Anenome Trouble? *pic

[xahx]

My rittier here, seemed unhappy with his spot in a rock, he slowly dettached and started moving toward the bottom of the tank, i didnt want it to sting anything in the process so i moved it somewhere else lower.

THen pretty recently it started to look like its was dying, then it looks like it started tearing first a bit at the base then the whole side split! as you can see, its only holding on to the rock by a small corner of the base.

Is it dying?? some of the tentacles look pretty battered and torn at the tops... It doesnt smell bad and the Ammonia isnt rising...

Is my anenome dying or splitting? should i remove it?

Would it tear for any other reason other than splitting??

 

[xahx]

Any help would be Great and very much appreciated!

 

[Thumper]

I wish I had some good info for you but i dont, I have heard of them splitting and surviving it before for what its worth

 

[kwan]

I have seen my BTA split once before and it doesn't look anything like yours. When mine split, it was very healthy looking, and it had a good footing to pull itself apart. I would probably move it out into a QT.

 

[lando]

Generally, when an anemone starts to roam it is a sign it is not happy with something. Declining water parameters, lighing and flow are common causes. What type of is it? What else do you have in the tank> How long ago did you add it and how old is your tank?

 

[macman7010]

Hey,

sorry I had better news but I dont. My GBTA did the exact same thing, sorry to say that your anemone is dying. Mine started with a small tear then turned out like yours is in those pictures. Remove it from the tank, soon it will start stinking and throw all your levels off.

sorry, they are tough keepers.

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

Ritteri anemones are terribly difficult to keep. I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to keep them in captivity. Most people who try to keep these end up in the same boat as you. Sorry for your loss.

Some anemones will split as a last effort for survival. Most anemones (besides BTA's) will split due to stress. Even if your anemone is splitting (which I doubt), it still wouldn't be a good sign.

 

[klam]

IMO, your ritteri looks like it's about to disintegrate.

 

[lando]

your ritteri looks like it's about to disintegrate

I agree, you may want to pull it from the tank before it can foul your water. When an anemone dies it can release toxins into the water that will destroy the rest of your tank. Take it out and start running some fresh GAC to be safe. Be ready to do a water change if needed. Take out the entre rock it is on to remove it, do NOT take it off of the rock while it is in the tank. Good luck...Lando

 

[xahx]

I agree, you may want to pull it from the tank before it can foul your water. When an anemone dies it can release toxins into the water that will destroy the rest of your tank. Take it out and start running some fresh GAC to be safe. Be ready to do a water change if needed. Take out the entre rock it is on to remove it, do NOT take it off of the rock while it is in the tank. Good luck...Lando

Thanks, took it out and put in a qt bucket last night, it didnt look good today, thanks for letting me know it was dying! its what i suspected... Its in a 60 gal, and its just became stable, i took out the clown hosts for qt, and maybe it stressed out... Too bad... I really liked that anenome, my clowns did too!...

 

[klam]

Ritteri are on the hard to keep list of anemones. Many experienced reefers still have difficulties keeping them long term. They are beautiful anemones tho.

Try your hand at a BTA. They are one of more easier anemones to care for but still require good water quality. BTA don't require as much intense light as other. Some seem to like PC lighting while other like to sit right below MH.