Anemone looking bad :(

[brady816]

I think the anemone is not going to make it..Its in the 12 gal nano tank and its lost all of its color and looking very very bad..Here are a few pics..I feed it mysis shrimp once every three days.It hasnt moved since i placed it in the tank. Just did a 2 gal water change sunday..

a few months ago



and today

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Hang in there, looks well enough to me. With regular feedings, good water flow and good lighting, it will color up and grow.

Great looking clowns!

 

[brady816]

do i feed him more often??? im still trying to figure out what happen with his color all of a sudden.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

do i feed him more often??? im still trying to figure out what happen with his color all of a sudden.

It faded all of a sudden, what did it look like before? How often do you feed it? What lighting is it under?

 

[brady816]

i couldnt tell you when it started loosing its color. the first pic was what it looked like when we first got it. The second pic is what it looks like today. The lights are what come with the jbj 12 gal nano cube dx. I feed the guy once every three days about 5-10 mysis shrimp.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Hard to see much with the blue lighting. What type light bulbs on the nano, loop type (PC) or thin straight (T-5)?
Most anemones need fairly intense lighting and good water flow to flourish.
Is it a RBTA or a GBTA?

 

[brady816]

the lighting is pc and the anemone is a bubble tip it was in the same tank at the lfs as mine. I will try to find a better pic of the anemone

 

[brady816]

this is the best pic i could find

 

[brady816]

it seems like the anemone is bigger then it was i mean its more open now.

 

[Jan]

I just want to agree with others that it's not possible to tell from your pics the change in color in the anemone. The lighting of the pics makes it impossible.

In general nano cubes do not come with enough lighting for a bubble tip anenome, unless you specifically buy a halide fixture that fits a nano (or T-5).

I bought a halide unit for a nano, via Sunpod (vendor). There are a few others, like Biocube and Aquapod both have halide lighting units available for a tank your size. But be sure to check the measurements of the unit so that it will fit the length of your tank.

If you don't want to invest in a better lighting unit, I would give that anenome to someone who has more appropriate lighting (just my personal opinion).

They also need stable water parameters which can be challenging in a 12 gallon tank. Larger tanks have more stability with ph swings, etc.

All that said, your anemone does not look like it's dying to me. But the loss of its zoanthella (color) is something that happens when they are stressed/sick.

 

[brady816]

thanks for all of the imput i will check on the upgrade

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Agree with Jan. Need to add though that Anthony Calfo says one can replace so-so lighting with proper feeding, buy a pc on a nano isn't quite up to PAR (little pun there)

 

[returnofsid]

Hmmm I might have to disagree. I know everyone says and advices that BTA can't be kept under PC lighting. I've had 2 RBTAs in 2 different tanks (29 and 46 bowtank) both under PC lighting(2X65 in the 29 and 2X96 in the 46). I know it's not recommended and maybe I just got lucky but both RBTAs thrived and were very healthy. The one in the 46 is HUGE now. I wish it would split again...lol.
As for your BTA and it's rapid color loss, I would say it's most likely due to lighting. How old are your bulbs? How long have you had this BTA under these lights? Has anything changed recently in your tank that you can think of? I would try feeding it more than 5-10 mysid shrimp. Get some frozen or fresh prawns from the grocery store, chop them up and feed those. Another option would be silversides or chunks of fish. I feed mine prawns, chopped up Tilapia and other saltwater fish that happen to be on sale when I'm shopping. Just make sure you're not feeding anything that's had preservatives or additives added to it. Has the BTA moved at all lately? That might be a sign that it's trying to find more light.
I also agree that your BTA doesn't look like it's dying at all. Check all your parameters carefully and often!! Also try running carbon if you haven't tried that already. There might be something in the water that the BTA doesn't like that the carbon will filter out.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Michael, your two little tanks had 130 and 192 watts of light! Thats a far cry from the two 24-watt 50/50 PC lamps that come with the 12 gallon nano.

 

[returnofsid]

You're absolutely right. As I was typing my response, I wondered how much wattage the nano had and should have taken that into consideration.

 

[brady816]

How old are your bulbs got the tank in feb.

How long have you had this BTA under these 2 months dont know how long the lfs had him in the same tank.

Has the BTA moved at all lately he hasnt moved since we placed him in the tank.

Also try running carbon just changed it out...



so you think im not feeding him enough??? and another question when i first got him he was white with green/pink tips now he is brown with light color tips. Not to sound like an a#$% to you guys but dont see the difference in color from the first pic to the second pic???

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I think we are all in agreement that your lighting is not up to PAR for keeping an anemone colored up healthy and happy. Better feeding couldn't hurt (assuming you kept the water quality) but it still needs more wattage of better penetrating light.

Understand your frustration, but neither picture has enough illumination to even tell if it is a GBTA (Green Bubble tip anemone) or a RBTA (Red Bubble tip anemone) nor if it has a healthy color.

 

[brady816]

thank you all i will look into getting different lights for this tank....have a great night time to watch hell's kitchen

 

[MAGDRL Mom]

Per Calfo, Mike is dead on... and feeding once every three days is, IMO, not enough to supplement the lack of light. I feed mine every day and they are happy campers under 2 250MH. I do put them under t5s a little while after propagating them. Target feed some small bits of silversides and something like Marine Cuisine. You will know when he isnt hungry when he doesnt take the food.

 

[NaH2O]

*moved to Anthony's forum*

Anthony - I hope you don't mind my moving another anemone thread to your forum

brady - I don't know about the anemone's tips in the second picture, but the overall color looks better to me in the second picture. The first picture the anemone appears to be bleached out, IMO. I'll tag along to see what Anthony has to say....