Rock anemone melting

[Baby Ray]

I have 5 rock anemones, 3 are perfectly fine, the orange one has been sticking for the last week which has been concerning me but it hasn’t looked terrible.

However this green one that I’ve had unstuck a couple days ago and started to melt last night as you can see.

I put the green and orange ones in a container yesterday to try to let them recover but I don’t have a good feeling about the green one.

I did a water change yesterday and everything else in the tank looks great. The anemone that is beginning to melt has been in the tank for around 6 months before this with no issues.

Any ideas of why this is happening or suggestions?

 

[Fish Fan]

I don't know if this is what's causing your problems or not, but I remember a post from Randy Holmes-Farley that suggested that imported RFA's don't do well long term, and it's best to try to get RFA's that have been collected from the Florida area:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/rock-flower-anemone-deaths.1121580/post-13751696
If you need more RFA's in the future, @coralmonsters.judy often has stunning RFA's that they collect from Florida waters. If I can ever get my butt in gear I'm going to do a small tank focused on some of these RFA's and maybe some Sexy Shrimp. Check these out, she just updated their stock list with some RFA's this morning:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...looza-what-a-stock-list.1154450/post-14289154
Good luck!

 

[Baby Ray]

I got the one that is melting from a different source than the other 4 so that would make sense.

I did not know this, I was hoping to get more rock anemones in the future so I will definitely look into the source of them now, thank you

 

[coralmonsters.judy Verified Sponsor]

Hey there,

I have beautiful, healthy rock flowers available. Text me at your convenience, and we can place an order :) 786-606-2520

Here's a video of them from this morning. These ones were collected by my team and me on Thursday and Friday.



I have sold many of them to several reef2reef members with no complaints. We are very careful when collecting them to ensure their longevity.

Have a great weekend!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Have you added anything new to your tank that might be nibbling at the rfa's?

 

[Baby Ray]

Nope, right now I just have some small gobies, some sexy shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, anemones crabs and snails

 

[Baby Ray]

Update:

The orange rock anemone’s condition has gotten much worse and of my other ones have detached from their positions in the tank.

No swings in temperature or salinity. I am going to test everything else today.

Everything else in the tank looks great so I am at a loss as to what could be affecting just the rock anemones.

Any suggestions as to what it could be are appreciated.

 

[Baby Ray]

I have a sneaky suspicion that it is low PH and these were the results of my PH tests. I know these tests can be dumb and hard to decipher but I think it’s leaning towards the low side.

Looks more gray than blue.

I’ve had RFA in other slumped systems with no issues but the sump light stayed on all the time. Let me know what your thoughts are but I could see the lack of a constant light lowering the PH and causing the issue.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#reefsquad

 

[Rocks reef]

I have a sneaky suspicion that it is low PH and these were the results of my PH tests. I know these tests can be dumb and hard to decipher but I think it’s leaning towards the low side.

Looks more gray than blue.

I’ve had RFA in other slumped systems with no issues but the sump light stayed on all the time. Let me know what your thoughts are but I could see the lack of a constant light lowering the PH and causing the issue.

As long as your pH is 7.6 or higher, you're fine. I wouldn't rely on that Red Sea test kit.

I'm not understanding your constant light or lack of light in regards to pH. If you had a refugium full of macroalgae, it would help increase pH due photosynthesis. If there is nothing in the sump, it won't matter.

 

[Baby Ray]

I got a second pair of eyes on the PH test and did the test again and it was looking more around the 8.2 range.

Just tested Nitrites. Running around 0.05

Going to continue testing.

I also think I may need to add a fish to the system. It’s only 12 gallons and the clownfish that was in the tank recently died so it is just a neon goby left. Ever since the clownfish died the anemones haven’t been doing well now that I think about it.

 

[Rocks reef]

If that is a true reading on your nitrates, that is low. What are your phosphates?

 

[Baby Ray]

No that was Nitrites. I am going to test nitrates soon.

I can also test phosphate at some point. Tied up with work right now

 

[Baby Ray]

I just measured nitrates and they are pretty low. Only around 1 or 2

I do have some macro algae in the tank that could be using a lot of it ok.

I unfortunately don’t have a phosphate test.

 

[Baby Ray]

I have also been doing smaller water changes every couple of days to try to keep things stable during all of this

 

[Baby Ray]

One of my other rock anemone’s foots has fully detached from the rock it was attached to; which is what happened to the others right before they started to melt.

Please if anyone has any insight on what might be the issue let me know. I am at a complete loss. I’ve had rock anemones in other systems for years with no issues. I have no idea what could be causing this based on the water tests I ran.

 

[Baby Ray]

Can somebody please help me, I woke up this morning to another one of my anemones detached and flipped over.

Its mouth is gaping extremely wide and it is definitely going to die soon. I only have 2 left that don’t look like they are going to die but at this rate all of them will be gone within a couple of days

I’m at a loss as to what could be taking down my rock anemones so rapidly like this.

 

[Baby Ray]

I’m reading about bacterial infections in RFAs and I seems like it could be that. It’s been spreading anemone to anemone and the only one left that seems unaffected is away from the others.

They all have/had gaping mouths, and excessive mucus which seems like a strong sign of bacterial infection.

Is there any sort of medicine for treating this? Or is it too late

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm sorry you're still having issues, but I'm not sure what the problem may be.

Maybe @OrionN would be able to help if he has a chance?

Bump for the #reefsquad once more, maybe one of them can help?

 

[tbrown]

Unfortunately I have 0 experience with Rock Flower health.