Help Blue Carpet Anemone

My Blue Carpet Anemone looks great now but yesterday about 5 pm it looked deflated and dead then We went to dinner and came back about 8 pm and it looked great again. I check it during the nigh and it look great. then When I got up this morning it was deflated but looks ok now....it is going to die or is it normal for it to do this.... here is a few pictures...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0455.jpg
this is what it looked like when i bought it

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0457.jpg
looks great

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0468.jpg
yesterday at 5pm

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0458.jpg
last night at bed time

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0470.jpg
this am



PLEASE HELP

THNAK

How long have you had the anemone and how old is your tank?

My Hubby gave me the anemone for Christmas ...well early and it was Friday....the tank is 6 months old. I had all my water tested that day ....well I have tested at the LFS every friday... they said it all looks good..then I saw the carpet and I talked to them about it...they told me I was ready for it ... I said I would be back for it later...then I went to get it and it was sold...(to my hubby... but i didnt know it) I was sad.. anyway to much info sorry.... I accimated (sp sorry) it for 3 hours then added it to my tank on friday at 8pm. Thanks for your help.

I can't tell you how many times (when I first got my anemone) that I thought it was going to die. I had a BTA that looked healthy one hour but would shrivel up and look nealry dead the next, only to look perfectly fine a few hours later.

As for carpet anemones, I have heard they are quite difficult to keep. A tank that is only 6 months old might not be able to sustain it. My LFS told me that a tank only needed to be matured for about three months before purchasing anemones. I got lucky since both of the aneomes did fairly well for quite a while but I wish that I had checked with an online forum (such as this one) before purchasing them. Now I firmly believe that if you want to get an anemone, you should probably wait a year. I only wish I had known at the time that there were communities of helpful individuals right at my fingertips!

Anyways, I would only really begin to worry if the aneome looks like that for an extended period of time (as in, longer than a few hours at a time). It is somewhat normal for anemones to deflate and re-inflate quite routinely (and I'm sure the stress of adapting to a new tank might make it act a bit strange as well).

Another quick question. When you bought it, what did it look like? Did you check for all the signs of a healthy anemone (a mouth that isn't drooping, good reactivity to touch, etc.)?

this first picture was what it looked like at the store...... and they had it for like 2 weeks and they feed it and it was doing good. Thank you for all your help and input...again thanks

six months isnt old enough according to conventional wisdom, one year is the accepted age(as far as i know) but I kept a green carpet in a tank about the same age as yours without ill effects.

what kind of lighting do you have?

had you recently fed the carpet? if so what, and did it spit any out?

is it leaking any brown liquid from its mouth?

how is the temp?

is the time it deflated related to any other timed feature? ie lights changing, feeding the tank, flow?

that being said my carpet would deflate and inflate frequently.

Hello first off its a beautiful anemone good find. :up: Second I have one more question to add to johns list whats your calcium because anemones need good calcium levels too along with good lighting, perfect flow, and good feeding routines. When I had a carpet anemone it did the same thing but not as much it did it about once a week that I know of and seen. Also it deflated after it ate to poop to. I wish you the best of luck and hope it is ok. Thanks :santasmile:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0475.jpg


it is starting to look better but it looks like it is falling off of its rock...is that norm???

I have a 75 gal tank

4 - T5HO GLO LIghts 3 of the are marine glo and the other is a powerglo 18000k

a skimmer

2 - turbo fan things..dont remeber the name it started with a K and they were a size 3

i had my water tested last night and the LFS said all looked great...

my salt was a 1.023 i think thats typed right

my temp is about79-80 usually

they fed it friday am silver fish --i think--i got some frozen

no brown fluid

the lights have been on both times when it deflated

The calcium is a 400....

Thank you all so much for helping and giving me info and support!!
again Thanks

The mouth being open is usually a bad sign.

Anemones have a tendency to move to conditions they like, mine moved around for about a week then stayed in one spot for a year...everything died due to a crash later.

The lighting is not really enough for an anemone (IMO), but I could be wrong. most people say MH/LED/many T5s are required to keep anemones. However I am unsure what the light needs of carpets are, they may be a lower light anemone.

Do your four T5 lights all have individual reflectors?

take a listen to the TR episode on anemones and see if that can help you at all...they are full of good info

My boyfriend successfully kept a green carpet under CFs for over a year. He has a very shallow tank though. I was surprised because I have always heard you need to have MH lights. It didn't just survive either, it thrived!

Hello Welchalynn and welcome to TR. I'm glad you found us. :) I also agree with the comments made above. After viewing the last picture that is posted, I too feel there is some great concern as something is wrong. Anemones usually lose their footing because they are not happy in their placement, either too much flow or looking for more/less light. His body deflated, with his mouth fully open like that, makes it appear he is greatly distressed. I have 2 very large sabea anemones and when lights go out, they will retract and pull their bodies in closer, then when lights come on, they bloom like flowers. The turbo fan you mentioned, I believe would be a koralia? Is he in a direct line of water flow? Sorry for all the questions, but he is quite beautiful and I hate to see the both of you suffer. Do you add anything to your system that you do not test for? What does the LFS keep their salinity levels at? Delicate animals sometimes have a hard time adjusting to new environments and then recoop with time. Sorry that I am unfamiliar with that species.

I agree it appears stressed which could be from being moved to a new home or could be a combination of a new home and a home that was not mature enough for it. Some get away with an anemone in a young tank but it is always best to make sure you are well established before embarking on such a journey.

Good luck and I hope it pulls through.

My T5HO lights are the retro kit where they each have thier own reflectors and I was told that they are really good lights. They put out double what a reg t5 puts out...thats is what I was told.

I want to thank all of you for your help. I got the carpet as a gift and was very excited to get it. I just want it to be happy and thrive. I just got it Friday and got it into my tank my 8pm... So I have only had it for a few days. I am hopeing that it adjusts...

The water flow is close to him and he feels it but it isnt blowing directly on him.

I have my water tested for everything... and the LFS says it all looks great... very Ideal...

Again Thank you to everyone who has helped me.

Hi Amy. Welcome to TR, a great place to learn about reefing.

The collection of Anemones in the wild subjects them to great trauma. On a flat surface, such as the glass wall of an aquarium, they are easy to remove. In the wild their "foot' conforms to every nook in the rock they are attached to and are very difficult to remove. Hence, most come into captivity in poor condition. Symptoms range from listless form and gapping mouth. The symptoms can range from slight to severe. Your Anemone seems to be suffering slightly from capture and subsequent care in captivity. Given the right conditions, I'd venture that yours will recover nicely.

In TR circles, I'm known as one to not mince words when it comes to "teaching" newbies the ins and outs of reef keeping. So, please take the following as lessons to be learned, constructive criticism and not personal attacks. We all go through a learning curve when entering any new adventure. Reefing is no different. We are dealing with the lives of creatures and the money they cost. So, in your situation, here are my observations...

1. Never let anyone buy you a gift of a living critter for your reef tank without thoroughly researching it's appropriateness for your system. Not all good intentions are appropriate.
2. Never rely on your LFS for testing your water. That is your responsibility and part of being a responsible reefer. Buy the test kits!
3. Always research thoroughly any new inhabitant for your reef before you make the purchase.
4. Become a student of the hobby. If you are as enthralled with reefing as I am, or any of the thousands of TR members, you will relish learning about this fascinating hobby. I've been deeply involved with aquariums for 62 years, the last 42 strictly in marine aquariums and I still research constantly.

Here is a link to an article I wrote that will help you get started in the right direction - "Nine Simple Rules"

Dick

Thank you all for the helpful advise and I just wanted to let you know that he is doing really good. Again Thanks

thats good to hear. carpets are, IMHO, one of the more difficult anemonies to take proper care of. i agree with everything that Dick suggested.

Hi Amy and :welcome: to TR.

I'd add one thing to what Dick said, take what the LFS says with large grain of salt and don't count it as research. There are good ones and bad ones and sometimes even the good ones give bad advice.

Let me give you a point in case. There is a thread on my local board about an employee at one of the very good LFS's selling someone a fish that was inappropriate for their tank and experience. The poster did not give all the details, in fact they didn't even say which store it was. They did say that the only difference between the fish they bought and the one they thought they were buying was one stripe and that the fish had died in a couple of days. The employee who made the mistake posted back and apologized. He is new and just made an honest mistake.

Oh, would you like to know the fish? They thought they were buying an Heniochus and instead got a Moorish Idol!

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Originally Posted by AlishaMichelle7

My boyfriend successfully kept a green carpet under CFs for over a year. He has a very shallow tank though. I was surprised because I have always heard you need to have MH lights. It didn't just survive either, it thrived!

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You don't *need* MH for a carpet anemone, but they're not a bad idea, especially for your first one, since it provides a familiar environment. You could (and I did, for ~4 months) keep one in tank with no lights at all as long as you provided an adequate diet (preferably live food, twice a day at dawn and dusk).

You can't skimp on are adequate food, adequate flow, and a commitment to provide consistently pristine water quality for the life of the animal. These things are centarian organisms (100+ year theoretical lifespan) in the wild, cutting that lifespan to less than 1% just because you didn't fully research the organism (or some schmuck at the LFS convinced you your clowns would die without one) isn't a nice thing to do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by welchalynn

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0475.jpg


it is starting to look better but it looks like it is falling off of its rock...is that norm???

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For Stichodactyla haddoni, yes (they prefer lodging their foot in a deep sandbed), for S. mertensi, no (they dwell on the rock). It might still be moving around to find somewhere comfortable.

Quote:

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I have a 75 gal tank

4 - T5HO GLO LIghts 3 of the are marine glo and the other is a powerglo 18000k

a skimmer

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Fine

Quote:

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2 - turbo fan things..dont remeber the name it started with a K and they were a size 3

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"Koriala", you might want to add another size 3 or 4 somewhere in the middle depending on how your aquascaping is done. I use 3 K4's on my 75.

Also might want to get some gutter grating or similar material and wrap little cylindrical "fences" around the sides of those powerheads (1in or so of space between the fence and the pump) to keep the anemone from getting sucked up against the side of the pump.

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i had my water tested last night and the LFS said all looked great...

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Your LFS also figured a carpet would be a good first anemone for you ... take Dick's advice and go buy all your own test kits.

Quote:

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my salt was a 1.023 i think thats typed right

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Probably typed right, and fine for fish, but a little low for keeping marine/reef inverts (1.025-1.026)

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my temp is about79-80 usually

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By "usually", you meant "always", right? :)

Quote:

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they fed it friday am silver fish --i think--i got some frozen

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Chop the fish up into small chunks, don't force the anemone to eat whole silversides ... if it decides to regurgitate one back into the water because it was too big, you'll have a big nutrient mess on your hands.

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no brown fluid

the lights have been on both times when it deflated

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It looks like its still getting used to the tank - they normally deflate and re-infate on a regular basis (essentially an internal water change), but will increase the frequency when acclimating to new water parameters. It should do it less frequently once it gets accustomed to the new home.

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The calcium is a 400....

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what was the calcium 24 hours later? cuz that's how much you'll need to be adding to your top off water to maintain consistent day-to-day water parameters.

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Thank you all so much for helping and giving me info and support!!
again Thanks

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Good luck with the carpet!

I just want to tank all of you for your help. Yes I have all the test kits but I like to have someone else check it and I am friends with my LFS and they dont mind, I want to make sure I am doing things the right way oe the correct way. I know That I am very new to all of this and I want to make sure that everyone know I really am thankful for all your help and support. I am very excited to say that my carpet it doing great!!!! He hasnt moved in a few days and my temp is keeping at 79 and my water looks good. Friday I am getting a new Koriala 4...to get the water flow better. Oh Here is a picture..thanks

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...n/100_0321.jpg

It looks great - congrats!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by welchalynn

I just want to tank all of you for your help. Yes I have all the test kits but I like to have someone else check it and I am friends with my LFS and they dont mind, I want to make sure I am doing things the right way oe the correct way.

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Fair enough, as long as you have the kits. Parameters such as pH and alkalinity aren't going to be as accurate if measured using a water sample that has had to travel to the testing location.

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I know That I am very new to all of this and I want to make sure that everyone know I really am thankful for all your help and support. I am very excited to say that my carpet it doing great!!!! He hasnt moved in a few days and my temp is keeping at 79 and my water looks good. Friday I am getting a new Koriala 4...to get the water flow better.

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Don't just get the K4 cuz its the biggest. Look for dead zones in your water flow and make the decision based on your observations (2 more K3s might serve your tank better.. or maybe just adding/removing the nozzles on your existing ones). Your aquascaping looks a lot more open than mine, a K4 could kick up a lot of sand in a shallow tank like a 75. The goal is for detritus to not settle anywhere, especially on the anemone. The clown will eventually start helping out with cleaning and feeding it as well.

It does look a lot "happier" in that new picture, is it still on the rock or is the foot in the sand now?

Its looking good I'm happy its ok. The clown looks happy to. :)

Hey, Whelchalynn
I'm so jealous....:bash: I want A Blue Carpet too...lol But I have to want until my tank mature more... But I gald it's doing better and let me know how hard it's to keep one...

Amy, the carpet looks much happier!