Why does my nem look like this?

[PDR]

How is the nem doing today?

So I've been thinking more about this and depending on how much GHA you have, adding nitrates or feeding more may be counterproductive. From what I have read about btas, I wouldn't feed more than once a week. I don't know much about fluconazole but I think adding any kind of treatment to the tank could potentially stress out the anemone enough to finish it off.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

How is the nem doing today?

So I've been thinking more about this and depending on how much GHA you have, adding nitrates or feeding more may be counterproductive. From what I have read about btas, I wouldn't feed more than once a week. I don't know much about fluconazole but I think adding any kind of treatment to the tank could potentially stress out the anemone enough to finish it off.

It covered the back wall and is on about half the rocks. So a good amount. I declared war today and took the affected rocks (not near the nem) out, scrubbed, and placed in sump so there’s no light for the algae (it was impossible to remove all the GHA). Corals are sitting on a frag rack. Turned pumps off scraped the entire back wall and netted out the algae. Skimmer is on full blast and swapping floss daily. I want this crap out of my tank and I want it out now! This is the only idea I have as to why the nem is showing these starving symptoms. It happily ate a small piece of shrimp today. Will hold off on future feedings but it seems to lose more and more tentacles each day. Going to try this method of controlling the GHA before fluconazole (last resort).

I think I’m doing pretty much all I can at the moment. I’ll get a chance to do the ICP test at the beginning of next week.

If the ICP test is clean and bringing the nitrates to detectable levels doesn’t solve it then I’m stumped!

 

[Leadfooted]

I think the fact that it's eating it's own tentacles or sucking on them is a symptom someone else must have had. And when you give up on the condition on the water, maybe fall back on Flow or Lighting. I've got a BTA that's been acting weird which is why I'm following but I didn't want to hijack the thread.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I think the fact that it's eating it's own tentacles or sucking on them is a symptom someone else must have had. And when you give up on the condition on the water, maybe fall back on Flow or Lighting. I've got a BTA that's been acting weird which is why I'm following but I didn't want to hijack the thread.

From my research it just seems that people report that issue and the nem either dies or can be weaned back with regular feedings. Most attribute it to starving (but how can a nem starve if I'm feeding it even if my nitrates are getting potentially eaten up by GHA)?

 

[PDR]

From my research it just seems that people report that issue and the nem either dies or can be weaned back with regular feedings. Most attribute it to starving (but how can a nem starve if I'm feeding it even if my nitrates are getting potentially eaten up by GHA)?

I have been researching this as well, and I haven't been able to find much information on it. I can find multiple threads where others have the same issue, but no one really seems to know why it's happening. It does seem that some of the others have had issues with low nutrients as well, so maybe there is a link.

What are you feeding it again?

 

[shred5]

Hmm my first though is it was starving but tentacles are still there they are shriveled up..
Could be to much light, I honestly find BTA to not like to much light but then they usually hide. They have always done better in my medium lit than my high light tanks.
Corals and anemones also expand to gather more light and shrink to decrease the amount of light absorbed.
Again though usually btas will head for the hills.
Maybe a bacteria infection and maybe treat with cipro.

 

[Leadfooted]

Could be to much light, I honestly find BTA to not like to much light but then they usually hide. They have always done better in my medium lit than my high light tanks.
Corals and anemones also expand to gather more light and shrink to decrease the amount of light absorbed.
.

It’s possible but I don’t think it’s too much, here’s mine under 4 T5’s and SB reeflight and it’s still stretching. I do agree they tend to like low light but some apparently want more.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I have been researching this as well, and I haven't been able to find much information on it. I can find multiple threads where others have the same issue, but no one really seems to know why it's happening. It does seem that some of the others have had issues with low nutrients as well, so maybe there is a link.

What are you feeding it again?

Hmm my first though is it was starving but tentacles are still there they are shriveled up..
Could be to much light, I honestly find BTA to not like to much light but then they usually hide. They have always done better in my medium lit than my high light tanks.
Corals and anemones also expand to gather more light and shrink to decrease the amount of light absorbed.
Again though usually btas will head for the hills.
Maybe a bacteria infection and maybe treat with cipro.

You guys may be on to something with food / bacteria. I feed it shrimp that is from my LFS's homemade food. And occasionally krill. Both frozen, and both manageable sizes for the nem. The gBTA that didn't make it was a split from a different LFS; so I don't think it arrived with an infection. Could there be something in the food or my water column that is causing the issue? I will discontinue feeding the LFS food and grab some other frozen food tomorrow to eliminate that variable. If it's in the water column -- well, not sure what to try there haha.

 

[PDR]

I have been doing some research, and I gave you some bad advice at first. It seems that GHA will take up no3 and p04 at a much faster rate than coral and anemones, making additional feedings (to the tank, not the nem) and dosing n03 and p04 counterproductive. It is most likely just fueling the GHA. I would stick with your plan and try to remove as much manually as possible. If you don't have some already, some emerald crabs and turbos may be helpful keeping it under control once you get a handle on it.

I would get a high quality frozen food like PE mysis if you can. I would also recommend soaking it in selcon for added nutrition.

 

[shred5]

You guys may be on to something with food / bacteria. I feed it shrimp that is from my LFS's homemade food. And occasionally krill. Both frozen, and both manageable sizes for the nem. The gBTA that didn't make it was a split from a different LFS; so I don't think it arrived with an infection. Could there be something in the food or my water column that is causing the issue? I will discontinue feeding the LFS food and grab some other frozen food tomorrow to eliminate that variable. If it's in the water column -- well, not sure what to try there haha.

What I am talking about is usually from stress in new anemones from shipping or what ever, it could be from adjusting to new water conditions, new lighting or whatever and they develop a bacterial infection..

They need to be put in quarantine and most people use cipro treatments. Only thing is this is common in Giganteas and magnificas but I have never heard of it happening to a bta but I guess it is possible..
With those other anemones one of the symptoms is a gaping mouth but yours does not look like that.

 

[Leadfooted]

Let me chime in on the GHA removal and get your LFS to order a sea hare for the removal process and ask them if you can bring it back after the GHA’s gone (the sea hare will starve). Emralds are good to include for a permanent cleaner.

 

[reef lover]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-i-cipro.211822/
I suggest this and work on tank stability in the process. Stop dosing things and let it balance out naturally.

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-i-cipro.211822/
I suggest this and work on tank stability in the process. Stop dosing things and let it balance out naturally.

My nem doesn't fit in his scoring system. It's always inflated, responds to touch, eating, mouth is nearly always tightly shut (except when excreting waste). It's only the tentacles that are slowly going away.

I'm willing to do the cipro treatment though; but would removing him from the tank (his foot is very deep in the porous rock) and adding to a new tank be too much of a shock at this point? Should I wait and try other food source / nitrates first (I don't know how long these will take to get a feeling of whether or not they're working)?

I don't really see how the tank is supposed to balance out as I've never had nitrates even from the start when there was no GHA. Some people have to dose nitrates but my thinking around me needing to dose nitrates was flawed.

The tank is stable in terms of parameters, there are never swings, not since day one. Definitely not stable in terms of algae? But with or without algae phosphate has always been 0.01-0.02 and nitrate 0-1. I don't have a lot of corals so I don't know why those parameters were so low / have been so low. I'm just not sure what else I need to be doing for stability? I will do anything! lol.

The paranoid side of me is now getting this feeling that it's somehow the food :0

EDIT: maybe the food is less likely. For the few days+ when I got him I didn't feed (as recommended), and he still showed these symptoms. I guess it's largely possibly my clowns fed him or he still got that food from the water column. But does make that idea seem less likely. I'm absolutely itching to get that ICP test out but it will have to wait until monday :(

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

Let me chime in on the GHA removal and get your LFS to order a sea hare for the removal process and ask them if you can bring it back after the GHA’s gone (the sea hare will starve). Emralds are good to include for a permanent cleaner.

Do you know if a Marine Betta (Comet) would attack/eat it?

 

[ncaldwell]

I know my comet ate a lettuce nudibranch within 5 minutes of adding one. A larger sea hare I would say should be fine but mines a jerk to random things so no way to tell

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

I know my comet ate a lettuce nudibranch within 5 minutes of adding one. A larger sea hare I would say should be fine but mines a jerk to random things so no way to tell

Lol fair enough, thanks for your input :)


I've been googling GHA + anemone and hair algae + anemone to see if there's a correlation there. Found a few posts that showed the same symptoms as mine which was interesting but that's a pretty small correlation haha.

 

[reef lover]

When i say stability i mean in the rocks and the system itself not so much the "parameters" it takes months if not sometimes a year to get a good collection of different bacterias and life into a new tank. And this i find critical for the health of nems.

Edit..i would move him with his rock if possible. Less stress .

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

BTW, If anyone knows of someone in Denver that wants a rainbow BTA... he's free...

 

[i_declare_bankruptcy]

When i say stability i mean in the rocks and the system itself not so much the "parameters" it takes months if not sometimes a year to get a good collection of different bacterias and life into a new tank. And this i find critical for the health of nems.

Edit..i would move him with his rock if possible. Less stress .

My mind struggles so hard to cope with this. I agree with your statement. But it's like how do you know? When? Why? What bacteria and why do they take that long to colonize? I hate all the unknowns haha I like to have a plan and to understand everything lol! My tank is at the 6 month mark (tried first nem at 5 month mark IIRC) so I thought I was set given everyone says wait 6 mos.

Reefing has been a hobby that I thought I would excel at because I love to research and deep dive into things for answers.... but it turns out the deeper you dive the more unknowns there are; thus my strategies have failed in the face of patience!

 

[PDR]

My mind struggles so hard to cope with this. I agree with your statement. But it's like how do you know? When? Why? What bacteria and why do they take that long to colonize? I hate all the unknowns haha I like to have a plan and to understand everything lol! My tank is at the 6 month mark (tried first nem at 5 month mark IIRC) so I thought I was set given everyone says wait 6 mos.

Reefing has been a hobby that I thought I would excel at because I love to research and deep dive into things for answers.... but it turns out the deeper you dive the more unknowns there are; thus my strategies have failed in the face of patience!

I understand your frustration. Sometimes there are issues that seem to defy logic and research. For example, my DT has never had any major issues and besides not being able to keep sps, things have gone smoothly. Compare that to my frag tank that was started with some very mature LR from my DT and has identical parameters, but even at 8 months old now, is still going through multiple issues and I can't grow coral in it no matter what I try.