Help save my LTA, please!

[User]

Hi there

I have an LTA, that I put through a 16 day QT in a 10g tank, then moved to my DT. It apparently had issues with the placement and I found it next morning stuck to my gyre (with mesh on, fortunately). It eventually found its way to a crevice in the rock work, and was doing ok until I went on vacation for 2 weeks.

During that time, it wedged itself deeper and deeper into the rock work, and I found it badly bleached abd a fraction of its original size. My tank also has crazy cyano due to massive overfeeding the first 5 days of the vacation. My sitter misunderstood instructions and was dumping in 3 days worth of food everyday for 5 days.

Over the course of the next 2 weeks, it got bigger, appeared to recolour slightly but has always looked sickly, I guess. Then, 4 weeks ago, She went wandering again, and was floating towards the gyre. I pulled her out and put her into a 10g QT where I planned to target feed and get some better lighting over her. She was in that tank with some nassarius snails, and a feather duster. Hob filter, air stone, temp at 78of

Last week I put her into her own 10g because I noticed her mouth gaping. She took a little while to attach, but is now sitting firmly on the glass surrounded by sand. I fed her a tiny piece of scallop -about half the size of her mouth- and she ingested it and produced waste the next day

On Monday, I added a rainbow bubble tip anemone to the other side of the tank, and plan to move that to DT after 16 days. It was suggested I cohouse them as the RBTA May share zooxanthelae with the lta, but now I’m thinking maybe I just potentially infected the RBTA

Progression pics-

Day of purchase

Week later, in own QT

19 days later into DT

After walking

After vacation- and moved to a QT tank

Comparison of the size of original and post vacation sand containers for reference

This morning

That’s a 30ml DayQuil cup for reference

The RBTA

 

[User]

Display tank parameters when I pulled it out

Salinity 1.025
Temp 78of
Nh3. 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-7ppm
Phosphate 0.08ppm
Ph- 8.01-8.13
Ca 398
Mg 1392
alk 10.1

Tank has been going for 13 months.

 

[Ubergroover]

Do a BIG water change. they also like intense lighting. mine sits under a 90 watt kessil and never moves. nothing will tell you quicker than a nem if something is off.

 

[User]

Do a BIG water change. they also like intense lighting. mine sits under a 90 watt kessil and never moves. nothing will tell you quicker than a nem if something is off.

Thanks

It had a 100% water change two days ago, and another 6 days ago. It’s sitting 12” under a 60w daylight led fixture, around 700 lumens, 180 par

 

[chizerbunoi]

I would keep the LTA in the quarantine tank if it is staying. If it’s foot dislodges then don’t bury him back into the sand. A bare bottom container would work until it’s fully healed. Or you can use a plant basket/breeding specimen box that floats at the top of your display tank. Larger water volume will be easier for you.

if it starts to disintegrate then it’s beyond hope.

Don’t feed it for a few weeks. The tentacles should lengthen but the mouth might still be open or gaping.

Don’t feed it for a few weeks. The tentacles should lengthen but the mouth might still be open or gaping.

Then feel for sticky tentacles ( I use long feeding prongs). If they are sticky then give it a small piece of shrimp the size of its mouth or eraser. Put the food right in the middle by the mouth and swirl around so the tentacles all lock into it. Feed once a week until the color is healthy and comes back.

if not sticky then you need to force feed it by putting the food in the mouth and wait for it to take it. If no luck then remove the food and wait 3 more days and try again until it eats. It will eventually eat if recovering and will get sticky.

another issue with them is that the foot could have a pin hole prick. that would not be a good sign. It would look like sand around the area infected. Don’t pull the LTA out if it’s mounted and buried just to check for this. Only check if it detaches.

My own LTA also detached and got caught by the wave makers. I moved it into a DSB tank with my Haddoni carpets. After 3 weeks it is now back to its normal self