Bubble tip anemone dying

[Lizbeth90]

This is my first time getting an anemone. At first it was doing well. Now I noticed stuff coming out the mouth like when corals are dying. Is he dying, is there anything I can do? My phosphates were high I did two water changes so far and my nitrates were only 5 

[WV Reefer]

3 minutes ago, Lizbeth90 said:

This is my first time getting an anemone. At first it was doing well. Now I noticed stuff coming out the mouth like when corals are dying. Is he dying, is there anything I can do? My phosphates were high I did two water changes so far and my nitrates were only 5 

Anemones of any kind are generally not recommended in such a young tank. They need stability and a new reef is not a stable reef. 

 

Is the mouth gaping?  Is it closed up completely?  It can nuke everything in there if it starts to die or it can “let go” and get chopped in a powerhead. 

[Lizbeth90]

Rookie mistake. I feel awful. I don’t see a hole.

[LogicalReefs]

If it’s dying please just toss it. Usually they will not rebound once in the decline.

[Lizbeth90]

13 minutes ago, RocketClownfish said:

If it’s dying please just toss it. Usually they will not rebound once in the decline.

Well yes, that’s what I’m trying to figure out whether it’s actually dying or not 

[LogicalReefs]

It looks ok for now. I don’t see anything crazy that would indicate something bad. Just looks in shock like a new tank coral. How long has it been in the tank?

[Tamberav]

It could just be pooping. Anenomes look angry when they have to poop

 

If it is dying it would have a gaping hole and smell bad...loose his stickiness and foot would come loose. Just monitor... 

 

 

[OldManSea]

It also doesn't look bad.  It looks like the stuff around the mouth is just waste being emptied.  The mouth looks tight from the picture.  Will it eat when you add a small piece of frozen shrimp or similar?  Does it retract quickly if touched with a hard object?  If so, it is probably fine.  It is tucked into a fissure in the rock, that is normal.  As it gets used to the tank it will extend outward.  I would just watch it - if the mouth opens wide, then get it out of the tank quickly.  If it retracts to a very small size and looks "mushy" at the same time, get it out quickly.  If it eats, it is fine.

 

BTAs don't particularly care about phosphate and nitrate as long as they are not ridiculous.    

Quote

 

 

[Lizbeth90]

12 hours ago, RocketClownfish said:

It looks ok for now. I don’t see anything crazy that would indicate something bad. Just looks in shock like a new tank coral. How long has it been in the tank?

Just about a week

[Lizbeth90]

10 hours ago, OldManSea said:

It also doesn't look bad.  It looks like the stuff around the mouth is just waste being emptied.  The mouth looks tight from the picture.  Will it eat when you add a small piece of frozen shrimp or similar?  Does it retract quickly if touched with a hard object?  If so, it is probably fine.  It is tucked into a fissure in the rock, that is normal.  As it gets used to the tank it will extend outward.  I would just watch it - if the mouth opens wide, then get it out of the tank quickly.  If it retracts to a very small size and looks "mushy" at the same time, get it out quickly.  If it eats, it is fine.

 

BTAs don't particularly care about phosphate and nitrate as long as they are not ridiculous.    

 

Thanks so much this was really helpful

[Lizbeth90]

Okay so I had to move him away from that rock he kept moving closer to my power head and It looked like he was going in. The stuff I mentioned about coming out his mouth was actually his feet. I think it was detritus or “dust” particles but now that I moved him I think I see a hole near his mouth is this what’s called “gaping” if so should I remove him right away or did he do this because I moved him?

[Lizbeth90]

Some more pictures

[OldManSea]

The mouth is gaping somewhat but the anemone doesn’t look as though it is dying yet.  The disk and tentacles don’t look too bad at all.  I would watch him closely - by the way, did you try to feed it anything?

[Lizbeth90]

I tried last night. A piece of silver fish, like a tiny maybe like half an inch. Since it was real tucked in the rock it did not fully grasp it my snails took it from him. Should I try again? 

[OldManSea]

I would try.  If it will eat it gives you reason to believe it will recover.

[LogicalReefs]

Do you have like a basket you can hang on the inside of the tank? You can put the anemone inside so he can get out. That way you don’t have to worry about him getting chopped up in the power head. 

 

The open mouth is not a good sign and the tentacles aren’t supposed to be like that either. Looks like the anemone is in shock or something. Doesn’t look good. Keep a close eye. If it starts to shrink up and still have the open mouth I would get rid of it. 

[Lizbeth90]

I tried it did not grab it unfortunately. It did bunch up and inflated his bubble tips. Not sure what that means. If it is dying how soon should I remove him from my tank before things go real bad. I was think about leaving him in there until tomorrow morning and see how is doing. He did not smell.

[Lizbeth90]

2 minutes ago, RocketClownfish said:

Do you have like a basket you can hang on the inside of the tank? You can put the anemone inside so he can get out. That way you don’t have to worry about him getting chopped up in the power head. 

 

The open mouth is not a good sign and the tentacles aren’t supposed to be like that either. Looks like the anemone is in shock or something. Doesn’t look good. Keep a close eye. If it starts to shrink up and still have the open mouth I would get rid of it. 

Thank you I will keep a close eye. Unfortunately I do not have a basket. Maybe I can make one quick out of the fish only Tupperware I have. 

[LogicalReefs]

Only thing that would concern me is if he is moving a lot nowthere’s a chance he could get sucked into the power head and then it will be really bad. Is he moving? Or did he kinda settle?

[Lizbeth90]

It looks like he has settled but usually he moves when lights are out in my tank 

[LogicalReefs]

Something like this but have it more up towards the surface so the anemone can’t get out. 

[Tamberav]

I would not remove it. Deflating tentacles is normal, mine will completely deflate some days and other days turn into a ball where you cant see any tentacles at all. Anemones can look pretty upset at times and you just moved it so that could be why. I would hate for you to toss a perfectly healthy animal that was just being moody. Wait it out and see! 

[Lizbeth90]

12 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I would not remove it. Deflating tentacles is normal, mine will completely deflate some days and other days turn into a ball where you cant see any tentacles at all. Anemones can look pretty upset at times and you just moved it so that could be why. I would hate for you to toss a perfectly healthy animal that was just being moody. Wait it out and see! 

Thanks I sure will keep a close eye hopefully he will be fine

[Lawnman]

I don’t see anything wrong with that anemone. You have plenty of time to remove a bubble tip once it starts to die. Usually the mouth looks like mushed up spaghetti when it’s dying. If you see that it’s time to pull it out. They don’t just die in minutes and nuke the tank a hour later. It’s usually takes awhile for them to decline. Just keep a eye on it. 

[HarryPotter]

^the bubble king has spoken