anenome problem?

[dapex]

Hi all, I am the proud owner of m first marine tank, I purchased it second hand and as yet i have had no problems at all (2 weeks now). I purchased an anenome at the weekend as a present for my 2 clown fish but i think it may be ill. I was told that the anenome would need to be nearer the top of the tank because i am only running T8 lights (2 blue 1 White) si thats where i put it, however it appeared to slide of the rock and ended up near the bottom, the wife decided that it needed moving again and put it back nearer the top but yet again it has gone to the bottom, it has now got itself in a position that makes it look like it is hanging on for dear life by a few strands but it is maninly crumpled up and its tentacles dont apper to be on show much and what we can se have not extended all day (they lok small and withered)

Does this sound like i have a problem, if s, what can i do, also should i be feeding it anything special and should it be fed directly (just using white snow at present) i know that all the fish and corals in the tank were all thee for about 1 year before i purchased it and the owner never mentioned having to feed the corals directly so i hvae not been doing so,

I hope you can help

Dave

 

[Anonymous]

Moving around is a problem for anemone in addition to other issues that makes it one of the hardest thing to keep alive for any extended amount of time. This is why most people don't recommand anemone other than as a "rental item"

I don't know what to suggest.. because it is very difficult to get it to sit still unless you put it in a deep bowl-shaped rock or something.... Good luck.

 

[dapex]

Cheers for that, this may sound daft, ut how do i know when or if it is dying????
Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

If it begins to dissolve and/or its mouth gapes open and inverts itself, it's done for. From the sounds of it, I think yours is unfortunately well on its way to that fate.

Anemones require excellent water quality and intense lighting. Many aqarists that have tanks full of touchy sps corals and clams cannot keep anemones alive.

Also, when you purchased this tank I assume you moved it by taking everything out, transporting it, and putting everything back in? (correct me if I'm wrong). When that happens, your tank is no longer 'established' and you can't really count on that year of 'up time' as a good measure. By disturbing the sandbed and rockwork, and even the water column, you're going to go through a smaller nitrogen cycle. I'd keep a very close eye on your water parameters over the next several weeks if I were you. Oftentimes moving a tank is an even trickier experience than setting one up from scratch.

 

[Chronicles]

Start feeding it things like a piece of shrimp, squid or other seafood 2-3 times a week. They are not filter feeders and will not "eat" your snow. I was gone for 2 weeks and the person who took care of my tank did not feed mine, looked horrible when I got back, but now it's back to normal after feeding.

 

[Tiffany]

I had an anemone for about a year, and in the beginning it hid behind the rocks every night so it was in the dark during the day, (they are known to do this) and we did this thing every day where he moved at night when the p/h's were off and and I turned the rock around every morning...This went on for about a month.
I found out by testing different techniques that it didn't like water flow. I adjusted the flow so that it received only minimal flow, almost nothing, and left the p/h's on at night so that it didn't move. Sort of trapping it!! It worked a treat. It grew to four times it's size and stayed put..
I'd suggest that you use 2 day and 1 actinic, and put it at the top of the tank, near a rock that has a whole or crevice that it can dig it's foot into.
I'm assuming that the anemone is an E. Quad (BTA) as the others generally like alot more light.
They are very fussy about water parameters, you can always tell if the waters not to its satisfacton...I added a couple of ammonia balls to ensure that a dead snail or crab etc that I hadn't seen didn't cause trouble, and this helped alot with my stress levels......
Another good idea is to separate it from the clowns until it has established a station, as if they take a liking to it they can do more harm than good, if it's not established.
How big was the guy when you saw him in the shop, and how big are your clowns?
My anemone looked similar to what you described when I bought him home, what are the tank parameters? I think that this might have something to do with the problem, or it's a high light species.
A water change is always a good idea.
He doesn't sound too good, but I've saved one, and they can be hardy in regard to rejuvenating themselves, if the source of the problem is eradicated.
Hope this has been of help.