Help with CSB anemone

[KSean]

Hi reefers,
I recently picked up a chicago sunburst anemone for my pico. The tank has been running for almost a year now. The nem seemed to have acclimated alright on day 1 (slightly hiding, nothing out of the ordinary) but it is doing this weird stuff everyday starting the 4th day or so.

The night seems to be going alright. early morning is also fine.
It starts deflating at around 1 - 1.5 hours after the lights come on. Light is kessil 360, turned down to low settings.
It gets worse as time goes on. Mouth puffy, tentacles deflated. Later on, gets even worse with the mouth opening into a hole (severe stress).
I end up having to do a large water change of about 40-50% after monitoring for 2 hours or so.
It recovers over the next 2-3 hours after the water change. inflates again, mouth closed, almost back to normal.
Day ends well. Next morning seems okay until lights come on and the cycle repeats.

Additional info: Have zoas, palate, mushrooms - all doing good. no stress signs.
Ph: 8.0 / ammonia : 0 / nitrates: around 5 maybe.

I added some nitrobacter, some phyto and some pods around the time when i introduced the nem to help with the ecosystem.

The issue seems more acute than chronic. So I assume it is not low nitrates (also since it recovers and does well for more than half a day).
I changed carbon, added a filter floss in addition to the water changes. Can't seem to get it to stabilize over the day.
Any help would be appreciated. I am so lost on this one. I have other tanks with Black widow, rainbows and they are doing fine (I have good anemone experience). However, CSB seems uber finicky and I am finding it difficult to pinpoint the issue.

Post recovery good state (after water change) and the ugly puffy sad state (mornings) in pics.

 

[bubbgee]

Unfortunately, that's a normal stress response to a water change for soft corals. Did you make sure the salinity of the tank and the water change is about the same? The rapid decline in salinity and nutrients is what we assume that causes softies to get upset.

 

[KSean]

Unfortunately, that's a normal stress response to a water change for soft corals. Did you make sure the salinity of the tank and the water change is about the same? The rapid decline in salinity and nutrients is what we assume that causes softies to get upset.

Yes, matched salinity. It seems to be doing slightly better than yesterday. Will see if it recovers by itself without a water change. Anything I can do to help or just wait and watch?

 

[backbayreef]

Mine does that, even if it’s healthy. Give it time to settle in. When you see it hides under rocks or start melting, then it’s a concern.

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Has your anemone look less colorful and kind of bleaching

 

[KSean]

Mine does that, even if it’s healthy. Give it time to settle in. When you see it hides under rocks or start melting, then it’s a concern.

Thank you. It hasn't melted or hidden under the rocks. Will keep the parameters stable and watch.

 

[KSean]

Has your anemone look less colorful and kind of bleaching

not that i can notice, no. also it is a small sized nem (about 3 inches). so far the colors seem to be fine. [knock on wood :) ]

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Has your anemone look less colorful and kind of bleaching

not that i can notice, no. also it is a small sized nem (about 3 inches). so far the colors seem to be fine. [knock on wood :) ]

Ok good because If that was the problem, it could be that you need acropower and that's what happened to mine and after I gave that for 2 months and it got back to normal. It's amazing good luck

 

[backbayreef]

Ok good because If that was the problem, it could be that you need acropower and that's what happened to mine and after I gave that for 2 months and it got back to normal. It's amazing good luck

Isn’t that just snake oil for amino acid? If you have fish poop and don’t bottom out nutrients, I suspect that nems will be ok. I am a little surprised to see how this product made any difference.

 

[KSean]

it is slightly shrunk today (mild stress) but not the theatrical inverted mouth that I saw in the past 2-3 days (when the lights came on). So that's a relief. Only change i did yesterday was to add new carbon + floss filter. Positive signs. Hope it continues improving.

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Ok good because If that was the problem, it could be that you need acropower and that's what happened to mine and after I gave that for 2 months and it got back to normal. It's amazing good luck

Isn’t that just snake oil for amino acid? If you have fish poop and don’t bottom out nutrients, I suspect that nems will be ok. I am a little surprised to see how this product made any difference.

What acropower brings back the basic nutrients to the anemones and corals That's essential for their living it puts the symbiotic algae back in the coral. It helps bind them not bleaching and it also gives them vitamins to bring back the color

 

[backbayreef]

What acropower brings back the basic nutrients to the anemones and corals That's essential for their living it puts the symbiotic algae back in the coral. It helps bind them not bleaching and it also gives them vitamins to bring back the color

Curious what was your N&P? Also, can you share why/how Acropower was able to recover a bleached anemone?

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Anemones, similar to corals, rely on zooxanthellae for energy through photosynthesis. Bleaching occurs when anemones expel their symbiotic algae due to stress, leading to a loss of color and health.
Therefore, if you're referring to Aquaforest Power Elixir, it may be helpful for bleached anemones. Here's why
Amino Acids and Vitamins: It provides essential nutrients that can aid in the recovery and growth of bleached anemones, potentially helping them regain their zooxanthellae.
Support for Zooxanthellae: The vitamins in the elixir can strengthen the symbiotic relationship between the anemone and its zooxanthellae, potentially helping the zooxanthellae recover or return to the anemone's tissues.

You want to know my nitrites and my phosphates?

Nitrite zero
Phosphates zero

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Amino Acid Supplementation: AcroPower supplies amino acids that are essential for corals and other cnidarians (including anemones) to build their skeletal structure and carry out cellular processes.
Nutrient Depletion in Closed Systems: In reef tanks with filtration methods like protein skimming, essential amino acids can become depleted. AcroPower can help replenish these depleted amino acids, potentially aiding the anemone's overall health and ability to recover.
Potential for Increased Vitality: Some reports suggest that AcroPower can improve coral health and vitality, potentially offering some benefit to stressed anemones trying to regain their zooxanthellae and recover from bleaching.

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Yes it did

 

[backbayreef]

I think that we should not strip nutrients from the water and then hoping to dose bottled amino acids (imo, marketing magic “elixirs”) to compensate. All my tanks run with some levels of nitrates & phosphates. With measurable nutrients from fish poop & pee, the inhabitants should be happier. Back when I started the hobby in the 90s, the goal was to read 0/0 for N/P but we’ve learned that starving our corals and inverts may not be a good idea.

I’ll be curious if your anemones would have recovered on their own with stable water parameters (salinity, temp, Alk/Ca/Mg), non-zero nutrient levels (0 < N < 50, 0 < P < 0.5), lighting, and flow.

To be direct: I don’t think that Acropower (or other amino acid bottles) is the magic potion to recover a bleached anemone.

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

Well i don't know what to tell you i tried to help and you seem like you know what your doing so but my water levels are great and that's how it should be good levels and if you need to help your life in your tank like Corals and anemones to help them a little bit but acropower to give them vitamins to help them get stronger

 

[THE REEF WHISPER]

And mine went pale because i have no Amino acids because of my protein skimmer and because of my fine filter skimming

 

[backbayreef]

Well i don't know what to tell you i tried to help and you seem like you know what your doing so but my water levels are great and that's how it should be good levels and if you need to help your life in your tank like Corals and anemones to help them a little bit but acropower to give them vitamins to help them get stronger

It’s all good. Please note that I’m not the one with the bleached / suffering anemones. I keep various CSB and ChSB, Haddoni, Gigantea, Magnifica, etc. across several different tanks. All are very healthy and thriving, without a need to dose Acropower (or other amino acids).

It’s my first time hearing that Acropower will “give them vitamins to help them get stronger”. Whatever works for you but my point is that we should not buy in to many marketing gimmicks and subconsciously develop placebo effects.

Happy reefing!

 

[cgoochce]

Yes, matched salinity. It seems to be doing slightly better than yesterday. Will see if it recovers by itself without a water change. Anything I can do to help or just wait and watch?

Yes, definitely keep an eye on the salinity and probably something that will help. Make sure your ATO is working replacing the water that evaporated so your salt levels. Don’t yo-yo up and down.
Good salinity and a functioning ATO with fresh RO water will make your life a lot easier will make your Reef maintenance a lot easier