doodle1800
Active Member
He was white - been brown for about 2 months now - any ideas why?
thanks...
thanks...
Brown Florida Condi
- Thread starter doodle1800
- Start date
jacksonpt
Active Member
when you bought him, he was white, but now he is brown... is that what you are saying?
Without knowing more, I'd say it's a sign of improving health. Generally pale anemones are malnourished. The darkening of his color is probably a sign that his health is improving.
How long have you had him? Where did you get him? What is your lighting like?
Without knowing more, I'd say it's a sign of improving health. Generally pale anemones are malnourished. The darkening of his color is probably a sign that his health is improving.
How long have you had him? Where did you get him? What is your lighting like?
doodle1800
Active Member
I have 260 watts - 130w of actinic and 130w 10k. I purchased him in an LFS and he was a bright white with a red base. About 4 months ago I'm guessing. This is a 55 gal tank with LR that he sits on and moves on from time to time - but always stays on the same LR. He has gotten bigger and looks healthy, but it an uglier brown color.
doodle1800
Active Member
before
doodle1800
Active Member
after - he's even more brown now
jacksonpt
Active Member
I don't have much experience with Condis so maybe someone else will chime in, but generally speaking, an anemone's color is a good indication of it's health. Pale colors indicate malnutrition. If you got it from an LFS, I doubt the lighting it was under was very good, and it probably didn't get fed (certainly not as often as it should). You have good lighting, do you feed it? If so, then the anemone is getting more nutrition from you lights via photosynthesis, and the supplemental feedings.
I stand by my earlier assessment - the darkening of its color probably indicates improving health.
On a side note, it won't just keep getting darker... it'll probable get nice and tan, and be happy.
I stand by my earlier assessment - the darkening of its color probably indicates improving health.
On a side note, it won't just keep getting darker... it'll probable get nice and tan, and be happy.
doodle1800
Active Member
Thats interesting - I was thinking just the opposite with the discoloration - so thanks!
jacksonpt
Active Member
Originally posted by doodle1800
Thats interesting - I was thinking just the opposite with the discoloration - so thanks!
Anemones use symbiotic zooanthellae to get energy/nutrition via photosynthesis. Naturally, zooanthellae is light brown in color. Some anemones have color pigment in their tissue, some don't. A really happy, healhty anemone will always have some color to it... either light brown (the color of the zooanthellae if it has no color pigment), or the color of the pigment in their tissue. As their health declines, anemones will first lose the color pigment, turning them a light brown. If their health continues to decline, the zooanthellae will also lose it's color, turning the amenome very pale.
If you've been around the board for a while, you've probalby heard the term "bleaching". Bleaching is a loss of color due to poor health. I suspect your anemone was bleached due to malnutrition from the LFS, but now that it's under good light (and possibly being spot fed???), it's starting to recover. The zooanthellae is regaining it's color.
As I said before... I take this to be a good sign. BUT, and this is a big but, I only have a little experience with Condis, and it was 4 years ago when I first got into the hobby - way before I knew what I was doing. Basically, everythign I've said in this thread is a generalization from what I know about other types of anemones, especially my experience with carpet anemones.
doodle1800
Active Member
Tell me howd you spot feed an anenome.. please - I stick brine or mysis shrimp near its tentacles with my fingers - letting the food go as I feel them - kind of barbaric and maybe not too good for the anenome either..
doodle1800
Active Member
I appreciate your help this saturday morning - thanks..
jacksonpt
Active Member
Depends, I do it 2 ways.
Back from my crushed coral days, I have one of those syphon vaccuum things. part of it is a long (probably 30") plastic tube, about 4" in diameter. I'll thaw out some silversides stick the tube in the water, so it's just above the anemone, then pour the thawed sliversides down the tube. It takes a few seconds for the sliversides to sink down, but I can put them right on the anemone, and the tube usually scares the clowns away long enough for the anemone to grab the silversides. Plus, the tube is probably safer/cleaner than putting my arm in the watter.
The other thing I do is use a scewer (like you'd use for cooking kabobs). I'll thaw a shrimp, cut it into pieces, then stab 1 piece at a time with the skewer. Then I use the skewer to give the shirmp to the anemone. My clowns aren't strong enough to pull the shimp off the skewer, but my anemones does it with ease.
If you are feeding brine/mysis... you could always use a turkey baster and squirt the brine/mysis towards the anemone. What the anemone doesn't get, I'm sure the fish/critters will be happy to eat up.
If you're having a hard time with clowns/other fish taking food from the anemone... feed some flake at the same time. The flake generally keep the fish busy long enough for the anemone to get a good hold on the food.
Back from my crushed coral days, I have one of those syphon vaccuum things. part of it is a long (probably 30") plastic tube, about 4" in diameter. I'll thaw out some silversides stick the tube in the water, so it's just above the anemone, then pour the thawed sliversides down the tube. It takes a few seconds for the sliversides to sink down, but I can put them right on the anemone, and the tube usually scares the clowns away long enough for the anemone to grab the silversides. Plus, the tube is probably safer/cleaner than putting my arm in the watter.
The other thing I do is use a scewer (like you'd use for cooking kabobs). I'll thaw a shrimp, cut it into pieces, then stab 1 piece at a time with the skewer. Then I use the skewer to give the shirmp to the anemone. My clowns aren't strong enough to pull the shimp off the skewer, but my anemones does it with ease.
If you are feeding brine/mysis... you could always use a turkey baster and squirt the brine/mysis towards the anemone. What the anemone doesn't get, I'm sure the fish/critters will be happy to eat up.
If you're having a hard time with clowns/other fish taking food from the anemone... feed some flake at the same time. The flake generally keep the fish busy long enough for the anemone to get a good hold on the food.
zafirablanca
Member
I have a flower anemone that has browned up since it found a home right under my 250w MH. It was a beautiful white with pink spots when I got it. It is now white and light brown striped. I have come to the conclusion that it is a sign of zooanthellae and health as well, just not as pretty.
I also got a condi at the same time. It refuses to come up into the light ans skulks around the bottom of the tank under the rocks, peeking out from underneath. It has remained its beautiful white color, but I am worried about it.
I feed the both with a turkey baster that I attached about 12" of clear vinyl tubing to end of. This makes it really easy to spot feed anything. I usually just mix the food with some tank water in a cup, suck it up with the turkey baster and slowly release it over the anemone.
BTW, I got these both as 'freebies' with my last TBS live rock order. Boy, was that a surprise!
Good Luck,
-Christine
I also got a condi at the same time. It refuses to come up into the light ans skulks around the bottom of the tank under the rocks, peeking out from underneath. It has remained its beautiful white color, but I am worried about it.
I feed the both with a turkey baster that I attached about 12" of clear vinyl tubing to end of. This makes it really easy to spot feed anything. I usually just mix the food with some tank water in a cup, suck it up with the turkey baster and slowly release it over the anemone.
BTW, I got these both as 'freebies' with my last TBS live rock order. Boy, was that a surprise!
Good Luck,
-Christine
