very sad Anemone

[crathnar]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post so please be gentle with me.

A few months ago i bought what i was told was a red based anemone. After a few days wandering it settled in the corner of the tank with the deepest sand and there it stopped. It disappears under the sand for days at a time and never fully opens. It does feed and i have had a local marine shop test my water. all seems fine, maybe if im honest my nitrites are a little high but the temperature is correct.

Today i noticed that it has lost some tentacles on one side and i really don't want to loose it as i understand that its a messy process and i have become quite attached to it.

Any help or even a positive ID would be great.

Thanks.

 

[cpayne015]

temp is more important to keep consistent, but if your nitrates are really high you need to be doing at least a 25 percent water change daily to get it back in parameter....nitrates are no good and can really wipe out things like that.

 

[crathnar]

Thanks for the fast response.

So obviously in an ideal world no nitrates would be perfect but even slightly more than zero is enough to upset these guys? i had no idea they were so sensitive.

I will up my water changes and aim for zero. see if that cheers him up.

Thanks

 

[JMMJ13902]

He's not looking too bad, really. I have 7 rbta in a tank and they are all up to the light with medium flows. Does your light is strong enough to support it? How's your flow? And of course good water parameter will help but anemones can thrive in dirty water as well.

Good luck bringing him back.

 

[zemuss]

Before we rush into doing unnecessary water changes lets first get an idea of your water chemistry. Please post all parameters you test. Also describe flow and lights.

 

[crathnar]

Thankyou for the kind words. The spot he chose is under one of my flow regulators so i guess i can play around with that. Would it be a really bad idea to move him to a brighter, higher flow area on a rock or does he need to be in sand?

 

[crathnar]

OK. That would make sense.

i test Ca - 480
KH - 143
PH - 0.25
NA - 5

The tank is an Aqua One AR 620 - 90L. I have two flow regulators and a protein skimmer. The lights are a pair of 18 W sunlight / marineblue

( Aqua One AR620 Light Mix Sunlight/Marine Blue 18W | Hollywood Fish Farm)

The tank has been set up for about six months and i have a pair of juvenile clowns and three green Chromis. i also have a frogspawn coral, and two leathers that are happy and a star polyp clump which is not.

Please tell me if there is something glaringly obvious i have forgotten.


Ta

 

[crathnar]

OK. That would make sense.

i test Ca - 480
KH - 143
Phos - 0.25
NA - 5
The tank is an Aqua One AR 620 - 90L. I have two flow regulators and a protein skimmer. The lights are a pair of 18 W sunlight / marineblue

( Aqua One AR620 Light Mix Sunlight/Marine Blue 18W | Hollywood Fish Farm)
The tank has been set up for about six months and i have a pair of juvenile clowns and three green Chromis. i also have a frogspawn coral, and two leathers that are happy and a star polyp clump which is not.

Please tell me if there is something glaringly obvious i have forgotten.

ta

 

[Reef.ductionist]

Hi what color are your star polyps?

 

[crathnar]

star polyps im gonna say green but its more of a creamy color. I dont see them very often anymore

 

[Reef.ductionist]

Sometimes Green Star polyps take a week or so to come out...they need
Light water flow over them and then they are happier.

 

[crathnar]

They were happy for probably two weeks after they went in but have been slowly closing up. Not dying off but just sitting. They are in light to moderate flow. At least the leathers and fish are happy. i think?

 

[zemuss]

This will be the issue: Phos - 0.25 & NA - 5. Especially the Phos which needs to go down but not drastically. Do the 25 % change then wait a few days an perform another. (Say every 2 to 3 days) Make sure the parameters are on target with ALK and Calc or u can cause other issues. Nitrates of 5 isn't the concern right now. I would guess you have a algae problem too right?

 

[crathnar]

You must be psychic. i wouldn't call it a problem but there is defiantly more than i would like. 25 % change done with another in a few days.
Thankyou all for your help i will keep you update.

 

[zemuss]

LOL not psychic, just know with phos of those numbers and a low nitrate level you must have some nusiance algae.

Let us know how it goes with the water changes.. Also you need to get to the root cause. Either your feeding way too much or maybe having a leeching issues. Deep sand bed perhaps?

 

[crathnar]

Thanks. my sand isn't too deep. maybe an inch at the most. i will hold back on the feeding too. just a side note, will this anemone eat my fish/ i was promised not by the shop but i have lost four fish in three months. not dead - floating. gone. this morning it was the turn of one of my juvenile clown fish. i have taken almost every rock out and there is no sign.

 

[GoingPostal]

Your lighting is not strong enough to support an anemone.

 

[fishroomlady]

^^+1 unfortunately I have to agree if I'm reading your lighting correct - they are power compacts? You need strong lighting to keep an anemone long term. Also, you don't want to move them around, let it settle into a spot that it likes. one other quick question, what size is your tank?

 

[crathnar]

Thanks. The tank is only small, 90L. i have left the anemone where it settled when it was first introduced and have done a 25% water change. i will try to make it happy but the lighting rig and filters are interconnected so if it is going to be the lighting then i guess it'll go on e-bay. I wanna try a few other suggestions first though.