Hadonni anenome?

[jks1]

Hey guys,
I know it was against better judgement but the wife got me a Haddoni anenome and a saddleback clown for Fathers day. Its in my 210. The problem is it is gaping a bit at the mouth and goes limp and lies flat on the sand. The wierd thing is it does this in the mornings and by 5:00PM or so it will extend and look normal. It is under 3 x 400w 10K MH, on a sand bed but attached to a flat rock, good current. Water is excellent PH 8.25, temp 80, alk 3.45,
Ca 420, nitrate <1.5. (All with salifert kits). All other coral and fish in the tank are growing like crazy-

Tank is relatively new - started in March, which is why I would not have considered this anenome if I had been the one shopping. It will feed- its eating silversides, and has retained its stickiness- (nematocysts firing) Im kinda at a loss- any suggestions?? Is this a normal acclimation process? We picked it up on Sunday.

 

[Fijikid]

Can you post a picture?

 

[Elmo18]

Hi i will chime in here.

The key to keeping anemones alive in my opinion are two things, stability/water quality and its condition when it is collected. If the tank was started in March, I think it is also on the early side to give it a go. However, since you already have it..and since it is a gift from the wife, I would keep everything in check.

I mention the condition of the anemone is important because during collection, its foot may be torn, or severely damaged. I hope yours is not the case, but in that case, it is very very difficult to keep carpet anemones alive even with the best water quality and stability of the tank.

Haddoni's prefer a lot of flow around them, not blasting them from only on one side. They also thrive under metal halides, which you already have. They are usually found on the sandbed/rock interface, unlike the ritteri's which like to go on rock hangings, and giganteas, which can prefer either sand or rock.

I would feed it silversides, small pieces first, once every two days. You cannot really force an anemone to eat because one, if it isn't hungry, it won't take it, or two if its too big, it will suck it up, and spit it back out minutes later.

How long did you acclimate your anemone?

- Elmo

 

[Montanarocknreefer]

Wish you well with it John!

 

[jks1]

Well I checked the calibration of my probes on the aquacontroller and the PH was way off. It was reading 1.5 higher than the actual PH of the water. I adjusted the PH up slowly and already I can see the anenome responding favorably. Hopefully this was the problem. Thanks for the help.