Why is my anemone closed up tight

[Jayp5117]

He has been doing really good and in the tank for about 3 to 4 weeks. Then all of a sudden he balled up and hasn't come back out since. Checked parameters and everything was perfect. I did start vinegar dosing 2 days only 2.5 ml with a total water volume of 85 gallons. Thanks for the help.

 

[savetheocean]

what kind of anemone?

 

[Jayp5117]

LTA

 

[LatinKing]

How long has your tank been running and how long has the anemone been introduce in the tank?

 

[Jayp5117]

Tank has been up and running for around 2 to 3 months or so, and anenome has been in the tank in the same spot for 3 to 4 weeks now. And it was open and real nice for the whole time until just a couple days ago then it balled up

 

[LatinKing]

In my opinion and hopefully there will other members knowledable in this topic. I strongly feel your tank isn't mature and it was too early to put anemone in your tank. Even dosing vinegar. In this hobby to have a successful reef tank is all about patient. I would have waited a year before introducing anemone to your tank.

 

[DSC reef]

I agree, tank isn't mature enough. Adding an anemone in 1-2 months is way to soon. I'm sure it has been done but in this case I believe your tank is to young and not stable enough.

 

[Jayp5117]

Yea it was a little early but I got a heck of a deal I couldn't pass up, and I monitor my parameters and they are pretty stable. Only thing that has fluctuated is my nitrates and it's between 5 to 20 ppm which shouldn't bother the nem

 

[DSC reef]

Hopefully it pulls through. Until then just let that ecosystem mature and watch out for those good deal impulse buys, lol.

 

[Jayp5117]

It came out yesterday for a little bit then balled back up. And this is it a few minutes ago, I did feed it probably 50 mins ago

 

[DSC reef]

I'd hold off on feeding for a bit. Could stress it out at this time. It's a nice looking nem.

 

[LatinKing]

Yea it was a little early but I got a heck of a deal I couldn't pass up, and I monitor my parameters and they are pretty stable. Only thing that has fluctuated is my nitrates and it's between 5 to 20 ppm which shouldn't bother the nem

Just an advice, because I've been in your shoes when first started in this hobby 10 years ago. Great deals will always be around! A good deal or an incredible price, can cost your entire tank, and it's not worth it. We want you to enjoy this hobby, we want you to be successful and watch your tank flourish to a healthy reef. Good luck

 

[tankstudy]

Did the anemone ball up before vinegar dosing?

I keep a lot of anemones and once they get sick or unhappy it can take a very long time for them to return to normal, talking like 2-6 months. It's best to just keep your water parameters stable and let it recover. I wouldn't recommend trying any drastic changes as this is just going to further prolong the recovery process or even harm the anemone.

If your able to keep your water parameters stable, you can get some of the hardier anemones earlier than recommended. It's generally recommended that people wait for the tank to stabilize itself out but if you've got a pretty good solid grip/understanding on the science aspect of the hobby, people tend to and can put in anemones quite early.

As for good deals, its always hard to pass on but that's why you make friends in the hobby. Have someone with a stable tank hold it for you. If you ever plan to get another anemone, get it situated in a pvc pipe and so when its time to pick it up its easy. A lot of times, I just build rock work to hide the PVC so that when I move, which I tend to do often, I just take the pvc pipe with the anemone in it. I don't have to try to ice, peel or blow it off the rock work its hiding in.

For now, keep your water parameters stable and don't try anything new. If the condition of your anemone worsens, for example, color loss and starts to move around the tank, pull it out and read some of the guides on anemone treatments. Your anemone may already have been sick to begin with or may have gotten sick.

 

[Jayp5117]

I was out at a reef creation in buffalo NY and bundled a bunch of stuff together and that happened to be one of them. I have a 7 year old tank but didn't like the idea of putting the nem in there since I have a bunch of coral in there I didn't want to get stung. It didn't ball up before the vinegar dosing which I have since stopped and he seems a little happier so for now I'll just keep an eye on him. Today is water change day so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

 

[tankstudy]

I was out at a reef creation in buffalo NY and bundled a bunch of stuff together and that happened to be one of them. I have a 7 year old tank but didn't like the idea of putting the nem in there since I have a bunch of coral in there I didn't want to get stung. It didn't ball up before the vinegar dosing which I have since stopped and he seems a little happier so for now I'll just keep an eye on him. Today is water change day so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Yep, just keep the water stable for now and observe. Remember, it can take awhile before you see any improvements.

 

[mrgster5]

Another thing you can check is lighting. My two bta's were huge and reaching for the lights, so I amped up the lighting and now they are small, then one moved and the other one is balled up and hiding. I think I amped up too much. I'm still learning and not sure with these lights what is the best setting. I have 2 current usa led strips on with the loop controller, 12 g cube right now. If anyone has suggestions on light setting for my bta's I would gladly accept some good advice. I don't have any other corals in the tank, just a clown pair, cleaner shrimp, and 3 small lemon damsels. God luck with your anemone.

 

[mike550]

Mine will ball up tightly for a day or two then expand again. It also goes on a walkabout every now and then. I just chalk it up to something an anemone does.

Flow and lighting are important but it will move to where it wants. For now Id just let it be. It seems the one tries to help an anemone the less it helps.

 

[saulgoodmannnn]

I was out at a reef creation in buffalo NY and bundled a bunch of stuff together and that happened to be one of them. I have a 7 year old tank but didn't like the idea of putting the nem in there since I have a bunch of coral in there I didn't want to get stung. It didn't ball up before the vinegar dosing which I have since stopped and he seems a little happier so for now I'll just keep an eye on him. Today is water change day so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I know I’m about 5 years late on this but this is strange…I’m reading through posts because my RBTA was doing fantastic for a few weeks, just recently it got about twice the size it normally does then boom shrunk up and now has closed. I got him from ARC in Buff as well lol