[cesar]

I just purchased a sebae anemone for my tank and noticed that it's pretty much not doing anything. The weird thing is that when ever I turn the lights off the anemone spreads out alot, as if it was reaching for light. As soon a I turn the lights on, it shrinks, as if it had too much light. Im running 6 watts per gallon in that tank and I was wondering if the tank and the anemone has too much light?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

I just purchased a sebae anemone for my tank and noticed that it's pretty much not doing anything. The weird thing is that when ever I turn the lights off the anemone spreads out alot, as if it was reaching for light. As soon a I turn the lights on, it shrinks, as if it had too much light. Im running 6 watts per gallon in that tank and I was wondering if the tank and the anemone has too much light?

Well..... Firstly, what exactly do you want it to do?
Secondly, 6w/gal means virtually nothing. What kind of lighting is it? Color spectrum? How deep is your tank? Where in your tank did you place the anemone? What color is your anemone? I assume your tank has been cycled properly? How old is your system? ... The answers to these questions could be very helpful in determining the condition of your anemone.

[cesar]

Well I noticed in other tanks that the anemones are always really spread out. they look as if they are enjoying themselves in that tank. Even the Clown fishes go in it and rub against it. My anemone shrinks in and hides it's tenticles when the lights are on. Im running 2 power compact lights at 65 watts each. My tank has been done with the cycle a while back. I have a Condy anemone and when the lights are on it seems to enjoy it very much. He spreads it's tenticles wide as if it's inviting the clowns to rub against it. The Sebae Anemone is a bright yellow with purple tips. The depth of the tank is only 15 inches. I placed the Anemone on the sand, but it actually moved it self in a position where it's between the glass and Live Rock, but still on sand.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

Well I noticed in other tanks that the anemones are always really spread out. they look as if they are enjoying themselves in that tank. Even the Clown fishes go in it and rub against it. My anemone shrinks in and hides it's tenticles when the lights are off. Im running 2 power compact lights at 65 watts each. My tank has been done with the cycle a while back. I have a Condy anemone and when the lights are on it seems to enjoy it very much. He spreads it's tenticles wide as if it's inviting the clowns to rub against it. The Sebae Anemone is a bright yellow with purple tips. The depth of the tank is only 15 inches. I placed the Anemone on the sand, but it actually moved it self in a position where it's between the glass and Live Rock, but still on sand.

2x65 pc lights is probably not enough for a healthy sebae anemone... Also, it would need some time to acclimate to your tank assuming it IS a healthy specimen.... I have never seen a 'bright yellow' sebae anemone (that doesn't mean there isn't one, just that I haven't seen it...), is this a colored anemone? If so, it was probably white before it was further shocked by being colored, and if that is the case, your chances of keeping this animal alive are very much imperiled.

You will most likely need to spot feed it at least a couple times a week (raw shrimp, krill, silversides, meaty foods) Make sure the pieces of food are small enough to fit into its mouth. Also, if it WAS white and then colored, that means it has expelled its zooxanthelae and lighting will be virtually meaningless to it for a time... in fact too much light could even burn it, until/unless it manages to regenerate its zooxanthelae (it would be tan-ish, or light brown-ish in color)

The good thing about anemones is that they can move where they want to be.... if it is healthy (tentacles slightly sticky to the touch, no tears in the body, or gaping mouth) then it should be able to adjust to your tank eventually, tho I would honestly strongly suggest an upgrade in lighting for this animal if/when it regains its zooxanthelae (assuming that it has indeed lost it)

[cesar]

Hmm that's interesting. When I was at my LFS they had a couple of them in the tank and they all had that color. I've been shopping there for years and he didn't say anything. You can see the anemone in the Gallery section under full tanks (if interested). I was thinking about upgrading lights but I noticed that the water was gettting a bit too hot as it is. To be honest I dont have the funds right now for an expensive chiller.

[cesar]

Correction. You can see the picture in Gallery under Anemones.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

Hmm that's interesting. When I was at my LFS they had a couple of them in the tank and they all had that color. I've been shopping there for years and he didn't say anything. You can see the anemone in the Gallery section under full tanks (if interested). I was thinking about upgrading lights but I noticed that the water was gettting a bit too hot as it is. To be honest I dont have the funds right now for an expensive chiller.

It is entirely possible... even probable... that your lfs has NO idea that the anemones they are recieving are dyed. In fact, most lfs' probably wouldn't care one way or the other.. brighter color=easier to sell .... It appears to be a fairly large anemone, so you may have a good chance of it developing its zooxanthelae back again. I would recommend further reading at:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/in...eraccrispa.htm

They are a highly respected source of information on water creatures, there are many other articles there as well, but the page I linked has a photograph of a sebae that is yellow like yours, and it states clearly that it is indeed dyed.

[cesar]

Wow I had no idea that anemone can be dyed. I would think they cant hurt the by doing that.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

Wow I had no idea that anemone can be dyed. I would think they cant hurt the by doing that.

Well, it does hurt them..and can cause serious stress to the animal as well..The biggest problem here is not the dying... it is the fact that somewhere in its' travels the anemone has been stressed enough to expel all of its' zooxanthellae (turning it white), which seriously hurt its cance of survival because it no longer has the ability to gain nutition from light.

[cesar]

Now how I heard from someone on this site that the signs of death can be that the Anemone will start to melt? Is that true. If it does melt can it hurt the cycle of the tank or create havoc between my fish and or other anemone's?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

Now how I heard from someone on this site that the signs of death can be that the Anemone will start to melt? Is that true. If it does melt can it hurt the cycle of the tank or create havoc between my fish and or other anemone's?

Yes, when an anemone begins to die, it will begin to disintegrate... or melt... and yes, it can be very bad for other tank residents.... if you see this happening, you should remove it to a hospital tank as soon as possible.

They do sometimes do other things that may look bad, but are actually normal, like... if you do hand feed, every few days or week or so, you will see it 'gag' or 'spit' up a big glob of what you have been feeding it... usually kind of looks like a hairball, lol... but they do not have other ...places.. to expel the waste, so it comes out the same place that it went in. They will also sometimes blow up like a tomato, with the tentacles pulled in, this is not a problem, unless they do it all the time...

[cesar]

Well my Sebae is in that stage. He is huge from it's base part and it's tentacles are not expanded all the way. Im feeding it Zooplex, but you do recomend me to feed an other type of food like what? Im sorry but im new with anemones and I didn't read much on it.

[cesar]

IF and I say IF it does start to melt away, you said that I should place it in my hospital tank. Once in there what type of treament do you recomend?

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by cesar

IF and I say IF it does start to melt away, you said that I should place it in my hospital tank. Once in there what type of treament do you recomend?

There is no special treatment for anemone that has lost its symbiont algae in the hospital tank( if you thinking about medications or what not). The only successfull way for anemone in this condition to survive is if you have very good water quality and a mature tank(which you do not have as I understand) and to have plenty of food like Sueet recommended.

FWIW, most of the Heteractis crispa anemones that make its way into the stores are almost always bleached and stressed to the point of no return. That yours was dyed on top of that gives this anemone(and you) even less of a chance to survive and recover.
My advice would be to first and foremost try to read as much as you can to familiarize yourself with sea anemones and only then attempt to keep one.
Not knocking on you but, if you were familiar with what you are looking at you wouldn't have bought this animal for your fairly young tank.
Also, having Condylactis anemone in the same tank is not helping either.
Sea anemones can sense each other chemically and will attempt to wage war against each other.
I hope you don't take my post in a wrong way. I had gone through this with my H.crispa about three years ago. The only thing is I bought it knowing that it is bleached and hoping that I could save it. I did,thankfully.

Here's couple of links for you to read.
http://biodiversity.uno.edu/ebooks/ch1.html#crispa
http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

[kevinpo]

Hello,
From your picture it appears to be a Heteractis crispa anemone that has been dyed. They are a sand dwelling anemone that likes a slight current blowing directly towards it. Their favorite food is shrimp 41-50 count size raw from the grocer. A small piece the size of a pencil eraser placed near the mouth works well. Larger pieces often are expelled. They do not eat zooplankton. After you get it eating regularly you can try feeding it Formula1 frozen cubes (thawed first). They need to be fed once every week or 2 but can go longer without ill effect. They grow to about 24" but will stay smaller if fed less.
The natural color is brown with a hint of green and purple tips. They can recover from being dyed and will turn brown again, slowly losing the yellow. They like to have their foot buried where the rock meets the sand in a shady spot with their tentacles stretched out into the light. Your lighting should work well for this type of anemone. I have kept several of these my oldest was purchased 11/29/96 and is home to my ocellaris clownfish.

HTH,
Kevin

[cesar]

Zhenya, no hard feelings. It's good to have good adivse. I was about to buy more Anemones to place in my tank. But I discovered that they can be a bit of a pain in the rear. So no more for me. Corals from now on. If this anemone does survive then I'll keep it.

[cesar]

I think he's gonna DIE!!

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by cesar

I think he's gonna DIE!!

Maybe try taking it back to your lfs with your newfound knowledge and demand at least a partial credit... sometimes they will, sometimes ... well, you get the idea. I know, that really isn't going to make it better, but maybe if you set the lfs straight, they wont be so quick to buy/sell the dyed, sickly creatures in the first place.... 'course, maybe they don't care, I guess it depends on how much they value your business.

[cesar]

Im going right now and try to see what happened. I've been going there for years and thisi is the first time this ever happens.