:( Do anemones shrink at night?

[wozza]

my anemone has shrunk by about half the size it was earler.
is this normal behaviour for when the lights have been off for about an hour?

the first pic is of it about 3 hours ago the second is of just now

the mouth is a little open as well in the second pic. i think i read this is not good!

[Reefland]

Hi wozza,

Don't over react to anything your anemone is doing, give it a few days at least to adjust and work from there.

[wozza]

cheers scott, your exactly right i thourght that was the case, i have even givin that same advise to someone else.
i just think its so cool i dont want anything to go wrong!

this is the first REAL coral i have kept/got and dont wanna screw it up.
although when i say REAL coral are anemones classed as corals or inverts?

cheers james

[Reefland]

No, they are Anemone's, not corals. ;)

[Ninong]

this is the first REAL coral i have kept/got and dont wanna screw it up.
although when i say REAL coral are anemones classed as corals or inverts?

cheers james

Both corals and sea anemones are invertebrates. Corals and sea anemones are related to each other in that they belong to the same class: Anthozoa. Sea anemones (Actiniaria) are in the same subclass, Zoantharia, as stony corals (Scleractinia).

[wozza]

oh ok thanks guys.

[zhenya]

Cheers James,

Your anemone is beautiful, and I wouldn't worry about it shrinking during "lights off" period. All of my anemones do the very same thing when lights go off. Some even completely retract for a while only to reopen again in a few hours but remain much smaller in appearance.
Don't be alarmed by the appearance of the mouth at night, it may be purging waste at this time, however, if mouth will remain in "gaping" state for prolonged periods it may indicate that the animal is stressed. I would give it a few days to get acclimated and simply observe the animal during this time. If it is permanently attached by tomorrow I would consider offering it some food and see how it will respond to it. You can try some store bought shrimp( diced into 1/4" chunks) or silversides, or even krill.
Keep us posted and repost how it does in a couple of days.

[wozza]

well it good news this morning.
it has stayed in the same place it seems happy with the cave i made it, also it has opened up lovely and it took some krill i offerd.
hopefully its on the road to being happy.

Zhenya i didnt ask in my PM to you but does it look like its lost its zooanthallae or is it healthy?

here is a pic of it this moring

cheers james

[zhenya]

well it good news this morning.
it has stayed in the same place it seems happy with the cave i made it, also it has opened up lovely and it took some krill i offerd.
hopefully its on the road to being happy.

Zhenya i didnt ask in my PM to you but does it look like its lost its zooanthallae or is it healthy?

cheers james

Hi James,

It looks healthy enough to my eye, and the fact that it accepts food is a very good sign that it will get even better looking.

[wozza]

HOLY CR^P!!!
something actually going right, it must be the work of god!!!!

thanks zhenya my clowns have started to host it now, will this be ok or will it pi$$ it off?

cheers james

[Minh Nguyen]

Great. Clownfish will be great for it. You do have a very nice BTA. While it may be light and may get darker in your tank it is not bleached. Great find. Congra.

[wozza]

cool thanks for all your replys.
all much help!

cheers james