LTA help please!!

[jcave126]

I have a LTA that has been in my tank for about a month now. Everything was going great with him, but all of a sudden it doesn't want to burrow in the sand like it was and is laying there with it's body sideways on top of the sand. Also he hasn't eaten the shrimp I have given him for the past couple of days and it looks like it is shedding. I have tested the water and everything is great. Anyone have any ideas for me?? Thank you very much in advance. -Josh-

[justahobby]

Was it dyed when you bought it? There might be a pest in there in the area that is disturbing it. Any changes in lighting, flow, or temperature recently?

[jrsatx20]

If it looks like it is shedding I would say he is dying. Take him out and smell him you will know right away if he is dying from the stinch it will give off. Carefully it may also fall apart when moved.

[jcave126]

The only change in the tank is the flow. I have a Rio 2500 that I toned down some. I was using it briefly and it kept moving all the sand from one side of the tank to the rest of it. When I added the LTA, I had the Rio unplugged and since I got the Rio to not create as much current, I have it plugged back in. Other than that, there have been no changes in the tank.

[jcave126]

I caught him in a net and smelled last night from what I have found online, and there was no stinch and he didn't fall apart any. I even tried making a hole like he had and pu him in it, but when I do, he extends his body and pushes himself out of it so he can lay with his body flat on the sand.

[justahobby]

Is its mouth turning inside out? Have a camera handy?

[hobogato]

sometimes they prefer a rock buried in the sand. if you have a flat rock, clear the sand in one area, and put the rock there. turn off all circulation and after placing the anemone on the rock, pile the sand slightly around the foot. leave the circulation off for 10 to 15 minutes to give it a chance to attach and then turn the circulation back on. if you can turn it on gradually, that would be better, maybe one pump at a time every 15 minutes or so or if your pumps are adjustable, 30% strength and gradually increase back up to full power.

[jcave126]

the mouth isn't turning inside out. I am at work right now, but will post some pics when I get home. I give it a piece of shrimp yesterday, and it used the tentacles to bring it to it's mouth, but once there, it couldn't seen to hang on to it. I will try the rock idea when I get home today.

[hobogato]

you may want to stop feeding in for a bit while it settles in as well. also, when you start feeding it again, try very small pieces of food. when i had one in my big tank, i never fed it directly, i did however feed the fish in the tank very heavily and the clowns that hosted in it would take small bits of food to it - the size of a whole mysid shrimp.

sometimes, if you feed it large pieces of food, the food starts to rot in its gastrovascular cavity before it can be digested, and that can cause harm to the anemone or cause the anemone to eject it into the tank creating water quality issues.

[jcave126]

I have been alternating between small pieces of raw shrimp and using a basting syring to feed it a mix of enriched brine and mysis. It has been spitting it all out the past couple of days. It is the same diet as my condalactys.

[hobogato]

i think long tentacle anemones rely more on zoxanthellae to produce food for them than condys, so it may not need to be fed as much. maybe it is just irritated by too much food?

[BIGBIRD123]

I agree, there is a misnomer that you have to feed them regularly. The fish will feed them and they catch stuff in the water column. The only anemone I have lost is because when I was new to the hobby, I fed it silversides daily.

[Big_Pun]

i have a bubble tip and a rock anenome and i feed them like twice a month most of the time it just snags stuff here and there and they are both fat and happy, ease off the feeding if it makes it

[sampsonndelila]

I killed a condie once in a power head... ouch! But that was after he ate a $20 clown fish. I didn't mind too much... Ahh live and learn right. My BTA recently split into two. But it routinely looks horrible. I don’t know the happy medium that some guys find but mine is always doing well at least once a day, open and happy looking. The rest of the time it looks green and shriveled in the corner of two rocks. Funny thing is they are rarely shriveled at the same time. One looks good and the other one is bad. Visa-versa. I think my water parameters are only so-so right now, I know that’s the problem. So-so is an understatement. My Ph is low (7.4-6) and my nitrates are a little higher then I like (20). I think. But the BTA have lived in there like that for 2 years almost.

[jcave126]

I will ease off the feeding then. I am relatively new to the hobby. I have had my 75 gal set up for about 2 months, and I had a 20 gal high for about 3-4 months before that. I really do appriciate all the help from everybody. Thank you.

[justahobby]

Hey, that was your first post. Welcome!!! You can't go wrong by starting off asking questions!