Is my new anemone ok... won't attach

[maringoddess]

New to Reef Central. Thanks in advance for your help. I have a 30 gal nano. It has been established about 6 months. All water paramaters are great. Last week I addded my first anemone. It has been 6 days, and it simply won't attach. I have buried in sand bed, sandwiched between rocks, adjusted water flow, even turned off for 15 min to help it settle. It bobbs around in the front, and is extended. Appears to be happy. Brine shrimp stick to tentacles. It looks like it may be a little bleached? Thoughts? It's foot is clean, healthy, no tears.
Here are pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40409506@N07/

[Whys]

I would say stop touching it and give it more time. But I'm no expert on anems.

What kind of lighting do you have?

[der_wille_zur_macht]

It does look a little bleached. Was it that color when you bought it?

How much flow do you have in your tank?

[lmsmith]

I agree, the best thing you can do it stop bugging it and let it find somewhere it likes. You can turn off the flow for a few hours or overnight, let it settle, and then turn the powerheads on again. It will probably move around once there is flow in the tank so it can find where it likes. Do something now to cover your powerheads...

[abulgin]

A little bleached? WAY bleached. That looks like a bubble tip. It should be brown to maroon. Honestly, whoever sold that to you should be shot. It may be doomed--if it's healthy (which it's not, just by the color alone), it should attach somewhere, at least temporarily. The only good sign I see is that it appears to be pretty full-looking. I think you're fighting a losing battle here and would return it.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm

I'll also note for the record that your tank is way too small to house an anemone long-term. These can get 12-18" in diameter in a relatively short period of time.

[romsoccer12]

+1, that anemone is super bleached. get your money back when you can. I say you can definitely keep an anemone though. Its not like taking it out would be that difficult if it gets a little to big. I think a 16 inch anemone would look awesome in a 30gal

[maringoddess]

When I purchased it..... , I was told it was a Purple Lt Anem. It had faint neon greed tips, which it still does, and it had a very faint purple/blue tint to it, which it appears it might have lost a litle of that purple/blue tint, since I have had it. I had done a lot of research on this species prior, and thought my paraaters would be sufficient. When I originally set up the aquarium, I "reserved" the entire front in hopes that it would root there, and that would allow enough room.

I have adjusted the flow to make it more direct, and this has just caused it to move around even more, and the tentacles kind of curl up to resist the pressure, and then it jut bobbed up, down, up down. So I returned the curent to less direct. Once it pulls up out of the sand it just lays sideways on the sand, fully expanded.

[maringoddess]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15355534#post15355534 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lmsmith
I agree, the best thing you can do it stop bugging it and let it find somewhere it likes. You can turn off the flow for a few hours or overnight, let it settle, and then turn the powerheads on again. It will probably move around once there is flow in the tank so it can find where it likes. Do something now to cover your powerheads...


Really? Turn them off that long? I have other fish, pollups. I thought this would be dangerous to them?

[maringoddess]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15355907#post15355907 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
That looks like a bubble tip.

When I was selecting the anem, there were "bubble tips" in the aquarium, which were green, and tan/brown. This species was obviously different, when compared to the other two bubbles they had. Tentacles looked very different. These are longer, more pointed.

[Toddrtrex]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

I would take it back from where you bought it, get your money back, and never shop there again. That is a bleached, and unhealthy LTA (Macrodactyla doreensis ). Its mouth isn't tightly closed and the tentacles are shorter then they should be.
How deep is your sandbed? LTAs, prefer to have their foot buried in the sand, at least 3" deep -- the bigger the anemone the deeper the sand.

To give you an idea, this is what a purple LTA should look like, ---- that will come in a bit, having issues with my photobucket.

Edit, this is a healthy purple LTA,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/New58closeup.jpg

[der_wille_zur_macht]

What do you have for flow in your tank? You don't want to shut it completely down, but at least reduce the flow - for instance, if you have a sump and a bunch of powerheads, you could leave the sump running but turn all the powerheads off.

If it were a BTA it would likely be fine in a 30g - I've kept BTA for 15 years and never seen one bigger than 10 or 12 inches - they tend to split once they are that large. Long tentacle anemones (I'm guessing that's what you meant by "Lt Anem?") get much bigger and would definitely be a stretch in a tank that small. Though, looking at it, I'm not convinced it's an LTA - the tentacles look too short and fat, just like BTA tentacles.

And yeah, it's definitely bleached, though it's hard to know the degree since we don't really know the species or how accurate the photos are.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Purple LTA, since Todd is having difficulties:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MJK1lOK45sQ/SM_nbdBhAyI/AAAAAAAAEBw/vRzOqLJ2jbI/s400/pictures+167.jpg

edit - I see Todd got his photo up, too. :)

[Sugar Magnolia]

But Todd is right --- mhurly

:D Seriously, he is right. With it floating around, you also run the risk of it ending up in a powerhead and having it shred to bits. Take the nem back. ;) They sold you a dying anemone.

[abulgin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15356835#post15356835 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
Though, looking at it, I'm not convinced it's an LTA - the tentacles look too short and fat, just like BTA tentacles.

I agree. This does not look at all like a Macrodactyla doreensis (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/macrodoreensis.htm). I think it's either a Heteractis crispa (Sebae anemone - http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm) or a bubble tip. By any chance, do the tips have a purple dot on them?

Regardless, the thing is more than likely a goner and should have never been sold. I really doubt that you're going to be able to save this anemone given how bleached it is and given the fact that it won't hunker down so you can start feeding it. Also, as someone else posted, a floating anemone is a power head disaster waiting to happen.

[Toddrtrex]

I agree that it is most likely a goner, and that the ID won't change that. But, I am still thinking it is an LTA, reason being I had one very similar to that -- bleached, short tentacles, etc. -- I was able to bring mine back to health.

It started off like this (( the white balance is a bit off, but still gives an idea ))

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/GLTA.jpg

2 months later,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/GLTA6_28.jpg

[lmsmith]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15356774#post15356774 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maringoddess
Really? Turn them off that long? I have other fish, pollups. I thought this would be dangerous to them?

Well, don't turn them off if you aren't home, as long as you check that everything looks okay every hour or so, you'll be fine. Think of how little flow there is when corals and fish are being shipped for 24+ hours. They'll be fine for the 3-4 it should take the nem to attach.

I agree that it's a bubbletip - mine looks just like that (except not bleached, of course). They like to have their foot in a tight crevice; if you do decide to keep it, then turn off the flow, place it somewhere where a few rocks join and there is a crevice or cave. It will sometimes take a little while to find where it likes, but it should attach. If it doesn't attach with no flow, return it because it will die.

[abulgin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15358182#post15358182 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
I agree that it is most likely a goner, and that the ID won't change that. But, I am still thinking it is an LTA, reason being I had one very similar to that -- bleached, short tentacles, etc. -- I was able to bring mine back to health.

It started off like this (( the white balance is a bit off, but still gives an idea ))

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/GLTA.jpg

2 months later,

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/toddrtrex/GLTA6_28.jpg

Wow! That was a miracle rescue. Your LTA does look a lot like the OP's anemone in its current state.

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15358683#post15358683 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
Wow! That was a miracle rescue. Your LTA does look a lot like the OP's anemone in its current state.


Thanks. What helped me is that my LTA was "only" bleached, it attached right away, had a tightly closed mouth and ate. I normally don't feed my anemones all that often, but in the case of a bleached one, kind of have too. And seeing mine in person, it what is making me think the OPs is an LTA --- but, in worse shape.

[maringoddess]

Went into a different store today... one that I have been very pleased with. (not the one where I got the anem). I bought a calcium test , phosphate test, and carbonate hardness test. All paramaters are perfect, as well as the usual marine tests.

The man at the fish store id pictures and confirmed it it a LT because of its foot. I have posted a few more pictures of what he looks like now, where you can actually see his foot. He pulled out of the sand bed last night, and is nor cornered. s http://www.flickr.com/photos/40409506@N07/

Toddrtrex -That is EXACTLY what mine looks like, except mine won't netle his foot into the sand. I have put it into a 4" bed, but he pulls out. I can't believe that is even the same anem. in those pictures.

I have been told, give it a few more days to adjust in hopes that if I stop touching it - it will anchor. How many more days should I give it before returning it? How long does a new LT anem take to anchor?

Thanks for all your help guys... I feel much more confident in my analysis that it is bleached, sick, and that I am not unfamiliar with this species.

[boogers]

I had one for about 3 or 4 months. It never attached to anything for more than a day or so. It got sucked up into the powerhead once and I was able to turn off the powerhead and it somehow freed itself. Suprisingly it came back looking the same it did before. Then about a month later it got sucked up in the powerhead again. Same thing it got loose. The last time it sucked up i turned the powerhead off and I have no idea hat happened to the anenome. I haven't seen it since.

[maringoddess]

I took the anemone back and traded it for another. This new one attached within 5 min and has been quite happy and full ever since. I fed it a krill and it ate immediately. This one is still pale in color. I am told these are lavender LT anemone... not a "purple" as I previously posted. My mistake. Maybe these are lighter in color? As long as it is attached, expanded and eating I think he has a chance.

[Sugar Magnolia]

:thumbsup: Good for you for returning the anemone. Sadly, they will probably turn around and sell it to someone else. It sounds like your new one is a healthy anemone. Just keep feeding it and provide the correct environment and it should color up for you. Eventually you'll have to move it to a larger tank. LTA's can get quite large.

[salty14]

Sorry to add on to this post, but I am new to the reef world and I can't figure out how to make a new post. I just bought my first anenome yesterday and even after a ton of research, the fish store somehow convinced me to buy a partially bleached anenome. It won't attach to the floor and it just keeps getting sicker looking as time goes by. I didn't want to interfere with it too much, but I read about helping it by exposing the glass and then burying it. This didn't help at all. I don't know what to do at this point. All my tests have came back great except for the smaller trace of nitrate but it's barely detectable. My light is a coralife dual fixture high output t5. I don't know if that is good or not but when I bought it they told me it would be good for corals... Any help would be appriciated I'm so upset about this and I will do anything to save it!

[SeaTila]

Sorry to add on to this post, but I am new to the reef world and I can't figure out how to make a new post. I just bought my first anenome yesterday and even after a ton of research, the fish store somehow convinced me to buy a partially bleached anenome. It won't attach to the floor and it just keeps getting sicker looking as time goes by. I didn't want to interfere with it too much, but I read about helping it by exposing the glass and then burying it. This didn't help at all. I don't know what to do at this point. All my tests have came back great except for the smaller trace of nitrate but it's barely detectable. My light is a coralife dual fixture high output t5. I don't know if that is good or not but when I bought it they told me it would be good for corals... Any help would be appriciated I'm so upset about this and I will do anything to save it!
You have to give it time. I bought a bleached malu sebae without knowing they can be bleached and it was a roller coaster of concern for the first weeks.

I put it on a rock near the bottom of the tank and clownfish (false perculas) immediately started fighting over it with the most dominant largest one too big for small anemone. It looked attached and stayed in place for a day then detached and was upside down in the sand. I turned it over and put it in sand next to rock at the sand out of direct current but it kept blowing around with foot side up. I put a small rock on one side to stop it from blowing around in current and seemed ok for a few days but I thought it was a goner because I could tell it wasnt attaching to anything and didnt appear sticky. I tried to feed it and the food just layed there on top until a fish ate it. Poor thing was deflated and miserable but I did weekly water changes hoping nice clean fresh high quality saltwater would help.

I built up sandbed in back rear of tank under the return pipes where there in min movement, buried a rock and moved it again. I didnt wedge it in but it had an inch of sand and a rock buried and sticking out on both sides. I moved the largest clowns to QT for a week and put krill on it near middle and covered with two nets to keep fish out and then turned up the wavemakers until I saw the tentacles in some movement. He finally ate the krill and is very slow to move it and eat but it worked and he attached and stayed.

Everyday I offer food and cover with nets barring a shrimp or fish from stealing. I offer thawed from frozen krill, mysis, blood worms, squirt some 50/50 etc and although a very slow eater he eats sometimes. After he eats I pull the nets and the clowns check for food so you have to wait until he truly has closed his mouth.

Its been about 6-7 total weeks so far and I feel like hes doing better because he buried his foot, no longer looks wobbly and is inflated most of the time. I bought a small green heteractis and I feed him too and put in similar spot on other side of 6' tank. He was bothered by shrimp so moved the rock he attched to place him about 2-3 inches from sand floor.

Under same conditions the green is getting bigger and snatchs up food like starving. The clowns ignore the green and clowns like the malu for some reason.

I had nitrates at 20 to 40ppm with 0 in nitrites and no ammonia...440 calcium, 1.24-1.24 salinity, 8.1-8.2 ph, trace of phosphate and 79 degrees stable. I did 25g water changes weekly in a 120g and nitrates lowered to under 10 and when he planted foot I checked frequently on measurements and only changed water when nitrates rise...like 10 days or so. I also run skimmer wet pulling out concentrated green water from skimmer every few days and replacing with salt water and or ro monitoring to keep exact salinity same. I also keep the micro filter sock changed every 3 days...100micron and appears to help keep good levels. I also removed extra carbon filter pads and went with chemi-pure elite media filter bag only.

So far I'm seeing improvement. I'm not giving up. Maybe adjusting and improving conditions and feed him and be patient and he'll get better like mine. The lighting is an issue for me and I'm changing from coralife aqualights and moving to radion xr30w pros. I run my lights 8 hours day and rest of time nightlights. I dont know if lights are too bright or not or if I need to put them on longer but everything else is growing and improving so I feel like the main issue was a bleached malu trying to adjust and recover from poor conditions.
I have fingers crossed for your anemone. Just do the best you can on conditions and give some time. I hope your anemone improves. I didn't give it back to lfs cause I thought he would not survive another move to lfs and then sold to another unsuspecting customer...better to hang in there and give it best conditions possible. Good Luck.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160524/0d70b224cc3cd32c149349d4c6fcaa45.jpg


Purple LTA, since Todd is having difficulties:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MJK1lOK45sQ/SM_nbdBhAyI/AAAAAAAAEBw/vRzOqLJ2jbI/s400/pictures+167.jpg

edit - I see Todd got his photo up, too. :)


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[salty14]

You have to give it time. I bought a bleached malu sebae without knowing they can be bleached and it was a roller coaster of concern for the first weeks.

I put it on a rock near the bottom of the tank and clownfish (false perculas) immediately started fighting over it with the most dominant largest one too big for small anemone. It looked attached and stayed in place for a day then detached and was upside down in the sand. I turned it over and put it in sand next to rock at the sand out of direct current but it kept blowing around with foot side up. I put a small rock on one side to stop it from blowing around in current and seemed ok for a few days but I thought it was a goner because I could tell it wasnt attaching to anything and didnt appear sticky. I tried to feed it and the food just layed there on top until a fish ate it. Poor thing was deflated and miserable but I did weekly water changes hoping nice clean fresh high quality saltwater would help.

I built up sandbed in back rear of tank under the return pipes where there in min movement, buried a rock and moved it again. I didnt wedge it in but it had an inch of sand and a rock buried and sticking out on both sides. I moved the largest clowns to QT for a week and put krill on it near middle and covered with two nets to keep fish out and then turned up the wavemakers until I saw the tentacles in some movement. He finally ate the krill and is very slow to move it and eat but it worked and he attached and stayed.

Everyday I offer food and cover with nets barring a shrimp or fish from stealing. I offer thawed from frozen krill, mysis, blood worms, squirt some 50/50 etc and although a very slow eater he eats sometimes. After he eats I pull the nets and the clowns check for food so you have to wait until he truly has closed his mouth.

Its been about 6-7 total weeks so far and I feel like hes doing better because he buried his foot, no longer looks wobbly and is inflated most of the time. I bought a small green heteractis and I feed him too and put in similar spot on other side of 6' tank. He was bothered by shrimp so moved the rock he attched to place him about 2-3 inches from sand floor.

Under same conditions the green is getting bigger and snatchs up food like starving. The clowns ignore the green and clowns like the malu for some reason.

I had nitrates at 20 to 40ppm with 0 in nitrites and no ammonia...440 calcium, 1.24-1.24 salinity, 8.1-8.2 ph, trace of phosphate and 79 degrees stable. I did 25g water changes weekly in a 120g and nitrates lowered to under 10 and when he planted foot I checked frequently on measurements and only changed water when nitrates rise...like 10 days or so. I also run skimmer wet pulling out concentrated green water from skimmer every few days and replacing with salt water and or ro monitoring to keep exact salinity same. I also keep the micro filter sock changed every 3 days...100micron and appears to help keep good levels. I also removed extra carbon filter pads and went with chemi-pure elite media filter bag only.

So far I'm seeing improvement. I'm not giving up. Maybe adjusting and improving conditions and feed him and be patient and he'll get better like mine. The lighting is an issue for me and I'm changing from coralife aqualights and moving to radion xr30w pros. I run my lights 8 hours day and rest of time nightlights. I dont know if lights are too bright or not or if I need to put them on longer but everything else is growing and improving so I feel like the main issue was a bleached malu trying to adjust and recover from poor conditions.
I have fingers crossed for your anemone. Just do the best you can on conditions and give some time. I hope your anemone improves. I didn't give it back to lfs cause I thought he would not survive another move to lfs and then sold to another unsuspecting customer...better to hang in there and give it best conditions possible. Good Luck.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160524/0d70b224cc3cd32c149349d4c6fcaa45.jpg





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Thank you so much for your response! It makes me feel better to know that you are having success! Mine seems to be a bit better today. She was perked up and happy since I fed her this morning and whenever she seems to droop I just feed her more. I don't think I'm over feeding because she doesn't seem to eat much of it anyway. She seems a lot better, although she still hasn't attached. I put her in a pvc pipe to hold her up and that seems to be helping as well. My water perameters are perfect with the exception of the PH being slightly low. I'm buying stuff to put in the tank for that tomorrow. The only other thing I'm worried about is my algae seeing as my tank clean up crew doesn't seem to be doing a very good job. I will keep you posted!

[SeaTila]

Thank you so much for your response! It makes me feel better to know that you are having success! Mine seems to be a bit better today. She was perked up and happy since I fed her this morning and whenever she seems to droop I just feed her more. I don't think I'm over feeding because she doesn't seem to eat much of it anyway. She seems a lot better, although she still hasn't attached. I put her in a pvc pipe to hold her up and that seems to be helping as well. My water perameters are perfect with the exception of the PH being slightly low. I'm buying stuff to put in the tank for that tomorrow. The only other thing I'm worried about is my algae seeing as my tank clean up crew doesn't seem to be doing a very good job. I will keep you posted!
Sounds good! I offer food almost every day. I recommend building up sand next to rock with a bit of overhang rock... then digging bit of a hole and putting in spot without wavemaker or direct flow until you see it spread out appearing to "plant" or bury foot. The first time I just put the nem on the sand surface and I would fall over or tumble. After that didnt work I dug depression next to rock and it worked.

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[SeaTila]

[QUOTE=SeaTila;24549571]Sounds good! I offer food almost every day. I recommend building up sand next to rock with a bit of overhang rock... then digging bit of a hole and putting in spot without wavemaker or direct flow until you see it spread out appearing to "plant" or bury foot. The first time I just put the nem on the sand surface and I would fall over or tumble. After that didnt work I dug depression next to rock and it worked.



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[davocean]

I would not advise daily spot feedings, that can actually stress it.
They really don't need to be spot fed at all, but a bleached nem may need small spot feedings since they can not turn light into energy, but even then small food like mysis and only 2-3x a week is best

[SeaTila]

I would not advise daily spot feedings, that can actually stress it.
They really don't need to be spot fed at all, but a bleached nem may need small spot feedings since they can not turn light into energy, but even then small food like mysis and only 2-3x a week is best
I've read several who advise against it and I highly respect the experience on RC. When I mention feeding I'm talking small amounts and tiny size..not silversides. I will thaw mysis or reef plankton or make sure a blood worm from a 50/50 mix lands on the anemone. If the nem wants it then its eaten..if it doesn't it rolls off. I understand lighting is important. Every nem comes in different condition and personality. I have a green nem that acted starving and grabs everything and folds up immediately to keep others from stealing and its growing and looking great. The malu is slow and likely less healthy when I purchased. The other nems matching my two types didnt fair well at the lfs. I thought about trying to rescue them in a qt tank but decided against it. Once a nem looks less than 100% no one buys them and lfs is not best place for a stressed out unhealthy nem imho.

I agree with you about daily feeding with larger amounts or forcing etc and glad you brought this up so I could clarify. No one should get the wrong idea about my comments. I very much pay attention to their condition and would certainly skip if the mouth is shut and looks like light is working well.

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