Advice / Opinion on the weird look of my Bubble Tip Anemone for weeks now ?

[frenchy in ny]

Hello all,
Would you have an opinion, piece of advice for me linked to the weird look of my bubble tip anemone (photo enclosed) ?

It has been like that for 4-5 weeks now and this started after I had an issue with my automatic feeder which delivered in my tank (80 Gallons) in one day equivalent of 4 weeks of food: I siphoned most of it and changed 30% of the water and actually did not have any nitrate increase and did not loose anything except the BTA which started to be like that. I though it was going to die but actually it continue to be like that, regularly changing shape (volcano-like, mushroom-like or as on the photos below) but with never the tip getting any bubble shape anymore.
Also it does not seem to accept any food I’m giving it (small piece of shrimp) but actually it arrived in my tank just 2 weeks before the issue with my feeder and it never really did actually
All my water parameters are OK (can post them if anybody think could be the reason) and all the rest of the tank is fine.
Any opinion / advice what I should try to do to make it better. Right now I have tendency to not do anything (like moving it for more or less light -as now if it is ~ 12" below a MH 250W lamp, ~ 1/2 of the tank depth and seem to be strongly attached to a rock) being afraid it will get worse
Thanks in advance for any advice or past experience with similar aspect of a bubble tip anemone

 

[tangs rule]

My guess would be water parameters or flow or light. My BTA is in about the same position as yours under a 250w 20k bulb. He moved there the day I dropped him in and he's never moved. He's just above 1/2 way up the water column and ~ 10" below the surace. For the first 2-3 weeks I had him - he 1/2 inflated and stayed kinda under a rock ledge, then he really inflated and totally expanded to absorb the light and has been that way for 3 months. I just fed him - it's usually shrimp but today it was squid. He's in a kinda turbulant flow area - his tentacles are always swying alot.
What Kelvin output bulbs are u running & how old are they?
How much water flow is there in his area?
Try putting a powerhead blowing in his direction, about a foot away - see if more flow drives him somewhere else or if he likes it.
post water parameters too.

 

[tangs rule]

He was 3" dia when I got him (deflated) and inflated to 8" within days....He inflates to a foot across these days and is outgrowing the LTA (left)

 

[frenchy in ny]

Thanks for your answer / interest and please find below little bit more info on my set up:

My lighting are:
- one 250W MH being 15K, 5 months old & on during 6 hours per day
- + 2 T5 48’', 54W by Giesemann: one being PowerChrome, Pure Actinic and the second one being PowerChrome, Midday & being on during 8 hours per day

I measure water parameters this afternoon and are as follow:
- nitrite/ammonia/ phosphate at 0
- nitrate at ~5ppm (or perhaps slightly more but far less than 10 at least as I can tell from the color of the “red sea” test kit I’m using)
- KdH at 9 (but usually it is rather at 10-12)
- Ca at 350-400ppm
- pH at 8 – 8.2
- salinity at 1.0245

Difficult to answer how much water flow is in this area but the BTA is somehow hidden behind the edge of a rock compared to where are the powerheads in my tank so I’d think the flow is not particularly high. I just tried to orientate a powerhead to give it more flow and will post later if it seems to impact one way or another the anemone.

Also below a photo I just took of it and being now what I called above a “volcano-like” shape: first time it did it I thought it was in very bad shape but actually it has been doing it almost daily for the last 4-5 weeks and still alive so ???

Thanks and let me know if any further questions to try to understand / find a way to get my BTA better or if any comments linked to the light or water parameters I described above

 

[tangs rule]

My guess would be somthing in the water - if you have ro/di unit - do you have TDS tester? Is it reading 000? If using tap in any other form than ro/di that would explain it's behavior.
It looks like it's trying to expel somthing, but usually after they do - they re-inflate and go back to normal. I'd say somthing has it very ill though. It should go thru periods of full inflation & eating some (days) then a short (hour or 2) period of expulsion (poopin)

 

[tangs rule]

Edit function still broke
O - and the "red sea" test kits are generally inaccurate...their PH kits usually read .3-.5 high. Sadly they aren't much better than "dip strip" type kits. Salifert kits alot better quality, some of the API aren't too bad.

 

[frenchy in ny]

"It looks like it's trying to expel somthing": but could that last during 4-5 weeks ? could it be that once I gave it a too big piece of shrimp ? but again would not really imagine it get stuck in the BTA during couple of weeks ...
I'm actually using "tropic marin" for pH testing as I found to be quite easy to read in term of color differentiation: any experience with it in term of accuracy ?
- I'm using "Red Sea" test kit for the nitrate and I indeed read about the saliferts kits and I'm going to try it for nitrate in my next order which should be this week
also sorry to ask but what is TDS tester ?

 

[shrimpy brains]

Reaaly bizarre! I have no clue what to tell you, but tagging along in the hopes that someone has a good answer.

 

[tangs rule]

When poopin - anemones kinda ball up and expel their waste through the only opening they got - the mouth...this usually happens a couple days after feeding, lasts for a couple hours, then the anemone re-inflates. This would not last weeks - so there is likely somthing wrong. I still imagine there may be a water issue keeping the anemone from being happy. They usually find their happy spot with the ideal light & flow on their own - but if there's somthing in the water he doesn't like - they'll shrivel up like that. Chlorine in tiny ammounts will cause them to ballup like that. Anemones don't like tap water.
I'd watch the anemone close - when they die they can go fast, release all their insides & toxins and can wipe out your tank.
A TDS meter checks total dissolved solids in the water PRIOR to mixing salt. They make meters that mount into the rodi units and they make little pocket/hand held units. If you have a rodi watermaker you really should have a TDS meter - this way you know the unit is making good water. Good water reads 000. My tap (before any filtering) reads 150 - 190 ppm (which is not uncommon for tap). If my rodi water reads higher than 003 - it's filter/membrane change time...The little handheld units are like 15-20 bucks and worth every penny - Lowes/home depot sell them.
Have no exp with tropic marin kits - but the salifert ones are descent. Their calcium and ph are pretty accurate. I imagine their NO3 is good too.