anemone dying?

[corally]

How can I tell if my anemone is dying? I was told I don't have adequate lighting to keep it alive but I don't know if the store will take it back. I don't want it releasing toxins and crashing my tank. Does it release toxins before or after it dies?

 

[farslayer]

The anemone will look as if it is melting. Be very, very careful in removing it as it will be releasing toxins if it ruptures. The gastric juices are released into the water and will very quickly cause death. A LFS had a smaller one die in a 29G and every fish in there was dead inside of a few minutes. What happened was they scooped it up in a net and it fell apart, releasing its juices. If you have any concerns about the health of the anemone, take it out and at least bag it.
BTW, what is your lighting and what size is your tank?

 

[corally]

It's a 55 gallon with only two 18 watt bulbs. The woman at the pet store told me that was "fine" but of course after reading messages here I quickly learned how untrue that is. It's been in there two days now so I'm planning on getting it out first thing in the morning. Thanks for you help.

 

[farslayer]

Yep, definately not nearly enough light. Also, did you know you need to hand feed them meaty foods? I would either take him back or get some PC lighting if you want to keep him. He's not going to die overnight but rather will starve to death.

 

[thomas712]

Yeah they do tend to look like they are melting. As to toxins being released, well I'm not so sure. Many anemones do have toxins, that can be released into a water column. But darned if it really doesn't happen that often. You just don't see many posts about how the anemone died....and took the rest of the tank with it. There is often an ammonia spike yes, and I know many folks here have had one if not more anemones die in their tanks.
I would like to see a spiecies to spiecies rundown on how toxic each hosting anemone is and how much it would take to combat these toxins.

 

[farslayer]

It is not a toxin but rather their gastric juices which are released. Since these are acids, what happens is in an enclosed environment your livestock breathe in acid and it kills them. At the LFS, when they had their problem, some of the fish laid down and breathed really hard for about 20 minutes before dying, they chucked out all of the water and started over with the tank.

 

[sundance1]

I had a LT anemone die in my 65 reef one time and it was too far back in the rock work when I noticed it and I didn't lose any fish or corals.

 

[farslayer]

One dead anemone in a 65G may have simply had the juices diffused before they caused problems. But I would not risk it, I have seen what happens in small environments. When in doubt, take it out. I'd rather lose a $10 anemone than a $100 fish or coral.