Need Help! Anemone not doing good.

Delphinus · #1 10-29-2009, 01:49 AM

Newly collected anemones are notorious for dropping dead. This one may indeed be too far gone, it looks very rough. But if it's still attached, it's not dead yet and "it's never over until it's over."

Regardless of the outcome here, test your Magnesium. I've found Mg levels to be very important for anemones. Make sure it's around 1400 (ie adjust as required). Most salt mixes do not come with high enough Mg. Luckily once it's at a good target level it doesn't tend to deplete out very quickly.

BlueTang<3 · #2 10-29-2009, 02:51 AM

if it does not get any better soon take it out as a dead anemone will toxin your tank i had it happen when gone on vacation i had about a 16 inch purple lta die on me and my whole house was smelly i had to take it out and flush it i have a strong stomach and was still gaging badly lol just a heads up keep up on the smell test if it smells bad take it out even if you put it in a separate container to try to heal i have saved some bad looking rose bubbles that way

TheMikey · #3 10-29-2009, 04:54 AM

Is 80W PC enough for an anemone? Maybe it's not getting enough light.

shrimpchips · #4 10-29-2009, 05:29 AM

Does look like it's on it's way out, but then again anemones like doing that "I'm going to die soon. . . . . . NOT!" But as soon as it detaches, I'd take it out of the tank.

IME, 1.023sg is perfectly fine. I run my reef at 1.023 as it's one of the recommendations of the head guy at Fauna Marin (the name escapes me now). One of the reasons (aside from those associated withe Balling method) was that salinity refractometers are made to measure NaCl content - the refraction index of MgCl, CaCl2, and other salts is slightly different and so not accounted by a refractometer, but also make up the salinity of water. So their logic was to run it at a measured 1.023 since it's probably actually running slightly higher. Made sense to me, so I run my tank at 1.023 - 1.024.

shrimpchips · #5 10-29-2009, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMikey

Is 80W PC enough for an anemone? Maybe it's not getting enough light.

If it's high up, probably - I have one under 48w (2x24w) of T5HO, but the bulbs are over a year old and on top of a saltspray covered glass canopy, and the nem is on the bottom of a BB 15g tank.

gcl581 · #6 10-29-2009, 04:25 PM

thanks for the replies.

i had to take it as im very worried the smell and the slimy aftermath. after some thinking, i think his foot may have been torn.

i don't know if its due to lighting, i had the same concerns so i put very high, he kept on trying to move away from it. i moved him back up, this is when the foot may have been torn.

any reason it would try to get away from the light?

Delphinus · #7 10-29-2009, 04:32 PM

Yes, it was sick. They'll move if they are uncomfortable.

Don't beat yourself up over the lighting: I can tell you 100% it was not your lighting that killed it. Inadequate lighting will cause it to slowly waste away over a very long period of time. A couple days to a week isn't going to do it, or if it IS going to do it, you're not starting off with a healthy specimen to begin with.