Bubble tip anemone

[Brookechooka89]

Hi there,

My bubble tip anemone has been in my tank for about 3 months, seems its mouth is open.

I fed my fish some pellets this morning (lazy, I know). Then looked at my BTA as my fish were feeding and notice it "cringed" and then sloooowly relaxed back and then expelled a white/clear substance (it looked similar to milk, only lighter and thinner). And has now sat in this position for about 20 minutes. I'm just about to head off to work unfortunately so I won't be able to monitor the BTA throughout the day.

Would anyone have a quick understanding of what just happened..are the mouth open and the discharge connected? If not can anyone explain both queries?

Cheers

Brooke

[Sniperhank]

The bleaching and the mouth gaping are connected. That guy is stressed and nearing death. These guys need high intensity light to survive and this need is not being met. What is your lighting?

[mr_X]

It's definitely bleached, and quite unhappy. It can recover if proper parameters and/or lighting are presented.

[Bectan01]

+1 to the above. And a BTA on the sandbed? What kind of lighting do you have in this tank? Is it a new tank?

[Brookechooka89]

Thanks for the reply everyone...

I have 2 x 3ft cases that hold 2 bulbs in each. In both cases, I have 1 x T5 HO 6700k bulb and 1 x marine glo actinic bulb.

My tanks is a 6ft tank.

As to anemone on sand, I just cleaned my tank 2 days ago, so it has moved itself from the live rock it was attached to and sat behind the rock due to too much water flow. I will get it to attach again to the rock ASAP. People are telling me about LED's etc. which i really ont want to muck up with and make things worse. I will go out and buy the lights ASAP, i just need to know what type and how many etc. I just really need to know "no fuss", "no lingo" etc.

Please just let me know what to buy to get my little guy happy and healthy, and ill do it. I hate to see that I am not doing a good job here, it's my first anemone.

My tank is 5-6 years old.

I have another post named "lighting for reef tanks" asking about lighting because I didn't know a while back..reply's pointed me towards LED's, but I'm really not convinced. Everyone told me to go to AMAZON.com. I just want to go to a LFS and pick up the lights/bulbs.

Please, please help. I don't want my little guy to be unhappy anymore

Brooke

[Bectan01]

I would definitely go with LEDs. They are your best choice I think. I used to have t5 and had problems with heat (same goes for metal halide) and plus you have to replace the globes every 8months - the cost of LEDs may look like a lot up front but if you add up the cost of replacement globes (and that would be a lot on a 6ft tank) you could have just bought the LEDs and have a better light. Everyone is going with the taotronics dimmable ones and you would need three on your tank.

[Bectan01]

When was the last time you changed out your globes? If you don't have the cash to upgrade now I would at Least think about getting 2x 10000k - 12000k whites in there, your nem isn't going to like the lights you have

[mr_X]

You need more light. LED or not, 2 bulbs every 3 feet will not support a bubble tip in a 6' tank, no matter what lamps you have in them.

[gpd605x]

I bought this off eBay... Solid light fixture and puts out plenty of light. Has a timer built in and everything. Haven't had a single problem with it yet (Knock on wood)
Quad T5 48" Light

[Brookechooka89]

That light looks great, but unfortunately it doesn't send to Australia. Is there any other suppliers that do? Also does anyone else in this thread think that these lights could help me?

[Sniperhank]

More light will help, but Odessa fixtures are kinda cheap and have been known to rust.

[Bectan01]

^this light is not suitable for reef tanks. Check out the LEDs, you won't be disappointed

[Bectan01]

Ah, where abouts in Australia are you? I am in melbourne...

[mr_X]

You need 6 feet of lighting...not 4. If you are considering t5's, I would want at least 6 lamps every 3 feet.

[bill302]

Call, Greg Huddleston
Bass Pro
Broken Arrow #31
Oklahoma City #20
918-629-1402

He will ship to you. He runs a company called "Under The Sea"...he sold me a great led setup and he is very knowledgeable call him and talk to him he will help you.... He helped me...

[Brookechooka89]

I am in Brisbane.

[Bectan01]

Search on eBay for 120w dimmable LED aquarium light. There are a few that come up but they are all essentially the se as the lights people talk about on here. They are about $180 each and you would need three for you tank. If you are still unsure post the link here before you buy to get people's opinion. Also check out the thread - lighting for your reef, best bang for your buck

[Brookechooka89]

Bec

I'm not sure if you have pet city in Melbourne, but they have an aquarium section so I called and asked about LEDs they said if need 3 for my tank and they were $1000 each!!! It's a very big difference in price, I don't know why I can't understand this light business :/

Would the quality of the LEDs you are talking about any different to what pet city would have?

Sorry if I'm bombarding you with questions.

Brooke

[mr_X]

Don't believe the hype. You don't need to spend that.

[Bectan01]

Yup, to be honest my local fish store (who only deals with marine fish) only stock super expensive LED units too. Luckily they can give realistic advice like, search on eBay etc... I believe the cost difference comes from the type of led chip that is used in the units - the units on eBay are the Chinese version and by all accounts are just as good as the top shelf ones. Again I would recommend before you buy to post on here with the specifications first, just incase you are missing something (technically) Where abouts do you live? In Brisbane city? You would think up there would have some good aquariums that only deal with marine, I know some good ones on the Sunshine Coast...