My anemone got sucked up by my powerhead

[FluckeyColt]

Hey! So two days ago I bought an anemone for my tank. I was really happy with it and it looked pretty good in my tank. I turned my powerhead off the first day to let it settle. It moved during the night but I was confident that it secured its foot to the rocks. The second day it didn't move again during the day so I turned on my powerhead. Before I went to bed I noticed it started moving again, but I figured it was attached well to the rocks. Turns out it probably wasn't. Today I woke up and saw that it was gone. My first instinct was to look at the powerhead and there was a tiny bit of what used to be my anemone left in it. It had stopped rotating because it got stuck. I'm very sad that this happened and I wonder what I should do next? I removed it from the tank and cleared out my filtration sock. The water is a bit cloudy so I read I should do a water change. How much should I do? Do I need to do more then that? I have a Waterbox 20 Cube with 2 clownfish in it and 2 very tiny pieces of coral. I think one is a toadstool and the other is a tree coral.

 

[BostonReefer300]

How big was the anemone when fully inflated (if you know---for example, you bought it at a local fish store and saw it fully inflated before you bought it)? If you had to guess, what percentage of the carcass did you manage to remove from the tank?

 

[FluckeyColt]

How big was the anemone when fully inflated (if you know---for example, you bought it at a local fish store and saw it fully inflated before you bought it)? If you had to guess, what percentage of the carcass did you manage to remove from the tank?

it looked like this when I put it in. I later moved my powerhead up higher. During the night he was less strechted out when he was on the move. I manage to just get a tiny bit that was stuck in the powerhead out. The rest of him was gone.

 

[Galasss]

Sorry to hear about your nem, I would add some carbon and do a 30-50% water change if you haven’t already. I would also keep a close eye on your ammonia levels given that most of the BTA was shredded. The big water change should help with that.

it looked like this when I put it in. I later moved my powerhead up higher. During the night he was less strechted out when he was on the move. I manage to just get a tiny bit that was stuck in the powerhead out. The rest of him was gone.

 

[BostonReefer300]

Thanks for the added info. I agree with the above. Just make sure your new water is a spot-on match for temp and salinity (and ideally Alk, but not quite as important). I'm assuming this is a relatively new tank by the looks of the sand and coral. It looks like you started your tank with well seasoned live rock so you should have good biological filtration going which will help with any ammonia spike from the anemone. I bought that same waterbox 20 for my daughter. It came with a bag of bituminous carbon. If you just started your tank in the past month, that carbon bag should still be good. Otherwise, get a FINE mesh filter bag and put a cup of something like the BRS premium ROX carbon in it. If you don't already know, stick it in the center section of the rear sump and make sure it's fully submerged. Rinse it first with RODI water to get rid of dust. Before you get another nem, buy an anemone guard for your power head. They're sold on BRS, etc. for most common power heads. If not there, search online for independent 3-D printer people that make them or post here on R2R about it. Good luck! PS Nice aquascape BTW

 

[BostonReefer300]

Also, not to be preachy, but I don't think I see a lid on your tank. I'd recommend getting one because even clownfish jump. I got a really great one from Kraken Reef. Also bought an overflow screen (great to have if you have a nem) and a filter floss cup (replaces the filter sock).

 

[FluckeyColt]

Thanks for the added info. I agree with the above. Just make sure your new water is a spot-on match for temp and salinity (and ideally Alk, but not quite as important). I'm assuming this is a relatively new tank by the looks of the sand and coral. It looks like you started your tank with well seasoned live rock so you should have good biological filtration going which will help with any ammonia spike from the anemone. I bought that same waterbox 20 for my daughter. It came with a bag of bituminous carbon. If you just started your tank in the past month, that carbon bag should still be good. Otherwise, get a FINE mesh filter bag and put a cup of something like the BRS premium ROX carbon in it. If you don't already know, stick it in the center section of the rear sump and make sure it's fully submerged. Rinse it first with RODI water to get rid of dust. Before you get another nem, buy an anemone guard for your power head. They're sold on BRS, etc. for most common power heads. If not there, search online for independent 3-D printer people that make them or post here on R2R about it. Good luck! PS Nice aquascape BTW

Thanks a lot! I have the carbon bag in there and the tank is very new indeed. These were the first things I added to it after cycling. I definitely will look into a anemone guard for my powerhead, I really liked the look of it in my tank so I do want a new one! A lid is a good recommandation too, will look for that as well! Thank you!!