Anemone Not Eating

[Maxstar81]

My anemone swells up when i change water...

Its not sticky. Only grabs frozen brine shimps sometimes....

Even if grab also doesn't bring to mouth....

Why ah?

How ah?

Anybody keep this anemone b4?

I don't even know its name .....

Need some help ...

[ciaolong]

looks like a bta

trying using white bait i notice that fish flesh has a better response than shellfish

and also if it doesnt want to eat leave it for a week it might be not well or the food if off

i remmeber i gave my half a prawn to my bta and it spat it out then i smelt the other half it was waaaaaaaaaaay off i think my parents left the prawns out >.>

[Lester]

looks like a bta

trying using white bait i notice that fish flesh has a better response than shellfish

and also if it doesnt want to eat leave it for a week it might be not well or the food if off

i remmeber i gave my half a prawn to my bta and it spat it out then i smelt the other half it was waaaaaaaaaaay off i think my parents left the prawns out >.>

hi bro

long time no see.. hows ur tank going ???

cheers

:off:

[timzhiquan]

how long has it been like that? only after u changed water?

[iantoh]

hi there bro maxstar81,

i think your anemone is "Entacmaea quadricolor", the rose bulb anemone- possibly a colour morph with blue tips. it looks pretty, but seriously, anemones require great care to thrive, and i hope youre prepared to go to such lengths to provide a good environment for your anemone. rose bulb anemones are hard-surface anemones, so yours will prefer being attached to live rock as opposed to sand.

could you pls tell us what are your water parameters? as more likely than not, its the water that is affecting the anemone's health. how responsive an anemone's nematocysts are (that is, how sticky theie tentacles feel) depends on how healthy they are, and its usually issues to do with water quality that compromise their health. does your anemone only become unsticky during periods of water change? that is, is it normally sticky and eager to take foods? or both before and after water change, it has still not yet ingested any foods that youve offered? have you tried offering it some frozen mysid shrimps?

try checking your water parameters. nitrates need to be below 0.3ppm, ph from 8 to 8.3, kh from 8 to 12dkh, and temperature below 28C. also, what lights do you run? anemones need strong lights to fulfill their nutritional needs due to their symbiotic zooallanthae algae, so thats important.

hope that helps. tell us more about your system first then we'll see what else we can think of ya.

cheers,

ian

ps: see here for more info: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/...oa/anemones.htm

[FuEl]

Swelling of anemones during water changes is a sign of stress. Possibly due to the effects of "salt burn" if you did'nt let the mixed seawater run for 24 h prior to use. Might also be due to salinity shock especially if you are using a hydrometer.

If an anemone loses its "stickiness", don't feed it too often. You'll end up doing more harm than good. Let it rest till it regain its "stickiness" before attempting to feed it a proper meal that is preferably small-sized. Smaller food items are more readily digested than large chunks of protein. I don't suggest feeding more than 1-2 small meals a week.

Is that granite rock?

[marble]

Hi bro,

I usually feed mine with chop market prawns.Usually i try to aim it at e centre of its mouth.I feed it when i can c its mouth as sometime their tip is swell up n u cant c its mouth.

How long is ur BTA liao???Any nemo to play with it???

[Maxstar81]

Many thanks to all who have replied.

It has been like this since i bought it last wkend.

Light is 1 tube of 7kk 3 hours a day.

Evening will have about 2 hours of blue marine light. (for live rocks)

20% water change on wkends.

No chiller or fans. (Temp will be 28-29.8 on average day.)

FuEl,

Why should the prep water stand for 24hrs ?

Whats wrong with a hydrometer ???

I thought the anemone like fish must eat everyday....

Did a pic search on google. Seems that my anemone have

very short fingers ah. Nothing slmilar leh ....

I think i better let it rest a few days....

[cyclop]

I feed my amemones with fish meat (cut out from big fish and they love it.

Maybe, cheaper to get kuning fish (those small ones that they usually fry crispy for nasi lemak) & slice out the meat. Extra can keep in freezer for next feeding.

I tried prawns, but dun noe why they "vomit" them out and left to rot in the tank.

[FuEl]

Letting the water run for 24 h prior to use is to let the water settle and any chemical reactions to even out before you introduce the water into your tank. This is especially important if you are changing a significant amount of water. If it is only 10-20% of your total water volume it should'nt be a problem to introduce it directly into your tank. If you are doing so don't pour it directly over corals as any undissolved salts might damage your coral. Best to pour such water into a high flow area in your sump such that it mixes with the rest of your established water.

A refractometer is what you should be getting for accurate salinity readings. Hydrometers are relatively inaccurate and specific gravity readings will fluctuate according to temperature as well.

Anemones digest very slowly. They also need time to recover from capturing the prey. Each time they catch something they lose their "stickiness". It will take a few days for them to regain such "stickiness". That's why it is best not to feed them too often it not the anemone won't be "sticky" anymore. Many anemones exhibit shortened tentacles if they are fed too often.

[Maxstar81]

FuEl,

Very informative. Learnt a lot !

Will try out and see if i can keep my anemone alive.

[Flame-Tail]

I feed my bubble tip anemone a small piece of market prawn abt 3 times a week. Has been with me for a couple of months and it's doin great.