Anemone Woes

[narny]

Well after about 8 months, my Ritteri anemone has started to move!! Arse !

It's been quite happy on it's rock at the top of the tank for months, it's doing well and i've had no problems with it whatsoever. Tonight, it's walking, it's on the back glass and heading for my toadstool ! Double arse.

Here's hoping it's not going to bury it's self behind the reef and die like my previous Malu did. My clowns will be so gutted.

Does anyone's anemone walk about periodically? Or is this a sign of unhappiness and death to come?

All i've done recently to the tank is my usual waterchange and raise the skimmer cup on my deltec MCE600 (it was wet running and i've been advised to raise the cup to collect darker skimate). The ritteri was sitting directly below the water return on the skimmer and seemed to be loving it. Would this make it unhappy?

Here's hoping for a good ending.....

 

[Juck]

I've never kept a Ritteri but my large carpet anemone is sensitive to changes in the tank. Every time I change a bulb or modify flow patterns it takes a little walk,,, I guess I'm lucky that it's in the sand and I can 'corral' it by placing chunks of LR in it's path. If your anemone is against the glass it would probably be fairly easy to peel him off GENTLY with a credit card and place him by hand,,,,see if he will settle somewhere else in the tank.

On the other hand, a healthy Heteractis Magnifica is several times more important than a toadstool (IMO) so maybe let the anemone go where it pleases,, even if you can't get the leather out of the way,, I think you're probably ahead of the curve by keeping this anemone alive for 8 months,,, when I get my 'big' tank I hope to get one of these anemones myself.

Aaaanyway,,, what do you think of your Deltec? I hear nothing but good things about them.

 

[danmhippo]

Ritteri will move if condition isn't perfect. and many find they end up on the top wall.

If you worry about the toad stool, move it. and make sure the ritteri goes no where near your pumps. Plenty of light and plenty of water movement plus regular feeding, the ritteri I used to have choose to stay on the rocks.

 

[narny]

Well, he's moved to the back glass, smack in the middle of the tank, right at the water surface, he's still looking awesome and does'nt seem stressed at all, still coloured up and slightly sticky to the touch. My clowns seem to like it there too, they don't seem concerned and are still happily playing in it and snuggling. I moved the toadstool, and yeah i agree that the anemone is priority, he'll be given free reign to do whatever he pleases. I've had him a while now and have no intentions of pulling at him with a credit card. So long as it's happy, then i'm happy.
Checked water params, and nothing has changed. I did however move the powerheads round i've improved my flow, so maybee he just wanted to make good use of it !

The Deltec is awesome, been running it for about 3 months now, and it's kicking some major ass. The only complaint i have (and it's not a complaint about the skimmer as such) is that the skimate is that nasty and stinks that bad my other half now refuses to empty it :roll: and now leaves me the nasty job all the time heh. It does sometimes kick a lot of bubbles back into the tank, but i'm gonna mod it , take off the diffusion plate and replace with some piping that'll return water into the juwel filter box instead of dumping it in the tank. Nothing major though and i'm not talking bubble overload.

Will keep you posted on the ritteri, but hopefully all is gonna be fine.

Edit :

Oh yeah, how on earth do i water change if the nem is at the waters surface? Will it duck as i take water out? Or am i gonna have to move it? I don't really wanna have to mess it about.

 

[narny]

Oh yeah, how on earth do i water change if the nem is at the waters surface? Will it duck as i take water out? Or am i gonna have to move it? I don't really wanna have to mess it about.

 

[danmhippo]

I usually do all WC's in the sump. I try to keep my hands out of the main display tank.

 

[narny]

This would be an excellent idea if i actually had a sump :wink:

 

[JustReefIt14]

would it be possible for a carpet to be placed and live successfully in a 65 gallon tank?

 

[narny]

Way to hijack my thread JustReefIt14

 

[fishfanatic2]

The fact that u raised your skimmer cup caused the anemone to move. Before u did, he was in the current that came out of the output-now, he's searching for a new spot since the current changed. My condy does the same exact thing. Try fragging the toadstool and then let the ritteri go thru. Also, if you ever pick it up, the guy at my very good NSLFS showed me that if u take a packket of frozen food and use it like a credit card, the cold will cause the foot to let go a bit. GL

 

[narny]

Raising the skimmer cup would change the current? WOW

He's fine for now, will check on him when i get home from work, i don't wanna move him, he has the right to move if he wants to, and i've allready relocated the toadstool.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

just a thought, can you gradually lower the water line in the tank to gently persuade the anemone to move a bit lower in the tank so it won't be a problem during water changes?

 

[narny]

Well, i re-arranged my whole reef last night, so the nem is no longer a problem, he's back on his rock

He's looking good as usuall, worries over !

 

[fishfanatic2]

Good to hear.

 

[narny]

Final update.

I'm now really really happy with my reef, as i said i rearranged all the rockwork and corals (with the help of a friend who seems to be naturally talented at rockscaping) , and it looks awesome now, the nem is fully sprawled out and looking very well indeed. End of panic

Also removed the juwel filter box, and added two more powerheads to give me better in tank movement.

Will post some pics over the weekend now i'm happy with it !!!!