ANEMONE DYING??

[ccurt]

So I purchased my first bubble tip anemone and a porcelain crab from my lfs. drip acclimated for 2 hours before entering it into my display. It decided to set up camp behind the rock work so photos are hard but will attach below. today i noticed it was completely deflated and shriveled I quickly tested my parameters with hanna checkers, this is my first time using them and directions are a little hard to follow so not 100% on results but this is what i got
ammonia: 0
salinity:35
Ph:8.3
Nitrite:6
Nitrate:4.6
alk:9.5
phosphate:1.02
after all the testing it looked like the anemone was loosing its footing i was worried about it nuking the tank so i’m floating it in a separated container to see if there’s anything i can do to save it.What could have caused this? once again parameters above are probably not the most accurate, i did have my water tested by my lfs before buying and they said it was pristine don’t think much could have changed in 2 days. is it too late to save it?

 

[Simsung]

Your nitrites are concering, they should not be there in such large amount
Also, your phos is quite high.

Any recent large changes or additions to the tank? How old is the tank and how is other stock doing?

 

[dedragon]

agreed with above also anemone is also small and hasnt settled so the crab is probably annoying the hell out of it. Although they do have a symbiotic relationship they can sometime be too aggressive on the anemone and kill it

 

[ccurt]

Your nitrites are concering, they should not be there in such large amount
Also, your phos is quite high.

Any recent large changes or additions to the tank? How old is the tank and how is other stock doing?

tank is 4 months my lfs checks my water for me consistently and said i could get a bta as they’re hardy, what can i do to bring down the nitrites ?

no recent changes other than the bta and porcelain crab, other stalking would be a clown and Canary wrasse who are swimming and eating fine. other corals would be some zoas vibrant and growing new heads along with a mushroom.

 

[ccurt]

agreed with above also anemone is also small and hasnt settled so the crab is probably annoying the hell out of it. Although they do have a symbiotic relationship they can sometime be too aggressive on the anemone and kill it

dang so should i keep the crab separated for a day or two also can the anemone bounce back?

 

[dedragon]

Most LFS suck and will just sell you livestock to make a buck. Idk where in florida you are but World wide corals is supposed to be a great LFS. the anemone can come back dont worry. I would seperate the crab for at least 3-4weeks to let the anemone fully recover. just some questions i always ask, do you have rodi water? are you using a refractometer, what lights are you running, how big is the tank?

 

[ccurt]

Most LFS suck and will just sell you livestock to make a buck. Idk where in florida you are but World wide corals is supposed to be a great LFS. the anemone can come back dont worry. I would seperate the crab for at least 3-4weeks to let the anemone fully recover. just some questions i always ask, do you have rodi water? are you using a refractometer, what lights are you running, how big is the tank?

wwc is 3 hours away unfortunately, yes i always have a gallon or 2 in hand for top off, i am using a refractometer i keep my salinity at 35, and my tank is a 40 but i just got a 50 gallon i’m planning on transferring livestock too. lights are fluvalsmart dusk to dawn. flow is ai nero 6

 

[dedragon]

i think the lighting is most likely insufficient for the anemone. I would look into either 6 bulb t5, 2-3 orphek or3 led bars, or 2 kessil a160s as cheaper options

 

[kutcha]

your flow wouldnt really cause the issues it is having if it didnt like the flow it would move to a different part of the tank. It is one of the blessings/curses of caring for nems. my immediate guess would be your nitrites as in a fully cycled tank nitrites should be almost undetectable.

 

[dedragon]

i agree kutcha. i dont think it looks terrible just yet and still has hope, honestly i like fritzyme 9 and used it during a tank transfer and it helps smooth out the biological system and wont hurt the tank, if u want to add a bottle u could. Im not saying the bottle is an instant cycle either just saying it might help out the bacteria and total tank stability as well

 

[ccurt]

i think the lighting is most likely insufficient for the anemone. I would look into either 6 bulb t5, 2-3 orphek or3 led bars, or 2 kessil a160s as cheaper options

i was thinking about getting an ai prime would that work?

 

[ccurt]

your flow wouldnt really cause the issues it is having if it didnt like the flow it would move to a different part of the tank. It is one of the blessings/curses of caring for nems. my immediate guess would be your nitrites as in a fully cycled tank nitrites should be almost undetectable.

i got my water tested more accurately, nothing has dies in my tank yet i have ammonia and my ca is off the charts?

 

[Jekyl]

How old is the tank? Lights are probably lacking. I run my nitrates between 10 and 20 and my anemone love it. 4.6 is not too low.

 

[Jekyl]

Oops. Just found your tank age. I hate to tell you but 4 months is probably too young of a tank regardless of what lights or parameters you have. Generally want closer to a year before trying to keep a nem. They like a mature system.

 

[ccurt]

How old is the tank? Lights are probably lacking. I run my nitrates between 10 and 20 and my anemone love it. 4.6 is not too low.

nitrate is 17 just posted my parameters got it tested at my lfs

 

[ccurt]

Oops. Just found your tank age. I hate to tell you but 4 months is probably too young of a tank regardless of what lights or parameters you have. Generally want closer to a year before trying to keep a nem. They like a mature system.

dang i just wanna do what i can fix this guy not sure what i can do other than buy new lights?

 

[Poof No Eyebrows]

I would say lighting is secondary to fixing the water quality. Get that ammonia taken care of first then address the lights. Small even steps. Anemones especially hate when you start changing all sort of things. Or at least mine do.

 

[dedragon]

look up how to do the hanna checkers to make sure you are doing it right. What salt are you using and are you dosing anything to the tank, the calcium is really off, magnesium is low as well. your tank hasnt cycled fully if ammonia is at 1ppm though im surprised all the fish arent dead so that is probably a false positive. Put a bottle of fritzyme 9 in immediately as it instantly neutrilizes ammonia though just in case

 

[Poof No Eyebrows]

look up how to do the hanna checkers to make sure you are doing it right. What salt are you using and are you dosing anything to the tank, the calcium is really off, magnesium is low as well. your tank hasnt cycled fully if ammonia is at 1ppm though im surprised all the fish arent dead so that is probably a false positive. Put a bottle of fritzyme 9 in immediately as it instantly neutrilizes ammonia though just in case

Good catch. The Hanna instructions for their calcium test are a** backwards and if you follow them to the t you'll get a crazy reading. Very poorly written. I had to YouTube how to actually do that one.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

i got my water tested more accurately, nothing has dies in my tank yet i have ammonia and my ca is off the charts?

So In Your first post you post phosphates at 1.02 crazy high. Then this post you show 0 phosphates. Either way whichever reading is correct is a problem