my first anemone

[shockz]

I bought this guy yesterday at my lfs, he's a long tip and is fairly large. He was in great condition all day yesterday looking for spots to settle into. I let him be overnight to wake up to him this morning doing some weird stuff. I THINK he is splitting, but I'm not sure. At the very base of his stalk it looks as if the "skin" on the outside is ripping apart exposing the innards. Here are some pics:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1131.jpg


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1132.jpg


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1134.jpg


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1135.jpg


Is he actually splitting? Is there anything I should do to help him? If he is dying then what should I be looking for and what should I do? Kinda lost right now on where to go with this.

[erick]

Tears in the foot area generaly arent a good sign. Keep a sharp eye on him, and if he looks to be disintigrating, get him ot quickly! It will be probably too late by then, but you'll know when he is a gonner. If he disintigrates in the tank, he will pollute it and you might possibly suffer a fish kill. Good luck...BTW the pics arent real clear..

[blueboy]

looks like it's still extending it's tentacles, so that's good. if it stops opening, then watch very closely.

[shockz]

What are signs of disintigration? He is still flowered out and still looks real healthy bouncing around my tank still looking for a spot to settle in. He let out some stringy stuff last time i had touched him, which is when i noticed the tear. I havent touched him since. He is definately not splitting though.

[Texreefer]

if he keeps moving for more than a few days i might think about increasing or decreasing lighting,, i don't know what you have so not sure at this point.make sure you have some areas that it can get its foot into, also it look to be a BTA but pics are blurry .. this will tell you what kind of requirements it will need

[erick]

If his tentacles start to fall off, that is a sure sign of disintigration. Dont get alarmed over frequent "water changes" that the anemone will go thru :cry this is just his way of acclimating to the water parameters of your tank. I have a BTA, in a 50g w/ a maroon clown and it goes thru these changes as he expells water and reinflates. Just this pm it looked as if he was "dead/dying", and 3 minutes later he was full and feeding from the clown ;) If it is a BTA, then he will probably search for a place in the rock where he can get a good foothold. MIne roamed for a day or two and then got an upside down foothold under a ledge and wedged himself between the glass and the rock and extends towards the Mh light (he is also on the side of the tank that gets direct sunlight in the day and I assume thats why he choose that spot v.v ) They like lots of light as mine is about 20 inches away from 250w Mh and 100w pc. Keep a sharp eye on the tear though, and this could well lead to his demise.

[Ram_Puppy]

if it is a bta, then does it not look bleached to you guys? looks bleached to me... maybe it's just the picture.

[erick]

Yeah, for a BTA it is awful white..... But the lighting could play a part in the pictue quality. Mine was light colored, but is now a healthy brown/maroon color after a couple of weeks...

[shockz]

i got some more pictures ill upload shortly. i just have to wait till someone leaves so i can play with their xmas present again :D

[shockz]

okie dokie. she isnt leaving for awhile now so i am going back to the old camera. luckily i got some better shots with this one, but I could not get a shot of the tear. I would have to stick my camera in my tank now to do that since he is facing the wrong way. looks like he got a foothold to some live rock, the clowns are starting to host in him, and their is less/none of the stringy stuff he was putting off floating around my tank anymore. I cant really see the tear though anymore, which is unfortunate. But I am keeping a CLOSE eye on him. How often should i feed this guy? What should I feed him? Krill? Or should i go to ikea and buy the coolest baster around...

Here are the new pics:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1137.jpg
this is what he looks like this morning after settling in

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1145.jpg
clowns loving this guy

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1144.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1143.jpg
best shots of his stalk i could get

[erick]

I feed mysis shrimp, in the frozen cube form. I cut it into smaller peices and put it into my tank frozen . My clown will then take a small chunk and feed it to the BTA. If your clowns dont feed your anemone, then you have to use a straw, turkey baster, syringe with a straw attatched, etc. to feed him. Suck up some of the mysis and place directly into his tentacles. he will grab the food and eat it. Look for signs of not eating as a possible downfall in health. Signs like an open, gapping mouth (should be tightlty closed at all times) or him grabbing the food then letting go, or not grabbing the food at all. I feed mine daily (when I feed the fish, the clown feeds the anemone), but that is probably in excess as they get their main sustenance from light and symbiotic zoxanthalae. Try feeding 3-4 times per week if he is under strong light, more often if he is under medium to low light.

[erick]

Now that I'm home I can view the pics... Looks more like an LTA to me now, but the feeding, light, what to look for, etc... remains the same. Does it have an orange foot? (looks like it to me), which would be an indicator of a LTA....

[shockz]

yea its a LTA. i have frozen cubed mysis i can chunk apart to feed him. I think I still have a turkey injector syringe from our turkey deep fry on thanksgiving. Ill use that to feed the anemone with since all the critters in my tank will devour that cube.

[Ram_Puppy]

shockz, what type of lighting do you have?

I can't tell from the camera, but it doesn't look very strong.

[shockz]

PC and MH for lighting. He moved again and wedged himself between some glass and liverock. I can see the tear now and it looks like its healing, or something like that. I'll take that as a good sign though.

[shockz]

Here is what the "healing" looks like to me. Does this mean he is healthy and might still survive?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/shockz420/IMG_1151.jpg

[caferacermike]

I'd say you are fine. I'd think you'd have already seen a pile of mush in the tank after 4 days or so. When they go it's quick.

[shockz]

good to know thanks for the help guys!