What is wrong with my anemones

[Reefer0513]

I have two BTA one is a clone of the other, but my question centers around the way they been looking for the past couple days. I have had these anemones for almost two years and both have been under metal halide and compact fluorescents the whole time.They both have seemed a little deflated of lately and withdrawn into themselves. They have been looking more whiter than their normal colors of orange and green and my clownfish who is overprotected of them and never leaves there side has been roaming all over the tank lately. I was wondering if this behavior of the anemones and clownfish was normal or abnormal. Are my anemones dying or are they just sick or maybe need to feed more. I am not just sure what is going on with them any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CarmieJo]

What are your water parameters? Has anything in the tank changed?

[Reefer0513]

My water parameters are in the normal ranges. I had to do a big water change about a week ago because my nitrates were high, but besides that nothing has changed since then. So I am not sure what is going on.

[rayme07]

Is there anyway you could list them so we know exactly what they are. The anemones may just be stressed out by the nitrates then the big water change. There may still be high nitrates in your tank and that could be affecting them as well.

[Reefer0513]

Ok, I just went and checked my water parameters just to be sure that I was right about last post.
calcium 380ml
nitrate ppm
alkalinity 160 ml
salinity are in normal parameters

[rayme07]

Do you know what your Ammonia and nitrite are? Do you have test kits for those two? If not I would suggest getting some those are very important for a tank ammonia and nitrite can affect or kill anything in the tank and if you do not have those test kits they may be high and that would be your problem.

[Reefer0513]

Here are some pictures of my anemones that I asked help for in the posts above. Let me know what you think is wrong with them or if anything at all

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=4592
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=4597
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=4598
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=4594
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=4593

[rayme07]

hmm, they seem to not be showing up for me.

[CarmieJo]

They do look unhappy. What is the nitrate level? Did you check for ammonia and nitrite?

[Reefer0513]

I finally got a ammonia and nitrate test and they both were just a little bit high and I mean just a barely above normal according to the test kit parameter chart. Would that make much of a difference been just alittle above normal. Just to note before this post I got my two phosban reactors installed and running now. One with phosban and the other with carbon. I also setup a alage scrubber to lower nitate. Should I do anything or just wait for these items to kick in?

[CarmieJo]

What are the numbers?

[Reefer0513]

ammonia 0.25 nitrate 0.50

[rayme07]

ammonia 0.25 nitrate 0.50

yea there is your problem. I would recommend taking your anemones, clowns out of your tank and into a quarantine tank or to the LFS as soon as possible. With the ammonia and nitrate that high it may kill them or has already started too.

[Reefer0513]

well they are still alive. I got rid of my big tomato clownfish. Someone told me that I need a ration of 3 to 1 when it came to anemone size versus clownfish size and that my tomato clownfish might have been to big for the anemones she was hosting?

[CarmieJo]

Anemones need a mature tank and stable tank. With the ammonia present I think your anemones may be reacting to that as if they are in an mature tank. I have never heard anything like a 3:1 rule but I have heard of fish pestering anemones and corals to death.