An ID Question (flatworm) and Anemone Behavior Issues  6/27/08 Crew- <Craig> May I please get a positive ID the first attachment? From what I have read, it appears to be an Acoel flatworm of the genus Convolutriloba. <Is a flatworm evidently> If possible, can we confirm what behavioral info you might have and point me to it? <Mmm, not following you here... what beh. info. re what?> Additionally, can you speculate that these flatworms would be suitable prey for Chelidonura varians, the "Blue Velvet" sea slug? <Might be... but if they're numbers are low (enough) I'd ignore them> For some time I have wanted to purchase one of these animals, but have never went down that path since I knew they were specialized predators that I  could not feed on a consistent basis. <Correct... and when prey numbers are low... it/they "disappear"...> Right now, these flatworms are in the midst of a population bloom in an aquarium that only has a pair of percula clownfish in a BTA. I have added a pair of peppermint shrimp, but they have not had an appreciable impact on the population of flatworms. <Many are unpalatable... as you likely are aware> Also, if these guys pose any risk to my aquarium inhabitants or even my copepod population I would rather introduce a predator or siphon them out. It seems that is the consensus of the responses on WWM. <Okay; glad to find you've searched> The second attachment is of a BTA I purchased about a month ago. I wanted to contribute to the knowledge base about some observations I have had with this animal. It is probably the 10th BTA that I have owned - the others I have sold to other aquarists after pairing various clownfish species and getting the pair to host in the anemone - it's just something I enjoy doing. It's often a challenge to pair clowns up (especially maroons) and even more so to create to commensal relationship between clowns and their host anemones. <Interesting... that you state/find this symbiosis to be such, rather than mutualistic> I believe I have read on the site that the behavior of BTA is more sedate than other anemones; meaning that while all anemones can/do wander, BTAs tend to find a rocky crevice and lodge their foot inside. <Mmm, most so with successive asexual clones here> I have found this behavior to be true of all the BTAs I have kept until I brought this one home. THIS anemone wandered around all night for about the first two weeks. Each evening it would fill itself up with water at the end of the day and then it would go on trips around the aquarium. Each morning I would move it back to the place I wanted it to occupy and it would attach itself there for the day. I thought, "Well, evidently the anemone will tell ME where it wants to stay and I will like it." <Yes to the former, hopefully so for the latter> Interestingly enough, the LFS had it in its display tank and it had never moved the whole month or so they had it; in fact, we had to chisel it out of the rockwork just to get it home. Both my tank and the LFS run MH lighting: theirs a 250W at 10K, mine a 250W at 14K. I have about 15X water flow per hour, the LFS had about half that. About a week after bringing it home, I knew something was amiss with nocturnal roaming of the BTA, so I went back to the LFS to check their water parameters. It turns out they run their SG at 1.023 and my tank was at 1.025. When I lowered by SG to 1.023, the anemone promptly returned to the place I had been trying to keep it and it hasn't moved since! <Interesting as well. Coincidence?> The third attachment is of a carpet I bought the same day as the BTA. Could you confirm whether it is S. gigantea, as I suspect? <Looks to be... on the basis of the pedicle> It is in a different system than the BTA and currently hosts a pair of black ocellaris clowns.... which is very sweet. The SG of the system I found this guy in measured 1.028. I took most of the day I bought it acclimating it to 1.026 SG, which is the highest I feel comfortable keeping the tank at. It was under a single 10K VHO bulb in a plumbed in 29G tank at the LFS, <Much too low> now it's under 400W of MH in a 92 corner bowfront. Apart from its weak coloration, it looked great at the LFS and I have to say it does look a little less turgid these days than when I bought it (its tentacles are longer and not as "plump", but it eats weekly and has NOT moved once since I introduced it to the tank. I found this ironic since the guidance on WWM indicates that carpets tend roam excessively. <Some do when first brought in from the wild, but exceedingly rare once settled. Heteractis magnifica are the kings of travel> I guess we can try to observe general tendencies among species of aquatic life but there will always be exceptions. <Well-stated> At this point, I have a pretty keen eye to catch the behavioral cues that anemones exhibit to show how they are doing in a captive system. Would you suggest gradually letting the SG increase to 1.027-28 and see if the carpet really does prefer such a high SG? <Mmm, no> Part of me feels like it should have settled in by now and be looking better - I can say its coloration has darkened significantly (since it has better lighting) but it doesn't seem to be as large as it once was and I suspect the SG may be a little too low for its liking. I am not worried it would die tomorrow, but I am thinking long term here about what parameters I need to stick to. <Near natural seawater, NNS> I am sure that had I not been reading WWM for years now and researching some of the overarching principles of marine aquaria I would have at least lost the BTA. I remember back in my early days I probably would have been desperately trying to FIX something instead of focusing on stability and incremental changes, if needed. <Ahhh!> I definitely wouldn't have suspected SG. I wouldn't have even considered that my instrument might need to be calibrated. I definitely would have thought about ammonia, or even nitrate, as a culprit....but not SG. So many thanks to all you at WWM for your contributions to the many of us hobbyists out here. We are all definitely made better for your efforts in what we do. Thanks! Craig <Thank you for sharing as well. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Anemone Losing Tentacles – 2/28/08
HI
<Hello Lewis, Brenda here!>
I have a 100gal reef tank and an extremely large anemone that measures about a foot in diameter.
<Is large, but they can get much bigger.>
It has been in my tank for about 3 or 4 months now. I've noticed that it sheds quite a good amount of tentacles then re-grows them. Is this common for a Sebae anemone?
<No, this is not normal. There is likely something bothering this anemone. What else do you have in your tank? Such as fish, crabs, shrimp, etc. To be safe, please give me a list of your water parameters and equipment. There is more information found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemhlthfaq6.htm >
Thanks, Lewis
<You’re welcome! Brenda>

Anemone Activity... beh... misplaced...  2-12-08
Hi WWM Crew!
<Good Evening.>
My husband and I have a 65 gallon, live rock tank that has been up and running for over a year now. We recently made the mistake of purchasing a puffer fish (without researching first) that ate both our cleaner shrimp and banded shrimp.
<Yes, they have quite the taste for invertebrates. I have about 15 here.>
Our (and their) terrible mistake as we really enjoyed these small creatures and had actually trained them to eat out of our hands and our grandchildren loved to feed them. So, we thought we should ask lots of questions and read what we could find before adding an anemone and clown fish to the tank. We were assured that none of the fish we had would bother the anemone.
<Good.>
Well we brought home our new fish and friend just 3 days ago. The day we brought the anemone and clownfish home they were a very happy couple. They were both healthy and feeding right away. They are housed with a blenny, a green bird wrasse, the puffer, three humbugs, 2 damsel fish and a star fish.
<A little too overstocked I think. What kind of puffer do you have?>
The problem, day 2 at their new home and the anemone was shrunk down as far as it could. The clown fish could not convince it to open and continued to try and feed it. Today we came home from work, and there was the anemone wide open and looking happy and healthy again. We went out for the evening, and once again...the anemone is shrunk even smaller than before.
<What kind of lights are you running and how often?>
We have checked the water quality and all levels are very good to excellent.
We were told, and have not been able to find anything to the contrary on the internet or in our books, that the puffer and wrasse would not be an issue with the anemone. Is this true or is it likely one of them is picking at it?
<It is not likely due to the stinging factor that the anemone has. I have heard of puffers having a taste for them though but have never experienced it myself. If something did pick at it, they would receive a very unpleasant surprise. Puffers and anemones are not compatible though because puffers are very inquisitive and there is a chance that they can get stung to death. >
Is this normal behavior for an anemone? We haven't been able to find the answers anywhere else. Please help us, very soon, as it is such a beautiful creature we would hate to have anything happens to it.
<Anemones contract and expand during the day depending on mood and lighting. When it gets dark they rear back and at the brightest light they are wide open. What kind of anemone is this? Check this link for more information on anemones: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm;>
Will you only post this to your site or will you email us personally as well? How long will it take to get a response? We are concerned that if too much time passes we will lose the anemone. The pet store we deal with will take back any fish, etc. we discover don't mix well. If we know the answer to these questions we might be able to solve the problem before it's too late.
<Not life threatening, just normal behavior. –Yunachin>
Karen & Randy

Re: Anemone Activity, beh.   2-12-08
Hi Folks the answers to your questions are below and follow ****
<A little too overstocked I think. What kind of puffer do you have?>
****The False-eye Puffer, Canthigaster. ******
<What kind of lights are you running and how often?>
****Two Lights both 46"
****1st Make GLO Power GloT5 High Output 54w
****2nd Make GLO Marine Glo T5 High Output 54w
**** Both lights run 11 hrs a day.. Come on at 11am shut off at 10pm on a timer.
<Everything sounds just fine to me. Like I said, anemones expand and contract during the day normally. They also contract when eating a delicious meal and also while digesting. They will also position themselves in the tank to where they will receive ample lighting or to get away from it. If you think it is contracting too much, cut down on the lighting in your tank and see if that helps.>
Thanks for your quick response.
<You’re welcome.—Yunachin>
Randy

Roaming Anemones, Zooxanthellae – 1/13/08
<Hello, Brenda here>
I need help with my anemone.
<Okay>
I've had it for over six years with no problems ever. It has divided six times but recently I did an h2o change and it was havoc. One of the guys disappeared completely. I have a trickle down sump system with bio balls.
<Bio balls can be a nitrate factory.>
I never found her anywhere. Then they all started moving all around and haven’t stopped.
<If the anemone has died in your system, this can cause toxic ammonia levels.>
The h20 I use is always the same from a RO/carbon filter.
<Is it time for the filters to be changed?>
The only difference with this h2o change was, I used stress coat that was a little old but it didn’t stink or wasn’t even brown.
<Why did you use the stress coat? It is not needed. I would discontinue its use.>
Two of the anemones escaped and I found them in the bio balls, one looked dead and was stinky the other one didn’t stink but I didn’t think would live so as hard as it was I through it out.
<Yikes! I would have given it a chance. Many anemones have recovered from incidents like this.>
I then did another h2o change and all but one stopped moving. Then the original anemone turned stark white and has stopped moving but is still white.
<It has expelled its zooxanthellae.>
My tank is not at my house due to the fact that I don’t live on grid so I some times don’t see them for a few days and probably don’t feed them as mush as I should.
<Healthy anemones do not need to eat everyday. However, I would feed the bleached anemone tiny portions daily.>
I don’t want to loose my host it is the home to a mutant clownfish that I have had for 9 years. My clown fish is so mean that it has killed every fish except a Dragon Goby. Recently I found a matching clown fish that he accepted and lives with. My tank is very healthy and never has any levels of anything bad I haven’t tested my ph in awhile so I'll do that tomorrow.
<All levels need to be tested immediately.>
I feel very confident in my skills and have worked at marine labs, have a custom aquarium business and have had two salt h2o tanks for over 10 yrs. but blah blah blah. I just want to save my anemone and am looking for as much help as possible, can you think of anything that I might not know or have over looked?
<I need to know more about your tank. I need to know the size, and equipment you are using. I also need to know the amount of flow, amount of lighting, age of bulbs, and exact water parameters including temperature, salinity, pH, nitrate, nitrites, ammonia, calcium, and alkalinity. What do you feed the anemones?>
Thank you so much for your time.
<You’re welcome! For future reference, please correct you grammar and spelling. I have corrected it this time, but can not continue to do so. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm Brenda>

Anemone and a Big A** Clam are Attached! 10/22/07
Guys,
<Ya got one of the girls tonight!>
Any idea how I can get a big bubble-tip to separate off of a big clam shell that I have in my tank?
<Sometimes a little gentle persuasion with a credit card can do the trick but you must be very careful as not to injure the foot. If you can, under careful observation (so that the anemone doesn't get injured, i.e. sucked into an overflow/powerhead etc, which you hopefully have covered to prevent this in the first place or damage any other creatures in your tank) you can figure out a way to make the anemone unhappy with its' current location, such as shading it, you might get is to detach on it's own.>
it seems the base of the anemone has its base attached to the shell, so my clam will only open about half-way, and it's (the clam) just plain not looking good?
<Yes, you should address this.
How can I safely get that sucker off of there?
<Can be a challenge! I wish the in-house anemone expert was available, she may have more suggestions, but she is unavailable because of a death in her family.>
You guys are awesome!
<Thank you for your kind words.>
thanks,
Aaron
<Welcome! Mich>

H. crispa... "owner" – 07/24/07
My white anemone are starting to turn brown. What might be the cause? they were white with purple tips
<Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/sebaebehfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. RMF>
 

How do I handle an Anemone? – 6/24/07
Hi
<Hello, Brenda here>
I just started a SW tank up and was thinking about purchasing a BTA. Is it ok if you touch it when you put it in the tank? Will it sting me? What other way could I put it in?
<Your tank should be six months old minimum before adding an anemone. Anemones need established environments. Anemones can sting you. I have been stung a few times. It is best to wear gloves when handling an anemone. Brenda>

Hawaiian Condylactis, Anemone beh.  6/6/07
Hi there -
I recently got a Hawaiian Condy.
<... Really? Have never seen this genus out in Hawaiian waters.. nor have any authors of my works on marine life there>
It took immediately to my tank and only moved slightly from the spot I put it (guessing that means he's happy there).
<Mmm, not necessarily>
I feed him very small pieces of shrimp every 3rd day or so, which he takes without problem. I've noticed that he seems to stay open all night, and then close up at some point in the early morning. (I leave for work around 3:30am, he's open then; and return around 9am when I find him closed up) Is this normal?
<Can be, yes>
From what I've read on your site, anemones tend to close when the lights go out, correct?
<As a general rule, yes>
My actinic lights are on for about an hour before my daylights go on - could he be reacting to this in some way? Any thoughts?
<May simply be acclimating to this setting... takes weeks to months...>
Thanks so much - LOVE your site, a wealth of great information!
-Chris
<Please send some pix along if you would. Bob Fenner>

Shrinking Anemone – 5/13/07
Hi there,
<Hello, Brenda here>
First I have a 159 gallon tank with two 150 watt metal halides and two actinics, salinity is at 1.024 I bought an anemone a few months ago.
<You’re salinity is a bit low, gradually bring it up to 1.026.>
I think it is a Heteractis sp.
<Which one?>
or, gelam.
<Not sure what that one is.  Your lighting is a bit low for keeping anemones in that size tank.>
It lives in a rock that I bought with the anemone.  It doesn’t look very good it seems to be shrinking and the tentacles don’t inflate anymore.  I feed it frozen brine shrimp twice a week.
<Brine shrimp has little or no nutritional value to anemones.  Try feeding it some silversides.  You can also try krill, raw frozen shrimp, Mysis shrimp, or lance fish.  I suggest keeping the silversides as its main diet.  You can also try soaking the food in Selcon for some added vitamins.>
I have a clown fish that cohabitates with the anemone.   I also have been feeding it frozen plankton.  This last week it didn’t seem to hold on to the food very well.  Pleas help what is wrong with my anemone?
<Sounds like you have a few things going on here.  I would definitely consider upgrading the lighting soon.  Good luck!  Brenda>

My new BTA is Shrinking, Entacmaea quadricolor –  2/28/07 
<Hi Josh, Brenda here>
I just got a bubble tip anemone 4 days ago on a Friday evening.  Sunday morning 10:30 it looked great, then I left and came home around 2:00 and it was shriveled up to about 1/4 of the size and excreting a white/clear slime.
<It is expelling waste.>
Also, the mouth was enlarged and looked inverted with some curly stringy stuff coming out.
<Yikes!  Is the anemones mouth tightly closed the rest of the time?>
For all practical purposes it looked about 10 minutes away from death.
<I have seen that often.  I remember being in a panic the first few times. My anemones have me trained now.>
I checked all my water parameters and everything was great, I did a 10% water change anyway.  We then left again around 4:00 and came home around 8:30 and he looked great, completely re-inflated and actually the overall body looked bigger than the day before.  
<Great!>
He did well all day Monday until about an hour after I got home and he started shriveling up again and this time was excreting a brown substance which I am assuming was waste.
<Yes, anemone waste is not always the same color.>
He then continued to shrivel up as bad, or worse, than Sunday morning.  I though he was a goner this time for sure.  Nothing I could do at this point but to just wait it out.  He was still that way when I went to bed around 11:00.  I got up the next morning and checked him before I went to work around 6:30 and he was completely re-inflated again and yet still looked even bigger and perfectly healthy.  
What is he doing?
<Possibly acclimating to your lighting.  Do you know what kind of lighting it was kept under previously?>
From what I understand, anemones don't typically shrivel up that bad right?
<Wrong, they can shrivel up to almost nothing.>
I know it is hard diagnosing without a picture.
<Yes, but we still try.>
I don't know if it is just still acclimating to my tank or what.  
<Yes, it is likely still acclimating to its new home, but will still expel waste from time to time.>
Does the anemone coming back what seems bigger each time have any significance?
<Not necessarily, would need to see a picture.  My guess is that it is still part of the acclimation process.>
I have yet not even seen a picture on the web with one shriveled up as bad as mine was.
<I can fix that.  http://www.karensroseanemones.com/deflating.htm  Great website!  Be sure to read through all of it.>
Any ideas?  
<Most of what I’m reading seems normal.  The curly white appendages you are seeing, is not typically seen externally on an anemone.  Are you over feeding?  I suggest meaty foods, no bigger than the anemones mouth 2 – 3 times a week.  Make sure you have adequate lighting, filtration, and water parameters.  Also make sure your anemones color is up to par, meaning no loss of zooxanthellae.  If you have any more problems or questions, please give us your exact water parameters, including salinity and temperature along with your equipment list, age of your setup, other tank mates, and a picture if possible.>
Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks very much - your website is extremely helpful for so many other things I want to learn about.
Josh
<You’re welcome!  Good luck with your new anemone!  Brenda>

Sea Anemones/Acclimation 2/16/07
Hi guys,
Hi Billy>
I have recently placed two sea anemones in my reef tank.  They are lying on their side, and one looks like its fingers have been sucked dry.
Will they puff back out and stand up.
<If water conditions/lighting are to their liking, they should soon bloom.
Going through an acclimation stage right now.  Do search Sea Anemones on the wet web for more info.  I'd post a link here, but that file doesn't want to
come up right now.>
Thank for all your help
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Billy  

Disappearing anemone   12/11/06
Hello
<Hey Kirsty, JustinN with you today.>
Recently I purchased an anemone, a week or so later it split in two.
<Not uncommon for an anemone to split, but it usually doesn't occur this quickly..>
We knew they did that, but we noticed yesterday that one half of the anemone had disappeared, it was no where to be seen.
<Curious>
I have woken this morning to find that the other one has gone. Could something have eaten it. All we have in the tank is a shrimp, two clowns, Fiji devil and a possum fish. Do they disappear?
<Mmm, no>
Kirsty
<If I were to guess at the cause here, I would assume that either conditions in your tank, or initial shipping alone, was problematic for the anemone, causing stress. This led to the early splitting of the anemone, and subsequently, both halves likely were already on the downfall at that point. After dying, they could have been consumed as well. Are you testing for toxin levels in the water? These may tell you more than looking would... Hope this help! -JustinN> <<Mmm, could be "hiding" as well... RMF>>

Is anemone looking for a fight    11/28/06
Hello everyone, DiAnn here. <Greetings to you!  Mich here.>  First the  basics: 55 gal tank, approx 45 lbs of live rock; live substrate; bio-filters; protein skimmer; UV sterilizer with Fluval filter; ammonia, nitrate and nitrite 0; ph 8.3; alkalinity 8; temp between 79-80 degrees. <OK>  Livestock: 1 yellow tang; 2 percula clowns, 1 rusty angel, 1 cleaner shrimp and 1 coral banded shrimp; also, anemone (I assume some type of long tentacled) live rock with green star coral and one bunch of pulse coral (all doing fine,)  My question: the anemone which seems to be getting bigger by the week seems to be slowly making its way toward the star coral <Not uncommon, it may grow quickly, it may act strange and then cleave itself into.  It may be perfectly content where it's at, but one day it may decide to wander around your tank...sometimes with very unpleasant results...have seen overflows blocked and entire systems wiped out.> Is it looking for a flight <What airline services your tank? It will win any fight, and may relocate at any time>. Should I move the star coral to another part of the tank?  <Yes, but realize the anemone can go any where it wants.> Any information regarding this problem would be greatly appreciated. <Please keep reading, start here:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm
Thanks.  <You're welcome.>