anemone troubles again

[corally]

I posted a few weeks ago about my florida condi anemone. It dosen't seem like healthy lately. I haven't been able too get it to eat for about two weeks now. It looks "flat" and it's body part is getting darker and darker. Until this morning it had its foot attached to the glass but now it's let go and their are also several half inch pieces of its tentacle ends that have come off. My parameters are ammonia 0, trites 0, trates 10, and ph 8.2. Also calcium is 520. THOMAS!! ARe you out there? Anybody?

 

[wax32]

Get it out before you crash your tank. The anemone is done.

 

[corally]

I was afraid of that. How do I get it out? Is it true that if they "burst" when you are trying to get them out they will release toxins that will kill everything? What should I do if he's not quite dead? I don't want him to suffer when I take him out.

 

[corally]

should I just scoop him out with the net?

 

[wax32]

Yeah scoop him out.

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by wax32
Yeah scoop him out.
waiiiiiiiiiiit ........... , it is VERY likely that there is nothing wrong with him , corally , can you post a pic ............. if indeed he is dying , may i suggest getting a bubble tip they are very good for beginners , they are generally hardy and your 260 watts will be fine , not to mention that your clown will host it in a matter of seconds , tomorrow i will show you some pics mine , also try to get one that is aqua cultured if you can.
Well , i gotta go play a family game of cranium , talk to you friends later .

 

[corally]

sorry I can't post a pic...well. he has reattached his foot so I'm going to leave him for now. I just don't understand why the tips of his tentacles are coming off. Too me that's not a good sign, buy hey what do I k

now? That's why I'm here...

 

[unleashed]

#1 your cal levels are way to high they should be in the ranges of 350 and 450 no higher.#2 what have you been feeding it.#3 what type of lighting do you have it under?
are the tenticals falling off or just shrinking down .alot of people concider my anemome saving technique harsh or unnessesary but so far it has worked for mine.below are 2 pics of my sebae to compair the fist being when first purchased bleached but large with flowing tenticals. he shrank down to almost nothing and stayed that way for quite some time without opening back up.2nd pic was 2 months of force feeding 2 times per day a mixure of cyclopseze and phlankton.thawd.I used a(clean) syringe from a test kit filled with the food mixture placed the tip into the mouth opening and slowly released the food directly into its mouth.this anemome lost all stickines and could no longer catch the food to feed itself force feeding was very nessesary.I have repeted this proccess for the last 3 months daily.now its tenticals are coming back stickyness returning and catching food on itsown.anenomes need iodine source and calcium with trace eliments .too much of any of these can and will harm your anenome.this is not a garenteed cure but a method I have been successull with so far.I dont have a up to date pic of my anenomes progress as of yet but I will soon. as soon as I get one Ill post so all can see the improvement this treatment has made

 

[corally]

I know my calcium level is too high but I don't know how to lower it. I feed is pieces of shrimp, plankton and silverslides.I have 260 watts of PC lighting half white/half acitinic. And yes, the ends of the tentacles are actually coming off. I've found a couple of pieces floating around the tank.

 

[unleashed]

unfortunatly it may be too late for your anenome the pc lighting you have is not enough to sustain its health.they realy need a stronger light source such as MH .if its still attached the rocks it has some life left in it.but its breaking of tenticles is a very bad sign..stop feeding it silverslids and shrimp its too weak to digest them properly.as i stated before in my last post if the food will stick to the anenome start feding it thawed cyclopseze and phlankton 2 times daily until its back to nornal health.good luck if you can get a MH from somewhere that realy will help if its not already too late

 

[corally]

Thanks for your help...I've been told by a few others on here,including Thomas, that PC lights are okay for this type of anemone. I will defininetly (sp) take your advice on the feeding.

 

[thomas712]

OK sorry I didn't see this sooner. Perhaps if it were in the clownfish and anemone forum I might have seen it quicker.
1. Yeah calcium is up there, check alkalinity also and post them.
2. A condy should not have great difficulty surviving under PC or VHO as they are one of the less demanding light anemones.
3. What type of clownfish do you have?, they could be the ones tearing the tenticals off, its been known to happen.
4. You can't force feed an anemone, they either will or will not accept food.
5. An anemone getting darker is usually a sign that it is regaining its zooxanthellae, I'm not sure why else it would get darker.
What is the current general apperance of the anemone, color, fullness, column, inflated/deflated?
What temp are you running your tank at?
Thomas

 

[unleashed]

darker is a better sign .white anenomes are unhealthy no anenome should be white even a purple tipped condy should be a tannish to a brown color when healthy.as for force feeding an anenome you are mistaken they can be force fed I have done it and have proved to be effective as so far.I didnt think of it myself I did my research and found the information as how to do it by the experts.(example robert fenner )its not always the best option to go with but it has made an impact on mine and know it can work.what can it hurt a dying anenome.you have a choice let it be and it dies. try it may die but then again it may regain health.mine would be dead if i hadnt tried something.success is trying your best to your own knowledge and ability. failure is giving up and letting things run its own course.live or die at least you will know you did everything in your power to save it.in this hobby everything is 50/50 but the least we can do is give it 100% .I have 10's of thousands invested in my tanks I research constantly and daily to make sure I can do the very best for all my tank inhabitants. dont take everyone advice(including mine) as iron clad inforamtion but more as tool as to what to do your own research on.there are many informative web sites and books to be read.knowledge is the key for all of us here at SWF can only give you advice to what we have read or have experienced. here is a link to a very good web site this will help you figure some things out you should know.
***link deleted***
alot of reading but you will find it all very helpful

 

[corally]

my alkalinity is 14, don't know why the alk and calcium is so high and don't know how to bring it down. I just did a 15% water change a few days ago. I have 2 false perc clowns and as for them bothering the anemone I've never seen them around him. They almost never leave the top of the tank, even sleep up there at night and the anemone is at the bottom. I moved a power head so the anemone would get more flow and it is looking a little better.It's "body" (is that the column) is inflated an it has reattached its foot to the glass and it also took a silverslide from me this morning. The color is the same, body brown and tentacles pinkish brown (but more pink). Most of the tentacles are inflated but a couple of them are completely flat. I keep my tank at 81. thanks Thomas, from now on I will post anemone questions in the clownfish and anemone forum.

 

[thomas712]

Condylactis is an Atlantic anemone therefore it would prefer to have temp a bit cooler. Try 78 degrees and see if there is any improvment. But I'd like to know what else in living in the tank before you go lower than that.
Thomas
PS~ I'LL move this thread over ~

 

[corally]

I also have 2 cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp, 2 peppermints, a kole tang, a purple pseudo and a feather duster.