Is my RFA okay?

[Bugenar]

It’s right side has been kinda shriveled… Looking at it closely it’s also lost its green spikes there as well..

My other RFAs sit at the bottom left of my tank, there is a steady flow but low lighting there, the others seem just fine. Plus surely it would’ve moved if it didn’t like its spot.

It looks like it’s expelling something on its side? But as far as I know this could be decay…

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They are kind of dumb, I've had several go under rocks and bleach and die from lack of light. It doesn't look very good, and if you say its losing color in a low light spot, then I don't think its getting enough light. But I would not expect it to move into more light, I don't think they understand they need light. I would increase the lighting or try to move it closer to the other RFA's or higher into more light.

But I have to admit I'm really just guessing, they are weird little creatures.

 

[Bugenar]

They are kind of dumb, I've had several go under rocks and bleach and die from lack of light. It doesn't look very good, and if you say its losing color in a low light spot, then I don't think its getting enough light. But I would not expect it to move into more light, I don't think they understand they need light. I would increase the lighting or try to move it closer to the other RFA's or higher into more light.

But I have to admit I'm really just guessing, they are weird little creatures.

It’s right next to my other RFAs so I’m not sure if lighting is the issue, honestly I think it’s expelling something. Its mouth is wide open and gaping and there is stuff coming out. It’s hard to get a good pic because of where it is

 

[JoJosReef]

It looks very bad. I've had maybe one or two RFAs pull back from that state, but most melt and I have to remove their melting bodies. My only success stories have been from taking out the nem and treating them with antibiotics--ciprofloxacin is what I use to treat infections, and best done in a hospital tank, although I have done full tank treatment many times as well. Note: this is presumptive treatment because I have no idea if it is an infection causing the RFA to melt. Last ditch effort.

 

[JoJosReef]

It’s right next to my other RFAs so I’m not sure if lighting is the issue, honestly I think it’s expelling something. Its mouth is wide open and gaping and there is stuff coming out. It’s hard to get a good pic because of where it is

I don't think that is a lighting issue. Or a flow issue.

 

[Bugenar]

It looks very bad. I've had maybe one or two RFAs pull back from that state, but most melt and I have to remove their melting bodies. My only success stories have been from taking out the nem and treating them with antibiotics--ciprofloxacin is what I use to treat infections, and best done in a hospital tank, although I have done full tank treatment many times as well. Note: this is presumptive treatment because I have no idea if it is an infection causing the RFA to melt. Last ditch effort.

Yeah I agree this doesn’t look good. It’s looked like this in the past but I never thought too much about it because it would always open back up. But recently that right side has been a little more shriveled, so I think you’re right that this is some sort of infection. Would ciprofloxacin be bad for my main tank? The best alternative to a hospital tank is a little breeding tank that’s still connected to the main tank. But it should soften the blow.

 

[JoJosReef]

Yeah I agree this doesn’t look good. It’s looked like this in the past but I never thought too much about it because it would always open back up. But recently that right side has been a little more shriveled, so I think you’re right that this is some sort of infection. Would ciprofloxacin be bad for my main tank? The best alternative to a hospital tank is a little breeding tank that’s still connected to the main tank. But it should soften the blow.

If you plan to use cipro, I recommend reading this post carefully, first:

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

I use the same concentration for both brown jelly disease and sick looking nems. Never had any adverse reactions to the things I like in my tank so far, but I've definitely seen it stop BJD in its tracks. Nems making a miraculous recovery is just speculation.

 

[Bugenar]

If you plan to use cipro, I recommend reading this post carefully, first:

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

I use the same concentration for both brown jelly disease and sick looking nems. Never had any adverse reactions to the things I like in my tank so far, but I've definitely seen it stop BJD in its tracks. Nems making a miraculous recovery is just speculation.

If you plan to use cipro, I recommend reading this post carefully, first:

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

I use the same concentration for both brown jelly disease and sick looking nems. Never had any adverse reactions to the things I like in my tank so far, but I've definitely seen it stop BJD in its tracks. Nems making a miraculous recovery is just speculation.

I’m thinking I’m just over feeding my tank, and in turn my anemones. I mostly feed my tank brine, and I’ve found the best spot to pour is right in the middle where the flow will blow the shrimp to both sides feeding the entire tank. An unseen consequence might be the fact the food goes directly into the anemones, particularly the one having issues. It’s been expelling waste A LOT recently because we’ve been feeding the tank a lot. My nitrates read roughly >25 ppm

I will try the cipro method if it’s still like that tomorrow. But if this is some sort of infection, why is it only affecting one of my anemones? It’s been in there for a while and we just added two more, only after we added those two did this one start experiencing problems. So it does make sense how it could’ve been infected, but why would the others be fine?

 

[JoJosReef]

But if this is some sort of infection, why is it only affecting one of my anemones? It’s been in there for a while and we just added two more, only after we added those two did this one start experiencing problems. So it does make sense how it could’ve been infected, but why would the others be fine?

Great questions. I doubt more than a couple of people here could actually provide a credible answer. Take anything you read about "immunity" with a grain of sand. I'm an immunologist and there is so much we are learning about human immunology, which has massive funding for research--not a lot of money goes toward understanding the immune system of anemones! That said, it does seem like certain stressors can send corals and anemones down a path akin to an infectious disease. In the case of the thread I pointed you to about BJD, they seem to have identified Arcobacter as a bacteria likely to be a cause of BJD. It would seem that these stressors can allow opportunistic microbes to take hold.

I had one RFA in the center of my nano that looked very similar to yours. I only found out when I took its melting body out that there were about 100 TDO pellets underneath the nem. Apparently the aperture of the autofeeder had widened a bit and was dumping a massive amount of pellets with each spin, all with settled around the nem and slid underneath its skirt (or sat on its oral disk). So that coukd definitely irritate an RFA, and if left long enough lead to it melting.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ hope you can resolve it and get the RFA to rebound!

 

[Bugenar]

Great questions. I doubt more than a couple of people here could actually provide a credible answer. Take anything you read about "immunity" with a grain of sand. I'm an immunologist and there is so much we are learning about human immunology, which has massive funding for research--not a lot of money goes toward understanding the immune system of anemones! That said, it does seem like certain stressors can send corals and anemones down a path akin to an infectious disease. In the case of the thread I pointed you to about BJD, they seem to have identified Arcobacter as a bacteria likely to be a cause of BJD. It would seem that these stressors can allow opportunistic microbes to take hold.

I had one RFA in the center of my nano that looked very similar to yours. I only found out when I took its melting body out that there were about 100 TDO pellets underneath the nem. Apparently the aperture of the autofeeder had widened a bit and was dumping a massive amount of pellets with each spin, all with settled around the nem and slid underneath its skirt (or sat on its oral disk). So that coukd definitely irritate an RFA, and if left long enough lead to it melting.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ hope you can resolve it and get the RFA to rebound!

Update… looks dead, moved it to an easier spot because my arrow was walking all over it.

 

[JoJosReef]

Update… looks dead, moved it to an easier spot because my arrow was walking all over it.

Never seen an RFA come back from that. Might want to give it the sniff test. Sorry about the loss!

 

[Bugenar]

Never seen an RFA come back from that. Might want to give it the sniff test. Sorry about the loss!

Same thing is happening to my other anemone now. We also have two peppermint shrimp. Dunce move on my part, of course the shrimp that eats anemones would eat anemones.