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Bleached Sebae Anemone -
1/20/07 Hi, <Hey Mark, JustinN with you today.> I bought this
Sebae anemone and have since learnt <learned> by reading your
website the colour of it is not so good (bleached). Its mostly whitish
yellow, its foot is a creamy colour. <Mmm, yes, not a good sign.>
I am going to try my best to nurse it back to health. <I sincerely
wish you the best of luck in this. Most are unfortunately not
successful, as these lovely creatures do take quite a beating during
the rigors of shipping,> I was wondering a lot of "white"
Sebae anemones I read about on here have purple or pink tips, my
anemone's tips are white, or should they be a different colour?
<This is simply a sign of how poor the condition of this specimen
is. Bleached anemones which still have some coloration have active
zooxanthellae. It would seem that yours is in a dire state of decline
already.> Also with the correct care how long should it take to
regain its health and zooxanthellae?, and how long does it take for the
yellow colouring to go? Many thanks for your time Mark <If you can
maintain pristine water quality, a comfortable light regimen, and a
steady supply of HUFA vitamin-enriched minced meaty seafood (dosed with
a supplement such as Selcon) every 2 to 3 days, you may begin to see
some recovery within a month or two. Full recovery, all things willing,
could take many several months to potentially a year or more. Once
again, I give you my sincerest hopes and best wishes in the recovery of
this creature. Have a read through here, you may find some helpful
information already posted. -JustinN> 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>> Re: Anemone ID. Bleached H. crispa 11/15/06 Hi, thank you for the speedy response. Is their anything I can do to try and save it? I have 2x 54w 20 000k, 2 x 54 10 000k T5's and 2 x 150w MH 6500K as lighting in a standard 6ft tank. <Good lighting fixtures> The anemone does take small pieces of clam fed by the clown. <Ah, good. Only time, patience can/will tell. Bob Fenner> Regards, Wikus <There is evidence that such endosymbiotic endosymbiotic algae is reincorporated by way of its availability from other hosting organisms at times... Perhaps this will occur here. Bob Fenner>
Sebae Anemone/Health/Systems - 06/07/2006 Hi there, I'd just like to start by saying your site is very useful, and has certainly saved me from inadvertently given LFS misinformation. I have a question about what I believe may be an ailing Sebae Anemone. I have a ten gallon nano with about 12lbs of live rock and 20lbs of live sand, Nano-skimmer, carbon/bio filtration, and I change the water 10% every other week. I monitor the levels very closely, but only with test strips. According to the strips the levels are all optimal. It's a fairly well established (4 months) system with several blue hermit crabs and turbo snails, 2 Ocellaris clowns, and a Royal Gramma. I got the Sebae about four days ago, and it immediately moved to a part of the tank with pretty constant but light water flow, and dug its foot in to the sand. Since I got it I have realized (thanks to your site) that the white coloration of the anemone is actually a sign of bleaching (doh!). But at the LFS it was all inflated and actually had a clarkii nesting in it. I went on the fact that the guy at the store said an Ocellaris would probably like a Sebae. I since also found out that there are probably more suitable choices of anemone. <Believe the LFS gave you more misinformation. Your tank is too small just for the fish you have in there.> (lesson learned. Always do research) however, I put the Sebae in. I invested in some invert supplements for the water to give the thing better chances. I have noticed over the last few days that the anemone has a habit of inflating and deflating during the course of the day. It will plume out for about an hour to two hours, then deflate for the same time. I didn't really think much of this at first because I heard they do this to get used to new water. However, I got up today, and its lying sideways on the sand, deflated, with its foot exposed. There's no sign of it breaking up at all, the foot looks like its not torn or anything like that. There was a problem in the oral area, it looked almost like it had hemorrhoids in its mouth. Today that's gone, and the oral disk is rather smooth. Although on its side the disk is opening and closing slowly, and the foot does seem to me moving somewhat (but extremely slowly. Is this thing doing its swan song? Or is there a way I can save it? <I'd see if you can take it back to the store, won't live in your tank.> I couldn't really find this specific situation in any of the articles. <You probably won't. The situation shouldn't exist.> I appreciate your help, and apologize for writing you a book here. Thanks in advance, <Chris, you should have researched the Sebae before buying. You have nowhere near the requirements for keeping one alive. You do not mention lighting, so I'm assuming you do not meet the needs there either. Enough light for this anemone would probably heat up that 10 gallon to 100 degrees. I will post a link for you, too much info on keeping anemones to pen here. Do read along with related topics above and you will see how far off you are. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm James (Salty Dog)> Chris H. H. crispa Woes 4/16/06 I have used your site for a long while now and really appreciate the information! <Glad you have found it useful!> I have just added a custom 200 watt MH to a 44 gal pentag tank with a magnum 65 gph carbon filter and a Skilter 400 bio/aerating/skimmer and approximately: <Okay.> 40 lbs of crushed coral and live sand base 60lbs of live rock 6 snails 3 cleaner shrimp 1 peppermint shrimp 1 coral beauty 1 mandarin goby <Mmm did you research the needs of this animal before purchase? Please read WWM re.> 1 small clown 1 yellow tail blue damsel <Watch behavior could turn as he ages.> 1 max. clam 1 blue knuckled crab 1 several zooanthids 1 mushroom some SPS that tagged in on the rocks and did very well under my old lights 1 sebae that was bleached and nursed back to vibrant health 1 sebae with green oral disk, <Sorry to interrupt but the sessile invertebrate load on the tank is quite heavy not to mention the broad species list, be sure to watch for signs of competition, stress and overgrowth.> pink tentacles and magenta tips that has been floundering and has actually turned inside out and back again (with some help by me...it was seen relocating after 2 days in the tank yesterday morning. When I came home it was wedged in the rock/sand reef base and by 8pm had ejected its mesenteries. I removed it to a reservoir, noted it had air in the guts rising to the surface in the folds of the gut and couldn't seem to right its self. I squeezed out the air and stared turning it by hand right side out. It then took over from there. This afternoon it looks like he-- as I expected).....Help! temp 84 day and 82 night 20 to 30 ppm nitrate 0 nitrite 300 alk 8.2 pH Was the light too much? <I would say no, however keep in mind H. Crispa ships and acclimates quite poorly to captivity with the majority not living a month in captivity, it is possible this animal had passed the point of no return when you had bought it already. I would enjoy the healthy specimen you have and leave the rest in the ocean.> Thanks for the help Travis <Adam J.> Sebae Anemone 3/17/06 health, comp.
3/17/06 Hello Crew, Now I am sure you saw the title and groaned, so
give me a chance to explain my tank set up and such, I am sure when I
am done telling my story you will be just as upset as I am. <<Hee
Hee... no groaning at all!>> I have a 90 gallon reef tank with aprox 130 lbs of sand in the display and about 140 lbs live rock, with
the display I have a 33 gallon refugium with 30lbs of sand and a 45
gallon sump with sand and rock, this is my filter system in conjunction
with a Becket skimmer. <<Sounds good so far.>> I run the
skimmer off a Mak 4 and circulation in the tank comes from a little
giant (aprox 1300 gph) and the use of a SCWD along with 2 power heads
(aprox 800 GPH on the PH) <<More good stuff, although powerheads
and drains are good anemone traps!>> I have a number of LPS and
SPS as well as leathers zoas buttons etc. and all are thriving. Sal
1.024 PH 8.2 Alk 4.0 Meq Calc 450 Magnesium 1350 Nitrate and Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0 Lighting consists of 400W 14k MH's along with 4 T5 HO
bulbs. That pretty well describes my tank. <<Sounds great...
that's ALOTTA light!>> I put a lot of thought and research
into making my decision to buy the anemone and think I have every thing
that would be able to keep it alive and healthy. Here is
where the problem come in. I ordered my Sebae anemone in it arrived ,
appeared to be okay in the bag but was hard to judge, brought it home
went through the process of landing it properly... Now I go to remove
it from the bag and place it in my tank and it feels firm, but not
overly sticky small concern here) I look at the mouth and its open, not
gaping but not tightly closed.. alarms go off, looking at coloring its
yellow to white with bright purple tips( I don't believe its
bleached) <<So far, this all sounds normal for a just-shipped
anemone, although I suspect that your critter IS
bleached. H. Crispa is normally creamy light brown or creamy
green, rarely pinkish or purplish. Yellow H. crispa have
been bleached (often by intentional heat stress) and then dyed with
food coloring.>> so I continue a careful examination will it is
still in the bag and check the foot.. well it seems that this poor
creature was brutally ripped off the rock by the company (person
shipping it) it has multiple tears on its foot. I am very PO'ed
that they handled this anemone so poorly, I have placed it about 6
inches from the surface of the water which places it about 12 inch from
the MH in a gentler (is this a word?) flow area so it is not tumbled
around the tank. I am watching it closely for melt down and it seems to
be moving its tentacles around and reaching for stuff but has not
firmly grasped any rock. Is there anything I can do to save this
Anemone or is it doomed due to improper shipping and
care? Thanks for taking the time to read and feel free to
blast away. Cheers Drew <<This is one of the serious
problems with mail ordering live stock. Had you purchased
this animal locally, you would have had the opportunity to observe and
inspect it before purchase. In any case, I would keep an eye
on the anemone. H. crispa can be pretty durable and it may
settle in, heal and do fine. Exercise a great deal of
diligence to prevent this anemone from wandering into a drain or
powerhead! Once it does start to attach, I would start
feeding it small meals (raw marine meaty foods, about the size of a
marble) every few days. If it is bleached, feeding will be
important for it to survive and recover. Also, you may want
to lower the lighting intensity until you see signs that the anemone is
recovering zooxanthellae. Best
Regards. AdamC.>> Sebae anemone - 01/03/2006 Hi there! <Hello Marni> I have read and re-read your responses to 'upside down anemones" but none of the letters seems to match my situation exactly. I have a 55 gallon tank that was set up approximately 2 months ago. To start the tank we were given an 8 year old tomato clown because it was too aggressive for a friends tank. We purchased a sebae anemone and after reading your advice, we now know it was unhealthy (white with purple tips). However, within 2 weeks half of it turned brown so that was a good sign. It eats Mysis 2 times per week (this Mysis is FRESH and not store bought as my husband fishes this commercially for a living). We were having a major issue with hair algae and we were advised to do a 30% water change, scrub all the live rock and place everything back in the tank - which we did the next day after preparing new water, etc. After the water change the pH plummeted to 7.2 <Not good> and the ammonia was higher than before we did the change but still only at .25. Nitrates were also registering but not high. Everything was in the "safe" range still. The tank had done its 'cycling' but even with the tank cycling it has never had any 'spikes' in the nitrates or ammonia or anything else - everything has remained in the 'safe' range this whole time. Since we did the water change (3 days ago) our anemone went up the side of the tank (half on the side and half on the bottom - which is live sand). It came detached from the side of the tank and flipped upside down. We noticed that the bottom was inflating and deflating regularly the next day and the anemone made its way to a chunk of rock and reattached itself BUT 24 hours later it flipped upside down again - which it seemed to do on purpose because of it inflating its bottom side. All the tentacles are plump and moving. The bottom is inflating and deflating. The tomato clown is still actively 'nuzzling' its home. The mouth of the anemone is right on bare glass. Should we flip it and put it back on a its perch where it was before and monitor it to see if it flips itself again or should we just remove it from the tank altogether? <Have you raised the ph of the tank to an acceptable level? If not, this needs to be done. As far as the anemone, I would place a divider in the tank to keep the clownfish from disturbing the anemone, then upright the anemone and give it a chance to anchor before reintroducing the clown. James (Salty Dog)> Thank you for any info. Marni Murray Mail 9/20/05 Bob, <James> Hope you had fun at MACNA. I'm to a point now where I wish the larger anemones were banned from the market. <And sharks.... and?> A query today disturbed me. The gent has a Heteractis crispa with about three watts per gallon of light, wants to know why it is upside down etc. Tank is too small for it to start with. As you well know they can grow to almost two feet in diameter although I doubt very few aquarists have ever grown one to that size. I'm guessing average life span/average aquarist, about two to three months max. <I'd say less> Just venting Bob, know you're busy. My input. If I were to keep one....220 minimum tank, refugium equipped, 2000gph water flow, at least seven watts per gallon, preferably MH/HQI, trace elements, strontium etc, feedings once weekly with food soaked in vitamins, and a family of five blue striped clown and no other fish inhabitants, just some usual clean up guys. I'm thinking this would give one a half a chance at keeping one for any length of time. What's your opinion Bob? Regards, Salty <'Bout the same my friend. Cheers, BobF> Shriveled Sebae 9/4/05 We just bought an Anenome
yesterday. it is what and has purple tips. <Sebae Anemone,
Heteractis crispa. This particular individual has expelled its
symbiotic zooxanthellae due to stress resultant from poor water
conditions, shipping, too much handling, general bad, health, etc. This
is known as being "bleached." A healthy sebae is usually a
deep brown/beige color. As a general rule, no zooxanthellate cnidarian
should ever possess white polyps (in this case, the anemone itself can
be considered a polyp).> I has already started to shrivel up. The
pet store told us that it would do this when it expels old water and
takes in new water. <Yes, this is a common occurrence with anemones.
Sort of a "body column water change." If the shriveling is
accompanied by a gaping mouth/expelled internals, however, it is a sign
of severe stress.> It has almost been a day and it hasn't
blossomed back yet. Is there something wrong with it? <Too soon to
tell, really. Give it another 24 hours.> could it be dead already?
<Possibly, but I doubt it.> and how long does the process of
expelling water take? <usually, the water change can be completed in
around ~12 hours, but this is by no means a concrete rule.> Please
Help ASAP Please email me back <It's funny you sent me this
email at this time. A family member of mine recently purchased a
bleached sebae, and it, too, shriveled up beyond recognition, was
vomiting entrails, etc. on day 2. I just 5 minutes ago received an
email from him with pics of the now-healthy anemone. I advised him to
use a syringe (sans needle, you know, the ones you get with test kits)
or pipette to force feed the anemone a mixture of Cyclops-eeze, liquid
garlic, and Selcon by placing the tip of the syringe/pipette between
the anemone's "lips" and squirting gently and slowly. He
did this twice daily, and the anemone bounced back and is now a deep
shade of brown after only 2 months. The anemone stopped requiring the
force feeding after 2 weeks of it, at which point it was rather sticky
and could accept whole krill soaked in Selcon twice daily. At any point
where all hope seems lost, it's not. Trust me. Never give up, and
best of luck! Mike G> Sebae Anemone 8/3/05
I have tried to find books on the topic of anemones but they are hard
to find and I found your article on the web along with a few others but
they don't answer all of my questions or really even cover the
behaviors of an anemone. <Anemone behavior? You mean, eat, deflate,
inflate, grow, wander?> I just bought an anemone on Saturday for the
first time and I picked out a Sebae anemone, however I think I made two
major mistakes. <I'd say your first was picking out
one of the harder species of anemones.> First, mistake the anemone
wasn't attached to anything in the tank, but it was puffed up and
looked healthy and beautiful, however I read afterwards that a creamy
colored anemone may have started the bleaching process
already. <Indeed. To add to this, Sebaes are often sold
bleached.> I can still see a brown pigmentation on the body but the
tentacles and foot a more of a creamy color. <Could very
well be bleaching, though it does not sound like a serious
"case"> Second mistake, I didn't make the dealer feed
the anemone at the store. <I never even considered that to be a part
of buying a healthy anemone. I always look for coloration, fullness, a
closed-tightly mouth, a full foot, etc.> I acclimated my anemone for
about 2 ½ hours and placed him in my tank, and he just started to
float around so, I didn't want him to get hurt floating around in
my tank, so I think I may have held him too long...a couple of
minutes. <Does not sound too great.> Finally he
attached in a cave in the rocks where he gets some light but not too
much. He stayed attached for a little over one day, however
he didn't eat anything that I tried to feed him.
<Could have simply been acclimating. When you picked him up, did he
feel sticky? That is a sign of good health. Conversely, lack of
stickiness is a sign of very poor health.> I have tried to feed him
silversides, chopped up, and Mysid shrimp. He started to eat
some of the shrimp the first day but then spit it back
out. About a day later he flipped up side down on his mouth
<No good at all.> so my husband and I moved a powerhead so it was
pointing in the anemone's direction to tip him back over, which
worked. <Unnecessary stress.> Now another day and
half later he won't attach to anything <Very bad.> since the
previously mentioned, and he leaves his mouth open a lot <Very, very
bad.> and he still won't eat. <Quite bad indeed.> I
don't think his stinger cells are working either. One of
my baby Chromis has come in contact with his tentacles and is still
alive swimming around in the tank, but food does stick to his tentacles
when I try to feed him. <Then, yes, his nematocysts are
still in operation.> I did see the anemone expelling some brown
stuff the first day and some creamy colored stringy balls from inside
his mouth are mixed within his tentacles. <Normal.>
His foot is not damaged and I haven't seen any rips or tears on his
body or tentacle. I have T5 lights, 4 Blue actinic and 2
white <Actinics have considerably less photosynthetically usable
light than white bulbs. I would not go so far as to count them toward
your wattage.> and get a little over 4 watts per gallon in a 75
gallon tank. I am at a loss due to good information on the Sebae
anemone, Heteractis crispa. Do you have any
suggestions? <Give it a place where it will get good
lighting as well as be able to shade itself, decent flow, daily
feedings... make sure it eats at least once a day, even if it means
sacrificing 100 Mysis to feed one. When feeding, cut the circulation
and stick the food nearest to the mouth as you can.> Is my anemone
dying? <It is unwell, but can recover.> When do I
know when to give up and get him out of my tank before he becomes
harmful to other specimens in my tank? <When he
dies.> I don't want to throw out a live anemone...I would feel
really bad but I don't want to lose my other fish and coral that I
have put time and money into. <Watch him closely. If he dies, remove
him immediately. I recently brought a Ritteri anemone with extremely
similar symptoms back to life: it is now a deep shade of brown-green.
You can save it, even when death seems unavoidable. Best of luck, Mike
G> Anemone stays upside down My Sebae looks so pretty when it's inflated but that's not very often. Most of the time it's inflated and sometimes on it's face. I have to Ocellaris that love the anemone but I'm afraid they're stressing it too much. < Very likely. I would try putting a plastic basket (like the kind strawberries come in at the store) over the anemone keeping the fish out; to see if that makes a difference. > What can I do to help the anemone? < If that doesn't fix it, it is not a fish issue but a water quality issue. In that case monitor your tank for changes. Also, be sure the anemone has plenty of light and space around it. > Should i upright it when it's on it's face? < Tough call. Usually I don't, but if it is still upside down after a few days, then yes I would try to help it out. > < Blundell > Heteractis crispa, Sebae anemone color, health I was looking at your site and it said that sebae anemones are bleached out when they are white. <Yes, generally> I had one for about 2 months and is perfect but white. Is there anything i can do to bring back its zooxanthellae. <Good care, feeding, patience, adequate light, current, good water quality, the presence of other cnidarians that might "lend" some algal symbionts...> I feed it once of one cube of Hikari Mysid shrimp. It also has a sebae clown hosting in it. I want to attach a picture of it, but you guys never receive the mail. <?> thanks Joe <Do read over all the materials posted on Anemones on WWM... Bob Fenner> Anemone Conundrum, lack of
knowledge Hi Gang, <Hello> First, let me describe my setup.
I've got a 125G SPS tank with about 9 watts per gallon of 20K MH
and actinic PCs. I am collecting the rarest frags I can get, making it
somewhat of a collector's tank. <Okay> The reason for the
email is that a lady has stolen my heart, and she is a beautiful bright
yellow sebae anemone. <Mmm, she's a phony... a dyed animal>
They call her the 'flaming sun' sebae. I have heard conflicting
reports of anemones stinging SPS corals, and LPS for that matter. On
the other hand, I've seen lots of successful reefs with a mixture
of SPS, LPS, and an anemone or two. Thoughts on adding a sebae in
particular, or is their a better choice? Thanks, Brandon Wilson
<Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm
and the other archived materials on Heteractis crispa/Sebae anemones...
And don't perpetuate the practice by endorsing it (buying such
doomed animals). Bob Fenner> My Host Anemone is Wigging Out!!! Hi Guys... <Hello there> Ok, so, I bought this huge anemone about 3 weeks ago. I believe he's a large Sebae (white base, shorter tentacles covering his plate (?), whitish, with purple tips)... I don't believe he's a Condy, as his tentacles aren't nearly as long as the one I had previously... Here's my dilemma: This creature had been doing great until a couple days ago. His coloration was wonderful, he found a spot to sit that he liked, his clown loved him continually. Suddenly, a couple days ago, he decided to move. No changes have been made to the tank, with the exception of adding a 110 w VHO 50/50 to our 36 w compact 50/50 and our 96 w compact 50/50. So... more lighting... He moved to the side of the reef rocks, when he had been planted firmly in the substrate, hanging out with a large feather duster. 2 mornings ago, I got up, and his tentacles were deflated, and his stomach is protruding in a cone-like manner. The previous night, I had fed him approximately 10cc of zooplankton, and my eel small (1/4 inch or so) pieces of sea bass. I had noticed that the clown brought the anemone a couple pieces. He has not yet pulled his stomach back in, and his tentacles are still deflated. Do I need to remove him? I'm sure he's not starving, I spot feed him 3 times per week (zoo plankton, and also supplemental squirts of phytoplankton into the tank water). Or is it possible he's getting ready to split? (He's approximately 8-10" across). Any help would be greatly appreciated, as my clown seems, well, depressed, not leaving the anemone's side. Also, I loved this creature, as he was a wonderful addition to my tank. Thanks guys, and I hope to hear from you soon. J&M Sprague <Let your love be a springboard for studying about the proper care of this animal... it is badly bleached out, starving, has been exposed to very different (light) shock... Don't move it, read on WWM re "Sebae", Heteractis crispa anemones... Bob Fenner> SEBAE ANEMONE I am so glad you have this web site! In quick desperation I found it last night. Our tank is about 5 weeks old & we bought a Sebae Anemone (pale white with purple tips). After we ate diner we noticed a long dark brown mucus coming from the center of the anemone & a lot of it's tentacles were deflated. I explored your web site & called the LFS to find out what I can do FAST to nurse it back to health. The LFS said to do a water change & get a Reef Sun 50/50 light. We did as we were told. <I think the anemone was just ridding itself of waste (poop). Before you bought the 50/50 light, what were you using? The Sebae Anemones do like strong light, upwards of 5 watts per gallon generally speaking.> Today the anemone looks fuller but still some deflation. Is their any thing more I can do to nurse this back to GOOD HEALTH? I feel so bad... <Make sure you have adequate lighting, and very good water quality (10% changes weekly). Once it gets settled in and expands you might try feeding it a dime size piece of shrimp or crab meat. James (Salty Dog)> THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING ON YOUR WEB SITE!!!! <You're welcome> -Sebae troubles- Ok, I've poured over the site to find an answer to this question and found parts of the answer but I need to put my worrying mind to rest. <Will do my best, you have Justin with you today.> We got a Sebae anemone which was kind of white, more yellow (which I told my boyfriend to buy the more colored one and he got confused and got the whiter one)... <Editor's note: the more brightly colored the Sebae, the stronger the DYE job - DON'T buy these colored anemones, not their natural color! Please see here, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm found via Google bar on site.> ... but he's got purple tips and is sort of a pale pale yellow, a baby- about 3-5 inches across when opened. We have a 100g, 2 metal halide, 2 fluorescent., 2 tank-raised clown, 5 Blue Chromis, 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp, Fiji live rock and indo-live rock and various other "dead" rock mostly. The Sebae was doing great at first, liking the halides and the Zoo.... food we got him, opening with the lights, tips turning dark dark purple, and then going into conserve mode when the hall's are off, he insists on being on the bottom of the tank near the back in the substrate. <I see the problem already. You are feeding a predatory animal food that it does not eat. This animal should be eating meaty foods like silversides or defrosted cube foods containing shrimp and other inverts (marine predator foods) Otherwise the Sebae will eat whatever it can even your fish.> We initially set him on the live rock near the top and he bailed and went to the bottom. We haven't moved him since, but he moves between about 7 inches of the same place up next to a rock or back to the glass. <This is normal, let the Sebae move as it likes and do not force it anywhere.> So the other morning one of the baby blue Chromis (real little about 15cm) disappeared. None of the water parameters have changed, he's nowhere to be found.. Did the Sebae eat him? <Bet my bottom dollar on it.> That was 2 days ago. and today the Sebae is all scrunched up like a button and took nearly an hour to open up with the halides on, we don't usually turn them on this early in the day but we were worried about him and he really enjoys the light. <I would not alter the lighting cycle unless you absolutely have to. Use a flashlight or wait as the animals need a day night cycle.> BTW, do the halides need a dimmer? They warm up but when you turn them off, they just go off- no dimmer action. -is that necessary? <The dimmer? No. However, you might leave the room lights on after the halides go off to ease into darkness rather than a sudden drop.> Anyhoo, I'm worried about the Sebae, what else can we do? We currently don't dose anything in the tank except food. Will things like Calcium, or Kalkwasser help? We saving up to buy a dosing pump. We recently added some Phosphate sponge to help the overgrowth of brown algae. Thanks so much, you're the best! Most humbly, Kat <Kat, feed that predator meaty foods. If its big pieces, they need to be minced very finely. Or if its cubed food, use a powerhead and stick the cube to the strainer inlet, and as it thaws it will be blown out. Have this point near the anemone but not directly pointing at it. Also a turkey baster works well for feeding it. If it is a silverside simply use a feeding stick and set the silverside on the tentacles and let it go. The anemone will eat at its own pace. Feed them every 3 days or week or so. The yellowing that you see is the anemones photosynthetic algae spreading some and that is a good thing. Between the algae and the meaty foods, it should be fine.> <Justin (Jager)> Sebae anemone upside down 3/28/04 First I would like to thank all of you for your great site and all the helpful info. <thanks kindly... please do tell friends/fellow hobbyists about us> I have a Sebae Anemone that I have acclimated to my system and it seems to be doing ok. It is still white from it's bleaching, but when I put him in I set him right side up (pedal foot down) the next day he was upside down (tentacles in the substrate). I flipped him over and he stayed that way for several days and got up one morning to find him upside down again. <this is often caused by water flow not to their liking. Do experiment> He seems to be doing topsy turvey every few days but eats fine when I feed him with a turkey baster. Though some time it seems as though nothing sticks to its tentacles and my cleaner shrimp climbs across them and picks food out as well. Is this something of the norm or not? <please do keep trying to feed and offer different foods (very fine diced). Also consider adding Cyclops-eeze (frozen if possible... freeze-dried if not). Anthony> Sebae death - 12/9/03 Thanks for the reply. <No problem> Checked this morning, and the anemone didn't make it, unfortunately. <I am very sorry to hear> I tried moving positions of it, <Not usually a good idea> and after a while it came back to life, but then the clown fish found it. <Yeah. Not easy to hide an anemone in a confined space> It wasn't really eating now that I think about it. <Hmmmm> Tried pellets, <Nope> frozen brine shrimp, <Not really a nutritional choice for the sustainability an anemone> even some squid (hey, you never know) <a very good choice. Also try Mysids as well>. It was holding though in place, I think it got so agitated it was flipping over to protect itself. <You mean retracting> Alas.... I have about 60 lbs more of live rock I've been curing for 5-6 weeks now. <Sounds like it could be ready> After I add to the tank, I may try again with a different type. <Well, maybe just not necessary to have an anemone for this clown fish.> Thanks again for the help. <My pleasure ~Paul> Geoff
Anemone (H. crispa, health) Howdy Bob! <Hello there>
Luv your website! Spend a lot of time just reading information and
planning next addition to my tank. Purchased what appeared to be a
Sebae anemone about 1 1/2 months ago. Has been doing great. Feeding it
Phytoplex 3x week, and supplementing with plankton crushed up and mixed
with liquid vitamins. Increased my lighting (nowhere near enough, but
it was looking great!). I purchased about 3 weeks ago 2 Clarkii clown
fish for it. They dove right in and things were looking good. About 1
week ago, I noticed when I fed the supplements to the anemone, my
Clarkii's would knock the food out of its tentacles and gobble it
up. <Yes, this happens.> Tried feeding fish and anemone at
same time, but no difference. This am, my anemone is shriveled, and its
mouth is hanging open. <Not good> My Clarkii's are still
playing with it. It's not disintegrating yet, but am I going to
lose it? No bad smells noted yet, but it doesn't look good. Any
suggestions would be greatly appreciated. <Do try feeding the
Clown/Anemonefishes ahead of offering some larger, meatier foods placed
maybe with a turkey baster toward the anemones center... this and
brighter light should do the job. Bob Fenner> Kat |
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