days.

I thought they just need a meal every month if not longer. Besides, the
clowns tend to feed them as well, so I don't bother with the bubble tip
at all. And, I definitely don't feed them when under stress such as
water changes, movement, etc.

I've only had mine for 2 months, so I can't claim any big success, but
every few days sounds wildly like too much food.

But, I've certainly been wrong before. Just mean to start the
conversation.

--Kurt

KurtG wrote:

I thought they just need a meal every month if not longer. Besides, the
clowns tend to feed them as well, so I don't bother with the bubble tip
at all. And, I definitely don't feed them when under stress such as
water changes, movement, etc.

Long ago, I had an Atlantic anemone. If it wasn't hungry, it would toss the food
aside and I would take the food out of the tank. If a bubble-tip behaves the
same way, it wouldn't hurt anything to try to feed it more often.

George Patterson
Forgive your enemies. But always remember who they are.

"George Patterson" wrote in message news:k5Whh.4912$od6.4362@trnddc04...
Long ago, I had an Atlantic anemone. If it wasn't hungry, it would toss the food
aside and I would take the food out of the tank. If a bubble-tip behaves the
same way, it wouldn't hurt anything to try to feed it more often.

It behaves the same way.
And it is much better to feed it more often, like every other day,
with small portions, than to give it a big chunk of meat it cannot
penetrate with its digestive juices once a month...
Try to thaw some frozen brine shrimp or mysids and squirt
some of this "soup" with a turkey baster towards the anemone.
Whatever is left it will be picked up by fish gladly and cleaning crew.

Once a while you can give it a larger pieces, like whole krill
or a piece of bigger prawns from the grocery store...
Make sure you do not feed it with only muscle tissue - as all
carnivoures, anemone will benefit from the whole prey animals: heads,
guts, digestive tract with digested plants matter - all the good stuff :-)

George Patterson wrote:
Long ago, I had an Atlantic anemone. If it wasn't hungry, it would toss
the food aside and I would take the food out of the tank. If a
bubble-tip behaves the same way, it wouldn't hurt anything to try to
feed it more often.

My Ritteri is the only one that doesn't respond immediately to food.
But, it's usually rosy pink and 6" across. I can tell when it starts to
get hungry because it will start closing up at the slightest provocation
including the clown fish that claimed it. I usually give it at least
another week and then feed it (if it's where it belongs). In 2 months
I've had it, I've fed it once and it's showing no signs of hunger.

The rest react immediately to food. You could call it greedy, but they
literally curl up and pull it in. If their bodies are extended, they'll
shrink down to create a larger cavity to ingest the food. They close
up and then cycle through. All look almost necrotic in a day or two,
and then open up again in about 24 hrs after that.

Although food is essential, it also appears to be toxic. I'd be very
careful about overfeeding and error on the side of underfeeding.

Perhaps I'm extrapolating from working with Orchids, but neglect is part
of the equation. Patterns are very bad, and food (water/fertilizer)
needs to be fed as randomly as possible. Even some randomness in the
lighting is good (cloudy days). My Orchids frequently bloom after such
a period of neglect.

I would have to think that an anemone in the wild would go for months
without food during seasonal shifts in the current and water temps. Or,
just plain bad luck. If they live a 100 years in the wild, then that
can't be all bad.

--Kurt

PS- I'll probably eat crow in about a week when my anemonies croak. :-)

KurtG wrote:

Perhaps I'm extrapolating from working with Orchids, but neglect is part
of the equation.

I've kept both fish and orchids for long periods. I wouldn't go overboard
drawing similarities there. You can't give an orchid food and expect it to avoid
eating it if it's not hungry. You *can* do this with animals.

George Patterson
Forgive your enemies. But always remember who they are.

"KurtG" wrote in message ...
Although food is essential, it also appears to be toxic. I'd be very
careful about overfeeding and error on the side of underfeeding.

??? Where do you get "the food is toxic" thing from?

Pszemol wrote:
"KurtG" wrote in message
...
Although food is essential, it also appears to be toxic. I'd be very
careful about overfeeding and error on the side of underfeeding.

??? Where do you get "the food is toxic" thing from?

Overeating is always bad. Doesn't matter which animal it is (even
humans). It results in all sorts of inflammation and chronic illnesses
that are best avoided. I just can't imagine that anemone in the wild
would gather food that efficiently.

Nothing like a newbie that is overreaching (me), but I have to admit a
recoiled in horror when I read that people feed their anemones every few
days. All mine are doing great on a much sparser diet. (Even the
bubble anemone is back in great shape. It just needed a few days of
light and better water quality). But, 2 months don't make me a expert.
:-)

--Kurt