MiniMaxi Anemone Ill, or Dying? What can I do?

[SirRoadwolf]

I have had this Mini-Maxi in my tank for about a year and a half now. It has never moved and remains in the piece of live rock that I purchased it in. A healthy colony of green star coral also lives on that rock. The anemone has been puffing out its mouth for a while, even tho I have been directly feeding it a few times a week with mysis, and fish eggs. It is on the side of the live rock, so I am concerned that it maybe doesn't get enough light? Unsure.

But lately it has shriveled up and gotten rather small. It still has some very faded colors, and still moves. The flesh behind the tenticles is still redish brown in color.

But I am concerned about it. I do not know it's exact age, as I did purchase it from my LFS, in a 'used' state, as it was sold back to them from a customer who had it in their tank for a while. So not sure if it is just getting old and dying off?

But... My main concern at this point, is if it is dying, what should I do to remove it from the tank before it causes problems? I have tried getting it to detach with a powerhead pointed at it, but it doesn't seem to want to let go of that rock. Any advice or insight would be appreciated.

But the poll is looking for opinions on preevmtively removing it, or letting it go, and seeing if it dies in the tank or pulls through.

 

[Picasso Clown]

I don’t know very much about mini maxis but I do have experience with BTAs and rock flowers. Can you observe the mouth? What is it doing? Have you had any tank/water issues recently? Is there anything near it that could be stinging it (like galaxea)? How long ago did you get it and how did you acclimate it? What is the temperature of your tank? Does it have any visible injuries? (Sorry for all the questions)

 

[AmaleeC]

I don’t know too much about them. But yours is still attached, and that’s a really good sign. I would stop trying to get it off with the power head, I think that’s just doing more harm to it in this case. I doubt that it’s gotten too old && it’s dying of old age. Have you made any changes to your tank recently? What are your water parameters?

 

[Picasso Clown]

+1 to amalee, leave it on the rock if it’s attached. Attachment is good

 

[SirRoadwolf]

I don’t know very much about mini maxis but I do have experience with BTAs and rock flowers. Can you observe the mouth? What is it doing? Have you had any tank/water issues recently? Is there anything near it that could be stinging it (like galaxea)? How long ago did you get it and how did you acclimate it? What is the temperature of your tank? Does it have any visible injuries? (Sorry for all the questions)

The mouth appears normal now. It is no longer looking like it is trying to eat itself. Just a small hole with a little tiny flap, that almost looks like a flapper on a truck's exhaust stack.

No other anemone's in the tank that I know of. There are a couple small aptasia's in the refuge tho. So I doubt anything else is stinging it.

I haven't had any water issues that I am aware of. The chemistry has been stable. The temp is on the high side at about 80 degrees, and about a month ago I added new lighting. 2x MarsAqua 165W lights. Which aren't running at full power... But I guess I could crank it up slightly? Coral has been doing well, tho maybe a little shy of the new lighting.

I got it about a year and a half ago when the tank was still very new. At that point I didn't quarentine new additions because the tank was still newish.

No visible injuries, unless you can count some darker red areas as an injury? They seemed to appear when I had the powerhead on it, along the edge of the tenticle field.

 

[Picasso Clown]

The mouth appears normal now. It is no longer looking like it is trying to eat itself. Just a small hole with a little tiny flap, that almost looks like a flapper on a truck's exhaust stack.

No other anemone's in the tank that I know of. There are a couple small aptasia's in the refuge tho. So I doubt anything else is stinging it.

I haven't had any water issues that I am aware of. The chemistry has been stable. The temp is on the high side at about 80 degrees, and about a month ago I added new lighting. 2x MarsAqua 165W lights. Which aren't running at full power... But I guess I could crank it up slightly? Coral has been doing well, tho maybe a little shy of the new lighting.

I got it about a year and a half ago when the tank was still very new. At that point I didn't quarentine new additions because the tank was still newish.

No visible injuries, unless you can count some darker red areas as an injury? They seemed to appear when I had the powerhead on it, along the edge of the tenticle field.

You got it a year and a half ago and it’s just now throwing a hissy fit? So acclimation/perams probably not the cause. If it’s getting better, then just let it be. My nems throw hissy fits some times for no reason and recover in a day or so. If it doesn’t recover after 3 days, that’s definitely an issue. Just be patient with it and I’m sure it’ll get better probably by tonight.

 

[AmaleeC]

The only issue I can think of would be the lighting. What’d you switch from?

 

[SirRoadwolf]

The only issue I can think of would be the lighting. What’d you switch from?

I switched from a chinese lighting strip, and some Kessil Tuna Blue A80's, which I didn't think was sufficient light after a while. So the lighting should be better now...

 

[AmaleeC]

You’re welcome to try lowering the lighting and raising it 5% - 10% every week to see if that works. But tbh, I’m no expert and I’d mush prefer you only taking steps you’re comfortable with