Did I Mess Up, Or Do I Need To Be Patient?

[reeferericb]

I bought a very small RBTA from my LFS yesterday. I’ve never had an anemone before, so I was a bit apprehensive with regard to handling and placing it in my tank. I have a 125 gallon setup and attempted to place the RBTA in my desired location understanding that it may move somewhere else.
I didn’t turn off my powerheads while handling the RBTA and it slipped out of my hand and blew to the back of the tank. I couldn’t see where it landed because of all the live rock in the way. I attempted to move some pieces to see better and I never found the RBTA.
What are the chances it survives? It’s foot is very small, when it was opened at the lfs there was maybe 4-6 heads on it. It’s body was under 1/2” wide for sure. I looked for it today and didn’t see anything. Is my best bet patience from here?
It landed somewhere behind that pile of rocks.

 

[Ta2oodfreak]

I'd be tearing apart the rocks to find him.....but that's just me.
It is going to go wherever it wants anyways. All we can do is coax into where we want it.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

I hope you find it. That just solidified me not getting a nem right now lol

 

[reeferericb]

I moved everything around so I could see, but it’s so small I have no idea what else to do. I assume they move about the same speed as a snail? Can it bury itself in the sand? If it got buried can it dig its way out? For now I’m trying to be patient, I’m not sure how long that will last.

 

[Fishyfish22]

nem's are finicky, and when you can add them depends tank to tank. When I first started i was sold into adding a Long tentacle and sebae within a month of getting the tank. Being more experienced I'd never recommend someone do that. the tentacle lived for years and even got its original coloring back

it's a bubble tip, the're known for moving around rockwork until they find somewhere they like. This becomes annoying down the road when you have a tank full of coral and a nem that would rather be in the center of an expensive acro rather than the island you built specifically for it.

if you just added it, it's probably still balled up somewhere in your tank and will open up to find it's not where it likes. from there it'll try moving itself to a current and light that it prefers. you can try looking for it one more time, but in the end let it do its thing.

worst case scenario, your tank is 125 gallons so a small dead nem won't nuke it. just test your water and watch for an ammonia spike. give the nem time to find where it likes. while you shouldn't have gotten one if the tank is brand new, so long as you used RODI/clean water and your water is clean it'll most likely survive.

keep an eye on your powerheads too, definitely don't want it to get caught in one.

 

[RobertTheNurse]

I moved everything around so I could see, but it’s so small I have no idea what else to do. I assume they move about the same speed as a snail? Can it bury itself in the sand? If it got buried can it dig its way out? For now I’m trying to be patient, I’m not sure how long that will last.

Did you cover your powerheads? Or any intake lines? Many people wake up one day to the frightful sight of a slaughtered anemone. So just be careful with that, also since you recently introduced. They do like to hide in between cracks etc. Try to leave it be (easier said than done)

 

[reeferericb]

My powerheads are gyre pumps, snail crawl on them constantly without getting sucked in, I would hope the anemone will be just as fortunate. I’ll continue to be patient and let it do it’s thing. I dropped a porcelain crab in there a couple months ago and it was about a month before I saw it again, I thought it was dead. That thing is huge! Perhaps a similar fate awaits on the RBTA.
My tank is fairly new, about 4 months old. I’m using an Apex controller and dosing along with small daily water changes. I believe my parameters are fine for an anemone, best way to know for sure is to try one. It was $50 at my lfs. From what I’ve seen that’s not a bad price, though as I mentioned above it’s very smalll.

 

[Fishyfish22]

My powerheads are gyre pumps, snail crawl on them constantly without getting sucked in, I would hope the anemone will be just as fortunate. I’ll continue to be patient and let it do it’s thing. I dropped a porcelain crab in there a couple months ago and it was about a month before I saw it again, I thought it was dead. That thing is huge! Perhaps a similar fate awaits on the RBTA.
My tank is fairly new, about 4 months old. I’m using an Apex controller and dosing along with small daily water changes. I believe my parameters are fine for an anemone, best way to know for sure is to try one. It was $50 at my lfs. From what I’ve seen that’s not a bad price, though as I mentioned above it’s very smalll.

buying something because it looks like a good price without being fully prepared is the anthem of the impulse buy, and probably the cause of half of the deaths that people experience in the hobby.

you'll most likely notice the Nem faster sooner a month if it does survive. unlike the crab which lives its life in the shadows and blends into the rocks, the Nem will come out to open up and display itself.

Give it time, leave it be. the more you move the rocks around the longer it'll stay stressed. If you feed your fish frozen mysis it might encourage the nem to come out to eat.

also you're going to want a test kit if you don't have one already.

 

[Jonify]

My powerheads are gyre pumps, snail crawl on them constantly without getting sucked in, I would hope the anemone will be just as fortunate. I’ll continue to be patient and let it do it’s thing. I dropped a porcelain crab in there a couple months ago and it was about a month before I saw it again, I thought it was dead. That thing is huge! Perhaps a similar fate awaits on the RBTA.
My tank is fairly new, about 4 months old. I’m using an Apex controller and dosing along with small daily water changes. I believe my parameters are fine for an anemone, best way to know for sure is to try one. It was $50 at my lfs. From what I’ve seen that’s not a bad price, though as I mentioned above it’s very smalll.

I'm not sure a nem will do okay in a 4-mth old tank. They usually require much more mature reefs to thrive. I'm hoping for the best, though. Perhaps one morning you will wake up to a nem perched on just the right spot.

 

[corals.la]

Nems can shrivel and make themselves super tiny. Hope it didn’t get torn apart by your power head but I think you’d see the pieces of it everywhere. Do you have a cover on your power head? Hopefully it snuck behind a rock or underneath it somewhere and it’ll open up enough for you to spot it soon. I don’t think they burrow into sand but I could be wrong. RBTA are gorgeous so hope you find it! Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[terri_ann]

My hope is that you tear your rock apart looking for the nem in holes, etc. Also use foam covers for your gyres. That tiny of nem will get pulled into it. Hopefully you find it and put it in a nem/shroom box until its big enough to be put in an area that it will most likely like. Just because it was 'only $50' doesn't mean that it's disposable should it die. Check your overflows too please.

 

[reeferericb]

I feed frozen mysis, hopefully that will encourage it to show itself sooner rather than later. I’m not moving anything else around. Everything is staying put, too much work. From here it’s just patience.
the RBTA wasn’t an impulse buy, it’s been on my list for a while. I was going to be patient about the purchase (I’ve read 9-12 months is a good rule of thumb). I started asking questions as to why and found it was more to develop a good maintenance routine than it was anything else. I feel as though I’m doing that and have been since I set up my tank. I’m just hoping my clowns eventually host it. If they don’t (I’ll give it a long time) I may get rid of the anemone. I’m not sure I want it other than for the symbiotic relationship with the clowns and maybe the crab.

 

[reeferericb]

Nems can shrivel and make themselves super tiny. Hope it didn’t get torn apart by your power head but I think you’d see the pieces of it everywhere. Do you have a cover on your power head? Hopefully it snuck behind a rock or underneath it somewhere and it’ll open up enough for you to spot it soon. I don’t think they burrow into sand but I could be wrong. RBTA are gorgeous so hope you find it! Good luck. Keep us posted.

It landed on the sand bed yesterday, that’s all I know for sure. This one has great color and the lfs is certain that if I feed it a couple times a week it would be full grown in 4-6 weeks or so. I mostly hope it doesn’t stay this tiny for long.

 

[Johne]

No worries! One of the best things about our hobby is the surprise. I purchased a rose bubble tip and it disappeared completely! I secretly purchased a second one so my wife wouldn’t smack me and the next thing I am having to tell my wife WOW it must have split, when it showed up out of no where. 2 years later I have 5 lol

 

[jorwill]

Turn on all blues and look for color. They stand out pretty good that way. Even better with orange filtered glasses on.

 

[reeferericb]

Surprise Surprise. The Anemone has decided to show itself. It’s also grown a lot too. Of course it’s on the back side of the tank where it won’t be seen. Any suggestions on attempting to relocate it?

 

[MichaelReefer]

Surprise Surprise. The Anemone has decided to show itself. It’s also grown a lot too. Of course it’s on the back side of the tank where it won’t be seen. Any suggestions on attempting to relocate it

you wont really have any luck on relocating it. They go where they are comfortable. The first week or so sometime it hides to get used to the light but they will explore and find the spot with the right light and right flow.

 

[reeferericb]

you wont really have any luck on relocating it. They go where they are comfortable. The first week or so sometime it hides to get used to the light but they will explore and find the spot with the right light and right flow.

This one I dropped when placing it a month ago. I haven’t even seen it until today. This is about the location I suspect it landed. I know if I move it it may move itself again, I would like it to be in front of the glass if possible. I wasn’t sure if I moved it if it would just move back where it is now.

 

[Fishyfish22]

This one I dropped when placing it a month ago. I haven’t even seen it until today. This is about the location I suspect it landed. I know if I move it it may move itself again, I would like it to be in front of the glass if possible. I wasn’t sure if I moved it if it would just move back where it is now.

it's alive, it'll go where it's happy. just leave it be and it'll relocate itself.

you can try to have lower current in the front of your tank and heavier in the back. thing is as you add coral you might need to adjust that, and it'll just make the nem move again.