sea anemone not looking so good

[glarior]

I have a sea anemone for a few months now but it does not look as healthy, pink and as big anymore. I am having a hard time finding good information regarding them. Can you suggest what I can do to help it?

[StevenSeas]

what kind of anenome? This coupled with your troubles with the butterfly I would take a look at what your tank parameters are. Also what kind of lighting? Are you feeding it? if so what?

[glarior]

I checked the water and its where it should be. The butterfly just never ate and did not make it :-/

I have no clue what kind of anemone is. I will have to see if I can get a picture of it but right now it decided to move behind my rocks lol. The lighting is a metal halide with power compact lights. Can't remember the exact wattage but the other corals are thriving and reproducing. I am not feeding the anemone and I am sure that does not help. The only way it would get food would be excess food from the other fish. This was a impulse buy vs research and buy... Now, I have to figure it out.

[StevenSeas]

If you could get a picture of it up that would be helpful. Dont move it though this rarely helps and more often than not just stresses it further ime.

[glarior]

I attached two pictures

[StevenSeas]

wow that looks like a extremely bleached long tentacle anenome to me. First off it needs feedings probably every 3 or so days for a while if it is to have a chance. Second its base should be red and burried in the sand bed, but it would bury it itself.... The lighting is important here as it is is usually lighting or water parameters that are the cause of it to bleach. did you ever witness it spitting up anything, usually a brownish color? has it moved frequently in your tank or just recently? I would feed it pieces of food no bigger than its mouth, soaked in something such as selcon, or a mixture of zoecon and marine C like I said every 3 days or so, also check on the lighting. What kind, how much, how old etc.

[glarior]

I have never fed it. Did not know. When I first got the anemone I tried to burry it in the sand but it never liked that. It preferred to be between the rocks. Never really moved much till the past two weeks. The lighting is 380watts total. 250 metal halide with 2x65w PC.
I never saw it spit up anything and never saw it eat. How do I feed it? Just put my hand by its mouth or what? Sorry, I really don't know but will ask to learn. The food I have right this second is mysis, brine, squid, live mussel and chromaplex. I would have to buy the other stuff you mentioned tomorrow. What food should I use?

[Still Learning]

I would suggest taking a meat food...just a little and place it on a tenticle. If he moves it to his mouth...that is good. Should go in the mouth for a couple of hours then spit out what he doesn't digest.

[StevenSeas]

^^^ it shouldnt ever spit anything back out imo this is b/c it doesnt digest it and it spits back close to all of what was fed, food size should be no larger than its mouth as stated by Bob Fernner and others. Also that means the food is covered in its digestive fluids ie acids and stuff and that goes into your tank and wreaks all kind of havoc. just my opinion based off of my experinces and readings

[StevenSeas]

for now I would try to feed the squid in a small chunk at most to its tentacles and see how that goes, or maybe live mussels removed from the shell if its small enough....

[glarior]

I would suggest taking a meat food...just a little and place it on a tenticle. If he moves it to his mouth...that is good. Should go in the mouth for a couple of hours then spit out what he doesn't digest.

Meat food? Like steak, hamburger, bacon? This is 100% new to me... may you please elaborate a little more... thank you very much for the help!

[StevenSeas]

Here hope this little bit of light reading helps
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ltafdgfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonefdgfaqs.htm

another quick quote from Bob Ferner

Macrodactyla doreensis feeds on small/er particles than many anemone species; from almost microscopic to a quarter inch across at most... The species is best fed with having a large, healthy refugium incorporated with its main display, or barring this, the few-times-weekly baster feeding of a mash of marine protein based foods, squirted onto its tentacles with your circulation temporarily (use a timer...) shut off. Regurgitated foods are usually indicative of too-large size offerings...

[glarior]

Here hope this little bit of light reading helps
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ltafdgfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonefdgfaqs.htm

another quick quote from Bob Ferner

Perfect information!!!! I can now find what I need to know! Yeaaa!!!!! Thank you very very much.

[Bill S]

My $0.02. Take it for what it's worth...

That anemone, if real in color, is insane. And, therein lies the problem. I'm not sure where you got it, but that anemone has been artificially bleached/colored. I really thought the hobby was beyond this, but apparently not.

In my opinion, it has little chance of survival. But, if it's going to live, it needs to be 1) left alone (it will decide where it wants to live - don't try and force it into a place it doesn't like), and 2) give it some decent lighting - it needs to re-develop it's photosynthetic properties, if it is to survive.

BTW, my opinion is that feeding it, other than lightly, isn't going to help things. A bit of brine/mysis or whatever it can manage to catch on its own is fine. Don't try and make it eat - it is WAY stressed at this point in time.

[StevenSeas]

Bill im curious as to why you advocate to not feed? you stated it needs to re-develop its photosynthetic properties (zooanthelle) but i always thought this is why secondary feedings were even more important when it becomes bleached and then when it has its zooanthelle at full capacity its not so much needed.

[Bill S]

OK, again, just my opinion...

The very first anemone I tried was in... gulp ... 1971. It was INSANE. A beautiful bright yellow anemone. You can guess how long it lived...

I've had anemones continuously living in my tanks since 2001. And I just about NEVER feed them directly. Yes, they manage to grab a bit of food as it comes by. In my 55, the RBTA which is about 11" across when fully inflated, hasn't gotten ANYTHING except pellet food that managed to make it's way into it, for at least 90 days. These critters are about 99% water - and don't need to be fed at the level folks typically feed them. They puke almost all of it up anyway. Feeding them heavily, IMHO, just puts additional stress on them. A light feeding - what they would get from casual feeding - is much easier on them.

Again, this is just my opinion. If I had taken that anemone as a rescue, that's what I would do with it. I certainly wouldn't do ANYTHING that might stress it out more. It needs a chance to recover - as slight at I think that chance might be. A light feeding of mysis or whatever would be the max I'd do - at the same time the rest of the tank was fed.

And, I could be completely wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.