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FAQs on Anemone Health 9

FAQs on Anemone Disease: Anemone Disease 1, Anemone Disease 2, Anemone Disease 3, Anemone Disease 4, Anemone Disease 5, Anemone Disease 6, Anemone Disease 7, Anemone Health 8, Anemone Health 9, Anemone Disease 10, Anemone Disease 11, Anemone Disease 12, Anemone Disease , &
FAQs on Anemone Disease by Category: Diagnosing, Environmental (Pollution/Poisoning, Lighting...), Nutritional, Social (Allelopathy), Trauma, Pathogenic (Infectious, Parasitic, Viral) Predatory/Pest, Treatments 
FAQs on Anemone Disease by Genus, Species: Condylactis Disease, Sebae Disease, LTA Disease, Magnificent Anemone Disease, BTA Disease, Carpet Anemone Disease, TWA Anemone Disease, Sebae Disease,

Related Articles: Anemones, Bubble Tip AnemonesLTAs, Cnidarians, Dyed Anemones

Related FAQs: Cnidarian Disease, Anemones, Anemones 2, LTAs, Caribbean Anemones, Condylactis, Aiptasia Anemones, Anemones and Clownfishes, Anemone Reproduction, Anemone Identification, Anemone Compatibility, Anemone Behavior, Anemone Selection, Anemone Placement, Anemone FeedingAnemone SystemsAnemone Lighting

Other organisms may work your anemones woe.

New Print and eBook on Amazon:  

Anemone Success
Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Is my anemone dying?? New Anemone in an Inappropriate Environment -- 6/17/08 Hello, <Hello Danica, Brenda here! > Two months ago I bought a 10 gallon fish tank, with a bio-filter (100gal/hour). I filled it up with salt water and tested the salinity and it was determined to be at the right level. I also bought an ammonia and nitrate test kit, after a month the levels were finally down to zero and I decided to put fish in. I went to the LFS and bought a small clown fish a live rock and an anemone. <Your system is much too small and is not mature enough to support an anemone. > I put it all inside the tank and everything seemed to be going good. The clown was in the anemone; the anemone was hanging onto the rock and was big and inflated. The next day I wake up to find the anemone completely curled up with a brown ring around the base and I can't seem to see the mouth anymore. The brown ring has since fallen off (?) or is no longer there. <Slime> I've looked around to try and find pictures like my anemone and I can't find any that are completely curled in like mine. I've included a picture of what it looks like. I don't know if it is dying, disturbed, unhealthy or what. Also if the anemone is dying, will the clown fish be ok without an anemone for a week until I can buy another? <Please don't buy another anemone. Your clownfish will be fine without it. Your anemone is closed up because it is unhappy. It is not going to be happy in its current environment. I'm assuming you don't have the appropriate lighting for this creature. It is time to return the anemone to the place you purchased it. Before purchasing another please research their requirements. Read through all the anemone FAQs found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm  > Thanks,
Danica

Dismal. RMF

Anemone help -New Anemone Health Issues, Bleached -- 6/16/08 We got our first anemone yesterday and I'm thinking it is a H. crispa. It is white with purple tips. We put it in our tank at about 5:30 p.m. At about 6:30 p.m. or so, we looked at it again and it was completely deflated and had spit out all of its food. <This is much too soon to be feeding it. It is still stressed from the acclimation.> It still hasn't blown back up and I'm wondering if this is normal or if it is dying. It is still moving around in the tank but it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger. <It is looking for a suitable place. > If you could please give me some answers I would appreciate it. <Sure can! 'White' is not normal. It has expelled its zooxanthellae. As far as the deflating, this can be part of the normal acclimation process. However, since you have a sick little guy anyway, there may be more to it. Please send me a complete list of your water parameters, tank size, age, equipment, and tank mates. What did you feed the anemone, and what size portion? In the mean time, please read through the FAQs regarding Anemone health here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemonehealthfaqs.htm  Brenda >

Re: Auriga Butterfly Compatibility - anemone care 05/14/08 So I have another question for you. I have a very little bubble tip that I have had for about three month. He is about 3" from end to end fully open. <Are you sure this isn't a majano anemone? http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemoniafaqs.htm > He was a beautiful green color until I put him under compact florescence's. I know the lighting wasn't enough for the zooxanthellae to survive, <Hmm... depends on the animal, the lighting and the depth of the tank/where the animal is placed.> but the anemone did. He turned brown and I started to feed him every other day. He seems to be doing well. I just recently placed him under a t5. Its a 24watt 10K and a 24watt 460 nm Actinic. He is currently under 15" under the light. Is this lighting going to help him? <probably> Can I place the rock he is on closer to get better light? <yes> Also can he get his color back if under proper lighting? Will I still have to feed this creature as much to make up for the loss of zooxanthellae? <Anemones under any lighting should still be fed.> What would it take to get this creature to show its bubble tips again? <Well, first things first, are you sure this is a bubble tip anemone? Please send in a pic for confirmation.> I am hosting him with a small Maroon as well. I did research this animal before I purchased it disregarding the lighting. The tank is a 60g with live rock. Thanks again for your help, this web site and the crew have been very helpful. Spencer Hall <De nada, Sara M.>

Anemone, Zooxanthelle, Dead Anemone -- 5/12/08 Hi <Hi Jim, Brenda here!> I have a white anemone that has shrunk into it self and polyps seem to have gotten extremely small. <A white anemone has expelled its zooxanthellae. Those are tentacles, not polyps. > Also it looks like it's shedding. Is it dead? Or dyeing and should I get it out of the tank? If its falling apart, its dead, get it out by placing it in a container inside the tank so that you can catch most of the particles. Then do a large water change. Keep an eye on water parameters, and be prepared for more water changes over the next several days. > Thanks Jim <Anemones are delicate animals. Please research their care and be sure you have provided an adequate environment before purchasing another. More information on anemones found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm Brenda>

Troubled bubble tip- Bubble Tipped Anemone Lacking Light 4/29/08 Hi Crew, <Yunachin here.> Hopefully you can give me some promising information. I have a small bubble tip anemone that has been happy in my tank for a little over a year. This past week, the ballast in my light went out and I only have 36 watts on my tank until the replacement gets here on Friday. In the past few days, it has begun to detach itself from the rock and that seems a little worrisome. Would this be in regards to the lack of light? <Yes. Anemones will position themselves to get the best light or avoid too much light.> I will have the new ballast and 72 watts back on by Friday, but I wasn't sure if this is the problem, or something else. I have attached a picture that shows the foot detachment from the rock. It seems healthy otherwise, but if there is something I can do to prevent any further stress, then I wanted to get ahead of the game. <Everything looks good. I am sure when you replace the light that everything will be back to normal. It may move a bit but it looks healthy otherwise.> Thanks in advance for all the help!! Thanks!!!!
<You're welcome. --Yunachin>
Rachael
There is a Euphyllia to the right... RMF
Sick Anemone / Possible unknown toxic conditions... Allelopathy, light, lack of HPO4...  -- 03/13/08 Hello WetWebMedia Crew, <Brad> First of all your website is amazing. The wealth of information is so useful. I have been struggling to find the cause of my problems for weeks now and I'm finally just going to ask your help. First of all my 75 gallon SW tank w/ a 20 gallon sump underneath has been set up for about 11 months. Currently in my sump i have: about 10 lbs of rubble Chaetomorpha macro algae 8 mangroves floating (have had for month and a half...just starting to grow new roots) <... Mmm, these may prove problematical with time, growth...> 700 GPH Mag Drive return pump w/ 500 GPH actual Whisper 20-40 gallon hang on mechanical filter which i use to run phosphate resin pads <... these may be an issue> and Chemi-Pure 18' 10,000k Daylight bulb 6500 k long lasting bulb from Wal-mart <... this as well> Also my sump is connected to a 5 gallon bucket <What is this made/composed of?> with filled w/ a deep sand bed probably 3/4 of the way full In the 75 gallon tank i have: about 60lbs of live rock an inch of live sand 2 Hydro Koralia 1's at 400 GPH 1 Hydro Koralia 3 at 850 GPH SeaClone Protein Skimmer rated for up to 100 gal <Uh, no... I'd upgrade here> Whisper 20-40 gallon hang on mechanical filter which i use to run phosphate resin pads and Chemi-Pure 4 46.5' VHO Two Super Actinic R's, 1 Actinic white 50/50 12,000K, and 1 Aqua sun 10,000K replaced about 5.5 months ago <I'd replace, get rid, cycle out anything called actinic... see WWM re.> My inhabitants include 1 Green/Brown bubble Tip anemone Mushroom Coral A few Green button polyps A couple of clusters of Zoanthids 1 Ocellaris Clown 1 Yellow Tang 1 Engineer goby 2 Peppermint Shrimp 2 Cleaner Shrimp 2 Emerald Crabs 4 blue legged hermit crabs 2 electric blue hermit crabs 2 unknown small hermit crabs 1 unknown large hermit crab 2 Turbo snails 4 Cerith snails 4 Astrea snails 2 more snails (i can't remember what their called) Water Quality on average for the last 4 months: Ammonia (API) 0 Nitrite (Tetratest) 0 Nitrate (API) 10-12.5 Calcium (API) 400-420 KH (Tetratest) 12-14 PH 8.3 Salinity 1.024-1.025 My water is RO/DI free from a friend. I do 10 gallon water change every 3 weeks and top off water every 3 days which i also add iodine 8 drops (Kent Marine), Iron 8 drops (Kent Marine), Trace Elements 8 drops (Kent Marine), check my alkalinity (Seachem reef builder supplement), check my pH, and check my calcium (Kent Marine supplement). <I'd switch to SeaChem> All this started a couple of weeks ago when i noticed that my 3 stripped damsels where too aggressive for the newly added ocellaris pair. I decided that i needed to give the damsels back to the fish shop where i bought them and had to take out most of my live rock to do this. I finally got them out and my clowns started hosting my BTA (I have had him a month and a half at this point) immediately and all seemed well. Then about a week later the clown pair stopped hosting the anemone, they just ignored it for a few days then mysteriously one of the clown fish started mouth breathing and i noticed one white lump on his head. Within 12 hours he was dead (i had him for two weeks exactly). Shortly after (a couple of days) the clown's death i noticed the BTA's tentacles where changing shape (pic: anemone health). I watched the anemone closely and he did not really get in better or any worse. Then a few days later my tank developed an algae bloom. My friend told me it was b/c i stirred up my sand and probably had a little die off from removing most of my rock from the tank. I started learning about Diatom algae and how to control it and found that it is more of a silicate problem <Unlikely> then a phosphate problem and that it needs plenty of Nitrate and plenty of red light. By this time my anemone had moved to underneath his rock and was acting like he was uncomfortable. I noticed that he had little nodules on his tentacles (anemone health 1-5) <I see these> and was not inflating like usual. My Zoanthids and button polyps where all closed up with little strings of diatom algae hanging of them. <A clue...> I did a 10 gallon water change and scraped the algae off of everything. The polyps and Zoanthids opened up a little but soon closed right back up. So i started searching around on your site to see if i could find anything about the condition of the anemone and possibly to see if high phosphates or silicates could cause such this burning scaring on his tentacles. I searched Google as well and even for pictures but could not find any information on anemone diseases or toxic reactions except that their is not much known and no way to really treat them. The anemone has plenty of circulation, decent light, <Mmm, maybe> and before he showed signs of stress i was feeding him about 2 times a week (brine shrimp mostly-I know not very nutritious-have switched to Mysis Shrimp-will buy Selcon). So i decided to run Chemi-Pure to my tank in case some toxin had gotten into the water and to do a 20 gallon water change. After the water change the anemone looked a little better but since then (5 days ago) he has gotten much worse. I read online that if the anemone has any openings or tears in their tentacles they are decaying. So i picked up the rock out of my tank and smelled him but he does not smell bad and he still inflates a little during the light hours. I noticed that he has been puckering his lips a lot too. I did another 10 gallon water change today with some distilled water i bought for Wal-mart thinking that maybe my friends RO/DI unit needs new cartridges. I also replaced the Chemi-Pure which had a bad odor as well as my phosphate resin pads. I also stopped adding supplements into the tank except for iodine, calcium and reefbuilder. I took some advice from your site and bought an iodine/iodide test kit. Tested it yesterday and found that it is .01 mg/L which is low so I'm slowly bringing the concentration back up. Also something i forgot to mention probably about 4 weeks ago i noticed my shrimp had all developed little black dots on them. I read that this is commonly due to either high or low concentration of iodine? <Can be related or not> All the livestock is perfectly fine right now. The ocellaris is a little stressed and i noticed he is a little reluctant to eat spectrum Thera pellets (he has eaten in the past) i have been feeding the past two days. <Also possibly related> Also i have little micro bubbles coming into the water from my Whisper 20-40 hang on filter recently as well as my protein skimmer. Is this ok? Is their any potential threats to the livestock from tiny air bubbles being blown all around the tank by power heads. <Likely not an issue, factor> I'm wondering if my whole problem is iodine in regards to my anemone? <Mmm, no> Would a combination of low iodine levels, high nitrate levels, and the presence of phosphate / silicate cause these kinds of symptoms?. <Actually, the lack of presence of soluble HPO4 is likely a contributing cause...> Could the tiny little air bubbles be hurting the anemones tentacles? From what you see in the pictures is my anemone decaying alive? If this was your aquarium what would you do next? Thank you so much for taking your time to read through this and helping me out. I'm really at a loss right now as far as what to do. Let me know if you can't open the pictures i attached with this email? brad <Likely the root issue here is allelopathy. Read here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm  but the phosphate pads should be removed... and you should do a bit of reading re Entacmaea on WWM... measure the quantity, quality of light... The best short/er term solution is to move the Actinarian elsewhere... as you'll see by reading. Bob Fenner>

Anemone Meets Powerhead! -- 2/25/08 Hello Crew! <Hello, Brenda here!> I am sorry to bother y'all, but I have a question I couldn't find on your site. I have a rose BTA that I have had for about a month. It stayed pretty much in the spot that I placed it, until a week ago. It moved about an inch. Two days ago, I placed a maroon clown in the tank that had been in quarantine. After that, the anemone kept moving around the rock. <Is the anemone large enough for the clownfish? It needs to be a minimum of 3 times larger.> Last night it started moving off the rock, but I didn't think it was going on a huge excursion. I also didn't think that the clown irritated it too much, because it didn't close up, in fact it had opened fuller than it ever had after the addition of the clown. It was placed directly under my 400 watt halide bulb that stays on about 6 hrs a day. I have two 65 watt dual actinic pc's and a VHO that stay on for 12 hours on a 55 gallon. All of my water parameters are good: 1.025 specific gravity, <Salinity is a bit low, gradually bring up to 1.026.> 0 ammonia and nitrites, < 10 ppm nitrates <Needs to be zero.> and temperature 78 degrees Fahrenheit. <I recommend a temperature of 80 degrees.> Anyway, this morning I awoke to find part of my anemone stuck in the screen of my powerhead. <I don't recommend the use of powerheads with anemones.> It must have wanted more current since it voyaged over 14 inches of rock and macro algae to get there. <When an anemone roams it is looking for a better environment. Flow is just one of the possibilities.> I immediately unplugged the powerhead and freed the anemone. Its foot was firmly attached to a rock. I took the whole rock and placed it in my 14 gallon QT, because I wasn't sure if the anemone would make it or not and I didn't want it to crash my tank. <Did you acclimate this anemone?> I came back from church today to find that the anemone had opened up. I know that I need to keep the clown away and let it heal, but I am worried that there is not enough light in my QT for this. I just have a 24 inch reef sun fluorescent bulb of unknown wattage on the tank. Should I swap the clown and the anemone out and place the anemone back into the display tank, or will the anemone be all right where it is? <Moving the anemone again will cause more stress. However, the lighting is not sufficient. It will be ok for a little while. I would leave it alone for a few days and then move it back to the main display.> How long should I keep the two apart for the anemone to heal? <I would keep the clownfish away from the anemone until it is much bigger. Maroon Clownfish can be too aggressive for smaller anemones.> I have attached some before and after photos. The after are under the reef sun lighting. <What are you feeding this anemone? How often and what sized portions?> Thank you so much for your time and expertise. Brolin <You're welcome! Brenda>

Re: Anemone Meets Powerhead -- 02/27/08 Thank you for your reply Brenda. <You're welcome!> I retested my water yesterday and nitrates were zero. I will slowly bring my salinity back up. <Great!> The anemone when open fully is about 6-7 inches. The clownfish is about 2, so it is the right size. The clown I originally bought with the anemone was a little bigger than the one I have now. I found another light fixture and placed two eclipse bulbs in it and added it to the QT. <How many watts of lighting do you have? Do you have a link to this lighting fixture?> I didn't acclimate the anemone because I freaked out and it looked like there was no chance of recovery; however, it has opened up quite nicely (sporting its battle scar of course!). <Not acclimating the anemone is dangerous, and will cause some delay in the recovery, if not death. It is now best to leave the anemone in its current location for a while. I would (at a minimum) leave until it has completely recovered. If you can, I would leave it alone for a month or more. Any change to an anemone is stressful. When you do re-introduce the anemone to the main display acclimate slowly. A two hour or more acclimation is best.> I feed the anemone half a cube of squid, which I soak in reef plus concentrated vitamin and amino acid supplement about two to three times a week. <Make sure the portion is never bigger than the anemones mouth. Two to three times a week is within the recommended guidelines. If you heavily feed your reef tank, some anemones can thrive without direct feeding.> If you do not recommend powerheads with anemones, what should I use to circulate the water? <I recommend that all pumps be kept in a sump.> I covered the strainer of the power head with a sponge. Is this a safe option? <It is better than not having a sponge at all. However it does not provide 100% safety. I personally have witnessed an anemone being sucked up right through a rather thick powerhead sponge.> Again, I appreciate all that you do and thank you sincerely! Brolin

Anemone sick HELP... not following directions... No reading, prep., info....  2/18/08 Hello there, I brought a big beautiful anemone 2 days ago. I don't know its proper name <...> for the type of anemone that is it but its a pinky flesh colour with white tips and a blood red base. <... you haven't read... here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm  Likely a Heteractis magnifica or H. malu...> My question is, I think it is dying and I really need help to keep it alive. <Return it if it's still alive> What happened was that the Anemone when to the top of the tank too close to the top of the water, so I tried to move it down a little and there was a little struggle in moving it and a little bit of him was left stuck on my tank wall. When I say a little bit I mean a really tiny bit. Ever since that happened, it has turned its mouth pointing to the floor and its base facing the top of the tank. What is there that I can do??? Please help Thanks --brooks <My friend, you don't know what you're doing. Please read the above citation... This animal is not easily kept... will assuredly die here... Investigate the life you intend to take into your care... AHEAD of its acquisition. Bob Fenner>
Re: Anemone sick HELP... still... not reading... using WWM    2/19/08
Thank you so much for your time to reply to my questions as I'm very grateful. My anemone is ok now and is happy. As you are an expert with marine fish and marine life, I would like to ask you, How many anemones can you keep in one tank? Please get back to me as soon as you can Many thanks, Jack --brooks <Based on your question yesterday, and the reply you were given, I really can't add anything constructive. I used the term "multiple anemones" in the search engine and came up with a number of replies covering this already. Please learn to use the search function. Mike I>

Condy Disappearance/Health/Systems 2/11/08 Hello Crew, <Hello Spencer> I recently added a Purple Condy to my tank. It's been about a month now and just a few days ago I woke up to find that my clownfish was completely gone. Not a sign of him in the tank. He was showing no sign of being sick, and was going about the day with normal behavior. The only conclusion I could come up with was maybe he was stung and then eaten by the Condy. Now three days after the disappearance of the clownfish, the Condy seems to have disappeared as well. The is a little brown silky looking substance in my filter. <May be the remains of the Condy.> The tank is 10g with a hood, <Not good, tank too small for keeping such animals and this anemone also requires strong light of the proper Kelvin temperature to survive.> and was shared with some hermit crabs, a small Blood Shrimp, two Mithrax Crabs, and the clown which is now gone as well. <Are you saying all the other inverts are gone as well?> So I guess my question is, what might have happened to either of them? I did just recently within the last few days do a 20 percent water change. The water I put in was a little cooler then the water that was in there but the thermometer read 75 after, so a very negligible change in temperature. This morning I did another 15 percent water change just in case the Condy did actually die, so I could get some of the ammonia out of the tank before I could test the water. The Condy's normal behavior was to deflate once a day and then inflate back up, last night it was deflated and then gone today. Thank you so much, I hope that you guys can help with my enigmatic aquarium. <I'm thinking it got sucked into the filter and died. On the other hand, it may have attached itself to the underside of a rock out of view. Would not put anemones in such a small system in the future, will not live, difficult to keep alive long term to begin with. James (Salty Dog)> Spencer Hall
Re: Condy Disappearance/Health/Systems 2/12/08
Thanks for your input. <You're welcome.> All the other inverts are still alive and kicking. It's just the two that are missing, the Condy and the clown. Would there be any remains that I could see besides the brown silky residue? <Could be.> Could the consumption of the clownfish have something to do with the Condy's death? <Unlikely.> Last night I did notice he a few of his tentacles were in the intake for the filter but the flow of the water is very minimal, and it just sucks into a chamber that has a charcoal filter in it, so there is no spinning motor or anything like that. I have noticed an unusual amount of protein on the top of the water since the clown died. <I would remove these tentacles from the tank/filter, can/will cause ammonia levels to skyrocket and a very good chance of killing other inhabitants. The surface scum is more from the anemone than anything else. I recommend at least a 50% water change and, placing paper towels on the surface of the water and discarding will help much in removing this scum.> Thanks <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)> Spencer Hall

Weird pink tip anemone... no reading, or referral  2-12-08 Dear WWM crew, <Yunachin here.> I have two percula clowns and a purple fire goby and a coral beauty. I also have a pink tip anemone but he has been fine for three days but an hour ago he was fine and is now wilted and not looking good. he will still eat and still moves and is stuck to the rock but what can I do to save it. Thanks. <Please send me the parameters of your tank: Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite Ph, Temp, Salinity. Also the size of the tank and how long it has been set-up, including any changes you have made in your tank in the last week. Thanks --Yunachin>

Parasitic isopod on an anemone?   2/11/08 Hello, first I'd like to express how much I appreciate your site. This is a fantastic resource for a fascinating hobby! After a stop through my quarantine tank, I introduced a new sebae anemone to my aquarium. Not 48 hours later, I saw what I think is a parasitic isopod emerge from the fleshy tube of the anemone. <This is the first instance I have encountered of this crustacean group found in such an association> Sigh; hindsight is always clearer, but I sure wish I'd kept him in quarantine just a little longer. Anyway, here's what happened: I noticed a 1/4-1/2 inch long, narrow, "bug" on the fleshy tube of the anemone. The little guy was yellowish brown, with a clearly discernable head and eyes. It had plates on its back, and many feet. It was right next to a newly formed crater in the tube. This crater was approximately 1/2" in diameter, and speckled with brown stuff on its interior. <This is the anemones insides... and likely a hole bored through the pedicle> I'm not really sure about this next part, but I think the bug may have had some blue dots clutched on its underside. It looked for all the world like a shrimp with eggs. In any case, it wandered off and then a short time later returned to the anemone and died. Any idea what this "bug" could be? <Mmm... likely an isopod from the description...> Should I be worried about the continued health of my anemone or coral? <... if these are mixed together, yes...> Other inhabitants include some star polyps, xenia, a toadstool leather coral, a clam (tridacnid crocea), and (in the opposite corner of the aquarium) a frogspawn (captive raised). <Good for the last> If it is harmful, is it too late to do anything now that it has been set loose in my display tank? <Not likely> Thank you sincerely for the help, and for this excellent web site; there always seems to be something new to learn! Sincerely, Mike Harris <I'd be reading on WWM re Isopods, Sebae/Heteractis crispa compatibility... Bob Fenner>

Mixing Saltwater Improperly, Damaged Anemone -- 2/01/08 Hi Crew, <Hello Richard, Brenda here!> I thought I would send this word of warning and also a question about a bubble tip anemone. Although relatively new to marine keeping, I like to think that I don't make rookie mistake anymore i.e. anemone vs. powerhead. <If there is a powerhead in the tank, it is a possibility. There is no such thing as an 'anemone safe' powerhead, no matter how well protected.> However, I thought this e-mail might just serve as a warning to others as to how delicate these creatures are and how often we expect them to adapt to our world, time constraints and schedules etc. I have a 1 year-old daughter who occupies quite a bit of my spare time and therefore daddy's other babies (2 clowns and the aforesaid BTA) often take second place and the time I have for them is very limited. <Yikes! This is not ideal for the livestock.> I knew I hadn't done a water change for over 3 weeks and although parameters are good, one of my clowns was not looking too good, so I decided the most non-invasive way to help would be to do a decent (20%) water change. Having quickly mixed the RO water up, I poured it into the tank. I usually pour it next to a powerhead (covered!) so that any slight difference in temp, ph, salinity is quickly dispersed. <These parameters should match before you add to the tank.> However, the anemone lives directly under this powerhead and the last few dribbles of water contained some undissolved salt which gracefully floated down through the water and landed on the anemone, which immediately retracted. <This is not the proper way to mix salt. This is quite damaging to all of your live stock. I recommend letting your salt mix for 24 hours before doing a water change. Making sure the salinity matches the tank, at 1.026, I hope.> I immediately 'fanned' him to make sure there was no remaining undissolved salt on it, but damage done! Although I am sure he will survive, <I am not.> approximately 12 hours later there is still a clear area that either has tissue damage, or is still retracted/deflated. A quick search on Google of "anemone + salt" revealed that some-one in the US has a patent on a mixture of salt and calcium hydroxide for killing 'problem' anemones like Aiptasia! I just thought it worth pointing out to others that something that might seem relatively harmless, a few grains of salt floating in already salty water, is actually probably one of the most harmful ways of damaging an anemone. <It is well known that improperly mixed saltwater will harm livestock.> Finally, the question, if I leave it to recover and maybe give it a few additional feedings, how quickly can anemones recover i.e. weeks or months? Extent of damage is hard to say. Fully extended, it is a good hand sized anemone, well attached and never wanders, no damage to pedal disc, but at the moment I would say 10% of the tentacles are retracted or damaged with small amount of mucus and small amount of tissue showing white 'scarring' around contact point with salt. <This is hard to say. This anemone has suffered a chemical burn. This is severe. Additional feedings alone will not help. You need to keep pristine water conditions. You will likely be able to tell within a week or so if the anemone is improving. Full recovery may take weeks or months. This anemone may also split, and the injured portion may or may not survive. For now, concentrate on better husbandry. Anemones do not like abrupt change. Adding saltwater that is not completely mixed will cause death.> Richard <Brenda>

New Anemone, Bleached, Expelled Zooxanthellae -- 1/31/08 I purchased a flower anemone online a couple of days ago, 3 small ones all the same species. Well two look whiter than one. Is this normal or a sign of unhealthy anemone? <It is an unhealthy anemone.> Also I have heard of the term "bleaching" what does it mean when an anemone bleaches? <This is when the anemone expels its zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae is an algae that lives inside the anemone. When this happens, the anemone loses its color, and becomes white, or bleached. This can be corrected by providing a stable, suitable environment. I suggest feeding small portions (1/8') of food every day or two until the anemones have recovered, then reduce to 2 -- 3 times a week. Hope this helps, let me know if you need any further assistance with the recovery! Brenda>
Re: New Anemone, Bleached, Expelled Zooxanthellae -- 1/31/08
Thank you soooo much!!! I love the site with all the great information!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! <You are very welcome! Good luck to you! Brenda>

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