Classic newbie mistake, shrinking anemone

[Meredith]

Yesterday my anemone was looking lively after a shrimp dinner the night before. Today it looks smaller and it has this clump of (not sure what they are called) tentacles (?) that seems shrunken and dried out looking. It has moved away from the rock and is sitting out in the middle of the tank.
I guess I should have waited a few more months before I tried the anemone thing.
The tank has been up for a little more than 2 months.
ammo 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 20
ph 8.2
temp 81
my last water change was friday (I think)

I have 3 175 watt MH 2 of them are only 5000k and one of them is 14,000k

Is there anything I can do for this little guy?

 

[Meredith]

I was messing around with the filter just now and I accidently blew over the anemone, and the underneath part looks all gross. I don't know if its supposed to look like this.

 

[melosu58]

Seabae anenome, It`s not looking too good. Maybe others will chime in but don`t let it foul youy tank up. I`ve not had much luck with them either. Sorry

 

[Meredith]

Will a water change do any good?

 

[Fluff]

Looks like a torn foot. I wouldn't hold out alot of hope for recovery.
But, anything is possible. Just keep the water great and hope for the best.

 

[Meredith]

It seems to be letting off wisps of what looks like smoke. Is this waste, or something else? I guess I will go ahead with the water change. Should I feed it still, or move it closer up on the rocks?

 

[Fluff]

I wouldn't bother moving it or feeding it. If the expelling was brownish, then it was waste. Is this coming from the mouth or the tear?

 

[Fluff]

When you bought the anemone, was it attached to anything that the lfs had to remove it? Sometimes rough handling/removal can cause the foot to get damaged.

 

[revhtree]

This is gross, but get close to the water and see if it smells.... :?

 

[Meredith]

It wasn't attached to anything at the lfs, it was just on the sand. But who knows where it was before that. The wisps are white and seem to be coming from everywhere. Im going to go smell my water

 

[melosu58]

It`s definitely a torn foot. I `m pretty sure there is not much hope. Keep a close eye on him and dont let him break up in your tank. And a water change never hurts

 

[Meredith]

Well, the water does not stink (yet) but its mouth is open wider than before. It looks really gross.

 

[melosu58]

Sorry

 

[Meredith]

It looks like its insides are starting to come out its mouth. And the rabbit fish is picking at the "dead" parts. Should I take it out now?

 

[melosu58]

I think you should. He looks very damaged to me.

 

[Meredith]

Ok. Well, I took him out and put him in a bucket of tank water with a heater just in case. I am very disappointed. I don't think I will try this again for a long while

 

[Fluff]

Sorry Meredith. Sometimes there is nothing you can do. Sounds/looks like someone wasn't careful in moving him. They are very easily damaged.

 

[lando]

Did you just get that? Is it possible the LFS damaged it when they bagged it up?

 

[Meredith]

I just got it the other day. I think he was careful. He just scooped it out and put it in the bag. It wasn't attached to any thing. The funny thing is, he was warning me about not trying to detach it if it was on a rock. It never made any attempt to move around in my tank at all.
Anyway, I learned my lesson.

 

[OceanMist]

Sorry to say, but it sounds like its on its way out, I lost one that did what yours is doing, the white wisps sound like it's tissue is desintigrating, i know its difficult, but i would remove it before it pollutes the rest of the tank.