Anemone Retracting when the Lights Come On

[jatx]

Hello all, first post on R2R and hoping someone else has had a similar experience with their bubble tip anemones and can provide some insight.

The issue:
My new bubble tip anemone is retracting completely into the rock work when the lights come on. Since adding to the tank 2 months ago he has been shrinking and losing color. Every morning he is open with slight bubble tips, then within 20-30 minutes of the lights being on, he retracts for the rest of the day.

The anemone:
Very small rainbow bubble tip anemone at <1.5 inches. Healthy and vibrant with fully developed bubbles when he arrived, but now less than 1 inch, somewhat grey and very retracted as long as the lights are on.

Tank and parameters:
Age: 1 year, 3 months
Temp: ~78
pH: ~8.3
Salinity: ~35 ppt
Alkalinity: ~8.9 dKH
Calcium: ~440 ppm
Magnesium: ~1278 ppm
Nitrate: ~1
Phosphate: ~.09

Dosing:
BRS liquid calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium
Weekly Dr. Tim's Waste Away 1/2 dose

Lighting:
AI Prime HDs
AB+ spectrum
10-hour photoperiod with 8-hour full intensity
Blanket par of 200-275
Nem is currently under 250 par

Assuming it is the light I tried:
Less light (down to 150 par) - no change
Providing shade - I added a piece of foam to the cover of the tank to provide some shade directly over the nem - he immediately puffed up, moved back into the light, then shrunk down into the rock again again
Seems counterintuitive to increase the light since he retracts when they come on. Thoughts?

Assuming it is nutrition I tried:
More target feeding (LRS Reef Frenzy) - no change
Less target feeding - no change

Other things to consider:
Two ocellaris clowns that are not currently interested or hosting the nem
No fish or members of the CUC seem to go near him, no signs of being picked on
He has found a spot in the middle of some mushrooms, but no signs of any stinging from either side

Unfortunately, because of where he is located I can't get a photo, but let me know if I can provide any additional information.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Cheers!

 

[bradleym]

Based on my own experience with RBTA, your phosphates are double/triple the ideal level, and your nitrates are too low. I had trouble with one of my RBTAs shrinking in an otherwise healthy SPS tank, and it is recovering after I started dosing my nitrates to get them up above 20ppm, and added a phosphate removing media reactor. This may not be the exact solution in every case, but is working for me in a similar situation.

 

[blaxsun]

If they're shrinking when the lights go on, I'd be inclined to lean towards too much light. 8 hours of full intensity is probably a tad excessive. My lights reach a maximum of 75% intensity for maybe 4 hours. I have a Neptune PAR sensor right by my anemones and I can tell you that they're all thriving at around 125 PAR (maximum) during the peak and are probably receiving 75-100 PAR the rest of the time.

I'm not sure about the phosphates, but this could be a contributing factor. Mine have gone up as high as 0.1ppm without any noticeable effects on my collection of anemones (total of 7, not including tube and rock flower).

 

[GoReefin]

Do you have any other anemones in the tank?

 

[jatx]

Thanks for the replies so far!

@bradleym I would definitely be a lot happier if phosphates were at .03 so will continue to work on getting them down. I've never dosed nitrates before, but sounds like I might need to try that to raise them without also raising the phosphates.

@blaxsun I've had a really hard time finding consistent PAR values for anemones searching online. Go figure. You definitely aren't the only person who has mentioned that range though. In my initial test at 150, I didn't see a change, but maybe I need to try again even lower. The store I got them from recommended 220-350, but that obviously isn't working for this little guy.

@GoReefin I don't have any other BTAs, but I have rock flower anemones that are all doing well tucked into the rocks at the bottom of the tank. They are newer than the BTA but already seem happy and growing.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I run my tank with phosphate .1-.3 pretty consistently. It almost sounds like a bacterial infection in the anemone , maybe get cipro on hand? Mushrooms may not be playing nice as well and causing the anemone to shrink, I had Kenya tree that caused issues but anemones melted them lol

also nitrate is very low , I like to keep 20-30ppm

 

[bradleym]

I run my tank with phosphate .1-.3 pretty consistently. It almost sounds like a bacterial infection in the anemone , maybe get cipro on hand? Mushrooms may not be playing nice as well and causing the anemone to shrink, I had Kenya tree that caused issues but anemones melted them lol

also nitrate is very low , I like to keep 20-30ppm

I have been hearing stories about higher phosphate levels working well when nitrates are at 20-40ppm, but I haven't gotten enough proof to test that just yet. Sounds like it's working in your case, so good to know.

 

[jatx]

@dvgyfresh Wow! Look at those colors. I hope I can get may BTA back on track and looking that healthy.

Are there other critters I can look to for signs of infection, or will it only affect the anemone? I have zero experience with cipro so will have to start doing some reading on when and how to use.

 

[Koh23]

Nobody mentioned flow, wich is also inportant for nems.....

 

[dvgyfresh]

@dvgyfresh Wow! Look at those colors. I hope I can get may BTA back on track and looking that healthy.

Are there other critters I can look to for signs of infection, or will it only affect the anemone? I have zero experience with cipro so will have to start doing some reading on when and how to use.

In my case , I had sick anemones but they were the only things affected everything else was normal . I did a broadcast dosing of cipro so not the normal prodcedure and it worked out for me

 

[dvgyfresh]

I have been hearing stories about higher phosphate levels working well when nitrates are at 20-40ppm, but I haven't gotten enough proof to test that just yet. Sounds like it's working in your case, so good to know.

I know its crazy but I believe nitrate / phosphate can be pretty high as long as nitrate is Atleast 15x higher , if not problems arrise in my case , kinda like red field ratio

 

[jatx]

@Koh23 Flow is a super grey area for me. Currently, the anemone is in a spot where he's getting indirect flow from a wide pattern powerhead about 8-12 inches away (AI Nero 5). I have it offset with the powerhead on the other side of the tank so it causes a "moderate" alternating current right where the anemone is. When he is expanded at night or early morning I can see him gently swaying.

The flow rate and pattern stay the same day and night with two 5-minute higher intensity patterns to lift debris back into the water column for the overflows.

The fact that he is staying in one place and does open at night leads me to believe it isn't the flow, but I honestly don't know. Can anyone recommend an experiment to try to determine if flow might be the issue?

 

[Toob]

I am having this exact same problem - same size and type of anemone even. Similar parameters as well. Mine looks ok at night, in the morning, then turns to a pancake as the day progresses. He’s also moved to under an overhang and is not even getting direct light anymore.

I wonder if the light is just a red herring, or coincidence, and something else is going on that’s a matter of timing? Would love to hear if you’ve had any updates!

 

[exilente]

This is the exact same thing that is happening with me as well. I have 3 anemone in my tank and all behave similarly. Would really like an answer or a way of understanding. I'm trying to reduce PAR and see how they react.

 

[exilente]

@jatx did you ever figure what was going on?