Is my anemene dying

[maddy999]

My BTA anemene has been acting strange:

-deflating at night
-randomly contracting (hiding inside foot)

As of today, it has partially deflated tentacles and just looks very wack. Should i take it out of the tank or hope it can survive as i’m treating my PH levels to rise.

My ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, and nitrates are at about 20

PH is 7.5 and i began treating it with baking soda this morning in an attempt to help anemene.

more info:

20 gallon red sea max nano
- 2 clowns 1 sixline

i purchased this anemene 5 days ago, it moved to the corner of my tank, stayed there for 2 days and then started moving again, to the upper back portion of my tank where you can see it now

i have never fed the anemene

i have the default settings on the red sea reefLED

photos attached below

 

[KrisReef]

I think those are kind of difficult to keep in a new tank setup. The moving, closing behavior is typical for new additions as they like to find their own spot with current, light, and drift food potential to their liking. If they keep moving, they don't like what they are finding.

Lots of things don't like parameter jolts and trying to adjust the pH may be irritating the animal. I would stop that for the nems sake as well as the fact that it's not an easy thing to adjust and keep stable with additives in my experience. If the parameters are out of wack for the nem take it back to the store or give it to someone who has a setup that is proven for keeping nems.

I hope I am wrong but I think you might be killing it?!

These things are very high maintance for new tanks and time is not on your side.

Also, do you have a nem protector on that powerhead? I'm freaking out here~ Good luck!

 

[maddy999]

I think those are kind of difficult to keep in a new tank setup. The moving, closing behavior is typical for new additions as they like to find their own spot with current, light, and drift food potential to their liking. If they keep moving, they don't like what they are finding.

Lots of things don't like parameter jolts and trying to adjust the pH may be irritating the animal. I would stop that for the nems sake as well as the fact that it's not an easy thing to adjust and keep stable with additives in my experience. If the parameters are out of wack for the nem take it back to the store or give it to someone who has a setup that is proven for keeping nems.

I hope I am wrong but I think you might be killing it?!

These things are very high maintance for new tanks and time is not on your side.

Also, do you have a nem protector on that powerhead? I'm freaking out here~ Good luck!

will do

so how long of a wait would you suggest before trying my luck with an anemene again?

and the powerhead comes with a fish guard, but i turned it off anyways as soon as i saw the nem getting closer to it, just incase

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

will do

so how long of a wait would you suggest before trying my luck with an anemene again?

and the powerhead comes with a fish guard, but i turned it off anyways as soon as i saw the nem getting closer to it, just incase

A time period is really a guessing game, anemones need a stable environment. And every tank reaches stability at different points. The tank looks very new, have you had any "ugly phases"(algae) yet?

 

[MaxTremors]

will do

so how long of a wait would you suggest before trying my luck with an anemene again?

and the powerhead comes with a fish guard, but i turned it off anyways as soon as i saw the nem getting closer to it, just incase

I would wait until your tank is 6months to 1 year old, they do best in mature, stable aquariums. You need to be testing your Alkalinity, Calcium, phosphates, nitrates, Magnesium, and PH. Ammonia and nitrite don’t really need to be tested for in a cycled tank. I would be very careful in trying to raise your PH, it sounds like you are fairly inexperienced and supplements are not going to keep your PH stable longterm (kalkwasser can help, but I wouldn’t recommend that for a beginner). The reason your PH is so low is that you likely have excessive CO2 in your house and not enough water movement in your tank, I think opening a window and ensure plenty of surface agitation will make your PH go up.

I would recommend trying some soft corals in the meantime, mastering your water chemistry. Do some in-depth reading on reef tank water chemistry, start testing all the parameters I mentioned (keep a log of all test results, maintenance, changes, and additions), and once you’ve kept some soft corals alive and thriving and have had stable water parameters for 6 months or so, then try an anemone.

 

[Andresnyc93]

How long have you ran the tank for?
Looks too new specially for an anemone. Would also help to know your cal-alk and mag levels to see if your anemone isn’t happy with water parameters or if it’s just settling in

 

[Cell]

Far from dead but not super happy.

 

[maddy999]

How long have you ran the tank for?
Looks too new specially for an anemone. Would also help to know your cal-alk and mag levels to see if your anemone isn’t happy with water parameters or if it’s just settling in

two months

 

[maddy999]

i will test calcium mag/ alk and post later today

 

[maddy999]

I would wait until your tank is 6months to 1 year old, they do best in mature, stable aquariums. You need to be testing your Alkalinity, Calcium, phosphates, nitrates, Magnesium, and PH. Ammonia and nitrite don’t really need to be tested for in a cycled tank. I would be very careful in trying to raise your PH, it sounds like you are fairly inexperienced and supplements are not going to keep your PH stable longterm (kalkwasser can help, but I wouldn’t recommend that for a beginner). The reason your PH is so low is that you likely have excessive CO2 in your house and not enough water movement in your tank, I think opening a window and ensure plenty of surface agitation will make your PH go up.

I would recommend trying some soft corals in the meantime, mastering your water chemistry. Do some in-depth reading on reef tank water chemistry, start testing all the parameters I mentioned (keep a log of all test results, maintenance, changes, and additions), and once you’ve kept some soft corals alive and thriving and have had stable water parameters for 6 months or so, then try an anemone.

great advice, i will heed.

Regarding the PH, i have plenty of surface agitation I believe? The built in return pump plus the nero Wavemaker in a 20 gallon. I will begin opening my windows periodically to see if that makes a difference, but other than that are you saying that the pH levels should ideally be in check with zero supplementation? (genuine question, as i was under the impression I needed a buffer to maintain good PH)

 

[Andresnyc93]

two months

That’s way too soon for a Nem… I say always wait 6-7 months because the water parameters will be more stable and you Nem will be much happier down the line, for now I’d say try to get it on a basket away from power heads if you have any or just cover them up with a thin mesh so you don’t end up with an anemone smoothie in your tank.
Also try testing your parameters often in case there’s any major spikes/drops in elements so you can dose accordingly

 

[Clown2020]

The nem doesn’t look super bad but not super happy either. waiting 6-7 moths is generally the best advise that works for most.

However I am going to offer an alternative perspective that does work but is not the best approach for everyone

I did the same as you setup my first tank only having had freshwater previously and added the nem in my profile pic only 2 months in. Consistency and stability are the key to success. Working from home allowed me to test all parameters daily and keep a log and only making small adjustments weekly adjusting no more than one parameter at a time and by no more than 0.5 While my parameters weren’t perfect at the beginning they slowly improved and the nem did just fine and was the size of a small plate at 7 months Before splitting


So if you have the time and are a little ocd about your testing feeding, water changes, etc it is possible to succeed but will not be as easy as waiting. That being said if parameters aren’t consistant is doesn’t matter how long you wait the reason waiting works for most if it allows time to make mistakes and learn and have achieved consistency at the 6 month mark.