PLS. HELP my anemones!
 

I added a white flat purple tip anemone 3 weeks ago and it was doing fine.
Then 4 days ago I added a Red BTA, which was also doing well.

Then 2 days ago, my white flat anemone excreted some brown slime. I tried to scoop out most of these slime. But most of it dispersed throughout my tank. Then unexpectedly my white flat anemone shrank this morning and started closing up(rolled into a ball shape). By tonight, my BTA also deflated.

I just checked the water and everything seems fine. Even the polyps of my yellow finger gorgonian stayed open so water should be ok.

1)Is it possible that the two anmones are having chemical warfare with each other? (they never came in contact with another though)
2)Or could the brown poop from my white flat anemone be the cause for my BTA's sickness?
3)or could my white flat tip is dying and the toxin is killing my BTA? (but then everything in my tank seems fine and healthy)

Pls help me.
I am doing a water change now

i had a brown flat tip anenome and he allways excreated the brown slime an dso did my bta and they were fine in a 80g tank for the longest time untill my brown flat tip anenome died and he took the buble tip anenome with it and then soon my whole tank was dead exept for my fish

i would suggest taking all of the anenome out of the tank an quaretine them and power feed them with enriched food

my anenomes died and everything in my tank was fine for along time and then all my corals started to die.
and as far as i know the brown slime does not affect any other anenome's

soryy i couldn't be more help.

Start here.

http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

Stirfry,

how do you know if the anemone is dying or not?

I don't have a quarantine tank yet, so I am not sure when should I throw away or take out the white flat tip anemone.


I just added some carbon to my tank and it seems my anemones are inflating again.

thanks you guys for the help.

forgot to mention that I have seen bristle worms in my LR before. Could they be the cause for my anemones' sickness?

Absolutely not. Bristle worms keep your tank clean of detritus, they don't hurt anything.
How old is your tank? What type of lighting? The FAQ I pointed you to will tell you white is always an unhealthy color for anemones, it means they're bleached. Mixing 2 types of anemones is not the greatest thing to do either.
The brown stuff is zooxanthallae, the algae within the anemone's tissues. They can expel it for various reasons. The FAQ probably tells you something about it. Have you read that link yet? It's quite informative.

Brad - very good beginner info on anemones.
Thanks.

Yea, I read that FAQ before I bought my anemone. It was really helpful.

But when I bought the white flat purple tip from my LFS, they told me that this sp. of anemone comes white and it does not require bright MH.

I have a 25G long tank with a 20G refugium.
Use LR and LS for filtration, have about 50-60lbs of LR and 60lbs of LS.
The tank cycled in a week and it is about 2 months old now.

I have a 130W Coralife PC light running on my 25G main tank.
One 10,000K and one Actinic.

Should I change the Actinic bulb to 10,000K to max my lighting?
I was thinking about getting another cheap 'n small flourescent fixture to run the Actinic instead.
Is the Actinic specturum important to a reef or just to provide a sun-rise/set effect?

Mainly for looks. Some people like the blue look. :mrgreen:

And the FAQ says:
"You should know the natural coloration of the species of anemone you are interested in. Look for an anemone that is vibrantly colored, not faded or pale. Make sure it is not dyed or “bleached”; both conditions are often deadly for the anemone and will require specialized care to fix."

When I read the FAQ then read your description of your tank, warning flags go up. I think you are at least 4 months and 1 species over-optimistic.

The first anemone sounds like it wasn't even bottomed-out yet (still expelling), and the second one added at such a short interval made things worse times 3...

Are you skimming? Do you have a filter/can you run carbon? Even better would be if the LFS would take them both back for credit, then you could at least get thru the first 6 months' worth of new-tank swings and take another crack at it then...

Marlboro Man - this might be of your interest as well. :biggrin:

thanks for the link!

I am running both carbon and skimmer.
My anemones have returned to normal now. In fact my white flat tip anemone actually gained brown specks after it deflated last time. So I guess it means the photo algae is coming back to it.

My LFS said they wont take back anemones :frown:

With advice like that, maybe it's time for a new LFS?

I dunno, if it was my store, I wouldn't take them back either. Who knows what you did to them. Maybe they'll die on me tomorrow, because whatever you did has a delayed reaction...I think it's unreasonable to expect a LFS to take back livestock. I think it's more reasonable to expect customers to research purchases instead.

Agreed Brad. But that doesn't excuse them from:

Yes, it's wrong to give incorrect advise, especially f they knew it was incorrect. However; if I'm going to buy something that is a living creature and has some kind of care requirements, it is in my (and the creature's) best interest to find out as much as I can from as many sources as I can before making a purchase decision. I also have to acknowledge that the person whom I'm giving money may not be the best person to ask for advice on making this purchase.
Now, I think every pet store I've ever been in has more signs than I can count stating that there are no returns on livestock. We all know there are no returns, and we can't expect the store to give us money back because we didn't do our homework. It is not the store's responsibility to tell us what we should or shouldn't buy (although it's nice when they offer). While I think they perhaps have the moral obligation to at least "feel out" the prospective new home of any creature, the fact remains that they do this to make a profit to feed their kids and pay their mortgage. To tell you not to buy something you're pretty sure you want undermines the purpose of them being in business. They don't do this 'cause they love animals and want to be near them all day, it's for profit and nothing more. While they probably have an interest in animals, selling a plantrock to you is no big deal and if it dies, they know you'll come back for a new one. I see this all the time at stores, and until we as consumers start reearching our purchases BEFORE handing over money, this will continue.
And to expect that the store will give you back your money because you didn't do your part is expecting too much. This, of course, is just my opinion based on years of observing the pet industry. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong!! :biggrin:

Agreed again. It's a little extreme but I've said in the past I wouldn't be opposed to licensing for any prospective marine aquarists. I believe there are laws in place similar to this for some species of turtles in Alberta.

Of course this opens a large discussion on freedom of ownership, and of course someone is bound to say that people should also have to have a permit to have children. But regardless of all this, I think it's our responsibility to be educated stewards of these very much wild animals, which, without care, may not be around for future generations to enjoy. Cats and gerbils and many freshwater fish can be bred easily in captivity. Most marine animals cannot, sometimes for logistical reasons, and sometimes because we simply don't know what conditions favour reproduction.

As long as you know I wasn't implying they should take the anemone back. :razz:

I thought you were. My mistake.