(pic) i think my LTA is expelling its zooxanthellae

newty

newty

Member
hi all,
a bit of background info: i have a 75 g system, set up for 5 months, with about 60 lbs live rock and 3-4 inches of sand. i currently have 2 clownfish and one yellow tang with lots of snails and hermit crabs. oh yeah, a cleaner shrimp, too. i use the cleanest water available: lab-grade. i have a trachyphillia (radiata, i think). i picked up a LTA from my LFS 2-3 weeks ago, and eats everything i feed it everyday, including krill, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, bloodworms and blackworms. i have noticed that the anenome shrinks and inflates at least once a day and is the fullest around 6 am (that is what time i get up). i have some pictures showing this. however, i just came home today and saw some dark brown substance emenating from its mouth region. i believe it is expelling its zooxanthellae, and want someone to confirm this. i checked my water parameters using salifert kits: ammonia is less than 25 ppm, nitrates is 0, saliniity is 1.024 to 1.025 (cheap hydrometer) and temp is 82-84 daily. can you give me some advice as to what to do? also, i have a small movie made with the digital camera, but do not know how to post it here.
the first 4 pictures are when i noticed that the anenome was invaginating, but i thought that this was normal behaviour.
the last 3 pictures (crappy quality, but that is why i have the mini-movie) of the brown substance.
thanks, newty.
 
newty

newty

Member
i had to crop these pictures from the original files. i do not know how to use the digital camera software as it is my fiance's. i have access to photoshop at work and can resize the original sizes without cropping the extraneous sizes. if anyone knows how to do that without using photoshop, let me know.
thanks again, newty.
 
newty

newty

Member
she took some more pitucres for me at a reduced resolution rate. here it is after expelling its brown substance.
 
newty

newty

Member
Salty Cheese,
Thank you for the link. I am thinking that it may be expelling its wastes. If it is indeed expelling its zooxanthellae, would the bleaching event be immediately after or would it take a few days? If it looks ok by tomorrow with no difference in colour, can i take that as a sign that it is ok?
Newty.
 
newty

newty

Member
after reading a thread here, i remember that i gave the LTA a parially frozen half cube (still stuck together, but was in salt water for 1-2 min), and it devoured it. perhaps a freezer burn!? just thinking aloud...
 
newty

newty

Member
ok, i begged my fiance to take some more pictures last night. (i bought the camera, so i shouldnt have to beg, am i right!?) half of the LTA's tentacles were deflated and the other half look normal. i just came home and saw it with its normal colour and every tentacle looks great. hasnt look good since i got it at the LFS!
Salty, do you have any idea why krill is not too good for anenomes?
newty.
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Your little 'nemone is only pooping. Mine (BTA) shrivels up like that too when he poops, only I don't feed mine every day... Did I read that right? Did you say you feed it every day?? What light are you using, because if it's strong enough, you can get away with feeding it a lot less. I'll show you a pic of mine, pooping.:D
 
T

tizzo

Guest
And just for the record, mine had never eaten anything but krill... Well, I should rephrase. I have never fed him anything but krill, the clown takes everything that's to big for him to eat, to the anemone.:rolleyes:
 
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