Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

my anemone has some "bleaching" on him.... i was told that it was due to inadequate lighting, so i bought better lights... will he EVER get all of his coloring back???

If your water is good and your lights are adequate he should be back to normal quickly, but this can be extremely difficult for some anemones.

Lighting is not the only issue that can cause bleaching. Can you give a rundown of the tank, equipment, and water test readings? What kind of anemone is it? Can you provide a picture?

I've got a 75 gal tank... i took my water to B&B and they said it looked okay, other than the salinity being a little on the low side. I've got a sump under the cabinet with a Super Skimmer and a 100gph pump. I'm trying to attach a picture but not sure its working, says the board attachment quota has been reached...

the anemone has long tentacles and purple tips...

You mean like this, except with purple tips?



As far as images go, I recommend you get a photobucket account and post images using that. All you need to do is wrap the photobucket photo URL in tags--i.e. between them.

yes, exactly! what do you think that is??

Yes, it's Condylactis gigantea. B&B sells quite a few of them and they can often be in sad shape if you are not careful as to which one you choose. As you can see, they are somewhat whitish to begin with, but if it starts looking more of a transparent white, you have a problem. What kind of lighting setup did/do you have? Do you know your exact parameters, as in any numbers? Have you tried feeding it? Try the photobucket site I mentioned and get some pictures up ASAP. That will help out a lot.

SundownSerenity wrote:I've got a 75 gal tank... i took my water to B&B and they said it looked okay, other than the salinity being a little on the low side.

I love B&B but they are just about as far away from an authority on water quality as you can get. I asked a guy working there if they ever calibrated their refractometer (because it looks ancient and beat up), he didn't have a clue what I was talking about.

I'd recommend getting your own test gear for salinity, pH, dkH, Mag, Cal, and Nitrate. All of those can affect the survivability of an anemone, directly or indirectly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond... I got my tank in Feb for my birthday and anything I've learned thus far is basically from B&B.. and the internet... and that's been on a trial and error basis... if something goes wrong i ask questions... i'm glad to have this forum

thanks a bunch, shelli

[img]<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" border="0" alt="tank"></a>/img]

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" border="0" alt="tank"></a>

[url]<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg" border="0" alt="tank"></a>/url]

UUUHHHHGGGGGG!!!!!! i don't know how to do the picture thing!! i've got it on photo bucket...

Here you go:



Just take the url, which would be http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc28 ... nemone.jpg and wrap it in the tags. Be sure to include the brackets around each img, also.

Edit: The picture is tiny. Can you upsize that a bit? JUdging from the picture, you don't have a Condylactis, you have Heteractis crispa. If you haven't already, I suggest feeding it finely chopped silversides or other whole small fish. If you opt to get your own fish, make sure it is small and whole (head, guts, bones, all) and chop it finely. It must be raw or thawed, uncooked, unseasoned, etc. The silversides are a good bet, though. I would start at feeding it every other day if it will accept food. If not, we'll have to do more troubleshooting. Has the anemone settled and attached?

Neuticle wrote:

SundownSerenity wrote:I've got a 75 gal tank... i took my water to B&B and they said it looked okay, other than the salinity being a little on the low side.

I love B&B but they are just about as far away from an authority on water quality as you can get. I asked a guy working there if they ever calibrated their refractometer (because it looks ancient and beat up), he didn't have a clue what I was talking about.

I'd recommend getting your own test gear for salinity, pH, dkH, Mag, Cal, and Nitrate. All of those can affect the survivability of an anemone, directly or indirectly.

It's funny you mention that refractometer. When I still worked there, someone dropped it and I had to completely reconstruct it. All the insides came apart and loose, including the little disc that has the scale on it. It was a PITA to fix it. It was working perfectly and calibrated to a seawater standard when I was there, but that was over 3.5 years ago. I don't even think they have the calibration solution I had prepared anymore.