what is this on my BTA?

[nicksgirl]

I have seen it twice now. (the long slimely looking thing)
I guess this is how he is feeding?

 

[ccCapt]

Hard to tell from that pic, but it looks like it's the reverse of feeding. Expelling waste.

 

[nicksgirl]

What ever it is stays visible and attached for while (but that doesn't mean it isn't waste). I put some shrimp in the water nearby him after taking this picture to see if he reacted at all and he didn't.

You're probably right. But if he has waste, at least that means he's eating! Thats good news.

 

[MT79]

Do not over feed the anemone. It looks kind of stressed already, therefore I would not feed it at all for awhile. Digesting food consumes energy. Sometimes, as is often the case w/ over feeding, it takes more energy to digest food than the anemone is receiving. This will lead to additional stress, and possibly death. Right now it needs all it's strength to acclimate to your tank/lighting. I would recommend feeding it a small piece of meaty food, ~1/2 the size of a pinky fingernail or less, once every week at the most, until it gets some color back. It looks a bit bleached. It should be more a brown color than white/clear. When back to normal health target feedings are not even neccessary if it is being housed w/ fish. It will get what it needs from lighting, fish waste, and left over fish food. Over feeding can be just as bad, if not worse, than under feeding. HTH

 

[nicksgirl]

He does live with fish. And I haven't ever fed the anenome until doing what I said above - He's been in the tank a few weeks now and seems to have found his place. He's under a rock ledge. He expands polyps/tenticles more at night than in the day-light. But whenever he is out, his tenticles are bright, clear white and healthy looking. He is a "neon" bubble tip -if that explanis the color - he looks the same right now as he did in the fish store.

As for the odd "appendage" it is still attached and I saw another similar one earlier. My eyes aren't very good - but it looks like this thing is coming out the side of his tan-colored section. But as I said - my eyes aren't very good. I wouldn't wager on the accuracy of that observation!

 

[MT79]

clear white and healthy looking. He is a "neon" bubble tip -if that explanis the color

No. Clear means bleached regardless. That would explain why it expands more at night. Usually they tend to do the exact opposite. Your lighting may be too bright for him, at least until he recovers. I would consider shortening your photoperiod for awhile or adding screening to the top of the tank to filter out light. Light acclimation is very stressful on bleached anemones. How long do you run your lights? What type of lighting was it under before you bought it? We can go forward w/ that info

As for the odd "appendage" it is still attached and I saw another similar one earlier.

This concerns me. Sometimes they will extrude their guts, usually it doesn't end well.

 

[roka64]

Is his foot torn?

 

[nicksgirl]

Wow- now I'm worried! What I can see of his foot looks fine. (He hasn't moved more than and millimeter or two since originally finding his place the day he wen in the tank)

Lighting is 2x 65 watt 10k and 2x 65 watt Actinic 3 - I have tthe actinic on for 12 hours and white light coming on for 10 hours each day.

The temperature moves about two degrees everyday between 77 at night and 78 during the day. (Although in the past, I have forgotten to turn on the fan and found the tank at or near 80 - but that hasn't happened in a while)

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate=0
pH = 8.2
I can't test for phosporus, iodine or magnesium - should I take a sample to the LFS?

 

[MT79]

I have tthe actinic on for 12 hours and white light coming on for 10 hours each day.

How long have you had the anemone? Do you know what type of lighting it was under before you bought it? You may want to consider reducing the photoperiod to 4-6 hours for a few days. That may help alleviate some stress. Since it looks alittle bleached, try target feeding it a very small pieces of meaty food. (Lack of zooxanthellae = lack of energy hence the target feedings) FWIW my BTA's seem to prefer krill over everything else. It seemed to work best for me when my BTA's bleached after a lighting change. If the anemone doesn't readily accept the food, do not force it on it. Simply try again in a few days. I never worried about mag or PO4 when I did not have stoney corals. What salt mix are you using and what type of source water( ie tap or RO etc.)?

 

[nicksgirl]

I get source water at the local grocery.. I guess it is RO. It is filtered water dispensed from a machine but I am about to switch to a 6 stage RO/DI here at home (as soon as the equipement gets here.) I'm switching for convenience.

I use Oceanic Salt Mix and a bit of buffer every 2 or 3 weeks. Other than that - mysis or brine are about the only things that go in my tank. The fish share about 3/4 of a cube every other day. I think I've had the anenome for almost 3 weeks now. He was brand new at the LFS and had been in the tank there for only 24 or 36 hours when I bought him. I probably should have given him more time... They have pc lighting over the tank where he was - but I don't know the wattage.

I had not tried to feed him until April 15 when he didn't respond to my effort. Then lately he had been looking so bad I thought he was probably dying so I tried again because I knew he wasn't OVER-fed. This time, he took the mysis and it may be my imagination, but after a while, I think he is looking a little bit better.

He is still spending hours and hours all pinched up like a piece of chewed bubble-gum with tissue paper stuck in it - But he is also opening up a bit and when he is open, his tenticals look fleshier than they did two days ago. He is also holding his mouth way down in the center of his bowl-shaped body posture.

He seems to be open more at night than in the day light. But I don't think he is getting too much light because he is under a ledge and he stretches to look up and out. If anything, I would think he might want more light. But I know he can move so I haven't done anything about that. If the light were too intense- he'd be hiding from it, wouldn't he? He wouldn't be reaching his face around and looking up.

((( That last thing I said was pretty unscientific, I guess - I certainly don't have the experience a lot of you have - but I am just learning as I go so I try to watch closely and use my head in connection with what I see. )))

Thanks for all your help, ideas and input!!

 

[MT79]

use Oceanic Salt Mix and a bit of buffer every 2 or 3 weeks.

Never dose what you don't test for. Do you know your Alk? Unless you have at least a few LPS, SPS, and/or a very high bio-load, PWC's will be plenty to maintain chemistry. Many times hobbyist, especially "newbies", will see improvements when they quit dosing and just do regular PWC's.

he took the mysis and it may be my imagination, but after a while, I think he is looking a little bit better.

Very possible. If you start seeing more brown in the oral disc and/or tentacles that is a great sign. They can bounce back fast, once appropriate steps are taken.

But I don't think he is getting too much light because he is under a ledge and he stretches to look up and out.

OK. Anemones do have the advantage of being able to choose their own spot. Since he was only at the LFS for a short time though, it's very hard to say what type of lighting it's used too. It may be wild caught, and artificial lighting may be totally new to it. Just keep in mind lighting acclimation is very stressful. Being bleached somewhat and stressed from collection will compound things. A good way to think of the stress is one thing stresses an animal, two things kill it. There may be a trifecta going here(new tank, possibly new light, loss of zooxanthellae). I'd say be very careful and keep up what your doing. Best of luck w/ it, hopefully we'll see some pics when it's nice and robust.


EDIT- It would be wise to buy a Ca and Alk test kit. I highly recommend Seachem or Salifert brand tests for a reef. Test your newly made SW, and adjust as necessary. That will keep your tank stable w/ PWC's, and not stress the animals. Your numbers should be
Ca- 375-450
Alk- 3-4 meg/l or 8-12 dkh
Mag- 1250- 1300
Ph 8-8.4
Once you know the parameters of the new SW, in the future you can easily adjust them to the desired levels(assuming it's necessary) to match your tank. This calculator makes it easy- http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html
That will ensure your PWC's are replacing things in the proper amount, and not causing fluctuations or imbalances. HTH