Rock Flower Anemone Sick?

[FishyKrissy]

I have a rock flower anemone in my tank for about a week. He move himself to where he wanted and he seemed fine. He buried his foot, was opening up. He seemed perfect. Today not so much. Hes closed in on himself. His foot has seemed to turn into a disk and it looks like when you blow bubbles in a drink. I can’t find anything online about it. I’m not sure what to do. Any help is appreciated!

Parameters:
60gal tank
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0ppm
No3 0ppm
No2 0ppm
Ph 8.0 - could this be the issue? I read PH should be 8.1-8.4.

This tank has been running for a year with no livestock. Only a month with livestock in it.

Tank mates
Very small frags: 3 zoas 2 Duncan’s, 1 hammer. None in proximity to the Rock Flower.

10 blue legged hermits
8 Nassarius snails
1 fighting conch

 

[FishyKrissy]

I have a rock flower anemone in my tank for about a week. He move himself to where he wanted and he seemed fine. He buried his foot, was opening up. He seemed perfect. Today not so much. Hes closed in on himself. His foot has seemed to turn into a disk and it looks like when you blow bubbles in a drink. I can’t find anything online about it. I’m not sure what to do. Any help is appreciated!

Parameters:
60gal tank
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0ppm
No3 0ppm
No2 0ppm
Ph 8.0 - could this be the issue? I read PH should be 8.1-8.4.

This tank has been running for a year with no livestock. Only a month with livestock in it.

Tank mates
Very small frags: 3 zoas 2 Duncan’s, 1 hammer. None in proximity to the Rock Flower.

10 blue legged hermits
8 Nassarius snails
1 fighting conch

Update: it looks like he is disintegrating. I kept jellyfish and when they died, this is what they did.

 

[AlyciaMarie]

Oh no... Can you post an updated picture?

 

[FishyKrissy]

Oh no... Can you post an updated picture?

it’s so sad! His flower part is moving still

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

@Ron Reefman always has helpful comments for rfa's

 

[jkcoral]

I’m sorry about your nem, it isn’t looking too good :/

Your only chance might be to get a PVC end cap and put the flower in it and place the cap in a low flow area of the tank and hope it’ll attach its foot.

After the temperature spike in the FL Keys, the RFAs were struggling down there and so in recent months most RFAs that come in have been Carribean RFAs from Haiti, Belize, and DR.

The RFAs from these other places (e.g. not from the keys) are notorious for infections and dying in short time. I’ve collected RFAs since the 90’s and have never had any consistent success with these other Caribbean nems long term.

 

[Cell]

Skin sloughing off is normal but concerning is what looks like a hole or tear on the left side.

 

[FishyKrissy]

I’m sorry about your nem, it isn’t looking too good :/

Your only chance might be to get a PVC end cap and put the flower in it and place the cap in a low flow area of the tank and hope it’ll attach its foot.

After the temperature spike in the FL Keys, the RFAs were struggling down there and so in recent months most RFAs that come in have been Carribean RFAs from Haiti, Belize, and DR.

The RFAs from these other places (e.g. not from the keys) are notorious for infections and dying in short time. I’ve collected RFAs since the 90’s and have never had any consistent success with these other Caribbean nems long term.

Wow I had no idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[FishyKrissy]

Skin sloughing off is normal but concerning is what looks like a hole or tear on the left side.

Great to know about the sloughing! He’s still moving around a little & gave a better view. It does look like a tear. Do you think a blue hermit would do that? The RFA hasn’t left that spot since the morning after I put him in. So I don’t know how he could have done that. I wonder if it’s the rock.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Just be careful. You probably already know this, but an anenome can be a tank killer when it dies. Do you have a QT set up?

 

[Cell]

Anemone's dying and nuking tanks is completely overstated. Oftentimes they just shrink into oblivion. When they degrade, they show clear signs of decline before turning to mush.

 

[Mmbra]

I've had a couple Flower Anemones melt away in my small 15g nano with no ill effects to the other inhabitants.

 

[Ron Reefman]

@Ron Reefman always has helpful comments for rfa's

Ron Reefman is almost out of the hobby (one 40g aio tank with no fish). And down to a minimal exposure on R2R anymore.

 

[Trueruby]

I’m sorry about your nem, it isn’t looking too good :/

Your only chance might be to get a PVC end cap and put the flower in it and place the cap in a low flow area of the tank and hope it’ll attach its foot.

After the temperature spike in the FL Keys, the RFAs were struggling down there and so in recent months most RFAs that come in have been Carribean RFAs from Haiti, Belize, and DR.

The RFAs from these other places (e.g. not from the keys) are notorious for infections and dying in short time. I’ve collected RFAs since the 90’s and have never had any consistent success with these other Caribbean nems long term.

Have you seen those from Haiti, Belize and DR breed as well like FL Keys? or can they breed together with FL KEYs nems? I have 15 from Belize atm and 20 from FL KEYs, and recently I had a sperm relise from FL KEYs nems. So hope, different types can breed each other. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[jkcoral]

Have you seen those from Haiti, Belize and DR breed as well like FL Keys? or can they breed together with FL KEYs nems? I have 15 from Belize atm and 20 from FL KEYs, and recently I had a sperm relise from FL KEYs nems. So hope, different types can breed each other. What are your thoughts on that?

Interesting question, and I’d be curious to know about breeding between the two. In my experience, I never had a population size of the other Caribbean nems that was large enough, and alive long enough, to observe any spawning patterns. Although I have witnessed in the past FL RFAs spawning and Caribbean nems not joining in, which does make me wonder about it all.

I hope you’ll give some updates over time. If you have that many Caribbean nems , there’s a good chance at least one was male, so it is interesting that you didn’t see at least a few join in on the spawning (assuming they spawn similarly to the Keys RFAs). If you see some baby RFAs under the skirts of your other nems, that would be awesome!

 

[Trueruby]

Interesting question, and I’d be curious to know about breeding between the two. In my experience, I never had a population size of the other Caribbean nems that was large enough, and alive long enough, to observe any spawning patterns. Although I have witnessed in the past FL RFAs spawning and Caribbean nems not joining in, which does make me wonder about it all.

I hope you’ll give some updates over time. If you have that many Caribbean nems , there’s a good chance at least one was male, so it is interesting that you didn’t see at least a few join in on the spawning (assuming they spawn similarly to the Keys RFAs). If you see some baby RFAs under the skirts of your other nems, that would be awesome!

Actually those caribbean’s sizes are bigger than my spawning FL nems. Its been 2 months since I have them after loosing 12 of them only around 15 left. My toughts are that caribbeans wont live long. So perhaps, mixing two types until they die would be great chance for babies to adapt to tanks. As you are saying during this spawn I waited around 2 hours to see if carribeans gonna join but they did not whereas 4 other FL nems joined the event! But my other FL nems didn’t join as well. So can’t say for sure. I look forward to see some babies of mixture! That would be a great milestones for this nems IMO

 

[mhaley98]

I have a rock flower anemone in my tank for about a week. He move himself to where he wanted and he seemed fine. He buried his foot, was opening up. He seemed perfect. Today not so much. Hes closed in on himself. His foot has seemed to turn into a disk and it looks like when you blow bubbles in a drink. I can’t find anything online about it. I’m not sure what to do. Any help is appreciated!

Parameters:
60gal tank
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0ppm
No3 0ppm
No2 0ppm
Ph 8.0 - could this be the issue? I read PH should be 8.1-8.4.

This tank has been running for a year with no livestock. Only a month with livestock in it.

Tank mates
Very small frags: 3 zoas 2 Duncan’s, 1 hammer. None in proximity to the Rock Flower.

10 blue legged hermits
8 Nassarius snails
1 fighting conch

Any updates on the Nem @FishyKrissy ? I just lost one of my nems who was expelling clearish mush, I tried moving it but it didn't help. Another one of my nems just moved last night, I can't tell if he is getting too much light or too little...