Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I am new to SW tanks, I am having problems with my bubble tip anemone. I have a 12g Aquapod with 24W 50/50 full spectrum/Blue actinic lights.

My anemone is new, I got it the beginning of june,from liveaquaria.com quarantined it for 4 weeks and put it into my tank. I have been keeping close eye on it and it seems to have expelled its zooanthelle and appears bleached.

I have noticed that on some days it looks more puffed out when the lights are off, but I saw it one day and it looked like it was sticking its stomach out. I turned the lights back on and it seemed to recover. Since I have had this anemone it goes through periods where it shrivels up and has its mouth gaping open.

I haven't seen it eat, though I have placed chopped up shrimp near its mouth and also brine shrimp. I have also used Kent Marine Microvert every few days.

I supplement the tank with Iodine, Liquid Calcium, Strontium & Molybdenum and Essential Elements weekly after I do a water change (normally 2 gallons, but i have done 3-4 recently to try and improve the water for my sick anemone).

In my tank I have two Ocellaris clowns, one regular orange and one Black. I have a lawnmower Blenny, 1 scarlet hermit, 1 dwarf zebra hermit, 1 dwarf blue legged hermit, 1 sexy anemone shrimp, 2 Super tongan nassarius snails, 3 magarita snails (i believe), and 3 astrea conehead snails, and 1 blue tux urchin. Everything in the tank looks fine except the urchin has lost some of its blue while i QTed it.

I have tested 0ppm for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. pH 8.2, salinity or 28.5, temp 82F, and alkalinity of 300ppm.

Any suggestions for help?

Thanks.

I have a link to my flikr page with pics of my BTA (named HANK). You can see from the first pic to the last/video, the loss of color.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40556294@N08/sets/72157621390302357/

The fact that it is not eating is not a good sign of it recovering. When is that last time it ate? Anemones losing their zooxanthellae is a common problem among newbies (so I've read). This can be from a few factors (and I'm quoting the internet): lack of light, poor water quality, or the wrong color light spectrum. When it starts to shrink, it is because it is losing nutrients and oxygen that are supplied by the zooxanthellae. If this happens, the anemone can lose strength and float about the aquarium, and will probably die soon afterwards.

That being said, I don't know these things from experience, but I wanted you to get an answer quickly. I researched your specific anemone. The care level for this species is moderate to difficult, so you being a beginner I probably wouldn't recommend this species for you at the moment. However, you've already purchased it so I will tell you what I think the problem is, and how you should fix it. It could be because it is in an aquarium that is too small. The minimum tank size for the BTA is 30 gallons on both live aquaria and fish lore (both reputable sites).

I guess your lights provide high lighting? I do not have a saltwater aquarium, however, I do know how aquatic animals physically function. So if the light is not what it needs, it will feel like it has to release the zooxanthellae so they don't both die.

It is puffing, and that is normal for anemones since they need water for their cells and normal functions. Your water quality is near perfect for your anemone. The temperature should be a little cooler though (around 75-79 degrees F). What is your specific gravity and water circulation? Do you have a protein skimmer and activated carbon filtration?

My diagnosis is either not enough lighting or the wrong spectrum of lighting.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I actually haven't seen it eat except for one time that it appeared to take a brine shrimp to its mouth around last sun/monday. It has been acting like this for a while, but only in the last week or two it has started to loose its zooxanthellae and bleach.

Right now my water circulation is not directly pointed at the anemone and is blocked by my live rock from flowing directly at it. Here is the write up from drsfostersmith.com of my tank:

"12 Gallon, 54W Compact Fluorescent System - Includes: Surface skimming filtration system, 1-27W square pin Dual Daylight 6700°K/10000°K Daylight bulb, 1-27W square pin Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm Actinic bulb, 2 blue LED lights, cooling fan, mechanical sponge filter, 160 gph submersible pump with flat nozzle".

I also have a fission nano skimmer set up in the tank.

Im thinking of changing my water flow to put it directly at the anemone to make sure it isnt in a dead/slighty dead spot. I do have activated carbon in my tank. The specific gravity is 1.022.

I turned the heater down to try and keep the temperature around 78 degrees. So far it is showing 82 and the heater is set at 78, so im going to try adjusting that again.

I realized it would be challenging in the small tank but I have been watching a beautiful rose BTA flourish in a 15 gal. tank with very poor lighting at my work. I asked my boss about it before I ordered it and he recommended the BTA for its hardiness. I am going to have him look at the tank when he gets a chance.

Thanks,
jsero00

It is probably starting to run low on fat store resources that is if it is not eating anything (if it's eating when you're not watching, possibly) and since it lost it's zooxanthellae.

Seems like you have all the requirements needed by your BTA. Although I still don't know about the lighting issue. I don't have a saltwater tank, nor do I know captivity requirements for saltwater organisms. I know what I read or hear about from other aquarists. You can try to change the water flow, to see if that helps. Just be careful with too much flow because your anemone may be running low on energy, and could possibly detach itself if there is too much flow.

You've never experienced this problem with your other BTA (the one at work)? If your boss has experience with BTAs perhaps he could give you some advice as well. Experience is always a good thing, and shouldn't be regarded as false just because someone doesn't have a degree or what not.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Hi - are you still having problems with your BTA (original post was back in July).

From your description, I would guess that your lighting is not intense enough (PCs or MHs are recommended for this anemone) given that most of its nutritian comes directly from the Zooxanthellae. Expulsion of the Zooxanthellae is also a good indicator of inadequate lighting.

The only other thing I can see is possibly the temperature is a little too high. BTAs do well up to about 80F, but the ideal is more in line with 78F - high temps will also cause Zooxanthellae expulsion.

Here's a link to some additional info you might find helpful: http://www.earlsreef.com/ReefProfiles/CoralProfile.aspx?ID=2269

Good luck!

-seabott
Bubble Tip Anemone Info