Anemone question

[yossaria]

I have a 38 gallon aquarium that has been up and running for 11 months. I purchased a bubble tip anemone (from this site) several months ago to increase my tank diversity and provide a home for my two true percula clownfish. They absolutely love the anemone, btw. The anemone appears to be thriving in the tank and enjoys eat shrimp bits that I feed it every couple of days.
Now for the question. During the time when the lights are on in the aquarium, the anemone spreads out and extends its tentacles such that they look like long tubes (no bubble tips). During this time period the animal is about 12 inches wide and 10 inches tall. When the lights go out the anemone retracts but still keeps its tentacles in a tubular form. I was wondering if this was simply normal behavior or is this indicative of problem. The only time I observed swelling in the tentacles was when I first put it in the tank. Might this be a sign of too little lighting on the tank?
I currently have 200 watts of light on the tank from compact fluorescent bulbs. I don't think that the anemone is bleached. The anemone tentacles are sort of tan to brown in color with a hint of pink on the tips. The area around the mouth is also pinkish.
Thanks in advance for any comments.
Yoss

 

[perfectdark]

Your anems behavior is completly normal and IMO you have sufficient lighting to sustain it. As for the bubbling effect of the tenticles it is in no way an indication of a healthy or unhealthy anem. Some people myself included believe that a BTA will bubble when it is more of a defensive mood. Alot of pictures show a hosting clown in a bta and the bta is all bubbled and looks really good. As an example IMO that to me is a BTA that is protecting itself, still normal however. Another example is when they eat, alot of specimines will bubble when fed, again IMO another defense mechanism. If your hosting clowns dont make your bta bubble then IMO it is completly relaxed with what is happening and as long as the tenticles are sticky, its eating and has good color, then I wouldnt worry too much about it.

 

[yossaria]

Thanks for the reply PerfectDark!