question on an anemone?

[Phil8076]

just a couple of days ago i got two anemones, and today the one looked fine this morning and, in the afternoon it looked wiltered, the other one looks fine and normal. Any thoughts on what happened to the wiltered one?

[Peterock]

Explain more about what is going on with the anemone, if you can post a pic

[Samper]

If you could describe your system in detail I'm sure we can figure it out. We need to know what equipment your running, water parameters and length of time it's been running.

[Reefland]

Hi Phil8076, Welcome to Reefland!

As the others mentioned it is important to know what kind of Anemone's your purchased and secondly, all teh details about your aqaurium.

[Peterock]

I have a question as well I have a green carpet that sometimes srivel up is this normal or what. I also have a red/ green tip bulb that brings his tenticals allway in what is causing this or are they just doing normal behavior stuff.

[zhenya]

I also have a red/ green tip bulb that brings his tenticals allway in what is causing this or are they just doing normal behavior stuff.

Peter, can you expound on that a bit? I don't quite get what is the red/green bulb? Is that an anemone or coral, or what?
If it is anemone, derect contact can be quite lethal to any of the animals that come in contact with the tentacles of E.qudricolor. I'm assuming that we are talking about that particular animal.

[Peterock]

Well I have 3 false clowns and they have been playing in the tentaticls for about a week now and today they are playing in the carpet (hiding under him and letting him fold up and swiming in between the pedals or so. I was wondering was that a bad thing when anemones shrink and retract down to a almost nothing size. Red/green means that the anemone looks red and has green tips on the tenticals.

[zhenya]

Oh, OK, Peter. For a moment I thought you hd two different anemones in your tank...

Anyway, it is quite normal for anemones to contract( they exchange water that way by expelling and inflating again) during the day.The frequency of this is another matter. I think couple of times a day is nothing to worry about but more than that would concern me.

[Samper]

Peter what happened to the other one and what was it? You mentioned 2.

[marxsman]

your anemones are probably on the way out.

Through years of keeping a few anemones I have found out that they are very hard to keep. If it is shrinking it is probably consuming itself. the lighting in your tank is a big neccesity.

I hjust had a seabae die too. I made the mistake and bought it and it was white. It did not last long. unfortunately anemones only last a few months in captivity.

I had the problem with two of them starting to shrink. I lost one, it turned white and shrank to nothing.

The other is now starting to grow again. I have been babing it for a month now. I don't want to lose it because it has been with me since 1998!! and produced several clones.

It was a host for my Maroons but I moved them to another tank. Believe it or not but the anemone is making a come back with me feeding it and no clowns.
It got color back and is very tan (almost brown) with green tips.

[Peterock]

Well I do have 2 different one in my tank. The first is a bulb and the second is a green carpet. From looking at it it seems that they only shrink up after I turn off the white light. My green will not be in the tank for long I am trading it to a buddy because he is too large for my 45 gal.

[marxsman]

the anemone sounds like he is probably doing fine. Mine do downsize a little when lights go out but not much.

as long as there is still good color in the anemone then it is healthy, providing that it is not wandering around the tank and is still eating.

also make sure there is no mucas appearing on it

[Peterock]

Well I have not seen any mucus on them but my green carpet does not like krill so I have not feed him any large food but I do have some rotorfoer (mis-spelled) and some zooplex that i am feeding the entire tank. the buld loves the krill 1 every 3 days.

[vtec si]

your anemones are probably on the way out.

Through years of keeping a few anemones I have found out that they are very hard to keep. If it is shrinking it is probably consuming itself. the lighting in your tank is a big neccesity.

I hjust had a seabae die too. I made the mistake and bought it and it was white. It did not last long. unfortunately anemones only last a few months in captivity.

The unfortunate thing about any sea anemones is that there is very little info about them and their behavior in captivity. Many anemones will shrink or shrivel up if water quality declines and lighting is not up to par.
I have also found through the years that if your alk levels drop they will show signs of stress; as well with your nitrite levels.
Also the rule of feeding a sea anemone once a week is boggus IMO. I have found that feeding them three to four times a week works better. JMO!
Some anemones like the carpets can go a long time with out a feeding (not recommended)! For example the monster that I have in my tank has been with me since 1997 and when I upgraded my tank and put him in it he would not eat or fully extend out. That was the way he was for about 14 mo. He even turned part of way inside out twice! Then out of the blue he extended out and has grown to 13 1/2 to 14 inches at his largest diameter and about 6 inches at his smallest.
I hope this helps in any way.

Martin

[zhenya]

Through years of keeping a few anemones I have found out that they are very hard to keep. If it is shrinking it is probably consuming itself. the lighting in your tank is a big neccesity.

True, anemones are pretty hard to keep if their requirements are not met. Furthermore, it is my belief that this animals should be avoided by beginner aquarists and should not be purchased for newly established tanks, there is enough information available to see survival statistics and make the right choice.

...unfortunately anemones only last a few months in captivity.

Well, it may be true( see above), but not always. I have H.crispa that is going to be 4 years as it was introduced to my tank and I intend to keep it for many years more. Providing mature tank and proper habitat for it, knowing how to care for it, all those things allow you to keep one for a long time.

Also the rule of feeding a sea anemone once a week is boggus IMO. I have found that feeding them three to four times a week works better. JMO!

Depending on the size of anemone, feeding it once a week may work if you give it enough food that one time. I feed my H.crispa twice a week with 4 large silversides each time, sometimes more and I never once seen my anemone reject any of the food. It is consumed rather quickly (5-7 minutes )

The other is now starting to grow again. I have been babing it for a month now. I don't want to lose it because it has been with me since 1998!! and produced several clones.

To this day I was unable to find any information to support your statement of asexual reproduction by H.crispa in captivity. I am looking though.

[marxsman]

The species of my anemone may not be known to me. It was sold to me as a long tenecle from a lfs. It was almost white (may have been dying), but has changed into a purple/ almost brown. What got me was that is has white lines around the mouth. It also has a tint of green on the tips of it's tenacles

At one time it was over 10 inches wide. It split at the mouth. It appeared to be "sick". It then started to strech and look as if it was cut down the side. and then it split at the mouth producing it's clone.

Do to space I always sold the other back to the store. Out of curiousity I took a razor and cut it from the mouth out. just on one side. IT SPIT , I again had two anemones!!

I won't do it now because it still isn't back to par. It is getting better though.

Here is a pic of it, this is at it's worse, it has doubled in size now

[FesteringGob]

I have had a rosebud anemone for about 5 months now. He usually shrinks 1 maybe 2 times a day. He has moved 3 times since I put him in the tank. He has not moved in 4 months. I feed him krill and he eats 2-3 times a week for the most part. I got a maroon clown about 3 weeks ago and he feeds him alot too. I have cut back on the krill, but he still eats them at times. He is still relatively small, but he is growing. Thanks for the responses here. I am an amateur also. This thing has got me asking a lot of questions