Anemone Questions

whitevillian · 03-23-2008, 05:49 PM

So I have an anemone, red tubular base, chalky white tubes with a purple dot on each end of the tubes. It seems as if lately there has been some sort of growth or something on the outside of the red base, light brown in color. And he also moves around alot, is that normal and what the heck is wrong with him. Anyone?

you can see the growth on the rim there.

V · 03-23-2008, 06:58 PM

It looks like a tear thats repairing rather than extra defences. whats your lighting & circulation parameters?

**CarmieJo** · 03-23-2008, 07:11 PM

Hello whitevillian and

to TR.

I think that you have a long tentacle anemone Macrodactyla doreensis. Here is a good article Macrodoreensis about them. They require a deep 6" fine sand bed where they will plant their foot. They also require lots of light. How long have you had it? What are your water parameters?

Moving a lot means it is not happy with something, no place to plant its foot, not enough light, poor water conditions, etc. The brown growth could be sloughing tissue maybe from being irritated from moving around or if you have a coarse substrate.

whitevillian · 03-23-2008, 09:17 PM

I have had him for about 3 weeks now, I have a 55 gallon coarse substrate tank. Guess I should have found that out about the fine sand first, the store that sold it to me had a coarse substrate as well, guess I should never assume anything. I have a regular hood with flourescent and uv bulbs. A decent skimmer and a UV filter. My tests on my water still register all at zero, good ph and temp. Slight brown algae growth now, not sure why? I feel bad if I have left this guy out in the cold. Any remedies or solutions would be greatly appreciated so I can help this dude out. Thanks.

whitevillian · 03-23-2008, 09:19 PM

Oh and a kid I talked to who is pretty knowledgable in this stuff told me that it is actually a Brazilian type of species and actually is poisonous to clownfish, not sure if that is true or not, not even sure what type of species this guy really is.

nay,kid · 03-24-2008, 01:12 AM

it looks like a condylactis to me they might host tomato or clark's clown fish( according to the conscientious marine aquarist by Robert Fenner) they require strong light and vigorous water motion.

**Amphibious** · 03-24-2008, 02:42 AM

I vote Condylactis, too. What he's got is an injury. What you are seeing is his innards sticking out. Will he make it??? Good question. Depends how bad he's hurt, water conditions he's in and lighting. I'd not try to feed him for a few days, maybe a week. Anemones have the ability to heal without being feed.

Keep us informed how he's doing. This is a good lesson in seriously looking for illness and injury on any specimen you are going to buy.

Here's a link to an article I wrote for TR members and visitors about buying and keeping fish healthy. It applies to anemones, too. Nine Simple Rules.