anemone

tank watch

Member
my purple anemone will deflate and open its mouth wide, kinda inside out almost, when the MH lights are on. Any idea whats going on? Too much light? I thought they needed strong light. Its a purple something or another, I forget what its called.
180 gal with 2, 250 watt and 1, 175 watt MH, and 6, 48" VHO. the anemone is placed about midway up in the tank (6x2x2). thanks...
 
K

kalied20

Guest
If it is a Ritteri then you picked the hardest and largest growing one to keep. We just lost one that was beautiful. I had a MH lighting installed and the water parameters were great. I still don't know why we lost it.
 

tank watch

Member
sorry for the slow response.
It is a ritteri.(sp?) I have a picture but dont know how to make it small enough to upload.
It seems to be adjusting lately. I think he is on the move as well. I hope he doesnt go behind the rocks.

what did you feed your?
 

dustysage

New Member
Originally Posted by tank watch
I think he is on the move as well.
Moving can be a sign that your anemone is not getting enough to eat or too much or too little light (I know, that could be just about anything). Think of it as a baby crying. You know it needs something, you just don't know what. Have you tried feeding it? Of course, there can be complications resulting from feeding as well. Anemone under stress will sometimes turn themselves inside out after feeding (at least I have noticed this on more than one occasion). Sort of a catch 22. Darned if you do . . . .
However, I'd try feeding it a small amount of shrimp. You need to avoid stressing the anemone out even more while feeding. I use air line tubing which I have cut at an angle so I can skewer a piece of shrimp. Then I brush it against the tentacles lightly. If the tentacles latch on to the shrimp, that is a good sign that it is going to eat. Don't force your anemone to take the food if it doesn't latch.
I don't profess to be an expert by any means so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, I have kept anemones over the years. I have had a carpet anemone last for almost two years. Then it suddenly died after I introduced clown fish to the tank. They can be heartbreaking to keep.
Best of luck, let us know what happens.
-Dusty
 

tank watch

Member
thanks for the input. I kept a long tenacle in a previous tank quite well. I would squirt it with brine shrimp, blood worms, etc, and it ate nearly everything I gave it. This purple ritteri seems to look better as time goes by. It doesnt readily grab food when i give it a squirt, though. It hasnt moved from the original rock I put it on. Maybe an inch or two, thats all. thanks again, I will try the "hold it on its tenacle method" that you described.
 
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