Bleached Blue Carpet.

[Jerm0007]

Hello ! I purchased a blue S. Gigantea Carpet from my LFS on Saturday. I knew he was stressed when I bought him but I wanted to try to save him. He looks ok during the day, but I definately think he is bleached or partially bleached. He is fully open and good during the day but at night he shrivels up ( normal) and his mouth opens and some of his guts spew out over his mouth ( not Normal ). I have a 90 gallon corner tank that has been running for two and a half years. I have a 250 watt metal halide light and a high output T5 over the tank as well. My Nitrite is 0. My ph is 8.5 and my Nitrate is 10. My salinity is at 125. I really love carpets and really want to save this guy. I did a 30 gallon water change last night ( i do them every two weeks but did an extra one last night ) Any advise would be great. I have a large rose BTA in the tank on the opposite side that is absolutely thriving. I hope the carpet can recover and thrive too. Anyone know of anything I can do to help him recover ?

 

[mr_X]

see if it will accept small bits of food. nothing too large as large pieces take a lot more energy to process. depending on the size of the creature, pea sized pieces of chopped shrimp or something similar i guess.

 

[Jerm0007]

I tried to give a little bit of Krill last night. He was very sticky ( good sign) but after pulling it near his mouth for a few seconds he then relaxed and let the food float away. I was thinking maybe to give him a couple of days before trying again. is that a good idea? Or should I try again right away? ( like this evening )

 

[mr_X]

i would try again. i don't think it will bother it too much. meanwhile, if it's opening up fully during the daylight hours, it's a good sign. it will probably take a couple months for it to regain it's color.

 

[Jerm0007]

Glad to hear you say that... I was scared that this was a death sentence...I heard bleaching is very tough for an anemone to recover from..

 

[mr_X]

oh, it is, but i have seen some pretty rough cases bounce back. not with carpets, but bubble tips and LTAs.

 

[Jerm0007]

Is there any one I can call for advise ? Like a reef doctor or anything? I am more than willing to pay a consultation fee if needed. I would just hate to think there was anything I could do and didnt do it. I really have a great respect and love for carpet anemones and really want to see him pull through. So I should still maintain hope ? As long as my water quality is good he has a fighting chance you think ?

 

[mr_X]

there isn't anything in the way of a medication or special care that you can do to help it along. all you can do is provide an ideal environment for it to flourish, and wait it out. attempting to feed it is the only thing anyone is going to mention.

 

[Jerm0007]

Thanks Doug ! I appreciate the advise. I will try feeding it again tonight. I also thought that maybe i would move him from the sand to a rock, and get him a little higher up in the tank. Get him a little more in the current and closer to the lights.

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't move it at all. let it acclimate to your lighting on the sand bed. a 250 watt halide should penetrate that depth fine.

 

[Jerm0007]

The reason i thought of moving him was because his foot is not attached below the sand yet, and i wasn't sure if the S. gigantea prefer a rock to latch on to as opposed to the sandy bottom. Have you heard that they prefer the rocks to sand ? And again, thank you for your continued advise.

 

[mr_X]

all the ones i have seen in peoples' tanks have been near the sand bed. i never thought to ask. all the ones i have sold were pre-paid for, so i didn't keep them long enough for them to attach to anything.
i would still leave it be and let it decide where it wants to go.

 

[Jerm0007]

thanks ! I will leave him B and just keep the water crystal and the light strong. Hopefully he will start to eat soon. I tried mysis shrimp today and he may have eaten a little bit of it. Hard to tell if he actually ate it to be honest as the mysis is so small. he was once again very very sticky to the touch.

 

[Jerm0007]

Well,,, sadly when I got home from work last night I found that he had almost completely disintegrated. I am extremely sad and disappointed but wanted to thank all of you for your advise and for trying to help.

 

[mr_X]

ugh! sorry to hear that.