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Chris's Fishes

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Chris's Fishes

Hello! I've gone as far as I feel comfortable without trying to get some more help with this anemone.

Long story short, I received an anemone that I wasn't expecting yesterday. I'll link you to the thread I made somewhere down below.

I think it's a BTA, but I'm not sure on that. Here's a pic of it attached to the rock that it shipped with:

1681123050_Anemone26.thumb.jpg.44fabe9d827e573aeb5f0e6529bd1913.jpg

Well, shortly after that picture, it began expelling zooxanthellae, and then deflated. Whatever - I expected it to do that. I didn't expect it to completely detach from the rock and start floating around, though.

I turned off all flow in the tank, and tried to get it to attach in three different spots over a four hour period. No luck. It'd inflate, start moving around, and then just sit there. I finally got worried about the lack of flow in the tank, and started the pumps back, and put the nem into a container with some rubble, hoping that it'd attach overnight.

776265557_Anemoneincontainer.thumb.jpg.0d334b1456ad96ba6c2776acea3065d4.jpg

A few minutes before lights-out, it had inflated and was moving around quite a bit - I was hopeful. This morning, it's managed to flip itself upside-down onto the rocks. Tentacles-down. Which is interesting, because it seemed like it'd always flip itself onto it's side yesterday. Am I going about this wrong?

I'm just going to leave it be for now. But here's the thread, detailing what happened: 

 

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If it's a BTA, this is normal behavior. That nem is going to wander all around your tank until it finds a place it likes. 

 

Protect your pumps and your plumbing so it doesn't get sucked into them. It's what nems do.

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Chris's Fishes

Alright, thanks!
 

I wasn't too much concerned with the movement, it was the fact that he couldn't seem to stay upright. Things have gotten better, though,

 

Since I posted this morning, the nem has crawled out of it's container, onto the sandbed, and has been wandering around the tank. I think it'll settle down soon - I've got the powerheads turned off until he finally grabs ahold of something. Looking much better though.

 

400478145_Anemone9.thumb.jpg.471998f05eabbe0e1732494f26b27217.jpg

 

I think he's started to acclimate a bit.

 

The store got back to me, and told me to keep everything I received. They also gave me $50 off on my next order.

 

Not bad.

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29 minutes ago, PoorBigBlue said:

Alright, thanks!
 

I wasn't too much concerned with the movement, it was the fact that he couldn't seem to stay upright. Things have gotten better, though,

 

Since I posted this morning, the nem has crawled out of it's container, onto the sandbed, and has been wandering around the tank. I think it'll settle down soon - I've got the powerheads turned off until he finally grabs ahold of something. Looking much better though.

 

400478145_Anemone9.thumb.jpg.471998f05eabbe0e1732494f26b27217.jpg

 

I think he's started to acclimate a bit.

 

The store got back to me, and told me to keep everything I received. They also gave me $50 off on my next order.

 

Not bad.

Nice!

  • Like 1
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Yep, it'll right itself as it moves around. You can have one sting everything in your tank moving around finding the right spot. Only to have it find that spot and stay there for years, only to see it get up and move around again one day. Nobody knows why. It's a nem thing.

 

PS: It's also a little one. Let it grow out a bit before you offer it as a home to clownfish if that's your intention. Our tomato clown has "loved" two of our BTA's to death. 

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Chris's Fishes

I hadn't planned on offering the nem in any way, but the two are in the same tank. The clown is just about an inch, and has shown zero interest so far. If something happens and I see the nem reacting negatively to the clown, I'll move the clown out for a while.

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wait a sec, there was no packing list of any sort that would help you confirm the identity of the anemone?  Or could you ask the store, what was in the order that they just shipped to you? 

Honestly, if it's a BTA, it's a huge one by the look of its trunk/foot.  I'd be concerned that it isn't BTA, but other anemone that are a bit more difficult to keep unless you have much bigger system.

 

edit: haha, looks like @OPtasia and I would disagree on its size...maybe a bit more about the tank and rock size you're showing for context.  for me, I have a 4-5" BTA, and the foot never shown itself to be quite as large relative to the tentacles. 

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Chris's Fishes

There was no invoice in the box, and I didn't think to ask the guy, as I was pretty sure it was a BTA.

 

It's in no way huge - it's maybe 2" across. I'd say when it's fully extended, it'll be larger, but there's no way it can expand to be anything more than what I'd consider a small anemone.

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Eh, they can expand and deflate their bodies like that. Especially when roaming the tank. Looks like a small green BTA to me. 

 

And yeah, by large BTA I mean softball size or bigger. A small one can get so much attention from a clownfish that they get irritated with them and either don't get enough light or food. 

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Chris's Fishes

I won't know how big it is until it's settled (it's looking pretty droopy again... but it's attached now), but at it's largest, I'd say it's been about 3/4 as big as a tennis ball. 

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Yep. Let it settle in and get comfortable with your setup and light schedule. Once it does, it'll start expanding completely and you can get an accurate look at it's size. I've seen some pretty big and stunning BTA's in my day and they'll get quite a bit bigger than that with moderate light, low flow and a steady diet of mysis and sinking pellet foods twice a week. 🙂

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Chris's Fishes

The foot is slightly darker than it appears in the pictures, but the color isn't that different.

 

Looking at different pictures of magnifica, I have a few reasons to think that it's a BTA (although, you may be able to prove me wrong):

 

The tentacles are somewhat bulb-ish, when the anemone is inflated. Narrow at the bottom, swollen in the middle, and thin at the tips.

 

The mouth (and the disc) has white stripes, which I read was a tell-tale sign of a BTA (although, that could be a wive's tale)

 

I'll send the vendor a message and ask, but hopefully it turns out to be a BTA. If it turns out to be something that's gonna get massive fast, I'll give it to a local hobbyist that can care for it.

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Ya they should know.... hopefully they don't just make a guess and tell you that. It could very well be a bta... Just pissed off nems tend to look strange. I think the bright red foot is throwing me off as I see that in magnifica or long tentacles often but not as much in bubbles but certainly possible. The tentacles do look like a bta.

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Chris's Fishes

They are hard to ID until they're settled in and happy.

 

I'd actually believe it was an LTA before a Magnifica, but BTA still seems the most likely to me (with my limited experience). I'll definitely let y'all know what they say, though.

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Chris's Fishes

Hmm... this morning, he's walking around on the sandbed again. Looking better than he did yesterday, though, and after lights out I got to see him inflate to what I assume is his "largest" size. Probably a good 3" across! It was pretty cool. 

 

Just to 100% clarify (I guess it's a bit redundant, but better safe than sorry), let him wander until he either A) finds a spot, or B) starts to show signs of deterioration. If it's the latter, at that point, QT, correct? I have no doubt that a dead nem would crash this tank, so if he does start to go downhill, I'd rather remove him a bit too soon rather than a bit too late.

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19 minutes ago, PoorBigBlue said:

Hmm... this morning, he's walking around on the sandbed again. Looking better than he did yesterday, though, and after lights out I got to see him inflate to what I assume is his "largest" size. Probably a good 3" across! It was pretty cool. 

 

Just to 100% clarify (I guess it's a bit redundant, but better safe than sorry), let him wander until he either A) finds a spot, or B) starts to show signs of deterioration. If it's the latter, at that point, QT, correct? I have no doubt that a dead nem would crash this tank, so if he does start to go downhill, I'd rather remove him a bit too soon rather than a bit too late.

It seems to be doing good I think you’ll be fine. 

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Chris's Fishes

Hmm... Found the peppermint crawling all over the anemone a few minutes ago. It looked to be picking at it - I don't see any damage, but the anemone was clearly not appreciating it. If I see it happen again, I'll be removing the peppermint from the tank.

 

Colors came out weird, but I've noticed the foot has darkened a bit - not sure if that's indicative of health or mood, though.

610523679_Anemone29.thumb.jpg.7ba90f2de31358bcc2a325cbb85ba536.jpg

 

It's still not really attached, but it doesn't seem to be moving as much. Progress?

 

Think I'd have issues keeping the peppermint in a 3 gallon jar with some base rock and a cycle sponge? He'd probably just be in there for a few days, until I can either get him to the store, or get him his own tank set up properly. Tank would probably hover around 74, but I don't see that being a problem, seeing as most Peppermint shrimp hail from Florida, and waters reach the mid 70's there pretty often.

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I think it looks better, maybe the foot being that red was from stress? perhaps the darkening is a good sign, more zooxanthellae perhaps? Although idk if they have that in their foot. Looking like a bubble to me now, especially if the foot is losing its neon red appearance. 

 

Peppermints are a PITA. Got a breeder basket you can put it in inside the tank? Probably easier... or make one out of a bottle/old tupperware. 

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Chris's Fishes

Holy crap - next time you see your LFS guy/gal, tell them thank you. Catching shrimp sucks.

 

I had him in the net, and he decided to jump out of the tank, and landed 3 feet away - that's a 4 foot drop, too. I went to put him back into the net, and he stood up and ran! I finally got him, but it was across the room from the tank at that point. I put him in the same container I had the nem in, for now.

 

I've calmed down now - I can actually respond to your comment! 🤣

 

I think it's foot was probably a bit damaged, due to it being shipped on that rock. It had a lot of white mucus on it, which I thought was just general stress. Even that very first picture of the nem I got had some strings of mucus around the foot. The foot has went from being that really bright red, to being almost cherry red. 

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50 minutes ago, PoorBigBlue said:

Holy crap - next time you see your LFS guy/gal, tell them thank you. Catching shrimp sucks.

 

I had him in the net, and he decided to jump out of the tank, and landed 3 feet away - that's a 4 foot drop, too. I went to put him back into the net, and he stood up and ran! I finally got him, but it was across the room from the tank at that point. I put him in the same container I had the nem in, for now.

 

I've calmed down now - I can actually respond to your comment! 🤣

 

I think it's foot was probably a bit damaged, due to it being shipped on that rock. It had a lot of white mucus on it, which I thought was just general stress. Even that very first picture of the nem I got had some strings of mucus around the foot. The foot has went from being that really bright red, to being almost cherry red. 

I imagine this music in the background as you are chasing the shrimp across the room 🤣

 

 

 

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Chris's Fishes

Well, for whatever reason, it's 5 AM and I can't sleep. Might as well update this!

 

The anemone still hasn't stayed attached to anything, but it's regaining it's stickiness - I'll see it pick up sand as it rolls around, and I've seen it grab a few mysis shrimp out of the water as well. I've begun feeding it 2-3 whole mysis shrimp, and it seems to be responding well - there doesn't seem to be a universally accepted opinion on feeding unhealthy anemones, so I figure I'll do whatever the 'nem responds best to.

 

I haven't caught it deflated in a few days, and it hasn't hacked up any zoo in a few days (to my knowledge). That said, the color has definitely faded out quite a bit - it's no longer a bright green. Instead, it's kind of a pickle-brown color. Not as eye-catching, but hey, it's not white.

 

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