Anyone see an anemone look like this?

[ds38]

The pics with the clowns sharing the anemone is LAST NIGHT. Looks completely normal.

The other pics are right now, 24 hours later. Almost completely empty in the middle and see through. Takes an open mouth to a whole new level. It is literally just a circle!!!!!!

The anemone moved to this glass spot from the rocks I put it on 2 weeks ago. It's been 2 weeks since buying it at the store. Yesterday did a water change and it was out of water and fell to the sand. I put it back on the glass, and last night looked fine with the clowns in it, and today it's middle is cottage cheese and a very very thin layer separating it from being a complete hole!!!

Should I take it off the glass and put it on the rock???

I've had no success with anemones. The previous one the red maroon clown had moved far away and is a shell of itself. It's like he harasses them to death..... Another one is aimlessly bouncing around on the sand for weeks now, never attaching to anything. It gets long base some days, but just a stub. Pics of those too.

Aquarium is a year old. Parameters all tested recently.

 

[Gernader]

First of all, it’s never good to move your anemone, just let it move wherever it wants to.

What lighting are you using? Numbers for parameters?

Your clowns may be too aggressive than the nem could handle.

 

[count krunk]

You can't force an animal to do well in your tank. If anemones aren't working, then they aren't.

Clownfish can bully corals. My two small clowns have made my frogspawn not expand fully

 

[ds38]

I was under the belief having an aquarium meant I could put anemones in the aquarium. How can they just die. So it's normal to buy anemones and 100% likely they will just die within weeks? I'd be happy and fine spending $1000 on anemones and even half die no prob, but I've never seen 1 anemone live more than a few months... just my maxi carpet anemones stay put and are reliable. And my condy anemone.

I have 4 kessil 360 I have no idea what to put the lighting at. Was told some corals were being bleached so dropped the intensity to 70 or 80%... got color at 50-70% for months but decided to try more blue so doing 15% color for 8 hours or so, with wind up and wind downs for an hour each. 10 hour total. Just 1-2 hours of 80% intensity and white color

Again, how can an anemone look fine 24 hours ago and now the middle is a MASSIVE hole.

Should I just rip it off the glass and take it out so it doesn't contaminate my tank? Is it even possible for it to survive? Nobody seems shocked at how it looks.

Attached are parameters from last 3 times.
I was told my anemones don't look happy on March 13. Funny I pay $200 a maintenance visit , never a solution, just observations....

Any guidance or advice would be so appreciated. Been a year and have yet to see success with anemones.... Or wall hammers.... And some corals keep dying after being fine for 3 months.

 

[Gernader]

Anemones are well known to be stressed out due to instability, clownfish being harsh, etc. Looks like your lighting isn’t the problem. For the parameters, try to increase the salinity slowly to 1.026 and your magnesium seems low. It should be around 1400 ppm.

Try to do these recommendations first and see if the anemone is making a comeback. If there are no changes for a couple of days after fixing the problems, take it out.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I'd like to point out a few things as someone who has successfully kept bubble tip anemones in the past but lost a few along the way:

Most importantly, keeping a reef isn't about buying corals and hoping half survive. We have a responsibility to keep these animals alive and while losses are part of the learning process, the brute force method (software term) of constantly buying anemones hoping one 'sticks' isn't fair to the animals or your wallet, and likely won't get you far.

Ok first thing, you mentioned you have carpet and maxi anemones -- how long? Do you specifically mean bubble tip or other species don't make it in your tank?

Looking at your parameters, your alkalinity and salinity aren't as stable as they could be. This is something you can do to eliminate a variable: test those two daily (or every other day) and keep them as stable as possible. For your salinity, I highly suggest using an automatic top off as it will automatically add RODI as your saltwater evaporates. Also as stated previously your magnesium is a little off.

You mention losing corals and anemones consistency over a year. Clearly there is something off with your setup that is causing these losses and I'd strongly suggest getting your existing corals to flourish before attempting any more.

Your lighting is the first place I'd start after stabilizing your parameters. You mention you have no clue what intensity to keep your lights -- that can be solved with a PAR meter. Bulk Reef Supply offers week long rentals where you can use the PAR meter to see what kind of light your corals are getting. Depending on the corals you want to keep (LPS, SPS, mixed?) you can tailor the lights to their intensity needs. Incorrect lighting (usually too intense) is a common cause for bleaching and coral losses.

Lastly, if the previous two steps aren't effective, I'd suggest getting an ICP test done on your water. It's affordable and easy and will help you find contaminants.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

EDIT: a word on moving the anemones: don't do it unless they're a danger to themselves or other corals. At that point, don't rip it off because you will tear the foot and it will likely die. I'd suggest going on YouTube or researching how to dislodge and anemones foot by massaging it or using other techniques.

Also: put a guard around the powerheads. Anemones move (as you've been dealing with), and they can get lodged in powerheads and die, releasing toxins into the tank and potentially wiping your tank out. This can be solved by simply placing a guard on the powerhead. Your LFS can help with that.

 

[lpsouth1978]

I apologize in advance if this comes across as a bit harsh, but your nem does not look like it was doing well in ANY of the pictures. The key to success with any nem (some more than others) is finding what their requirements are (ie, parameters, flow, rock or sand dweller, what should a healthy nem look like, etc.) and then keeping all of those things stable.

An anemone can be happy one day, but then some algae grows on your powerhead and flow changes very slightly. Or an LED can go out on your lights and spectrum changes, you feed the tank more than usual causing a slight increase in some parameter. Next thing you know it is moving all over trying to find a happy place. The point is, they require stability.

The other important thing for nems it to get a healthy specimen from the start. This can be tricks as you really have to know what to look for as MANY nems do NOT ship well. If it is closed up, not sticky, doesn't react to touch, looks bleached at all, etc., just walk away and keep looking.

Don't give up, nems amazing creatures, and it is absolutely possible to keep them happy and healthy for a long time. I have 3 Haddoni in my tank (4 tomorrow) and all are doing well. The oldest has been in there for about 2 years, the others about a year now.

 

[Copingwithpods]

^ +1 all of it

We are 1st and foremost keepers of water chemistry, stability and repetition is the key. Also realize that you have chosen to keep the arguably most difficult and demanding pets in the world. Keeping corals alive is like trying to keep a rose alive on the moon, sounds silly but that rose needs you to provide it with the correct o2 to co2 ratios, proper nitrogen, lighting and pH in the soil and your are responsible for every single one of its needs as both the rose and our corals are very far from home. The simple answer to why your inhabitants are dying is you haven't provided them with a proper home and no amount of money you throw at your tank will fix that until you understand what it's lacking and how to fix it.

 

[Cstar_BC]

Hey !
I saw your pics and the anemone definitely looks stressed - not open as much as I would say a happy anemone should be.

I am fairly new to the hobby but a few things I can say from my experience with my Bubble tips - added in September 2019 and I would say very happy/healthy (eat regularly open up when lights come on, bubble tips)

-I do a weekly water change - I also have a very tall pillar of rocks, my huge anemone lives at the top of this pillar (you see the issue) once a week i remove enough water that it is just sitting in the air for about 5minutes (i try make sure everything is available to be as speedy as possible) however they should not lose footing and should bounce back in 20min.

-i sporadically feed it , once every 7-10 days with mysis shrimp or cut up shrimp

- I have a cheap 300w chinese blackbox , just slightly blue in colouration for 80% and then all blue for 20% of photo-period

-my clownfish are absolute brutes and are by no means gentle

-I have a lid on the tank so do not have very much evaporation so my salinity is fairly stable
-i dont use RO water just tap and my magnesium and calcium levels are very high
-I have two small pumps alternating on and off

 

[ds38]

Anemones are well known to be stressed out due to instability, clownfish being harsh, etc. Looks like your lighting isn’t the problem. For the parameters, try to increase the salinity slowly to 1.026 and your magnesium seems low. It should be around 1400 ppm.

Try to do these recommendations first and see if the anemone is making a comeback. If there are no changes for a couple of days after fixing the problems, take it out.

Thank you!
I have apex dosing triton method so I will increase the magnesium an extra ML a day and see what happens

And hydrometer just showed 1.024 so I will make some extra water higher salinity and add it to raise to 1.026!

I've seen about 10 anemones die over the first year of the aquarium. But never have I seen one have a gaping hole in the middle , but this is also the first one attached to the glass. I didn't think lighting would be a problem since they can just climb higher if they want more intensity.

 

[ds38]

^ +1 all of it

We are 1st and foremost keepers of water chemistry, stability and repetition is the key. Also realize that you have chosen to keep the arguably most difficult and demanding pets in the world. Keeping corals alive is like trying to keep a rose alive on the moon, sounds silly but that rose needs you to provide it with the correct o2 to co2 ratios, proper nitrogen, lighting and pH in the soil and your are responsible for every single one of its needs as both the rose and our corals are very far from home. The simple answer to why your inhabitants are dying is you haven't provided them with a proper home and no amount of money you throw at your tank will fix that until you understand what it's lacking and how to fix it.

Thank you for your beautiful analogies.
I thought I did my part in giving it a proper home by hiring what I thought were maintenance professionals to handle everything, but a year later I realize I just get scammed out of $200 per visit and have got no further than I could have myself. So I'm trying to learn myself and did my first water change yesterday.

 

[ds38]

Hey !
I saw your pics and the anemone definitely looks stressed - not open as much as I would say a happy anemone should be.

I am fairly new to the hobby but a few things I can say from my experience with my Bubble tips - added in September 2019 and I would say very happy/healthy (eat regularly open up when lights come on, bubble tips)

-I do a weekly water change - I also have a very tall pillar of rocks, my huge anemone lives at the top of this pillar (you see the issue) once a week i remove enough water that it is just sitting in the air for about 5minutes (i try make sure everything is available to be as speedy as possible) however they should not lose footing and should bounce back in 20min.

-i sporadically feed it , once every 7-10 days with mysis shrimp or cut up shrimp

- I have a cheap 300w chinese blackbox , just slightly blue in colouration for 80% and then all blue for 20% of photo-period

-my clownfish are absolute brutes and are by no means gentle

-I have a lid on the tank so do not have very much evaporation so my salinity is fairly stable
-i dont use RO water just tap and my magnesium and calcium levels are very high
-I have two small pumps alternating on and off

Magnesium and calcium high aren't harming anything ? It's ok?

 

[Cstar_BC]

Nope . Everything is doing great

Magnesium and calcium high aren't harming anything ? It's ok?

 

[ds38]

I'd like to point out a few things as someone who has successfully kept bubble tip anemones in the past but lost a few along the way:

Most importantly, keeping a reef isn't about buying corals and hoping half survive. We have a responsibility to keep these animals alive and while losses are part of the learning process, the brute force method (software term) of constantly buying anemones hoping one 'sticks' isn't fair to the animals or your wallet, and likely won't get you far.

Ok first thing, you mentioned you have carpet and maxi anemones -- how long? Do you specifically mean bubble tip or other species don't make it in your tank?

Looking at your parameters, your alkalinity and salinity aren't as stable as they could be. This is something you can do to eliminate a variable: test those two daily (or every other day) and keep them as stable as possible. For your salinity, I highly suggest using an automatic top off as it will automatically add RODI as your saltwater evaporates. Also as stated previously your magnesium is a little off.

You mention losing corals and anemones consistency over a year. Clearly there is something off with your setup that is causing these losses and I'd strongly suggest getting your existing corals to flourish before attempting any more.

Your lighting is the first place I'd start after stabilizing your parameters. You mention you have no clue what intensity to keep your lights -- that can be solved with a PAR meter. Bulk Reef Supply offers week long rentals where you can use the PAR meter to see what kind of light your corals are getting. Depending on the corals you want to keep (LPS, SPS, mixed?) you can tailor the lights to their intensity needs. Incorrect lighting (usually too intense) is a common cause for bleaching and coral losses.

Lastly, if the previous two steps aren't effective, I'd suggest getting an ICP test done on your water. It's affordable and easy and will help you find contaminants.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

EDIT: a word on moving the anemones: don't do it unless they're a danger to themselves or other corals. At that point, don't rip it off because you will tear the foot and it will likely die. I'd suggest going on YouTube or researching how to dislodge and anemones foot by massaging it or using other techniques.

Also: put a guard around the powerheads. Anemones move (as you've been dealing with), and they can get lodged in powerheads and die, releasing toxins into the tank and potentially wiping your tank out. This can be solved by simply placing a guard on the powerhead. Your LFS can help with that.

Thank you for your thorough reply. Let me explain what I meant and give info. I definitely agree not to buy a bunch and just hope half the things survive. They are living creatures indeed! I was referring to the reply "You can't force an animal to do well in your tank. If anemones aren't working, then they aren't." It made it seem like some anemones will live some will die, so I replied saying I would love to have a 50% success rate compared to a year of BS I've experienced. I continue to dream of the day that 100% of the corals and anemones I put in will be happy and healthy.

I actually did order a triton lab test kit and it will come Tuesday and I can send off a water sample.

I do have automatic top off . I have rodi set up. It adds a little rodi water whenever some water evaporates.... It took me 5 hours yesterday to do my first water change on my own, using the rodi to make me 25 gallons and I mixed the salt and everything. Was proud of myself. Felt intimidated to ever do my own water changes and that's why I paid someone for a year but now I see how easy it is.

I have no idea what my power heads should be set to, pulse or constant or trestles. They just shoot straight out, and have no neck to be aimed downward....so I don't know what kind of flow is happening

Had no idea 1.022 vs 1.026 salinity is a huge difference. So when I do a water change each week, I need to make sure to add the same every time? Not 1.023 one week and 1.024 the next?
But I should do 1.026 every week? That's what anemones want?

I have felt for awhile my set up is doomed forever, that the overflow box teeth were cut too low, so the top of the water has a gap before the canopy, so I blocked off most teeth, so water would rise, but there is less filtering teeth left, and also the depth of the water is 49 inches deep, so one or both has this tank doomed to ever succeed more than a handful of corals that have survived (mushrooms, the grass, some buttons, and maxi carpet and condy anemone) while everything else comes and goes.

I never would have thought my parameters aren't stable just if they change from 10 to 11 alkalinity or salinity from 1.024 to 1.025, but now I know.

I will get a par meter and figure out how to use it

I filmed this video showing and explaining all my anemones, some dying it seems, others moving around and probably will die next. Like I said, I had a 2nd maintenance guy here since Jan, and he's well respected, and he just kept saying my anemones don't look happy and had no solution. Last year's maintenance guy never did water changes, and gave me malfunctioning dosing equipment which had my alkalinity to 13 and calcium 500+ppm by January.

If you can watch this and tell me your thoughts https://photos.app.goo.gl/nHzqp33PNwWsBCwH9

I'm done investing in corals unless I can figure out what is killing corals, anemones. Even though I have put a year into paying others to maintain it, and got all the equipment including phosphate reducer, Uv sterilizer, skimmer, refugium, etc

 

[ds38]

My magnesium is not so bad now! Just tested it (first time I've ever done this since I'm done with maintenance people scamming me)

1270 or so is my magnesium.

The last reading was March 13 and the maintenance guy changed my dosing from 8 to 9ML so it has raised a little.

So now when I just tested it it's 1270
I'll change the dosing to 10ML right now.

I guess raising my salinity from 1.024 to 1.026 is the last thing you guys are saying to try ...

Hopefully these 2 things make the anemones happy

 

[Cstar_BC]

How much flow do you have in your tanks ?

Are we talking high , medium , low ?

 

[Cstar_BC]

I would aim for stability . Just try keep your tank within .5 swing .

Definitely lower the amount of magnesium you are dosing - seems a waste to dose so much if your corals aren’t using it

My magnesium is not so bad now! Just tested it (first time I've ever done this since I'm done with maintenance people scamming me)

1270 or so is my magnesium.

The last reading was March 13 and the maintenance guy changed my dosing from 8 to 9ML so it has raised a little.

So now when I just tested it it's 1270
I'll change the dosing to 10ML right now.

I guess raising my salinity from 1.024 to 1.026 is the last thing you guys are saying to try ...

Hopefully these 2 things make the anemones happy

 

[K7BMG]

Yes getting rid of the maintenance guys with no answers and tank improvement was key.
In fact I was shocked to see that the first 2/3 of this threads responses
Did not address that?

 

[K7BMG]

I am a beginner as well, so my thoughts are not based on years of experience.
Icp test is a good idea. When you get the results back and some things like Tin are high, do not panic and alter everything.
Get your results post them in the chemistry thread and ask advice first.
Then act on what you learn there, but go slow.

My other advice is make sure your RO/DI unit is doing its job.
Make sure your RO/DI components are good and dont need replacing.
You should have 0 TDS with your product water.
Also if you have a TDS meter on your RO/DI check the probes are installed properly. If you look through the end of the T the pins should NOT be in line with each other, they should be on the right and left and the water path should be through (between) the pins not around them.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Thank you for your thorough reply. Let me explain what I meant and give info. I definitely agree not to buy a bunch and just hope half the things survive. They are living creatures indeed! I was referring to the reply "You can't force an animal to do well in your tank. If anemones aren't working, then they aren't." It made it seem like some anemones will live some will die, so I replied saying I would love to have a 50% success rate compared to a year of crap I've experienced. I continue to dream of the day that 100% of the corals and anemones I put in will be happy and healthy.

All good. I'm sensitive to things like that because we've been stigmatized as a community for contributing to reef destruction, which is true, but in a completely disproportionate way compared to localized pollution and other factors. So we try to be stewards of the environment here!

I actually did order a triton lab test kit and it will come Tuesday and I can send off a water sample.

That's fantastic and will give you some insight. Post back with the results.

I do have automatic top off . I have rodi set up. It adds a little rodi water whenever some water evaporates.... It took me 5 hours yesterday to do my first water change on my own, using the rodi to make me 25 gallons and I mixed the salt and everything. Was proud of myself. Felt intimidated to ever do my own water changes and that's why I paid someone for a year but now I see how easy it is.

Perfect, that ATO will take care of you. Be sure to unplug it when you change the water out so it doesn't add RODI as you're siphoning out water. It's easy right! You can get inspiration on mixing stations and other ways to make your water changes easier here on R2R. Can be as simple as getting a couple BRUTE trashcans and adding pumps.

I have no idea what my power heads should be set to, pulse or constant or trestles. They just shoot straight out, and have no neck to be aimed downward....so I don't know what kind of flow is happening

To be honest, doesn't really matter about gizmos and flow modes. It's about the quantity and gentleness (ie not blasting the corals directly). Looks like your tank could use more flow but it's hard to tell. Flow is incredibly important for reefs as it brings nutrients to corals and takes waste away. Let's start by addressing the other issues since they don't cost money and then we can come back to flow but I have a hunch you'll need to invest in a few more powerheads to make sure you have enough flow in the tank. For example I didn't see much movement in the anemones in the video which makes me think there's not enough.

Had no idea 1.022 vs 1.026 salinity is a huge difference. So when I do a water change each week, I need to make sure to add the same every time? Not 1.023 one week and 1.024 the next?
But I should do 1.026 every week? That's what anemones want?

Oh yeah, a 1.022 -> 1.026 swing in salinity is no good. You want your tank at 1.026 constantly, and every water change should be at 1.026 unless you need to adjust the current salinity (should be a rare thing). That's not only what the anemones want, but all the corals and other critters in there that are accustomed to living on a reef in the wild.

I have felt for awhile my set up is doomed forever, that the overflow box teeth were cut too low, so the top of the water has a gap before the canopy, so I blocked off most teeth, so water would rise, but there is less filtering teeth left, and also the depth of the water is 49 inches deep, so one or both has this tank doomed to ever succeed more than a handful of corals that have survived (mushrooms, the grass, some buttons, and maxi carpet and condy anemone) while everything else comes and goes.

I never would have thought my parameters aren't stable just if they change from 10 to 11 alkalinity or salinity from 1.024 to 1.025, but now I know.

I would recommend taking those covers off your overflow (depending on how you did it). Those teeth are there to help skim the surface before water gets to the sump and if you have a nasty algae outbreak or an anemone gets stuck there, the teeth get plugged up, stop draining (worst case), and then the water from the sump gets pumped to the tank without anything going back to the sump -- no good, could overflow or burn out your pump worst cases.

I will get a par meter and figure out how to use it

You can rent one from Bulk Reef Supply. $70/week (rent the mq-510). They are very expensive to buy, not worth it IMO. They are dead easy to use and you'll feel like a legit scientist using it.

You mentioned you have a 4' deep tank. Looks awesome, but super hard to light effectively. I think I saw 4 Kessils over it. Good lights, but not enough to get all the way to the bottom. I'd suggest researching what kind of light certain corals need and then adjusting your lights to meet that criteria. In general, maybe you could achieve 250-350 PAR at the top, 150-200 towards the middle, and around 75 at the bottom area (you'll likely have very little at the actual bottom of the tank). This would allow you to have many types of corals.

I have no idea what your numbers will actually be, you'll have to test with the meter and adjust the lights and retest. It's easy and so worth your time! If you can't get high enough numbers you'll have to invest in more lights, if your numbers are too high, it's just a matter of turning them down.

I filmed this video showing and explaining all my anemones, some dying it seems, others moving around and probably will die next. Like I said, I had a 2nd maintenance guy here since Jan, and he's well respected, and he just kept saying my anemones don't look happy and had no solution. Last year's maintenance guy never did water changes, and gave me malfunctioning dosing equipment which had my alkalinity to 13 and calcium 500+ppm by January.

If you can watch this and tell me your thoughts https://photos.app.goo.gl/nHzqp33PNwWsBCwH9

I'm done investing in corals unless I can figure out what is killing corals, anemones. Even though I have put a year into paying others to maintain it, and got all the equipment including phosphate reducer, Uv sterilizer, skimmer, refugium, etc

Watched your video. Dude, you have a gorgeous tank and a lot of us on here wish we had your tank! About the coral and anemone losses: I'm rather certain it has to do with animals bothering your corals (esp those clownfish the buggers) and lighting issues, aside from the parameter stability. Did the maintenance guy have you buy all that equipment? Sounds pretty scammy to me, though they will help you out with a tank that big. It's just more to learn about but don't worry info for all of that is available I'd suggest asking here on R2R or Googling.

The one anemone that's looking really bad -- looks like that maroon beat the crap out of it. They do that and I'd suggest selling or returning your maroon clowns to the fish store until your anemones get HUGE and then they can come back!

And lastly I think you are definitely lacking in flow (without being able to be there in person to see); let's take care of the other stuff first though.

Oh, and ditch the fish store. They aren't giving you good advice from what I gather, and they are just trying to sell you stuff. Torches probably aren't going to randomly do better than other euphyllia that are dying in your tank, for example.

You have a lot of research ahead of you but you got this. That's an awesome tank, the rocks look great, you are successfully keeping some corals alive, now it's time to tune this thing up so it's a full blown reef tank. Welcome to the addiction, once you get a taste of success you will be coming back for more