Anemone looks bad

[Mommeejo]

An someone tell me what's going on? I have a 75 gal tank and have lots of live rock, lots of coral, 2 anemones, shrimp, damsels, yellow tang, choc star fish, marine beta, and 2 clowns. My anemone is not looking good at all and choc chip star fish moves under him before and I think he may have attacked him. Any thoughts??

 

[mr_X]

First of all, the chocolate chip star is going to eat your corals. I don't know if they eat anemones, but it's possible, if they don't feel the sting.

 

[Mommeejo]

The peeps at the fish store said it should be fine since he was is the tank first for over a year and he does mess with the corals what would u suggest doing?

 

[mr_X]

Well, their diet consists of any flesh they come in contact with. I have never heard of a reef safe CC star. On the contrary, they are quite the opposite. I would not trust a single thing the peeps at the fish store say from now on. Do you have a sump? I'd toss him in there until you can find a fish only tank for him.

 

[Mommeejo]

Ok I'm very sorry but I inherited this tank and it was already set up. It's been a lot of fun learning about all of this and can sometimes be overwhelming. I just looked it up online and it appears that my starfish is called a brittle starfish and I am reading more about them right now so it's not a cc starfish. However it may not make a difference.

 

[mr_X]

Oh...brittle starfish won't bother anemones. What color is it?

 

[Mommeejo]

The brittle star is a really dark brown almost black looking.

 

[mr_X]

Well, the anemone looking bad probably has nothing to do with the starfish. How long have you had this tank under your care? From the looks of the rock, it seems like nutrient levels are a bit higher than optimal. Possibly a spike from the move?

 

[Mommeejo]

We have had the tank do about 2 months under our care now and have gotten the water tested a few times. Our salinity was high once and we did a water change I'm going to get the water testes again today. I bought test strips but then heard they aren't accurate so I take the water to a shop where they use something else more accurate.

 

[Mommeejo]

Also what do I look for in the rocks? The anemone looked a lot better after the light had been on for and hour but sometimes it just looks unhealthy. We did just add some snails and hermit crabs.

 

[mr_X]

It just appears from the picture that the rocks are covered with algae. That would indicate higher than optimal nutrient levels.

 

[Mommeejo]

Well when we got the tank it hadn't been cleaned in awhile we did take out a lot of algae but left some for the shrimp to eat. However they don't seem to be eating all thy much. Do I suggest to clean it all out?

 

[mr_X]

Shrimp don't eat much algae, if any. What I would do is keep the water clean. get on a weekly partial water change regimen and feed reasonably for a while. The algae will slowly disappear.
You can feed as little as two or three times a week with no ill effects.