Rose Anemone Color variation, Possible Shipping Stress – 4/13/07
Hi Team
<Hello Christyna, Brenda here>
I thought I was buying a rose anemone but when I received it from Aquacon- (it was tank raised) it looked very irritated.  
<Rose Bubble Tip Anemone?  I’m going to have to assume here that when you say “received” you mean it was shipped.  This is not uncommon for any anemone to be stressed from shipment.>
It has a burgundy colored stump (foot) but the tentacles are looking really green?  (It is still scrunched up)   Is this truly a rose anemone? I paid 140.00 for a small guy and want to make sure it is a true rose.
<Rose Bubble Tip anemones come in many different color variations.  Some of those variations include some green.  On the other hand $140.00 for a “small guy” seems expensive to me, however if shipping was included in that cost, that may be the correct ball park.>
Also, understand that this was out of light for a full day- but last night it looked not so good- its mouth was open huge and lips were very loose on it- also, the tentacles are not extended- is there something I can do to help it out?  
<Pictures would help me out a lot here.  A mouth wide open is never good, but “if” the anemone was shipped, and placed in a healthy environment, I wouldn’t worry yet.  Give it some time.  Your anemone may need a week or so to over come the shipping and its new environment.  Do check your water parameters.  Anemones need pristine water conditions.>
Also, aqua con has said to NOT feed the anemone- that it only needs light and by feeding it will kill my tanks water- any thoughts to that?  
<Ouch!!!!  Yes, some not so pleasant thoughts.  Your anemone needs to be fed meaty foods.  Silversides, krill, lance fish, are all good choices.  I’m not familiar with the company you are dealing with, but I can tell you they are giving you some very bad advice.  I can’t tell you how many people have been told the exact same thing.  I usually hear about it when the anemone is starving.>
BTW- your website is great, is there a membership?
<Thank you!  No, there is no membership.  This is a free service provided by Bob Fenner and several volunteers that are dedicated to helping people like you and the livestock you keep.>
Thanks so much!
Christyna
<You’re welcome.  Christyna if you need more help with your anemone, please provide me with your lighting information, age of set up, water parameters, other equipment, tank mates and pictures if you can.  Good luck with your new anemone!  Brenda>

Shrinking BTA, Entacmaea quadricolor – 4/10/07
<Hi Brad, Brenda here>
Hello, I am fairly new to aquariums. I have a 55 gallon salt water tank with a satellite lighting system with dual actinic and dual daylight compact fluorescent bulbs. I have a Bak pak protein skimmer, a cascade 300 filter, a power head, 40 lbs live rock and 30 lbs live sand. I have had it for eight months. I just started playing with coral about 2 months ago. I have 1 tang, 1 maroon clown, I have one small mushroom coral, 2 large feather dusters, 1 sponge coral, 1 polyp, I just purchased a BTA (4 to 6 inch) 5 days ago it has been doing fine. It was doing great this morning when I went to work.  I came home at 6 it had shriveled up drastically its bubble tips are about the size of long grain rice.
<A picture would help.  If the tentacles are short and stubby, it is likely hungry.  It needs to eat meaty foods like krill, silversides, lance fish or mysis shrimp.>
Tested water, all levels are at zero the temperature was low at 72.
<The temperature is much too low for an anemone.  Gradually bring it up to around 79 – 80 degrees.  What is the salinity, pH and alkalinity?>
I do not know if this is the problem or not please help. Has it died or what has gone wrong.
<It could be the problem, or it could be a combination of things.  It could be expelling waste, what have you been feeding it?  It may still be acclimating to its new environment.  Anemones will shrivel up from time to time to expel waste.  I doubt that it is dead.  If it starts to look like it is melting or decaying get it out fast and do a large water change.  A dead anemone can really spike the ammonia.>   
Thanks, Brad
<You’re welcome!  Brenda>

Reef tank with BTA and Sea Star without Live Rock – 4/7/07
Hi,
<Hello, Brenda here>  
I tried to find my answer on your FAQs and such, but could not find what I was looking for.  I started a 55 Gallon reef tank with live sand (no live rock).
<No live rock?  This doesn’t sound like a reef tank.>
My water tests have all come out as 0’s. I have two tank-raised ocellaris clowns, two small damsel fish, a small orange Linckia, and have added two small bubble tip anemones. This is my first effort with anemones so I don’t know what exactly they do when first introduced to the tank. Neither is attaching to anything. They are both sitting on the bottom of the tank.
<Please research before you buy an animal.>
One seems to be repeatedly puffing up, and then gets smaller. The other has gotten very small and looks to be spewing some slime out of its mouth. Is this what they are supposed to do or are they dying?
<Could be expelling waste, but my guess is it is dying.  You have not provided an adequate environment for them.>
If they are OK, will they attach to something in the tank on their own or do they need a little guidance?
<Your tank needs live rock, for many reasons.  I’m not sure what you are expecting it to attach to.>
I have a question about my little sea star as well. It seems to ball up on itself quite a bit. It almost looks like it is inside out. Is this supposed to happen?
<Again, it sounds like you have not provided it with an adequate environment.>  
I’m new to all this. Please help.
<This sounds like a new tank also.  These animals need an established environment, which includes live rock.  It sounds like you are rushing into things.  Please search WWM for the benefits of live rock, and the care requirements for your anemone and sea star.  I suggest you return your anemones and sea star to the LFS until you can provide an established environment for these animals.>
Thanks,
Mistie
<You’re welcome!  Brenda>

Bubble Tip Anemone and Prime – 3/11/07
Bob,
<Hi Cindy, Brenda here>
I have a question about a Bubble tip.  My husband got this guy on Thursday.  He put Prime in the tank today.
<Why?  Prime is used to remove chlorine and ammonia.  It is also used during cycling to reduce ammonia, nitrate and nitrite toxicity.  You should be using RO or RO/DI water.  An anemone should not be added to a tank until it is well established.  It is recommended to wait six months to one year before adding an anemone.>
Now the Anemone is sucked back until it is very small and looks a little jelly like.
<It is not unusual for an anemone to deflate from time to time.  It needs to expel waste.  If it looks like it is melting or decaying, it is dead.  Need to remove it, do a large water change and monitor your water parameters closely.>
What could be wrong with this guy and is there anything we can do to help him?
<Without more information on your tank such as equipment, age, water parameters, and as to why Prime was added, I can’t offer much help.>
He did try to feed him today but he wouldn't eat.
<That is not unusual for a newly introduced anemone.>
Cindy
<Sorry, need more information.  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>

Joes Juice for Aiptasia Control Versus BTA, Entacmaea quadricolor - 2/4/07
Hello,
<Hi Sharon, Brenda here>
I have 3 BTAs and an Aiptasia problem. Before using Joe’s Juice, I would like to know if this will harm the BTAs.
<There is mixed results with Joe’s Juice for Aiptasia control.  To answer your question, too much at once may harm your BTA.  If you choose this route, I would not use it near your BTA.  Start out slow and watch your livestock closely.>
My first thought was to move the infested rock to a bucket filled with saltwater and zap them there, but all of my rock can be removed. Help!
<An alternative that I have used is Peppermint Shrimp, Lysmata Wurdemanni. Unfortunately others have had mixed results with Peppermint Shrimp.  There is more information on both here:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/aiptasia_impressions/aiptaisia_impressions.htm >
Sharon
<Hope this helps.  Brenda>

Bleached Sebae Anemone - 01/07/07
Hey guys!
<<Hello Michael>>
Would first just like to say what a great job you all do to help us out with answers we should already know if we had just done our homework ourselves!
<<Hmm, much truth to that...but folks also wish/need to call on other's opinions/greater experience in the trade...and many merely want to validate their own thoughts/findings.  But as you state, much of the information is already available for the reading...and even if one doesn't find the answers their looking for, reading beforehand can often make it easier to ask/bring to light the right questions>>
Here are my tank parameters -
75-gallon 48x18x20
H.O.T. Refugium with skimmer - Razor Caulerpa
2 Fluval 404 with modified spray bars
Prizm Skimmer
Coralife PC 260W, 2 actinic and 2 10000K placed @ surface of tank
9 watt U.V.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20
<<Mmm, edging up there...>>
pH - 8.4 - 8.6
Temp. - 78
Calcium - 380
Alk - (don’t really know - The 5 in 1 strips I use say over 300ppm)
<<The dip-strips are worthless in my opinion...much better to invest in a titration test kit (Salifert, Seachem, etc.)>>
Mushrooms, Zoos, Star polyps, small frag of Monti, Condy.  All flourishing!  My concern is with a Sebae anemone I have bought within the last week (first mistake).
<<Indeed, not a good addition...I do hope you have read our information on anemone care/systems>>
I saw a gorgeous white Sebae with yellow tips at a LFS (second mistake) and I had to have it.
<<No such creature/color...bleached>>
Well, of course, it doesn't seem to want to attach to anything or eat.
<<This animal is possibly stressed beyond recovery>>
I have tried mysis, krill, and silversides.  The only way I have gotten him to eat is by gently sticking a piece of silverside literally in his mouth and gently force him to take it down.
<<But does it stay down?  Likely the food is too large (minced meaty foods are best), and you are also probably causing more stress/possible physical injury>>
He has very minimal stickiness, which worries me a lot.  I am really curious about his behavior however.  When the lights are off he seems to attach to something for the night and has decent polyp extension, and when the lights go on, he loses his foothold and shrinks up.
<<Hmm, sounds like a reaction to the lighting due to the absence of UV filtering pigmentation in the bleached anemone's tissue...though I wouldn't have though your specified PC lighting to be that strong>>
At night looks like a bleached Sebae but during the day he shrinks up and almost looks like a bubble coral.
<<Well Michael, the coral is likely instinctively opening at night to feed as this is when the water column would normally be full of plankton (you might try feeding after lights-out with a slurry of Sweetwater Plankton, Mysis, and Cyclop-Eeze...or similar.  With no symbiotic algae in its tissue to foster photosynthesis the "daytime" reaction may simply be a way to conserve energy for the nighttime feedings...or perhaps it is truly irritated by the light (hopefully there are no clownfish present exacerbating the problem)>>
His tentacles are half the size and very round almost egg shaped.  Any idea as to why he is doing this?
<<Tentacle size/shape can be variable due to environmental conditions or the mood/health of the anemone.  This animal was probably on the decline when purchased...should have done your homework beforehand my friend>>
Will the Condylactis help or hurt in his survival? (help with zoox or hurt with chemical warfare?)
<<As stated in much of our data re, it is never good to mix anemones with sessile inverts, and usually worse with other anemones.  Not only due to the potential for disaster if the motile anemone decides to go walkabout, but these organisms detect one another's presence and yes, chemical warfare becomes a factor.  Couple this with the Sebae anemone's weakened state, the very noxious nature of the Zoanthids and Corallimorphs, and the Condylactis' ability to release nematocysts to physically attack the Sebae...well...you do the math...>>
I hope this is enough information, please let me know if you would like a picture or more info.
<<This is enough information to know the Sebae is likely doomed I'm afraid.  It's not unheard of for the odd specimen to recover from such bleaching events...but under the current circumstances I hold out little hope>>
Much Appreciated!
Michael
<<Regards, EricR>>

Bubble Tip Anemone Trouble  1/5/07
Hello,
First of all, I love your site.  Your site has helped me many times and I think I may need your help again.
I have had a bubble tip anemone for about 3 months now and it has begun to look very ill.
First of all, when it arrived it looked very healthy and was  greenish/ blue in color.
<Unusual... perhaps artificially dyed...>
  It moved around for a week or two and never found a spot it really could stay in until about 2 months ago.
<Also a bad sign...>
  Anyways, it has recently become almost pure white in color.
<Bleached>
This could mean that he was bleached right?
<Yes...>
  My friend also ordered an anemone from the same site and his BTA  seems to be losing its color too.
<Can be "just" shipping stress...>
Also, my anemone chose to settle upside down (hanging upside down),
<... bad>
rooted to the bottom of an overhang of my live rock.  In this spot it receives virtually no light at all but hasn't moved for over a month now.  At first it came out daily and slowly began to open less and less until recently when it does not open at all.  I try to feed it 2-3 times a week.
<Good>
Here is my problem now.  I woke up this morning to find that my coral banded shrimp was eating part of the anemone (yuck...).
<Mmm, yes... Stenopids are quite opportunistic...>
I thought the anemone was definitely dead but it still moves a little and opens partially before closing back up.  Anyways, I got the shrimp away from it but that is not all that is wrong with it.  My BTA now refuses food by holding it and then dropping it.  Also, its mouth is now sticking out and there seem to be frilly things hanging out of the place where the shrimp took a bite.  I am currently trying feeding it with foods that are vitamin enriched but as far as I can tell it is a lost cause.  It did not seem to be in bad shape until the shrimp attacked it.
I have owned a few anemones successfully but this is the first one that seems to really be in trouble (if it was bleached would that be the cause of this decline in health?).
<Oh yes>
I have tried everything I can but nothing seems to be working.  As soon as he decided to settle under that rock and especially after he was attacked by the coral banded shrimp (I have removed the shrimp from the tank) the BTA's condition has worsened and I cannot remove him from the rock without tearing him or chiseling off part of the rock.
<Best to move the anemone with the rock... attached... to another setting... one with a higher nutrient availability... really, a "dirty" tank with high/er nitrate, phosphate... mulm on the bottom, subdued lighting...>
My main question is whether or not I should let him be and see if he can recover
<Very unlikely in the present setting>
or try and take him out and let him live out what seems to be the final moments of his life in my quarantine tank.  Also, if he passes away how would I remove him without contaminating the tank.  I heard that siphoning out a dead anemone may be a good idea, is that true?
<Mmm, yes... if decomposed to that point>
Thanks for any help you can give me,
Michael.
<I would move the rock/anemone... to the QTank if this is the best... change water out with the gunk you siphon out from the substrate... Your and your friends anemones were likely "doomed" through improper "handling" through the "chain of custody", twixt collection, holding, shipping through parties... a lack of lighting, feeding... other sources of stress... I would contact your supplier re... the more such data points they have, use, the more likely something/s will be done to limit such losses. Bob Fenner>