condy anemone question?

[tannerc407]

hi I am in the beginning stages of setting up a reef aquarium, I have a Fluval evo 13.5 gallon, I added a condy anemone about 2-3 weeks ago can't exactly remember and it was doing great always fully inflated and extended up until maybe 3-4 days ago it now stays almost fully curled into himself i know that typically they may close up at night but even with the lights fully on he barely extends? here are my parameters and livestock ps the tank is about a month old now but before you are quick to blame that i had live sand live rock live bio-filtration and have been doing about .5-1 gallon water change daily, and feed every other day
ammonia- undetectable
nitrite undetectable
nitrate 0.3 ppm
ph 8.1
temp 76

live stock-
1 condy
1 ocellaris clown
1 citron goby
2 margarita snails
1hermit
1 small brittle star.

any idea why he's curled up should i be worried? thanks for any help!!


last thought he is on a rock island away from where i will eventually put coral but there is no shade at all where he is now could it be too bright?

[timnem70]

So many people just don't not want to read it appears. What are your water parameters? Magnesium? Alkalinity? SG? Calcium? How old is tank. What type of waste removal. Do you run a skimmer?Also Condylactas Anemones are not real hardy and are cheap for a number of reasons.

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[timnem70]

They will usually move if too Brite or not Brite enough.

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[timnem70]

I was not trying to be a jerk. I re read the first sentence and came off that way. Sorry.

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[tannerc407]

no worries ill be the first to admit it was 100% an impulse buy, and water parameters are in my original post. i have not tested for magnesium i use the reef crystals and reef builder (calcium) to set that at proper levels yes i have a protein skimmer and sg is 1.025
as for the bright factor the only reason i brought that up is because hes on the rock island and doesn't have many choices. tank is about a month and a half but everything in it (filter media live rock and live sand) transferred from another tank

[timnem70]

Those are not the parameters that are crucial or you absolutely need to know after your tank has cycled but for the occasional check. The others I listed are what parameters you will need to know if you are to succeed long term with This hobby. If you're just keeping fish, they are still important but a must know if you wish to keep Inverts or corals. I can also tell you, your tank is too new and regardless of used live rock, sand or anything, it will still cycle. Along with leeching possible contaminants into your water. It's just new tank syndrome. We all go though some form of it. I've never been able to keep Condys alive more than a few months irregardless of age of tank so at least take comfort in that. Here is a FTS. It is 2 years and 4 months old.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170203/038bffaf89645592bd8819131b91415b.jpg

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[tannerc407]

thanks for your help and unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you 110% first i work for Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (fwc) so i know a decent amount about aquariums both marine and fresh and have kept fresh, brackish, and salt, my disagreement comes not with that fact that all of the parameters are essential yes. I disagree with your thoughts on a "cycling" a tank i would even argue but not suggest you could cycle a brand new tank with live rock and live sand in as little as 3 or 4 days if you are ready for the massive amount of maintenance and care need to do so ie. live bacteria (not the store bought kind) and daily multiple times a day water changes. but that's another subject my second point of argument is with your conclusion that a tank with my water parameters is in the middle of a "cycle" maybe you were confused with my original post but everything that i can tell and test shows a fully cycled tank. nice tank though some of those have to be several years old?

[oahureefer]

I think you will find that most here will agree timnem. While you can have success early on most the time you won't. I have never had a condy as i like anemones which will host my clowns, but I would say it could be new tank syndrome. Even if you are cycled and doing your water changes it takes a while for your tank to stabilize and mature. With such a small tank there is no room for error and parameters (those we check and those we can't) can swing quickly which isn't good for anemones. If lighting or flow is an issue it can and will move to a more desireable location. If you can post a picture it might be able to help as well, someone might spot disease or something that you don't.

[sde1500]

thanks for your help and unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you 110% first i work for Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (fwc) so i know a decent amount about aquariums both marine and fresh and have kept fresh, brackish, and salt, my disagreement comes not with that fact that all of the parameters are essential yes. I disagree with your thoughts on a "cycling" a tank i would even argue but not suggest you could cycle a brand new tank with live rock and live sand in as little as 3 or 4 days if you are ready for the massive amount of maintenance and care need to do so ie. live bacteria (not the store bought kind) and daily multiple times a day water changes. but that's another subject my second point of argument is with your conclusion that a tank with my water parameters is in the middle of a "cycle" maybe you were confused with my original post but everything that i can tell and test shows a fully cycled tank. nice tank though some of those have to be several years old?



So how do you know your calc, mag and alk levels are fine if not testing? You dose something for calcium but don't test it, I wouldn't recommend that.

When he referred to cycle he didn't mean the nitrogen cycle. He meant just the lifecycle of a tank. Your tank may be "cycled" but it's far from stable. New tanks go through stages, you're going to get algae blooms, and die offs. Then some other algae will pop up and go away, hopefully. It's just how it is. Sensitive creatures like this anemone aren't recommended for new tanks. First to allow new hobbyists to get a handle on testing, dosing, water changing etc. Secondly to let the tank stabilize.

[timnem70]

thanks for your help and unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you 110% first i work for Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (fwc) so i know a decent amount about aquariums both marine and fresh and have kept fresh, brackish, and salt, my disagreement comes not with that fact that all of the parameters are essential yes. I disagree with your thoughts on a "cycling" a tank i would even argue but not suggest you could cycle a brand new tank with live rock and live sand in as little as 3 or 4 days if you are ready for the massive amount of maintenance and care need to do so ie. live bacteria (not the store bought kind) and daily multiple times a day water changes. but that's another subject my second point of argument is with your conclusion that a tank with my water parameters is in the middle of a "cycle" maybe you were confused with my original post but everything that i can tell and test shows a fully cycled tank. nice tank though some of those have to be several years old?
It is and they are a few years old. What others have pointed out is exactly what I was speaking about. I couldn't of said it any better than they did. Trying to help. Feedback at times is harsh and no one wants to be told they are going about something incorrectly, but without the information on Mag.,Calcium, Alkalinity. You're doing just that. No one ever begins in this hobby, at least to my knowledge with intention of purposely harming animals but without basic science and a stable environment will almost certainly run into major issues. Asking for help from people who have gone through exactly what you have and learned from it, and then ignoring said advice is your prerogative. I just hope you succeed and can move past your misconceptions provided above and heed the great advice given. We want all to enjoy this beautiful hobby. Tanks, especially the size of mine and yours need quite a bit of time to mature. Lost a lot rushing in myself.

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[tannerc407]

i have gone out at bought calcium alk and mag tests everything seems fine but that does not mean they have been fine this whole time and you are all completely correct in saying that that was a major mistake on my part i accept that i just still find that the new tank syndrome is hard to believe again for two reasons the tests com back just about perfect plus simply changing the aquarium doesn't "restart" the tank granted there may be some instability initially but literally everything in there was in another aqurium water,sand,rock,fish,skimmer,filters and filter media all from a 15 gallon tank that was well established from work.


and PLEASE do not think im being rude lol this is friendly back and forth. as for the anemone he's back to completely normal fully extended and eating and from what i can see happy as can be,

[canadianeh]

i have gone out at bought calcium alk and mag tests everything seems fine but that does not mean they have been fine this whole time and you are all completely correct in saying that that was a major mistake on my part i accept that i just still find that the new tank syndrome is hard to believe again for two reasons the tests com back just about perfect plus simply changing the aquarium doesn't "restart" the tank granted there may be some instability initially but literally everything in there was in another aqurium water,sand,rock,fish,skimmer,filters and filter media all from a 15 gallon tank that was well established from work.


and PLEASE do not think im being rude lol this is friendly back and forth. as for the anemone he's back to completely normal fully extended and eating and from what i can see happy as can be,

can we see pictures?

[tannerc407]

yea pictures of what, though?

[timnem70]

Pictures of your tank. What were your readings? Numbers.
You're also missing the point. It doesn't matter. A new tank regardless of the equipment and stuff being from an established system (unless and even if you're usimg a community sump)still needs time to mature(Please read others answers)I just re read your post and say you're quite knowledgeable in this but your mistakes and assumptions based in what YOU believe to be truths are elementary.Why ask for help? I'm also not trying to be argumentative but at least three of the folks that answered you are at the intermediate to expert range. Listen to them.

Galaxy S7 Edge

[canadianeh]

Pictures of your tank. What were your readings? Numbers.
You're also missing the point. It doesn't matter. A new tank regardless of the equipment and stuff being from an established system (unless and even if you're usimg a community sump)still needs time to mature(Please read others answers)I just re read your post and say you're quite knowledgeable in this but your mistakes and assumptions based in what YOU believe to be truths are elementary.Why ask for help? I'm also not trying to be argumentative but at least three of the folks that answered you are at the intermediate to expert range. Listen to them.

Galaxy S7 Edge

This. Since you created a thread about your nem and tank, common sense I would assumed when people here is asking for pictures, you would have known that they are asking pictures of your nem and tank.

[timnem70]

Your words were " I work for FFAW and am Very familiar with keeping salt and freshwater". I suspect that when someone is not posting Pictures of thier tank it's because it's not what they are saying it is. I in particular don't want to beat you up on here, that's not my intention. It's just that you're asking for help and then not only ignoring sound advice, you're arguing proven successful reefing practices in a hobby environment. Your tank and the Florida Gulf are completely different animals.

Galaxy S7 Edge

[vcc.edu]

this cracks me up
1 i believe tannerc407 question was about the behavior of condy anemones not about how to run a reef tank.
2 you guys/gals expect him not to be defensive when you're criticizing him, pretty harshly in my opinion.
3 i agree with tannerc407 that his tank is NOT! experiencing a cycle test don't lie i wouldn't suggest anyone reading this try it but if the tests comes back normal then it's not a cycle its simple as 1+1=2 anyone that says a tank can cycle without water parameters changing is wrong.

so my opinion on the subject bases on a question do you have any corals?
if NO then i have to agree with tannerc407 besides the basic ammonia, no2, no3, ph, salinity, the others are not as necessary again i wouldn't suggest anyone trying it but simply focusing on the anemone that has 0 calcified structure in its body. calcium in not an immediate problem emphasis on the immediate long term is another question. i would suggest testing water parameters minimum of every few days i do every other day.

the nem "shrinkage" could have been caused by numerous things and pictures would help us identify the problem in the future.

lastly to tannerc407 always take people's answers with a grain of salt (including mine) people on here seem to always think they can teach other people and get frustrated when the person doesn't understand. next time instead of saying

" unfortunately I am going to have to disagree with you 110% first i work for Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (fwc) so i know a decent amount about aquariums"

which sounds cocky and defensive you could ask (how could my aquarium be experiencing a cycle when the test come back positive) and remember you did the right thing in asking a question.

[vcc.edu]

wow now i sound like one of those people that know everything so disclaimer i DONT! just speaking what i know :)

[tannerc407]

I can post pictures later just for the heck of it, anyone else have nem pics?

[jd371]

Mine does ball up once and a while, but not more than a few hours and mostly at night. Last summer he decided the spot he was in wasn't good anymore and decided to take some laps around my tank, I was afraid he'd get torn up in one of the pumps so when he was on some rocks I moved a decorative Tiki head I had in the tank close to him in hopes he would use that as his home....it worked. Once he got settled in there I moved him away from all the rock work and he has been there since.

Here's a couple of picks of my Condy after he settled into the Tiki head.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/jd371/Reef%20Tank/IMG_1053_zpsbw2jgoma.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/jd371/Reef%20Tank/thumb_IMG_1010_1024_zpsshjws5fr.jpg

[timnem70]

That's nice.

Galaxy S7 Edge

[BrianD]

It is always fascinating to me when new members post from the same registration IP address. I am sure it is a coincidence.

In any case, there is no reason to argue with someone who doesn't wish to listen.