need info on Condi Anemone

[joker]

I have a 2 month old 55 Gal. reef tank. I am using Zoo Med Reef Sun 50/50 bulbs on and off for 12 hrs. I have 2 Condi Anemones and they keep going *dormant*, retracting tentacles and going back into themselves. Occasionally, they exude long brownish black gelatinous fibres. After a varying amount of time, they go back to normal state and appear fine. Is this normal??
Any background or info on this would be greatly appreciated!!
TIA

 

[wrassecal]

How many watts of light do you have? It is normal for condis to expand and retract. They are generally expelling waste when they release the long stringy stuff. Mine used to swell up to the size of a dinner plate and deflate to the size of a golf ball. They are also notorious for wandering around the tank quite a bit.

 

[poiboy]

NORMAL. Most on this board will tell ya that a two month old tank is way immature for anemones JMO. Good luck with them and besure to give them something meaty twice a week.

 

[joker]

i have 2 15 watt bulbs. I have a lighting system on order. They have definitely moved around the tank and appear to have found their spots.
Thank you for your prompt replies

 

[bdhough]

thats not enough light. Expect them to die in the next couple of days. I would try and take them back now if you can. You need alot of light to keeep anemones alive. They have symbiotic algae which requires alot of light. You have the right spectrum of light just not the intensity required for anemones

 

[wrassecal]

Yeah, not enough light. I'll avoid the new tank thing since you already have them. Try feeding them something meaty like a pencil erase size piece of shrimp or a krill. How soon will your new lighting be up and running?

 

[joker]

new lights ship in a week. I have had one Condi for a month now and the 2nd one for 2 weeks. Both appear healthy and happy and dont appear to do anything that catches my eye as weird, except problems in original post. One other thing of note, performed a copper test and detected .08 mg/l. I am removing the trace copper with Cuprisorb.
at this time, i have been paying close attention to Condi's and from what I have been told by many others, this is simply a dormant ( sleeping ) stage.
Thanks to all who have replied

 

[jarvis]

copper how did it get in the tank? Was it a used tank? Used live rock and substrate? I hate to say it but it might just be in your best intrest set it up as a fish only tank or dismantle the system and redo it. Copper is a really nasty thing for a reef. The problem is that it can not be gotten rid of entirely and it will constantly to some degree be leaching into your system.

 

[joker]

well everything appears ok with Condi's. I am quite positive they are going into a "sleep" period. I am enclosing photos for anyone future reference.

 

[joker]

file was toooooo large

 

[robofish]

My condi's like heavy flow for some reason.. I dont know if this is normal or not. When they were situated out of the flow lane, they closed up like that as well.. Also until I replaced my bulbs which were a year old 2 10k 96w's they stayed closed as well.
It would most likely be too little light. They will die if those ordered light kits dont hurry and arrive...

 

[harley387]

Originally posted by Joker
well everything appears ok with Condi's. I am quite positive they are going into a "sleep" period. I am enclosing photos for anyone future reference.
If your system has copper in it, that "sleep" period will likely become a "Dirt nap".

 

[cb]

From what I have researched on Condi's they are the one anemone that does not require real strong lighting.. I would be more concerned with the copper that you have found in your tank and do something to correct that as soon as possible or the lighting may not be an issue. I have my Condi in a 40g Long tank with 80w of NO lighting I have had it for 4 months now I spot feed it krill every other day(this is very important )and mine is open all day while the lights are on and seems very happy it does however close up at night when the lights are off or every once in a while it will close up for a short period of time after I feed it.

 

[joker]

Yes CB!!!!!!!! That is the schedule they have goten on. Close up at night and open during day, and sorta deflate after feeding.
My copper is nearly undetectable!!!! I used Cuprisorb and that has removed it almost completely. The photo that i posted was taken at 1 am. I do have Microbeam Hi-lites (2) and microbeam lasers (2). I am certain they are just going into a sleep phase when they close up. They are slowly migrating around the tank, and appear to be quite healthy now.