Green Bubble Tip Question!

[JsQuid]

Hey you all I have a quick question, will an Anemone move himself from his spot if he is being bleached? I ask because, my Anemone appears to be getting white in color. He chose a high rock because when he was lower, the Cleaner Shrimp would always pester him. I'm curious, will he move himself or should I take action and lower him? The tank has been up for about 4 months, the lighting is a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture. The water parameters are all zero if that helps. Thanks!

 

[LaWoWee]

You should just leave it there. Moving it will only add stress and it will move again if it is not happy in that spot.

 

[Bectan01]

The term bleaching can be deceiving because he is not bleaching because of too much light, in fact it's probably because you don't have enough light. They also can bleach because of poor water quality so run some tests and post them back. Also how big is the tank and how long have you had it?

 

[JsQuid]

Tank has been set up for 4 months. Ammonia-0 Nitrate-0 Nitrite-0 I seriously doubt he isn't receiving enough light, he is on the side of a high rock, maybe 1.5 feet away from the fixture. The bulbs are new and all other corals are doing very well.

 

[JsQuid]

The tank is a 40 breeder with a 20 long sump. I'm kinda puzzled as to why he isn't happy, I'm assuming the cleaner shrimp! The shrimp is bothering him as we speak.

 

[Bectan01]

I tried nems in my 55g with a 54w 4 bulb t5 and it wasn't enough light. It could be many things, but I suspect new tank and not enough light. Either way don't try and move it, that will cause more harm than good. Do you feed it? How long have you had the nem?

 

[JsQuid]

I have had the Anemone for maybe a little more than a month. I don't really feed the Anemone directly. I just fed the Nem maybe 20 minutes ago, and now he looks like his normal self. He is fully extended and swinging all tentacles. It looks like he really enjoyed the Mysis Shrimp!

 

[Sniperhank]

The lighting you have, I don't think it is enough to support an anemone... How big is the tank? I tried a 4 bulb to support one when I started and failed in a 36 gallon. I personally believe that in terms of T5HO, 6 bulb is a must. Using high quality bulbs will help with this...but it can become costly.
I personally wouldn't feed your anemone on purpose...it can be stressful on the anemone if the food is too big. Increasing your lighting will provide success with an anemone, since it can take a lengthy time for them to bleach out.

 

[JsQuid]

I paid nearly 100$ for the 4 bulbs, they are high quality ATI's and I'm nearly certain it's enough light. I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the fact I left on vacation for 10 days. The individual monitoring my tank didn't do a very good job, I lost all my fish.

 

[Sniperhank]

Well, you are correct that those are good bulbs and can assist with the matter...and losing all the fish in the tank would change the situation totally. Was the tank overfed to the point of nitrate/phosphate spike? You are correct it isn't a light issue with this info.
What are the current parameters? Have you done anything to correct what killed your fish, like a large water change?

 

[JsQuid]

Well I wasn't able to exactly pinpoint the exact issue with the loss of all the fish. I left strict instructions for my friend but when I came back the tank was dirty & covered in light algae. I greatly reduced feeding, and did a small water change. Since then I have upped the maintenance and reduce all algae and water clarity. I believe it was an ick outbreak that claimed the life of my fish. When I returned my Royal Gramma was striking the glass, and shortly thereafter died.

 

[Sniperhank]

I would do a larger than average water change to make sure levels are appropriate. Then after that, it is time for your anemone to heal back up. Stable and pristine water is the key to not only their ability to thrive, but also for them to heal back to normal.

 

[JsQuid]

Thank you all so much for all the input!! Another loss at this point would probably kill me.

 

[Holygral]

Your tank at 4 months isn't ready for a nem. The fact that you lost all your fish is a sign that your tank is not stable. And how many fish did you have? T5 18 inches up is not enough lighting for a nem. Also what type of water are you using. If he has lost color since you got it, then theres a problem, he chose a high rock looking for more light,

Bleached Anemone:
The lost of color or “bleaching” is a result of the loss of an anemone’s zooxanthellae. This can happen for a number of reasons such as excessive temperature changes, excessive lighting, insufficient lightning, physical stress, excessive salinity, etc.
Just like corals, anemones use their zooxanthellae to feed on light. The other part of their nutrition comes from meat. Unfortunately, they cannot survive solely on captured prey as their primary source of energy. An anemone without zooxanthellae is usually on the brink of death so:


Bleaching can be reversed, but it takes commitment and time. First thing to do is to is to provide excellent water quality and optimal lighting. If you fear your light is too strong, you can simply reduce the photo period and increase the time slowly over a couple of weeks. This will allow the anemone to addapt. When the light is too strong, the anemone will usually hide from it. The anemone should also be feed in small quantities on a regular basis (3-4 times a week) until it’s color recovers. This will keep it from starving since it dosn’t have it’s symbiotic algae to help out.

 

[mr_X]

I haven't seen an anemone bleach because of too much light. If the light is too intense they will usually retract from it. If it's going upwards on the rock, closer to the light, I would guess it it looking for more light.

 

[Holygral]

I haven't seen an anemone bleach because of too much light. If the light is too intense they will usually retract from it. If it's going upwards on the rock, closer to the light, I would guess it it looking for more light.

As long as they have an way to retreat from it.

 

[JsQuid]

I totally disagree with various statements of your post. There is no need for bashing, it was a simple question, in need of a simple response. My tank at nearly 4 months has displayed no signs of distress until I left for a 10 day vacation. As far as stability, my tank's temperature never swings more than .7 degrees. Water quality remains excellent with zeros across the board. I had never lost anything up until my winter break vacation. Salinity remains at a constant 1.024 and everything was going great. All other corals remain healthy and well. I fed the anemone a small piece of Mysis shrimp yesterday & he has since looked better. He doesn't appear to be dying, I was just worried so I asked a question.

 

[JsQuid]

I only use RO water and he only moved because of the shrimp. He only moved maybe 2 inches up, but across the other side of the aquarium. He was doing well in his original spot until the Cleaner Shrimp harassed him. After that, he ventured elsewhere to his new spot. Every once in a well, the shrimp will go over to him & he will curl up. But it's only when the shrimp gets near him. Also, I had 4 fish. 3 died during my vacation, and the last passes the next day upon arriving home.

 

[Holygral]

You ask for help and you don't like to hear the truth, I have been successfully raising nems for 6 years, and based on my experiences and 8 years of reefing, I voiced my opinion, sorry it wasn't what you wanted to hear, good luck

 

[JsQuid]

I understand that, and I am thankful for your expertise. I just don't understand how you could say the aquarium is not stable? This tank is very stable, I assure you that. I know it's a bit young, but it is very stable.