Green carpit anemone not doing well?

[Lookout888]

The story,
Got the anemone about 3-4 weeks ago. i put in in front on a rock. ( with lights off and acl. to the light over a few days 3 days in my tank he moved under and behind my rock i could only see a little bit of him. but he was still open and looked good. 1 week ago he came out from behind the rock but still under the rock complexly. I gave him a sliver slider and he eat it no problem. Yesterday I looked at him and he was all shriveled up. Today he looks the same. The rock he is under is holding up a lot of other rock i was thinking that maybe it slid down a little (does not look like it) and is now trappings him). I jut gave him a silver slider to see if he would eat and he took in but he is still all shriveled up and flat. Any ideas on what to do?

Thanks for the help
Mike
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[TCTFish]

How many gallons is the tank?
How long has it been up and running with fish?
Type filter?
Describe the lighting units (type bulbs, total wattage).
What are the current water parameters? Ammonia, nitirte, nitrate, pH, salinity, temp, calcium and alkalinity. Please post numbers of results.

As a precaution, do an immediate 15% water change.

 

[Lookout888]

110g with about 50 gal sump ref. 2x 250 mh with 2x 110 vho 10k on the mh and atent. on the vho total wat 720 all on times to create dusk and dawn and sun rise
5 months
skimmer and refug. chato and 120+ pounds lr, kalk reactor

6 line
2 maroon clown
yellow watchmen
corals

all peramiters are good
After i put a silver slider on it the anemone sucked it up and started to puff up. This morning he is fully open. The person i got him from said they feed him once a week and that is what i am doing.

any ideas? nothing has yet to die in the tank
i did a fishless cycle, I have added everything slowly to the tank.

 

[TCTFish]

Carpet anemones are not the easiest. They can be difficult, but good to read that it has opened. Continue observing and note any abnormalities.

I cannot determine the water without numbers. I'm particularly interested in nitrates, calcium and alkalinity.

 

[Lookout888]

alk =2.74
cal = 385
nitrate = 0
nitrite = 0

 

[TCTFish]

Calcium is a bit low (you want it at 450), but doubt has any relevance to the anemone. A high calcium value might, but I don't think the lower end does. That's what I was looking for. Thanks.

Everything else seems to be in check.

Just to note: Offer a variety of different foods. Swap between the silversides with krill and squid.

I have a suggestion if you don't already do...keep a journal of the system. Especially one that big. If you do keep a journal, do you know what the calcium levels were when you first introduced the anemone?

Journal keeping will allow you to see potential problems before they emerge into something serious. Record weekly tests and special additives like calcium and alkalinity. Also record anything new that goes in or on the tank like animals, new lights, filter maintenance, etc.

The extra effort is worth protecting that kind of investment.

 

[Lookout888]

Great advice thank you. The cal was around the same maybe 5 or 10 lower. i am working on getting it higher but dont want to do it to fast. Is onece a week good for feeding or should i do more? can you over feed? any idea why he would have shrivled up? he still did not come out into any light is this anything i should worry about?

Here are some new pics.

sorry new clown hamming it up

Thanks for all the help.

Mike

 

[cmor1701d]

Feedinig once or twice a week is fine. Definately not more than that. You should also mince the food to ¼" size which is what it would normally consume. They do occasionaly get a whole fish in the wild, but not often.

Also your calc is fine. Normal levels of calc should range from 350-450ppm. As long as you can keep it in that range there is no need to supplement it.

 

[steve-s]

Calcium is not that big a concern unless you have scleractinians, even at that I would not elevate the numbers beyond 420 ppm. In any event, keeping a good target goal on the chemistry will benefit the overall health of the tank.

In regards to the anemone, what type of lighting did the LFS have it under and what elevation is the lighting on your tank above the water line? How deep is your tank?

The anemone looks otherwise healthy from what I can see. This looks much like a light acclimation issue... 8)

Cheers
Steve

 

[TCTFish]

I agree with Steve here. This photo is showing an otherwise healthy animal. BTW...cute pic on the clown...gloat all you want As said before, carpets are a bit more of a challenge, being they seem to be a bit more sensitive to change. A bulb anemone, for example, would be able to deal with a 'sudden shift of this' or a 'drop of that' more so than the carpets. Though once stable in it's new home, they can thrive. You have a big enough system to make that kind of an anemone happy. Time and patience as always.

 

[melosu58]

i did a fishless cycle, I have added everything slowly to the tank.[/quote]

 

[Lookout888]

Thank you all for the help. i got the GCA from a guy tearing down his tank. when i put him in the tank i did not have lights on frist day then maybe 4 hours for the next few days but a few days after he was in he went to back. is he more then likly to stay under the rock or will he probably come out?

my lights are about 9-10 above water lvl probably more b/c they are high in the pendent. eveything else in my tank is growing so fast. I have a birds nest that is starting so many new sprouts. I got alot of corals from the guy tearing down his tank and they all changed in my tank they all got alot of color and look so much better. i dont know if his lights where not good or if water was not good but they are all great exsept the GCA so maybe it is the lights.

Again thanks for the help

if you want to see more pics http://www.lookout888.com/picture

comment are welcome !!!!!!! and wanted. Thanks again

 

[steve-s]

The anemome has found a place to shade itself so leave it be and it should acclimate on it's own. It will eventually come out, it just needs to adjust.

Cheers
Steve