Why is this anemone shrinking?
- Thread starter wcroft987
- Start date
perfectdark
Active Member
What type of lights do you have? How new is the anenome for you? And what type of lighting was it exposed to prior to you getting it?
perfectdark
Active Member
Getting acclimated to its new surroundings can take a while.. If it is eating and has good color then I would suggest observing it for a while. Being as though it does this only when your lights come on I am guessing your water peram's are good and its still getting used to your tanks environment.
kingfish8302
Member
It could be ready to poop or already has poop. Mine does the same thing after it poops.
scsinet
Active Member
This is a carpet anemone... IMO you do NOT have enough light for this type of anemone (assuming this is in the 55g tank on your profile). Even a lower light anemone like a BTA may be touch and go.
Carpets are very difficult to keep, require lots of light, and grow VERY large.
They have no sense of the size tank they are in, so you probably do not have to worry about the size issue until it grows so large it starts stinging other stuff, but if you are successfull, you will have to deal with that one day.
However, the lighting may be an issue. While it may be possible to sustain "survival" in only 200 watts of T5 over a 55, you will be better off and better able to assure success with another 100-200w of light.
There are several possiblilities as to what is going on in your photos. First, he may be adjusting to the new environment, and is reacting negatively to the lights. Giving him time will tell the tale on that. Since you don't know what he was under when at saltwaterfish's systems, there's nothing you can do at this point but wait. If this is it, he'll come around.
Second, anemones expel waste by contracting and blowing the water out of their bodies along with the waste. They usually do this in the early evening after the lights have been on for a while, as they spend the day feeding off zooanthella in their tissues. The fact that he's doing it in the morning may mean he's doing feeding at night, which anemones generally don't do, unless they can't get food from anywhere else. This shift in behavior may mean insufficient food during the day, a consequence of insufficient lighting. Watch him very closely for a color change. If he starts lightening in color, remove him and give him to someone with proper lighting before he dies on you.
Carpets are very difficult to keep, require lots of light, and grow VERY large.
They have no sense of the size tank they are in, so you probably do not have to worry about the size issue until it grows so large it starts stinging other stuff, but if you are successfull, you will have to deal with that one day.
However, the lighting may be an issue. While it may be possible to sustain "survival" in only 200 watts of T5 over a 55, you will be better off and better able to assure success with another 100-200w of light.
There are several possiblilities as to what is going on in your photos. First, he may be adjusting to the new environment, and is reacting negatively to the lights. Giving him time will tell the tale on that. Since you don't know what he was under when at saltwaterfish's systems, there's nothing you can do at this point but wait. If this is it, he'll come around.
Second, anemones expel waste by contracting and blowing the water out of their bodies along with the waste. They usually do this in the early evening after the lights have been on for a while, as they spend the day feeding off zooanthella in their tissues. The fact that he's doing it in the morning may mean he's doing feeding at night, which anemones generally don't do, unless they can't get food from anywhere else. This shift in behavior may mean insufficient food during the day, a consequence of insufficient lighting. Watch him very closely for a color change. If he starts lightening in color, remove him and give him to someone with proper lighting before he dies on you.
ufo8micats
Member
I have several different types of anemones, in the evening when the lights come on they are always shrunk up. they open back up when the light is on for about an hour.