Question for Thomas, Bang or other anemone experts

thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Hey, got a problem and want some input.
I moved a RBTA from my main tank (mine split twice lately) to my 30 gal tank that only houses a pair of onyx clowns last night. Did a 1 hour acclimation and put it in place. It immediately latched onto a rock. Looked a little stressed, but otherwise alright.
This morning I awoke to find smoke filling the room containing the tank!!!

Turns out that my glass heater had broken at the top where the glass connects with the plastic housing and was shorting out and burning the plastic!!! The breaker had blown, but the damage had been done. Tank was without a grounding probe.
I immediatley removed it and replaced with an emergency heater that I had laying around. It's now replaced with a plastic-encased heater.
Anyway, the anemone, which was the size of a baseball, is now the size of a poker chip and attached tot he underside of a rock in the middle of a rock pile. Does not look good at all. All water parameters still pristine (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate zero, 8.21, 1.024, DKH 9, 400 Ca)
Got 175W of MH lighting with 65W actinic so lighting is no issue. About the same amount as the main display tank.
The fish are fine, no stress noted on them. Only other inverts in the tank are snails and they seem fine.
Do you think the electric current could have hurt the anemone or is it just stressed from the move? :notsure:
Perhaps I am being a little paranoid, but I am concerned and second guessing myself.

Thanks
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Originally Posted by TheGrog
Do you think the electric current could have hurt the anemone or is it just stressed from the move? :notsure:
Perhaps I am being a little paranoid, but I am concerned and second guessing myself.

Thanks
The way I see it: worst case scenario
It depends on how much electric current went through the tank, but just about any more than normal would have made him react. He might have had short bunched tentacles, become pale, and hardly look like he has a column at all, just a foot with a bunch of tight arms sticking out of it.
Another problem would have been temp. If the temp went way up and or then way down it could have given him some temp shock/trauma to which it could then react with a bleaching event....loosing its zooxanthellae.
Then there is what the heating element was made of and....and if there was any saltwater that reached the copper wires inside the seal at the top of the heater.
I'm sure there is some shock to being moved right away, but there was nothing else that could have been done.
About all you can do now is wait it out.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
He looks like a short foot with a bunch of short (still great color though) arms sticking out with a open, gaping mouth.
The heater was filled with water when I pulled it out so whatever was inside made contact with the water. Didn't empty the water into the tank though.
The heater had shourted out less than an hour before I found it as the timers were all stopped about 45 min before I discovered it.
Dont think temp did much as it was about 77 when I found the tank. I had it set at 78-79.
I just changed out the charcoal in the filter. Unfortunately I don't have any good cuprisorb or poly filters laying around handy (a rare event for me).
Going to dig out my copper test kit and see if any there.
Thanks for the quick response!!
 
T

thomas712

Guest
I don't think you will find any copper, but doens't hurt to check. And oh yeah I keep polyfilters by my tank at all times.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
I don't think you will find any copper, but doens't hurt to check. And oh yeah I keep polyfilters by my tank at all times.
Copper level.....0.25.
MAde a quick run to the LFS and cuprisorb is in the tank now and cutting a poly filter as well. I normally keep one on hand at all times too. A freak event that I dont' have one handy (lent one to a friend a few weekends ago and have not replaced).
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Ah ha! good catch! Just a few days ago I warned someone else about a heater possibly doing that. The seal must have been broken and wires exposed.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by Thomas712
Ah ha! good catch! Just a few days ago I warned someone else about a heater possibly doing that. The seal must have been broken and wires exposed.
Think there is any hope for my poor little anemone?

I'm also mixing water now. Can do a 5 gal (20%) change by tomorrow night. Not my preferred 72 hours of aging, but should do.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Tell you what Grog, the same thing happend to me. I was using a glass heater for water changes and found my water change water was cold once. Found that the electric cord blew right out of the heater. Same thing copper in the system. I still did the water change because I didn't have anymore water or salt. I ran my canister filter for 48 hours loaded with carbon and a polyfilter. Just a trace of copper mind you. The poly didn't really turn blue but did get dark as heck during those 48 hours. Within 4 days the anemones were back to normal.
I didn't loose any snails or hermits or anything. So I'm hoping you will be fine. I'd run some fresh carbon just for the heck of it as well.
Thomas
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
WEll, been almost 12 hours since polyfilter and cuprisorb.
Copper level is just above 0.1
Water looks a little cloudy. Will be doing a chage tonight. I did put fresh carbon in there as well.
here is a pic of the polyfilter that I changed out this morning. You can tell the small part that was out of the water!! Proof that this stuff really works!!!
The anemone still looks poor, but it looks like it's foot is attached to a rock still. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the help and words of encouragement!!
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Got back from work this afternoon.....
The green chromis is dead.....
The anemone is dead (dissolving into peices)....
And my male Onyx clown is dead.

The water in the tank is very cloudy. Smells rotton too.
The female was breathing really hard, not swimming much. I did an emergency transfer to the sump/Fuge of my display tank (have perculas in the tank so this is the only safe place I have available). She's not looking too hot right now. Swimming at the surface and breathing really fast. Not moving much either. She is immediately downstream of my skimmer outflow so perhaps that highly oxygenated water will help.
Tested the water AFTER a quick 5 gallon (20%) change and found the ammonia to be 2.0!!!!!
So, I deem the tank completely crashed.

I still see some living snails so there still is hope. I changed the poly filter again as it was nice and blue like before.
Just going to have to recycle the tank again.
Well, this is the FIRST time I have had a tank crash and the FIRST time I have lost a fish to something other than jumping out or being killed by another tankmate. Really friggin sucks too!!! I'm just really upset at myself for using that older, glass heater instead of taking a small hit in my budget and buying a new, quality one. Being a poor med student sucks!!! Lost the most expensive fish I own as well!!!

Here is my poor fishy Marble, now swimming in that great ocean in the sky!!!
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by clown123
OMG! im so sorry she looks or is the nicest clown ive ever seen!

Thanks. That was Marble, my male of the mated pair.
 
speg

speg

Active Member
Man, I am sorry that crap happend to you.
If that happend to me... i'd totally get out of the hobby and just be so fed up with fish tanks.... so I am glad it didnt happen to me.
I am sure you can rebuild though.. I know it just sucks to have to do it :(
 
sac10918

sac10918

Member
I am so sorry about your tank. I am new to this hobby and just lost my first creature tonight (my sebae anemone). Your story brought tears to my eyes. It sounds like you really loved your tank and your clowns were beautiful. I hope that you don't give up!
Good luck on your future tanks.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
I bet that the big difference between your event and mine was that fact that mine was in the water change water which killed nothing and sparked no ammonia spike. Yours was in the main which did something bad. Trust me, I feel very bad for you and your livestock as thought it had happend to me.
Thomas
 
zap800

zap800

Member
i feel your pain! about 1.5 years ago i had a major tank crash and everything went bye bye. that is so frustrating to see all that life die.
 
clown123

clown123

Active Member
i lost my perc pair they were also true percs of course i was dumb and lost the male from ick and female got ate by my eel over night they were so cool thlough u should just go and fine her another 1
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
Thanks for all the support and kind words. I appreciate it.
My tank will rise again. Going to be a while though. Won't be for another few months that I will have the money for another pair of onyx clowns. $140 for a pair is not cheap!
I still have my main reef tank though!! Got a pair of perculas who ignore anemones and host in my open brain coral.
 
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