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BonsaiNut · 12/20/2010, 09:56 AM

If you are using main system tank water for your QT, and the only change is the use of antibiotic, then it seems logical that there is some pathogen that is causing a problem. However just to be certain, let me list other things that might change between the DT and QT:

(1) Lighting
(2) Temperature
(3) Dissolved oxygen levels
(4) Water movement

What would have been interesting is if you had moved your anemone to the QT BEFORE adding the antibiotic, and seen how it responded. If it had remained flaccid / deflated, and then when you added the antibiotic it expanded, we could have felt even more confident that the antibiotic is causing the change.

Just some thoughts. I am still convinced that it must be some pathogen in the water.

I agree the course of action at this point needs to be to try to get the anemone 100% strong and healthy in the QT tank - eventually getting to the point where (via water changes) you have removed the majority of the antibiotic from the water. Then if you move the strong anemone back to the DT and it deflates, you can start to look for other possible environmental causes.

Giganteas are by far the most difficult clown anemone to keep. When I have problems with them, the first thing I always do is to place them in QT with extremely strong water flow and venturis - almost like a surf zone on a reef. We're talking about the QT looking like a bubble bath. One interesting side effect of this is that it really helps remove waste products / slime from the anemone - the entire creature is getting washed back and forth by the water movement, and any loose matter is getting covered with bubbles and swept away. Combined with a strong protein skimmer, this has worked "ok" for me in the past. Not 100% but I have saved some giganteas that were dying in my DT. I have also witnessed the effect you describe, where if you return the anemone too soon it gets sick again, but if you keep it in the surf environment for a couple of weeks and it gets really strong, you can return it and it will make the transition.

12/20/2010, 09:56 AM	#89
BonsaiNut Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 4,629	If you are using main system tank water for your QT, and the only change is the use of antibiotic, then it seems logical that there is some pathogen that is causing a problem. However just to be certain, let me list other things that might change between the DT and QT: (1) Lighting (2) Temperature (3) Dissolved oxygen levels (4) Water movement What would have been interesting is if you had moved your anemone to the QT BEFORE adding the antibiotic, and seen how it responded. If it had remained flaccid / deflated, and then when you added the antibiotic it expanded, we could have felt even more confident that the antibiotic is causing the change. Just some thoughts. I am still convinced that it must be some pathogen in the water. I agree the course of action at this point needs to be to try to get the anemone 100% strong and healthy in the QT tank - eventually getting to the point where (via water changes) you have removed the majority of the antibiotic from the water. Then if you move the strong anemone back to the DT and it deflates, you can start to look for other possible environmental causes. Giganteas are by far the most difficult clown anemone to keep. When I have problems with them, the first thing I always do is to place them in QT with extremely strong water flow and venturis - almost like a surf zone on a reef. We're talking about the QT looking like a bubble bath. One interesting side effect of this is that it really helps remove waste products / slime from the anemone - the entire creature is getting washed back and forth by the water movement, and any loose matter is getting covered with bubbles and swept away. Combined with a strong protein skimmer, this has worked "ok" for me in the past. Not 100% but I have saved some giganteas that were dying in my DT. I have also witnessed the effect you describe, where if you return the anemone too soon it gets sick again, but if you keep it in the surf environment for a couple of weeks and it gets really strong, you can return it and it will make the transition. __________________ "You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!" - The Hobbit; J. R. R. Tolkien Last edited by BonsaiNut; 12/20/2010 at 10:02 AM.