anemone turned bright white

[cjqsmom]

I have a anemone that I have had for 2 months he is the largest in my tank and he has recentally turned a snow white color. He is eating and doing everything normal loves to move around the tank after I bought another anemone before then he had his place and never moved even after we emptied the tank in fact when we moved him and the rock the two clowns stayed in him and did the same when we put them back. (had to change stands so needed to empty tank to be able to lift it) I will try to add a pictue but not sure how. He was a darker brown color before this. Is he ok?

 

[lexluethar]

Nope, that is a bleached (extremely unhealthy) anemone. You need to upgrade your lighting to either T5 or MH.

 

[40 galons]

Totally agree. needs better lighting ASAP. Also its not normal for them to move around alot. They usually say put unless something isnt right. mine hasnt moved since he found his way at the top of the tank directly under the mh. this took about 6 hours.

 

[aqua_scaping]

why do you think its his lighting? He didnt say what his lighting was and did you noticed (what seems to be a tottally healthy) clam?

 

[lexluethar]

Originally Posted by Aqua_Scaping
http:///forum/post/2636225
why do you think its his lighting? He didnt say what his lighting was and did you noticed (what seems to be a tottally healthy) clam?
You can't see much of the clam for one. For two what i do see of the clam seems very dull and colorless (like brown) which means that it may also be light deprived, meaning that zooantha (sp*) that actually enable clams to be extremely colorful and bright is no longer present in the mantle of the clam.
Third is his description, the anemone was brown (meaning zooantha again was present in the tissue) then turned this aweful white (meaning zooantha died and is no longer present). That is an extremely bleached anemone, and if he has had it for two months under the proper lighting it would be a brownish color or hugh to it.
Also says the anemone moves around a lot - another sign of stress possibly caused by inadequate lighting.

 

[aqua_scaping]

i stand corrected

 

[40 galons]

i have read her posts before and she has some kind of pc. If you read her other posts her clams are in trouble to

 

[cjqsmom]

I have 2 power compact fixtures running. two 96 (I Think)watt 48" 8 bulbs total along with my neptune moonlights. Like I said before he didnt move until I added another anemone should I remove them so the big one settles down? Other then the lighting can anything else be done. THanks for the comments about the lighting now my Hubby, yes I am female will have to go buy me lights this weekend.

 

[aqua_scaping]

Pc=horrible i have recently upgraded from pc to t-5 and its the best think i ever did

 

[lexluethar]

Lol, gender doesn't matter on this site We try to give anyone and everyone the correct advice.
I missed the size of your tank. So you have one large anemones then the two smaller ones right? Until you have proper lighting none of your anemones will 'be happy' and probably will roam.
So first step would be to upgrade your lighting. Which seems to be under control. Just to give you some insight, PC lighting is really only good for things that are not very light demanding at all. The list from least light dependant to most would be softies like zoas and mushrooms, then large stoney polyps and small stoney polyps, then anemones.
PC lighting would be good enough for an average tank and have mushrooms and zoas. They would do fine under PC lighting. Once you get into the other areas like stoney corals and anemones you MUST have a quality light unit like HO (high output) T5 lighting with individual reflectors or metal hallides. THe Nova Extreme lighting would be great, or you can get a MH pendant for around a decent price.
Now about the number of anemones. Usually people tend to stick with one anemone per tank. Reason is anemones are VERY territorial to say the least. I know sounds stupid someone with no eye or brain being territorial. But in the wild (and in our home aquariums) unless an anemone is from the same clone, they will usually attack eachother until one dies if they are close by. Reason being, to progress the gene pool (kinda). Like a pride of lions not allowing any other lions within their territory, but on a smaller scale and obviously must more simple. So although you may not see blood, or hear screaming, if two anemones are close together or touching they are inflicting damage on eachother whether you know it or not. This is why some people will ask "how come my two anemones roamed until they found eachother?" Reason is because through chemicals they are finding eachother out and attacking.
With that said you should try to only have one anemones for about 45 or 50 gallons of water. So if you have 3 you should have a bout 120 to 150 gallons of water. For two reasons, one they get extremely large, and two so that there is plenty of 'buffer' between each anemone. Place them as far away as possibly and MONITOR CLOSELY. If they move closer and continue to you should get rid of one (give it to a store or friend, please don't flush it).

 

[perfectdark]

FYI thats not a clam its a flame scallop, completly non photosynthetic filter feeder. ooop wait I see the clam on the right... my bad.

 

[cjqsmom]

Thank you for the input I have been told different things on the lighting from different people I guess it is a trial and error. I am going to get MH this weekend will that save my anemone? Is there anything I can do until I get the MH? This is a 60 gallon tank with 30 on a wet/dry sump. I have been told 2 250 MH will work or do I need 2 400 can I have too much light? Hubbys a electrican and says you can always use more light but I am not sure in this case. I do plan on having another tank made to replace the 60 at least a 90 maybe 120 gal if so will the lighting requirements differ? It will be 48" wide x 15" deep by ??high to make the correct gallons. I used to have T12 on this tank but switched about a month ago should I put the T12 back until the MH are bought not sure if I need to order on the net. My LFS carrys Jebo and I was told not to buy Jebo any suggestions Is the Nova Extreme lighting just a temp fix? I was looking at MH fixtures and they come with compact florscents whats the difference between that and what I have OTHER then the MH bulb? SO do I get the MH and still use the lights I have? SOrry for being so long but I want this to work and dont worry I wont flush anything unless its already dead.

 

[cjqsmom]

ordered my lights yesterday should have them Thursday or Friday. I got a custom set up with 2 400 watt 14000 Metal Halide and 2 36" vho (t6) I believe. Also ordered the new tank it is going to be 48 x 15 1/4 x 31 high does this should ok and can I nurse the anemone back to color? Also how long to leave mh on while getting the tank used to the new lighting?

 

[srgvigil]

I bet within a couple of weeks of getting your light your going to make a post of "Help huge algae bloom how do i get rid of it!

" Im still trying to get mine down from uprading from a single pc fixture to t5ho fixture.
One hint that I know will help is to shorten your lighting schedule.

 

[oceansidefish]

you will definately need to ease your tank into your new lights, if you plug and play you may loose some things to shock

 

[cjqsmom]

I was thinking about cutting 3 layers of screen material and lay that ontop of the tank and run the lights slow at first and little by little add time to the lights and remove the screen a layer at a time. I believe that is what someone suggested on my clam posting.

 

[lexluethar]

Keep us posted. That is A LOT of lighting, I would have suggested maybe two 250 watt MH. I don't htink you need that extra T5 lighting either. I believe 800 watts (your two 400 watt bulbs) will be plenty for your aquarium. Setup the MH first and if it has plenty of light and is evenly spread out (because i know on larger tanks if you have two MH at each end there may be some dark spots) then i would return the T5. They won't hurt anything, just the extra lighting will raise your tank temp and your electricity bill.
As for cooling off your tank, with all that extra lighting WATCH YOUR TEMP. You can cheaply reduce the heat of the tank by having your MH lighting hoover above the tank a foot or so, this will also give the tank a more 'even' lighting. Also you may need to run a fan (computer fan or clip on from walmart) to blow accross the water surface to reduce heat.
Keep us posted and let us know! I would love to see some full tank shots of your new setup.

 

[cjqsmom]

Well the tank is up and running with the lights.
Popped a breaker today (hubbys a electrican) luckly I was home lost a good amount of water.
We are running the VHO from 1230 to 730 and the MH from 230 to 630 is that too long?
should the VHO be off when the MH are on?
I can probally get a pic tomorrow its late and lights are out.
I read somewhere that since the nem is bleached he needs more then just light to get him healthy is that trus should I be spot feeding him.

 

[cjqsmom]

How long should it take for the anemonie to start getting color back? It is eating like crazy dhould I feed it more or let the lights do the magic? He is in the top of the tank on the glass backwards ofcourse so I cant see his color very well. Does anyone know what kind this guy is i was sold a long arm but I think he is not since his arms are in funny looking rows I am think one of the more diffucult ones manific hetura(I know I know spelling is way off)
Celeste
by the way not to much algae due to lights just some brown on power heads and glass easily brushes off and no shock to anyone in the tank (luckly)

 

[perfectdark]

Im not 100% sure if its an LTA or not. It very well maybe a Heteracitis Magnifica, AKA Ritteri or Magnificent Anemone. If it is then you have what is considered the largest and most difficult to keep species. You have the correct lighting now so this will be the anemones staple. I wouldnt feed it constantly. Every 3 days or so and make sure the pieces of food are small, tiny even. People feed healthy anemones chunks of food slightly smaller than the anemones mouth. While the animal is capable of eating portions this size, it is almost counterproductive. The benefit of spot feeding is to help keep its immune system healthy. In an already unhealthy animal this helps accelerate its recovery. However because it takes an enormous amount of energy to for an anemone to consume a large piece of food and further digest it. The energy it would of gained by getting spot fed is wasted on consumption and digestion. Small pieces chopped up and administered with a turkey baster is a much healthier way of spot feeding. It shouldnt be too long before you see some color in your anemone. And if it is an LTA, it will move on its own to the bottom of your tank and settle in on the sand bed. HTH good luck