Anemone barely hanging on?

[RYAGE]

I’ve had this anemone for about three months. In general, I think it’s been doing pretty well however about 2 weeks ago I noticed it was very unhappy looking and started to move around my tank. I let it do it’s thing but after a few days of seeing it look bad and still moving around, I started investigating and realized my Nero 3 wasn’t actually working. I figure the lack of water flow was the reason for the grumpiness.

So I remedied the power head, replaced the anemone (in a new location) and it’s been looking happy again, but I notice at night when it gets really inflated and ‘loose’ looking, it almost looks like it’s going to detach from its rock (see picture). As the lights come on it settles back down on its rock.

This isn’t normal for my anemone, but is this normal for anemones in general?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I’ve had this anemone for about three months. In general, I think it’s been doing pretty well however about 2 weeks ago I noticed it was very unhappy looking and started to move around my tank. I let it do it’s thing but after a few days of seeing it look bad and still moving around, I started investigating and realized my Nero 3 wasn’t actually working. I figure the lack of water flow was the reason for the grumpiness.

So I remedied the power head, replaced the anemone (in a new location) and it’s been looking happy again, but I notice at night when it gets really inflated and ‘loose’ looking, it almost looks like it’s going to detach from its rock (see picture). As the lights come on it settles back down on its rock.

This isn’t normal for my anemone, but is this normal for anemones in general?

While they are readjusting, they may "think about moving" and then not move once the lights come on. Being as the nem is now in a new environment (flow wise and location wise), I would give it time to readjust and not worry if it moves again.

The only thing I would look out for is a gaping mouth or deflation for long periods or time.

In time, it should settle back down.

 

[RYAGE]

While they are readjusting, they may "think about moving" and then not move once the lights come on. Being as the nem is now in a new environment (flow wise and location wise), I would give it time to readjust and not worry if it moves again.

The only thing I would look out for is a gaping mouth or deflation for long periods or time.

In time, it should settle back down.

Got it. Thanks for the reply. I guess I’ve been concerned that it may have injured its foot, but I can’t actually see any damage to it. You are probably right that it’s still adjusting and thinking about finding a new spot. Thanks again!

 

[SlugSnorter]

I’ve had this anemone for about three months. In general, I think it’s been doing pretty well however about 2 weeks ago I noticed it was very unhappy looking and started to move around my tank. I let it do it’s thing but after a few days of seeing it look bad and still moving around, I started investigating and realized my Nero 3 wasn’t actually working. I figure the lack of water flow was the reason for the grumpiness.

So I remedied the power head, replaced the anemone (in a new location) and it’s been looking happy again, but I notice at night when it gets really inflated and ‘loose’ looking, it almost looks like it’s going to detach from its rock (see picture). As the lights come on it settles back down on its rock.

This isn’t normal for my anemone, but is this normal for anemones in general?

nems will move from time to time. do not force them to move, you can hurt their feet. as long as its not deflated for a long amount of time or has a gaping mouth as eagle steve said, it should be fine.

Btw, tank age and params?

 

[mindme]

tank age

Myth. Age != Stability.

Here's an anemone added to a tank that is 2 weeks old. Dry rock, bacteria added.

Can't get much whiter on the rocks.

Same anemone(now 3 due to splits), in the same tank 2 years and 5 months later:

Same 2 clownfish as well.

Filters: HOB skimmer, nothing else.
Dosing: Nothing ever.
Params: Haven't checked in over 2 years except salinity.
Water Changes: 2 or 3 times a year, however I honestly don't know why I do them except the feeling of neglect if I don't.

And yes that is GHA all over the place. It's my nutrient export method. About once a month I'll manually remove it. In the pic, it's about 2 weeks worth of growth. I assume the nutrient levels are decently high, but the algae keeps them in check.

Meanwhile, my 180g tank is now 1.5 years old and I don't think I'd put one in that tank. I think it would probably die because there is so much dosing and such going on with it. Very hard to keep my180g stable, very easy to keep the tank in these pictures stable because of the livestock.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Try feeding it Silversides, at first feed it part of the head, so it gets everything. PetCo usually has Frozen Silverside in stock. I divide the Package of Silversides up and put most of the package in the Deep Freeze, in FoodSaver Bags.

 

[mindme]

Try feeding it Silversides, at first feed it part of the head, so it gets everything. PetCo usually has Frozen Silverside in stock. I divide the Package of Silversides up and put most of the package in the Deep Freeze, in FoodSaver Bags.

I'm going to disagree with this heavily. I would not feed it silversides. That is way too much food. They will eat smaller amounts of food which they can more easily digest.

But I wouldn't feed at all in this situation. Not until I knew the anemone was happy with everything else. Food is not really needed for their survival, and I think it should be happy with all other elements first. Even then, I would feed small amounts.

I think @vetteguy53081 is probably the best one to help in this situation. I haven't cared for enough of them to see all the different problems.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Myth. Age != Stability.

Here's an anemone added to a tank that is 2 weeks old. Dry rock, bacteria added.

Can't get much whiter on the rocks.

Same anemone(now 3 due to splits), in the same tank 2 years and 5 months later:

Same 2 clownfish as well.

Filters: HOB skimmer, nothing else.
Dosing: Nothing ever.
Params: Haven't checked in over 2 years except salinity.
Water Changes: 2 or 3 times a year, however I honestly don't know why I do them except the feeling of neglect if I don't.

And yes that is GHA all over the place. It's my nutrient export method. About once a month I'll manually remove it. In the pic, it's about 2 weeks worth of growth. I assume the nutrient levels are decently high, but the algae keeps them in check.

Meanwhile, my 180g tank is now 1.5 years old and I don't think I'd put one in that tank. I think it would probably die because there is so much dosing and such going on with it. Very hard to keep my180g stable, very easy to keep the tank in these pictures stable because of the livestock.

thats why I asked for both.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Feeding is not needed and can cause undo stress to an anemone. I have over 100 nems of all various types and never feed my nems directly. @gig 'em also has tons of nems and is the same way. All it takes is a bad bit of food with some crap bacteria in it to set a nem down a path you or it do not want to go down.

As long as there is a little no3, po4 or fish pooping in the aquarium, then the algae inside the nem will sustain it and it will grow from the nourishment provided by them alone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Feeding not the answer . Light and flow play a vital role in their well being.
What I would have added…. Eagle Steve mentioned as zooxanthellae is critical with their color and health/growth

 

[RYAGE]

nems will move from time to time. do not force them to move, you can hurt their feet. as long as its not deflated for a long amount of time or has a gaping mouth as eagle steve said, it should be fine.

Btw, tank age and params?

This tank was about 10 months cycled when introduced. It’s over a year now. If you’re asking because my tank is so clean, I used the opportunity of relocating my anemone to deep clean and rearrange my rocks a bit which is why I didn’t relocate my nem to its old spot.

As for parameters I keep them tracked in a notebook and I’m not home right now. Suffice to say, my ammonia and trites are always 0. Nitrates 5-10 normally. PH is normally 7.9 and I introduced a refugium recently and run lights at night to stabilize the PH. Temp normally 78-80. I know this isn’t a sufficient response to the question, but I was mostly just asking if the behavior was normal or not.

i will probably start testing more frequently to make sure I’m not getting any weird swings in my params.

thanks again, all

EDIT: I will say the last time I checked, my phosphates were a bit high, which is one of my reasons for adding the fuge. I just can’t remember offhand what they were though.