LTA advice

[diverdown69]

I just got a new LTA (Macrodactyla doreenensis) and I introduced it to the tank last night. It looks really good, but I had a few questions about it.
I did the usual temperature/salinity acclimitazition procedure that I would normally follow and the LTA didn't open up for several hours...actually overnight. I checked it this morning and it was pretty much fully opened and extended. I was wondering if this anemone will attach to a sand substratum or if I need to have something a little more coarse. I already have one [acronym:d00a58dd59="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:d00a58dd59] in the tank with a warty anemone attached and thriving quite nicely. Anyway, the LTA was a light green color when it was retracted. I assume that was due to the zooxanthellae being closer together. Was the retraction the LTA's way of osmoregulating in the new tank? How long should I have let it become acclimated to the salinity in my tank (about 26ppt using Instant Ocean).
[acronym:d00a58dd59="Thanks in Advance"]TIA[/acronym:d00a58dd59]!!!

[lando]

We need some more info...How much and what type of light do you curreently have? Is this in the 10 [acronym:591ecf7311="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:591ecf7311]. right now? How long has the tank been running? Lando

[Anemoneman]

I hope this is not a 10 [acronym:cd3d7a5dc1="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:cd3d7a5dc1] tank. Much too small for more than one anemone.
LTA's like to be surrounded by rock(s) with the foot surrounded by rock and (usually) attached to the bottom of the tank. Alternaltively, if you have several inches of sand, enough to allow the anemone to completely bury itself, it may be OK. They like to have the foot buried or surrounded by something. If you have enough sand the anemone will bury its foot and only have the oral disc exposed.
Same if you have enough surrounding rock structure. The oral disc will spread out to cover the rocks. These get quite large and are aggressive fish eaters.

[diverdown69]

The tank has been running a while. Water quality is good with nice clarity, pH of ~8.1, salinity of 26ppt, and very low nitrates. It is a small 10 [acronym:ab46e7bde0="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ab46e7bde0] tank, but I will have a MUCH larger tank in a few days. I got a great deal on the LTA and decided to see how it would react to the 10 [acronym:ab46e7bde0="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ab46e7bde0] tank. The other anemone (warty anemone) in the tank is very small, but doing quite well. I want to add them to a 110-[acronym:ab46e7bde0="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ab46e7bde0] tank that I am about to get started up.
I have plenty of sand in this tank for the anemone to bury its foot. I know it sounds crazy for a 10-[acronym:ab46e7bde0="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:ab46e7bde0] tank, but this setup is only temporary. Like I said, I got a great deal on the LTA and I figured that putting it in this small tank for a few days couldn't hurt.

[WarOrks15]

what lighting is on that tank?

[Nanoreefer]

Always hard to tell with anemones whether they are doing well or poorly. They are often unprdictable especially when new to a tank. When MY LTA was new to the tank he moved around a lot and also closed up for days at a time; i thought that he would die for sure. But now he is almost two years old and he has been living in a 18 gallon tall tank which has the same surface area at a ten gallon tank. The lighting has only been a 37 watt power compact. I have never fed him in all the time i've had him. I think that he would do fine in a well established 10 gallon tank.

[diverdown69]

I have a 24", 20W 10000K Coralife bulb on top of the tank right now. It is in a small fluorescent assembly I had laying around. If I have time this week, I am planning to weld up a stainless steel hood for my larger tank. That tank will probably have two of those 10000K bulbs and maybe even a [acronym:e5d4755083="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:e5d4755083] if my friend can find his [acronym:e5d4755083="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:e5d4755083] ballasts. The LTA isn't looking good this morning. The warty anemone looks okay. I checked salinity and pH this AM and they are just like yesterday's readings. I have PLENTY of aeration and filtration. I am thinking that the LTA doesn't like the substrate. Changing out the substrate isn't gonna be fun, but I may be doing just that tonight when I get home from work.

[lando]

Can you desrcibe what teh anenome looks like now? What color is it? Is it extended or not? Can you see the oral disc? YOu do not really have enought lighting to keep this anenome in the 10 [acronym:b23f1e51b8="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:b23f1e51b8]. Chances are it is not looking good because it is starving. You need to do something fast. Good luck...Lando

[diverdown69]

The anemone was partially retracted with the oral disk visible. The tentacles were partially deflated and the base was smaller in diameter than usual. The animal did in fact react when I moved the water around some this morning. Two days ago, I fed both anemones a chunk of shrimp and did not notice any problems after I did so. Should I feed them again? I know this sounds like a newbie question, but the art of keeping anemones is still kind of new to me. I have kept everything from fish to shrimp (I have helped culture shrimp) and I have never had this sort of trouble. ****, I taught water chemistry to grad students.
You say I don't have enough light to keep this anemone in a 10-gallon tank? With that much light (the 10000K Coralife bulb) it seems that I would have plenty of light. How much more do I need? That light would light up my yard. Would the [acronym:a6bf869b35="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:a6bf869b35] bulbs help? I can start the stainless hood now, but it will take some time.

[lando]

in a previous post you mentioned you had one 20 watt 10,000k bulb. On a 10 [acronym:96e97a9361="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:96e97a9361]. tank that is only 2 watts per [acronym:96e97a9361="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:96e97a9361]. LTA gennerally like 4 to 5 watts/[acronym:96e97a9361="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:96e97a9361]. They rely on light as a food source and will starve without it.