Is my Anemone bleached?

[clayton]

I recently purchased a white anemone with purple-blue tips. I think it is either Anthopsis koseirenis or Heractis malu (anyone with good anemone classification skills?). I have ofter seen white anemones like this in the LFS but have heard that this brilliant white colour is due to bleaching. Would an anemone expell its zooxanthellae during transit? Since obtaining it the anemone has developed some very slight brown colouration in one or two areas. Ocellaris is showing no interest. What do you think????

 

[krazzydart]

depends on how long the clown has been without a host ..... he needs to build up his immunities to it all over again.... and depends on the light and how often you feed him....

 

[clayton]

Originally posted by krazzydart:
depends on how long the clown has been without a host ..... he needs to build up his immunities to it all over again.... and depends on the light and how often you feed him....
I doubt if the tank bred clowns are more than 8-10 months old. See my question on 'Problems with tank bred clowns?' for more info. Can anemones expell their zooxanthellae if under stress and how quickly can they do this? Could it happen in transit? What lighting would you recomend for anemones in general Krazy??

 

[kass]

Sounds like a sebae to me. I've read that it's thought they expel there zooxanthellae maybe in shipping and that's why they turn white and usually don't do well after about 6 months. I kept one for about 2 yrs but it was tan in color. If it has parts turning brown that would be a good thing. Tan ones are better. The white and dyed yellow ones usually don't live long.

 

[clayton]

The brown patches are spreading but very slowly. It is pretty obvious that this is zooxanthellae. A clarki has set up home in the anemone. The anemone seems to be dong ok but he has yet to feed directly from me.
The question still remains: was it naturally white or did it bleach???

 

[clayton]

His nematocysts have never seen particularly effective at all. This is one of the reasons I thought it could have been bleached. He is still developing more colour and looking well, but I guess I have a 9 month wait before I really know if he is O.K. I will let you know if it ever starts feeding on fish/shrimps etc.