I have had a anemone for 2 weeks now. He's been eating and everything seemed great. When I came back from the weekend (at work) he looks purpleish blue and alot smaller. I tested the water quality and everything is right. What could be wrong?
2007-04-09 02:26:41 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
A couple of things can be wrong. First how is the lighting in your tank? Anemone's have certain lighting needs. If your tank light has been out for an extended period of time, he needs more light.
Secondly, How mature is your tank? Chances are if it is less than 5-6 months, the bacteria has not yet built up enought to support his type of life form.
Third: Many times after feeding, anemone need to purge. They will become little white blobs almost like they are totally gone. Since some are very large, when they shrink to the size of a quarter and change to a color other than what you are used to you start to worry. No worries most of the time. They have purged and will return larger than before.
2007-04-09 02:55:59 · answer #1 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 7⤊ 2⤋
I agree that lighting could play a big factor here. Anemones are photosynthetic and need fairly intense lighting - more than an average aquarium striplight (or two) would be able to provide. A compact fluorescent or metal halide bulb would suit their needs better. Also, unless you had the lighting on a timer, constant daylight or darkness could affect it.
The salinity could be outside the proper range (it should be 1.024-1.026) as well. Some sources recommend a salinity of 1.020-1.023 for a marine tank (and some hydrometers even show this range), but unless you have only fish, it should be at the higher range.
Some anemones will shrivel when the water temperature isn't to their liking. What's the temperature in the tank? It should be maintained between 76-80 if possible.
Are there other inverts or fish in the tank that might be bothering it? An anemone will retract when it's touched - it should be at least 3" across to be kept with clowfish, otherwise their constant "snuggling" will prevent it from feeding properly. If you have other fish or inverts, they might be nipping it.
What are your water quality readings? Ammonia and nitrites should be zero, and nitrate should be as low as possible. The pH should be in the 8.2-8.4 range. Hardy fish might be okay outside these parameters, but inverts are a lot more particular about the conditions in which they're kept. Double-check your readings just in case - if you use a liquid test kit (more accurate than strips) rinse the tubes out well before testing, and use tank water for the final rinse. Also, make sure your chemicals in the test kit haven't expired, and hold any droper bottles perfectly up and down - otherwise you'll run the risk of getting uneven sized drops which can affect your results.
2007-04-09 09:31:32 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
You probably don't have the proper lighting, you are slowly killing it. you should only keep an anemone if you are expert reefer. Do a little reading before you buy. They need very high lighting.
2007-04-10 01:37:52 · answer #3 · answered by Alleycat 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
add some salt to the water
2007-04-09 03:58:09 · answer #4 · answered by Dragon Buster 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
maybe its getting unhealthy.
maybe it going to die.
maybe theres something wrong in you pond/aquarium.
maybe it wants salt h2o.
2007-04-09 02:37:58 · answer #5 · answered by tapakani 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋