Help! New Sea Anemone Doesn't Look Right. With Pictures!

shawnriv

shawnriv

Member
Yesterday I picked up a bubble tip sea anemone (the pet store called it a maroon anemone) and I brought it home. I had my water tested at the store and everything looked good, but the clerk recommended a 20% water change because something (I can't remember exactly what it was) was a little high but not a big deal. After the water change I put the anemone in and he hasn't really moved. When I first put him in the tank he was all the way closed, but he still hasn't fully opened. I know it's only been one day, but my two clowns haven't seemed to acknowledge him either. I did notice a very little bit of slime coming from him too? I have attached a couple pictures. Thank you in advanced!

 
grant778

grant778

Member
The clowns won't necessarily host an anemone and often do not in home aquariums. Is your lighting powerful enough for the anemone? Did you acclimate it properly? Inverts need to be acclimated especially carefully.
 
shawnriv

shawnriv

Member
The clowns won't necessarily host an anemone and often do not in home aquariums.  Is your lighting powerful enough for the anemone?  Did you acclimate it properly?  Inverts need to be acclimated especially carefully.
Hi Grant,
Thank you for responding to my post. To acclimate him, I just let his bag sit in the tank for about 30-40min then I put it in. And I have T5 lighting. I have good circulation too with my filter and powerhead.
 
grant778

grant778

Member
How many watts per gallon is ur T5 lighting? And I'm sad to tell you that you acclimated your anemone very poorly :/ I tend to be skimpy with the acclimating procedure myself when dealing with hardy fish (not that one should, but I'm being honest here), but sensitive, fish, corals, and especially inverts need to go through a little more in depth acclimation. The floating the bag on top is good for like a half hour to get the temperatures the same. Then, a drip acclimation is necessary. Once the temperature is the same, put the anemone and its water in a bucket and make sure the anemone is covered in water, A thinner bucket might be needed or something, just make sure the anemone (or any other specimen for that matter) is covered in water. You then slowly drip water from ur display tank into the bucket using a thin tube. When the bucket gets full, you empty some of it out. When it gets full again, empty some out again. (make sure not to empty too much, maybe keep the bucket 1/2 full or something.) Fill the bucket up and partially empty it one more time. Then put the specimen in your tank. It should probably take 2 hours or so for a sensitive invertabrate.
 
grant778

grant778

Member
To control how much the tube drips, you have to make some knots in it. (not knots so good that the water can't go through it, just so it slows the water down)
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by grant778 http:///t/396891/help-new-sea-anemone-doesnt-look-right-with-pictures#post_3536197
To control how much the tube drips, you have to make some knots in it. (not knots so good that the water can't go through it, just so it slows the water down)
By making knots, do you mean tight enough to constrict but allow flow, or loose just enough to add Resistance to flow? (Kind of like a pretzel). I hope you understood the question. I had to rewrite it three times so that even I could understand it.
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
I also see in your profile that you have a yellow tang in your 48g tank. Don't yellows need twice that size?
 
deton8it

deton8it

Member
That tank looks too new. What brand T5? Some are better than others. Regarding acclimation, I only temperature acclimate coral but I drip everything else. That is just my preference though.



John
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Tight enough so that the flow is constricted to individual drips that you could count.
Thanks Grant. I've read several people mention the drip methods but always wondered about how tight or loose to make the knot. Now I know and as they say, knowing is half the battle.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by grant778 http:///t/396891/help-new-sea-anemone-doesnt-look-right-with-pictures#post_3536196
How many watts per gallon is ur T5 lighting? And I'm sad to tell you that you acclimated your anemone very poorly :/ I tend to be skimpy with the acclimating procedure myself when dealing with hardy fish (not that one should, but I'm being honest here), but sensitive, fish, corals, and especially inverts need to go through a little more in depth acclimation. The floating the bag on top is good for like a half hour to get the temperatures the same. Then, a drip acclimation is necessary. Once the temperature is the same, put the anemone and its water in a bucket and make sure the anemone is covered in water, A thinner bucket might be needed or something, just make sure the anemone (or any other specimen for that matter) is covered in water. You then slowly drip water from ur display tank into the bucket using a thin tube. When the bucket gets full, you empty some of it out. When it gets full again, empty some out again. (make sure not to empty too much, maybe keep the bucket 1/2 full or something.) Fill the bucket up and partially empty it one more time. Then put the specimen in your tank. It should probably take 2 hours or so for a sensitive invertabrate.

Hi,

The temp in the bucket is going to different then the temp in the tank...you force the critter to be in it's own waste longer by floating the bag, since it was for nothing. Everyone has their own way to do things...the drip method is recommended by this site...so it isn't like you said anything wrong, I'm just piping in.

For me: I float the bag and then open it...remove some water with a turkey baster (marked FISH ONLY) and return the same amount from the tank water into the bag...for sensitive critters I acclimate an hour to 1 1/2 hours for starfish, the more hardier critters, 30 to 40 minutes.

I did that for years, but then Saxman said the waste is really bad for my seahorses, he told me to float the bag to have the right temp, and then just dump them in (seahorses are nasty critters when it comes to waste). I haven't lost a horse yet doing just that, Saxman knows his stuff. I haven't done it for other critters...but if a sensitive seahorse can be put in a tank like that, it makes me wonder if we are not just driving ourselves crazy with hour long acclimation for nothing.

The tank does look very new in the picture...a tank should mature at least 6 months before getting an anemone, and a T5HO lighting unless it's 8 bulbs...isn't IMO, powerful enough to keep the light hungry critter alive for long. All new arrivals are very stressed, and that is doubly so for an anemone. Cover all power heads and intake tubes, since they follow the water flow, and get themselves sucked up in them. They have no eyes, and no brain...they are just a mouth with an anus...If it does get itself sucked up, turn off the PH, and if it's still alive let it detach itself, don't try to pry it off the tube. The anemone will find it's own happy place, you can't put them where you want them to be. Good luck with it.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I always dry acclimated corals, especially Anemone. It's important to acclimate according to the terms of the guarantee if there are specific terms.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///t/396891/help-new-sea-anemone-doesnt-look-right-with-pictures#post_3536246
I always dry acclimated corals, especially Anemone. It's important to acclimate according to the terms of the guarantee if there are specific terms.

Can you explain a DRY ACCLIMATE...I have never heard of such a term before...sounds interesting.

I agree, if you have a guarantee, it's important to follow their recommendations. The whole reason for a guarantee is to paid if the critter dies, and if you don't do it "right" (AKA their recommendations) it would annul the guarantee altogether.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/396891/help-new-sea-anemone-doesnt-look-right-with-pictures#post_3536254

Can you explain a DRY ACCLIMATE...I have never heard of such a term before...sounds interesting.



Really? I'm sure I've explained it before. Of course it could have been 20 years ago lol

I float a glass bowl on the water surface to warm it up. Then discard the water the Anemone (or coral) came in (if any, dry shipping is my preference for Anemone as well). Place the Anemone in the empty bowl and discard the water as it deflates until it stops deflating. Let it sit in the empty bowl for another 10 minutes and then just dump it in the water. It's important to keep it warm which is why I float it in the tank. Don't let it sit under a hot light either.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///t/396891/help-new-sea-anemone-doesnt-look-right-with-pictures#post_3536258

Really? I'm sure I've explained it before. Of course it could have been 20 years ago lol

I float a glass bowl on the water surface to warm it up. Then discard the water the Anemone (or coral) came in (if any, dry shipping is my preference for Anemone as well). Place the Anemone in the empty bowl and discard the water as it deflates until it stops deflating. Let it sit in the empty bowl for another 10 minutes and then just dump it in the water. It's important to keep it warm which is why I float it in the tank. Don't let it sit under a hot light either.

Wow...I have never heard of that, 10 minutes...and it survives.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Many of the corals we keep are exposed for hours during low tide.

I forgot to mention one thing. Some corals slime up once they expel their water. The slime should be rinsed off with tank water and not added to the tank as much as possible.
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
So before we place the coral in we should fill the bowl with tank water, swish the coral in the water. Place the coral then digard the water in bowl?
 
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