An ID Question (flatworm) and Anemone Behavior Issues  6/27/08 Crew- <Craig> May I please get a positive ID the first attachment? From what I have read, it appears to be an Acoel flatworm of the genus Convolutriloba. <Is a flatworm evidently> If possible, can we confirm what behavioral info you might have and point me to it? <Mmm, not following you here... what beh. info. re what?> Additionally, can you speculate that these flatworms would be suitable prey for Chelidonura varians, the "Blue Velvet" sea slug? <Might be... but if they're numbers are low (enough) I'd ignore them> For some time I have wanted to purchase one of these animals, but have never went down that path since I knew they were specialized predators that I  could not feed on a consistent basis. <Correct... and when prey numbers are low... it/they "disappear"...> Right now, these flatworms are in the midst of a population bloom in an aquarium that only has a pair of percula clownfish in a BTA. I have added a pair of peppermint shrimp, but they have not had an appreciable impact on the population of flatworms. <Many are unpalatable... as you likely are aware> Also, if these guys pose any risk to my aquarium inhabitants or even my copepod population I would rather introduce a predator or siphon them out. It seems that is the consensus of the responses on WWM. <Okay; glad to find you've searched> The second attachment is of a BTA I purchased about a month ago. I wanted to contribute to the knowledge base about some observations I have had with this animal. It is probably the 10th BTA that I have owned - the others I have sold to other aquarists after pairing various clownfish species and getting the pair to host in the anemone - it's just something I enjoy doing. It's often a challenge to pair clowns up (especially maroons) and even more so to create to commensal relationship between clowns and their host anemones. <Interesting... that you state/find this symbiosis to be such, rather than mutualistic> I believe I have read on the site that the behavior of BTA is more sedate than other anemones; meaning that while all anemones can/do wander, BTAs tend to find a rocky crevice and lodge their foot inside. <Mmm, most so with successive asexual clones here> I have found this behavior to be true of all the BTAs I have kept until I brought this one home. THIS anemone wandered around all night for about the first two weeks. Each evening it would fill itself up with water at the end of the day and then it would go on trips around the aquarium. Each morning I would move it back to the place I wanted it to occupy and it would attach itself there for the day. I thought, "Well, evidently the anemone will tell ME where it wants to stay and I will like it." <Yes to the former, hopefully so for the latter> Interestingly enough, the LFS had it in its display tank and it had never moved the whole month or so they had it; in fact, we had to chisel it out of the rockwork just to get it home. Both my tank and the LFS run MH lighting: theirs a 250W at 10K, mine a 250W at 14K. I have about 15X water flow per hour, the LFS had about half that. About a week after bringing it home, I knew something was amiss with nocturnal roaming of the BTA, so I went back to the LFS to check their water parameters. It turns out they run their SG at 1.023 and my tank was at 1.025. When I lowered by SG to 1.023, the anemone promptly returned to the place I had been trying to keep it and it hasn't moved since! <Interesting as well. Coincidence?> The third attachment is of a carpet I bought the same day as the BTA. Could you confirm whether it is S. gigantea, as I suspect? <Looks to be... on the basis of the pedicle> It is in a different system than the BTA and currently hosts a pair of black ocellaris clowns.... which is very sweet. The SG of the system I found this guy in measured 1.028. I took most of the day I bought it acclimating it to 1.026 SG, which is the highest I feel comfortable keeping the tank at. It was under a single 10K VHO bulb in a plumbed in 29G tank at the LFS, <Much too low> now it's under 400W of MH in a 92 corner bowfront. Apart from its weak coloration, it looked great at the LFS and I have to say it does look a little less turgid these days than when I bought it (its tentacles are longer and not as "plump", but it eats weekly and has NOT moved once since I introduced it to the tank. I found this ironic since the guidance on WWM indicates that carpets tend roam excessively. <Some do when first brought in from the wild, but exceedingly rare once settled. Heteractis magnifica are the kings of travel> I guess we can try to observe general tendencies among species of aquatic life but there will always be exceptions. <Well-stated> At this point, I have a pretty keen eye to catch the behavioral cues that anemones exhibit to show how they are doing in a captive system. Would you suggest gradually letting the SG increase to 1.027-28 and see if the carpet really does prefer such a high SG? <Mmm, no> Part of me feels like it should have settled in by now and be looking better - I can say its coloration has darkened significantly (since it has better lighting) but it doesn't seem to be as large as it once was and I suspect the SG may be a little too low for its liking. I am not worried it would die tomorrow, but I am thinking long term here about what parameters I need to stick to. <Near natural seawater, NNS> I am sure that had I not been reading WWM for years now and researching some of the overarching principles of marine aquaria I would have at least lost the BTA. I remember back in my early days I probably would have been desperately trying to FIX something instead of focusing on stability and incremental changes, if needed. <Ahhh!> I definitely wouldn't have suspected SG. I wouldn't have even considered that my instrument might need to be calibrated. I definitely would have thought about ammonia, or even nitrate, as a culprit....but not SG. So many thanks to all you at WWM for your contributions to the many of us hobbyists out here. We are all definitely made better for your efforts in what we do. Thanks! Craig <Thank you for sharing as well. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Re: Possible E. quadricolor, BTA with Multiple Mouths – 6/8/08 Hi, <Hello Katherine! > I am attaching 2 pictures, I hope you can see what I am talking about. It is hard to get a good picture because it has taken over a "cave" in one of our live rocks and there is a rock above the cave as well. But there are 4 places that appear to be lips (?)... and a ridge midline. <I’m seeing something in the pictures, but it is hard to tell for sure. Please see here: http://www.karensroseanemones.com/atwomouthrose.htm and let me know if this is what you are seeing. Also, since we do not know much about anemones with more than one mouth, could you please keep me updated on the status/progress of this anemone.> Katherine <Brenda>

Floating E. quadricolor, BTA, Plate Coral Doing Poorly, More Information Needed – 6/4/08 I am new to this site and am not sure where this will end up on the site---it appears to be a bit confusing to me. I have 2 questions. <Okay! > I found several articles on bulb tipped anemones and found some great information. Mine (Annie--2 weeks old) has just decided last night to fill with water and float all over the tank. I understand this behavior means she is not happy and is looking for a prime spot. <Correct> Also, she seems a little lighter in color---perhaps she is not getting the proper nutrition/lighting. <It has expelled some of its zooxanthellae. This can be caused from lack of lighting, nutrition or another form of stress. > However she refuses to stick anywhere and has very little reaction to tentacle stimulation---and refuses to eat anything. <This does not sound promising. > I used tongs to target feed some fresh shrimp, then brine shrimp---she may have eaten a small amount of a shrimp pellet. <Brine shrimp is useless unless it is newly hatched, or enriched. Discontinue the pellet food, and try small portions of Krill, Mysis Shrimp, or Silversides. > My tank parameters have been consistent and good, and all of my critters are doing very well. How long do they usual do the float? <Until they find a suitable spot. If one is not available, it may float around until its death. > I know no one that has a different/better set up. Any ideas I can do? I also was given a small tentacle coral plate. <Fungia? > I also have read about their behavior----swelling with water at times. However-mine lives on a sandy substrate and the only indicator I see that she is alive, is that she is still orange. I see no tentacles and no food moving towards her mouth and refuses target feeding. She also has mucous around her. <Is it getting any flow? What are you feeding? How long have you had it? > I hope to hear from you soon-in the meantime I will continue to read more on your website! <Good! > 38G, live rock---mushrooms and polyps (1/2 the tank)---"shelf" model---rest is sand and small shells Nova extreme lighting-4 T5s-2 actinic blue, 2 VHO-Led light at night Penguin BioWheel 150 filter and a protein skimmer <What kind of protein skimmer? Do you have any other flow? > 2 Percula clowns, 3 green Chromis, 1 black and white Damsel, 3 blue/yellow tail Damsels <That’s a whole lot of Damsels! > Several species of snail and hermit crabs, <Crabs can be predators. > 1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 serpent star, 1 bristle star, 1 shifting sand star T=78, PH=8.2, SG=1.022, <This is much too low of salinity for anemones. Gradually bring up to 1.026 by adding pre-mixed saltwater as your top off daily. > ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrates=5-10, <Work on getting nitrates down to zero. > calcium---350-400ppm, 12-14 dKH, <Your calcium is a bit low and your dKH is a bit high. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/alkalinity.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm What is your magnesium level? > phosphates=.5 <Needs to be zero. > I also perform a 5 gallon water changes weekly and rinse filters daily. <Filters do not need to be rinsed daily. How old is your system? How much live rock do you have? > Thank you! Christina <You’re welcome! Brenda> Re: Floating E. quadricolor, BTA, Plate Coral Doing Poorly, More Information Needed – 6/4/08  6/9/08 Thanks for the reply Brenda! <You’re welcome! > Annie (BTA) is still alive-I am not sure how-unless she is getting minimal nutrition from the shrimp that I feed the fish. <It is likely getting some nutrition from the waste from the fish. > I lightly squished her into the live rock before bedtime-and hoped she wouldn't die---But she actually likes the spot!!! <Perfect! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it stays. Just be careful when handling the anemone. They are very delicate creatures.> Today I am going to buy some Krill, Mysis shrimp and silversides. <Great! > Re: the Fungia-I have no alt flow-I can buy a powerhead also. <You will need the added flow. This may have been what the anemone was looking for also. Be sure to cover the intake to protect the anemone.> I am feeding-frozen brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, sometimes fresh shrimp (small chunks), and Nori. The Fungia is still bright orange. I have had her for 4 weeks. My tank overall is a new tank---approximately 9 months old. I put in 19 lbs live rock when I set the tank up. I am bringing the SG up-as you said and yes, a lot of Damsels---a couple have a "gig" next week-to help cycle my mom's tank. <I don’t recommend using fish to cycle a tank. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marcyclfaq2.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/estbiofiltmar.htm The parameters are better (ca2+ and alkalinity, ca=440ppm, and Alk=10dKH) Plan: Get Krill, Mysis shrimp, Silversides and Powerhead Slowly increase SG Get Magnesium tests I am trying with frequent water changes to bring the nitrates and phosphates down. <Have you considered a refugium and/or macro algae. More information found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm > What is the best food for Fungia-I have heard many different opinions. <Meaty foods such as the Mysis, Silversides or Krill. > I will have to get back to you about the type of protein Skimmer. Thanks again!! Teena <You’re welcome! Brenda> Re: Floating E. quadricolor, BTA, Plate Coral Doing Poorly, More Information Needed – 6/11/08 Just a quick update--The Anemone is eating the Silversides and the Fungia is eating (I now actually see it) the Mysis shrimp!! Everyone if happy with the increase in flow! Thanks again and I will talk to you soon! <That is great news! Brenda>

Anemone Splitting, E. Quadricolor, BTA – 4/1/08 <Hello, Brenda here!> I need help. I think my bubble anemone is going to die because it punctured itself on a rock. <It did not puncture itself.> It was healthy (tight mouth, etc) when I received it and open(s) up normally but has recently shrunken a little. I’ve only had it for 1 week. The anemone set its foot down in a place and the rock has come through the mouth of the anemone. It only comes through the mouth it has not split...remains in one piece. <Give it time, it will finish the split. Start checking your water parameters to see if there is anything that has stressed the anemone. Brenda>

Traveling Anemone, BTA, E. quadricolor – 3/16/08 Good Afternoon WWM crew, <Hello Mike!> Your site is a wealth of knowledge and I have tried to do as much reading as possible to see if I could answer my own questions. <Thank you!> Unfortunately, I'm still looking for answers and hoping you can help. <Hopefully I can help!> I have a 36 gal bow set up as a mixed reef. Age 8 months 130 watts of PC lighting, 65 W 10K and 65 W actinic (~5 months old) <This is borderline lighting for an anemone. You may need to supplement with extra feedings to keep the anemone happy.> 11.5 on/ 12.5 off 50 lbs of live rock and a 2.5" live sand base, Running an Aquaclear 50 with Chemipure, a Bak Pak 2R+ and a Hydor Koralia Nano (240 GPH) for additional circulation, <I don’t recommend powerheads with anemones, especially the Hydor Koralia. You’ll have anemone soup if your anemone decides to roam.> for additional circulation, Water quality is Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate <10, <Nitrates need to be zero.> dKH 9-10, calcium 340, phosphate undetectable, SG 1.0245, <I recommend 1.026 for anemones.> ph 8.4, Temp range 77.7 - 78.9F <I would increase temp. to 79-80.> 5 gal water changes every 7 - 10 days (use DI water for mixing) Inhabitants - 1 percula clown, 1 small (~2") Kole tang, <A 36 gallon tank is much too small for a tang.> 2 Green Chromis, a medium star polyp rock, a medium button polyp rock, 2 small mushroom rocks (1 green stripe, 1 red), a red open brain and a small colony of pom pom xenia. The xenia was the only thing close to the anemone's original location, and was there when I put the anemone in the tank. Everything else was a minimum of 10" away. <You have quite the mix of coral in there. Are you running fresh carbon? Do you have a sump or refugium?> I've had a 4 - 5" rose BTA in my tank for 5 weeks now, and have had some issues along the way. Had a ~2" maroon clown that was beating it up, that has since been removed and returned to the LFS. <Maroon clownfish can be aggressive.> Once the clown was gone a crab (not one that I added, must have been in the live rock somewhere) took up residence in a hole in the live rock just below where the foot was attached, it has also been removed for about 10 days. <Good!> Thought all was going well, tank and inhabitants were all looking good. Through all of the issues my BTA stayed in it's original location, then yesterday it moved. It was originally attached to a rock about half way up in the water column on the right side of the tank in an area where it appeared to be getting moderate current and has now relocated to the back bottom center of the tank behind all of my live rock (all in a period of about 10 hours). It is now in a location where it will get very little light and will be almost impossible for me to feed. <It is best to leave it alone for now. If it is healthy, it will come out on its own, when it is ready.> I have been feeding 2 – 3 times a week with small pieces of silversides and mysis shrimp. I've read enough to realize that I shouldn't try to locate it (I'd have to tear down half of my live rock just to get to it), that it would just cause more stress to the anemone. Just don't know what could have prompted the more. <Is the anemone white (bleached)?> I did a scheduled water change this past Thursday, but other than that there haven't been any significant changes to the tank environment that I can see or detect through testing. The anemone seemed in good health prior to the move. Could this be a stocking issue, do I need to get rid of some of the corals. <I would start by using fresh carbon.> Not sure what to make of the situation, from what I've read, BTAs usually stay put once acclimated. <No, Anemones of any kind, stay put when they are happy. An unhappy anemone will move, looking for a better place.> Sorry about the length of this and thanks for taking the time to read it. I just want to do the right thing. Any advice or suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and best regards, Mike <You’re welcome! Brenda> Re: Traveling Anemone, BTA, E. quadricolor - 3/18/08 Brenda, Good morning. <Hello Mike!> Thanks for your quick reply and suggestions. <You’re welcome!> In answer to some of your questions...I don't run carbon in the Aquaclear, I use Chemipure in its place. Would you recommend replacing the Chemipure with carbon? Or run a smaller bag of Chemipure with an additional bag of carbon? <I have not used Chemi Pure. I prefer using carbon. However, I have not heard any negative issues regarding its use. More information found here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carbonfaqs.htm > No, I don't have a sump or refugium. However, I do have a crop of feather Caulerpa growing in the tank. <I do recommend the use of a refugium, especially in such a small tank.> I guess I could do a larger volume water change to help address the nitrates, just don't seem to be able to get them below 5 ppm even after a water change. My Bak Pak skimmer is a recent upgrade and I hoping that it will do a better job of removing organics then the SeaClone I was using, thereby helping me to reduce my nitrates. <I can imagine!> I really don't feel like I over feed (fish once a day alternating with different frozen and flake foods, soft corals 3X a week with DT's.) I'd welcome any other suggestions...Based on what I've seen and read, I would say the anemone is not bleached. The base/foot has a reddish orange color to it, the disk and tentacle bases are brownish with a slight green and orange iridescent coloring and from about mid way to the tips the tentacles are a bright fluorescent orange. (At least, prior to the move, this is how I would describe it.) <Can you send me a picture of this? I am concerned that this anemone may have been dyed.> By the way, it has since made another move yesterday into a cave in my rock work and is attached to the ceiling hanging upside down! It almost looks like it's trying to figure out how to get out. It is still inflating and deflating. <It is not happy!> I guess I'm in a wait, watch and hope mode at this point. Thanks again for your advice and help. Mike <You’re welcome! Brenda>

Re: E. quadricolor, BTA, Hiding, Acclimation – 3/16/08 Hi Brenda, <Hello Akila!> Thanks for your reply. <You’re welcome!> I add the baking soda just to maintain the pH as mentioned in Dr. Bob Fenner’s Marine Aquarist book under maintaining pH (p.130). My pH is within the safe limits I guess. <Just be careful not to add too much too fast. Anemones do not do well with a sudden change. Add it gradually.> And yes I use the Compact Florescent lights - CFL. Each has 125W, 1250 Im, 6500K & 50/60 Hz. I have 4 lights that totals up to 500W & 5000. This is being used on a tank that is 27 inches deep, 37 inches long and 18 inches wide. Do you think it is adequate??? <Yes, I believe it is, especially if the anemone has enough rock that it can climb to higher levels if it needs to.> I keep my temperature at 25C - 26C (78.8F) and the salinity at 0.024. <Increase salinity to 1.026 gradually by topping off daily with pre-mixed saltwater.> As I live in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) I bought the anemone directly from a collector and probably it was collected couple of days back. When I saw the anemone it was in a small tank with starfish and the place was pretty dark and the anemone was a little bit shrunken up. After directly putting it to the tank, only a day later the anemone got 3 times bigger than it actually was. Is this a good sign or a bad sign??? <Anemones will shrink to expel waste and to acclimate themselves to their environment. If this is happening often, it is a bad sign. However, since this anemone has only been in your system a few days, I don’t see reason to be alarmed.> And I do not keep any corals except some dead ones. <Okay.> Today half of the anemone came out but the other half was still under the rock. The entire day it was like that. During the day time the anemone got real big on the side that came out and the tentacles were long and reaching upwards. But at night it again went to hiding and also became 3 times smaller. Why is this change in size??? Is it a sign of bad health??? Or bad conditions??? Shall I take it out from there and close that hole with some stones. <No.> Because I can't even feed the anemone when its hiding as I can't reach its month opening. <I don’t recommend touching the mouth.> Is it possible to keep some bits of shrimp meat on the tentacles. Is it possible to feed it like that??? <You bet! This is the best way to feed in my opinion. Hopefully the anemone is healthy enough to be able to hold on to the food. If not, place food near the mouth, without touching the anemone.> I'll get some pictures of the anemone tomorrow and mail you. <Great!> I'll also buy another pH test kit along with Calcium and Alkalinity kits and send that data to you also if the kits are available at the LFS. Thanks, Best regards. Akila <You’re welcome! Brenda> Hi Brenda, <Hello Akila!> I have attached some pictures. <It appears that you have two anemones! This would explain why it went into hiding. Stress! Anemones do split in two when they are stressed, resulting in two anemones. Collection is enough to stress an anemone enough that it will clone itself. More information here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemonereprofaqs.htm > I have another problem. I tested my water for dKH and Calcium. I have 15 - 16dkh & 370 - 380mg/l. Can this be right??? <It could be. What test kits are you using? Are you adding anything for calcium and magnesium? For now, stop adding additives. There is more information here regarding Calcium and Alkalinity: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm > Best regards, Akila <Brenda>

E. quadricolor, BTA, Hiding, Acclimation – 3/14/08
Dear Mr. Bob Fenner
<Hello Akila, Brenda here this time!>
I have wrote to you a lot of times and you guys have been a real help to me over the years.
<Good to hear!>
I appreciate your advice with regards to what I am facing now. Some details of my 80G tank would be, I have 1 large canister filter (works as a refugium for me), 2 power filters (1500lph each), protein skimmer, UV sterilizer 5W, Compact Florescent lighting 6500K - 400W,
<Are you sure this is compact florescent lighting?>
& Chiller. My pH is 8.2-8.4(can't figure out the exact color from the chart), Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate <10. I do a 20% water change every month.
<I recommend 10% weekly.>
I also add 4 - 5 teaspoons of baking soda every month along with the water change to maintain my pH.
<Are you testing before adding this? Are you gradually adding the baking soda?>
I don't have fish in my tank at the moment due to some problems with lifted temperature that finally led me to buy a chiller. The tank is cycled and I ran it for 2 years with no problems. I currently have 3 tube worms, grape macro algae (I forgot the name of the algae), and some sails. After adding the BTA (Rose) 2 days ago it is hiding under a cavity inside my rock work. It did not come out for a day. I read a lot of FAQs on your site and learned that this could be normal until it gets settled in but is there any other parameters or something else I need to check.
<Yes, what is your temperature and salinity? How did you acclimate this anemone?>
Do I need to get any other equipment or something to make it feel more comfortable?
<Do you know any history on this anemone? Was it recently shipped? What kind of lighting was it kept under previously?>
I don't understand why it is hiding inside a rock.
<I wouldn’t be overly concerned just yet. This anemone may be acclimating itself to its new environment. Placing an anemone into a new environment is stressful. >
Thought they liked bright lighting???
<They do, but I’m not convinced you have extremely powerful lighting.>
Can the tube worms be a problem???
<No. Do you have any coral in the tank? If so, what?>
Also how can I increase the calcium level in my tank. I heard the tube worms like more calcium in the water???
<Your LFS should have the additives you need. I do recommend researching before you start adding chemicals. Here is a good place to start: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm >
Thanks in advance for your advice,
Best regards, Akila
<You’re welcome! Brenda>

New E. quadricolor, Possible Acclimation Behavior – 1/29/08
Hi guys!
<Hello Ron, Brenda here>
A little background about the tank first...before my question... 58 gallon oceanic with overflow with 75lbs LR, and 1" sand bed, 40 gallon refugium w/ 10-20 lbs live rock, 6 mangroves, Chaeto, and grape Caulerpa with a deep sand bed and some cleaner clams somewhere buried, and an Aqua C Urchin pro skimmer. Fish include a maroon clown, rusty angel, small blenny, 3 chromis, and a sergeant major. There are 2 medium sized finger leathers, another Kenya tree leather, assorted mushrooms / polyps, some xenia, and a toadstool leather. I recently purchased a rose anemone from Reef and Tails - the only LFS that is worth checking out (and I live within 40 minutes of That Fish Place.) Yesterday it appeared healthy directly after acclimation, but this morning I woke up to find the foot stretched out about 6 inches. It seemed as though the anemone was trying to close, but the clown would not let it. I have covered the anemone with a "strawberry crate," and the clown is letting it alone for now. However, now the mouth is visible, and the anemone's diameter increased about 1 inch since yesterday. What are your thoughts on this?
<It sounds like it is acclimating itself to its new environment. This sounds normal. Just to be sure, what are your water parameters, including temperature, salinity, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, calcium and alkalinity? What size tank, and what equipment do you have on the tank?>
Thanks, Ron
<You’re welcome! Brenda>

Anemone normal behavior or do I have a problem? 11/18/07 Good day WWM, <Hello Josie, Scott V. here.> My name is Josie. I'm so glad your site is there for me to search; however, I am having trouble navigating the site. I love reading through the FAQ's and the articles but sometimes I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I have a question on Anemone Behavior. First thing’s first though. My tank equipment and parameters are as follows: 55 g show tank with 20 g sump with refugium and deep sand bed about 5-6" thick (sugar fine sand) in both the tank and the sump refugium that has now been set up for about 6 months (we cycled the tank using BioSpira for about 4 months before we added any inhabitants as we wanted to ensure the parameters were stable first.) Lighting: 342 watt total with 1-150 watt HQI (10000K); 2-96 watt (Dual 460nm/420nm) actinic by Current/Sun Pac Protein Skimming: Corallife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel 125 g Canister Filter: Marineland Magnum 350 Pro (350 gph) (I also have PolyFilter in the canister for phosphate removal as well as other bad stuff) Refugium: Two bundles of Chaetomorpha and One Grape Caulerpa and lots of copepods. <One algae will likely choke out the other in time.> Water Circulation in Tank: 2 Hydor Koralia 2 Water Circulation Pumps (600 gph) Tank: 90-100 lbs of live rock, 1 smooth leaf red kelp Tank Inhabitants: 1 - BTA (E. quadricolor) 1 - Condylactis sp. Anemone <<... trouble. RMF>> 2 - small Maroon and Yellow Stripe Clownfish (observing larger one being more matriarchal and smaller one being more the "slave") 1 - Duncanopsammia axifuga (Whisker) 6 - Nassarius snail 6 - Dwarf Scarlet Hermit Crabs 12 - Margarita Snails 2 - Fighting Conchs 3 - Peppermint Shrimp Tank Water Parameters: Calcium - 380 ppm Alkalinity - 15 dKH <On the high side.> pH - 8.2 Nitrates - 0 Nitrites - 0 Ammonia - 0 Temp - 78.8 Magnesium - 1300 ppm Maintenance Regimen: 5% Water Change every Friday and Monday (vacuum sand every Friday) <Should not need to vacuum the sand, only a very occasional stirring perhaps. Your livestock list should provide quite a bit of stirring in a 55 gal.> Clean all filter media, sponges, etc. weekly. <Good.> Moonlights on in morning 30 min, then add actinic on for 30-45 min, then add metal halides on for 10 hours; then the MH are turned off, 30-45 min later the actinic are turned off and then the moonlight is turned off about an hour later. Water test for pH, Salinity, Magnesium, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia, Calcium, Alkalinity every Friday Supplements: Purple Up every 2 days; Liquid Calcium daily; Iodine daily; Essential Elements weekly; Strontium & Molybdenum every 4 days; Micro-Vert every 3 days <Not a fan of so many supplements (especially the Purple Up). With your livestock list your water change regimen should be sufficient for trace element supplementation. If anything you will need calcium/Alk additions, and only according to your test kits. The iodine can reach toxic levels if not monitored.> Feeding Schedule: Mysis with garlic supplement to Clownfish daily; Mysis with Phytoplankton to whisker every 3 days; Mysis to both anemone's every 3 days <I would feed the anemones once a week at most.> I have had a BTA in the tank for about 3 weeks and everything seemed to be doing fine. The Clowns have been taking great care of him and feeding him Mysis as I fed them and then 3 days ago I added a Condy Anemone to my tank (upon advise from the LFS as being OK. ARGH) and now the BTA has gone into hiding and been curled up into a ball most of the time. The clownfish are doing everything they can to take care of the BTA and coax him out of the cave he shoved himself into. I did not know at the time that Condy's were not necessarily a good choice for the type of tank that I have. The two anemones have not contacted each other; however, I'm not so stupid to think that they don't know each other is there. At least the BTA seems to be reacting to the addition in a negative way. Is this something that I should consider removing the Condy and returning him to the LFS or will this pass? Josie B <I would remove one or the other; anemones don’t play well with others; corals or other anemones. Some water changes should help, as well as some new carbon. I would lay off the supplements, if you don’t test for and monitor it, I wouldn’t add it. It makes for more work, expense and adds more paths for things to go wrong. Water changes are the best way for trace element addition with your livestock. Good luck Scott V.> Re: Anemone normal behavior or do I have a problem? 11/18/07 Hello again WWM, <Hello.> Thank you very much for your advice. <Welcome.>I am considering purchasing the test kits for phosphate, iodine, silica, boron, copper, strontium, and dissolved oxygen. What are your thoughts on the electronic methods using probes instead of the reagents? <The electronic monitors are nice, but by the time you account for calibration times and cost you might as well stick with traditional test kits. All the testing is generally not necessary, especially once your tank is well established, but I am also a nut about knowing what is in my water, it is kind of fun.> I found a site that offers these tests in a laboratory setting: www.aquariumwatertesting.com weekly, monthly, or one time for a fairly nominal fee. <Interesting.>Which macroalgae would be best, Chaetomorpha or the grape Caulerpa? I would think the Caulerpa would be best but it seems there are mixed feelings on which is really better, if any at all. I have ensured that it gets light 24/7 to prevent it from going "sexual" as I have seen it called, and disintegrating. <I personally prefer Chaetomorpha, but either works fine.> The alkalinity is high and the only thing that I know that I can do that will bring that down is water changes. <Yes.> Should I do a few 10% instead of just 5% water changes? <The amount of work is about the same. If you don’t mind the extra expense in salt the 10% wouldn’t hurt. Keep up on the water changes, this is where many aquarists start to slack off thinking everything is going fine.> Thank you for the clarification on not needing to vacuum the sand, I would much rather stir up the top a little every once in awhile rather than vacuum it. The reason we do vacuum it is the detritus that can accumulate on the sand and makes it, well, unattractive. I worry that that it will harm the animals so I remove as much of it as we can. <Good circulation and eliminating dead spots will keep this in suspension to be filtered or skimmed out. The idea with the DSB you have is to leave it undisturbed as much as possible to get anaerobic activity going on in the bottom layers.> We have considered getting a calcium reactor to minimize the amount of calcium that we need to add and also to regulate the alkalinity a bit better. <They are a nice addition and big investment. You can also see good results with a two part additive such as B-Ionic by ESV which includes most of the required trace elements.> It might have to be an after Christmas purchase ;-) We have temporarily moved the Condy to the refugium until tomorrow when I can take him back to the LFS. The carbon was changed last week. We will probably change it out tomorrow when we do the water change. Again, thank you for the assistance. <You are welcome, I too would have chose the BTA. Happy reefing, Scott V.>

E. Quadricolor, New Tank Issues – 11/14/07 Hello once again! <Hello Ryan, Brenda here> I have yet another question for you. <Not a problem!> It never ends, does it? <No, but this is how we all learn, and why we are here.> Thanks for all your great help so far and hopefully you can help me out with this interesting situation? <I’ll try!> I recently moved my bubble tip anemone and its clone to a new tank. The new tank was setup with existing live rock and water, as well as some Chaetomorpha algae. <This is not an instant cycle. This creature needs an established environment, including the sand bed. This takes a minimum of 6 months, one year is best.> Everything has been going well, except the endless walking around the tank. <It is not happy.> Different flow and lights will cause that. <The new tank is likely the cause.> Yesterday I came home from work and found something interesting. The anemones had been fed the day before and looked a little unhappy. <What are you feeding it?> I took a look and found something interesting? I've posted this on three forums and no one has responded, which, in my opinion means no one has an answer? Today the anemones look much happier and the "egg sac" in the attached picture is gone. After I took the picture last night I noticed the tentacle started to tear open but I did not stay up late enough to see if anything was released? I added some carbon and did a water change just in case something in the tank was off. <You need to keep a close eye on your water parameters.> Thanks for looking, Ryan. http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s7/RyanSc_photos/IMG_1496.jpg It is just to the right of the mouth. <Yes, I see this.> Any ideas? <Well, I can tell you, it is not an egg sac. Here is a link to a thread that shows eggs inside of an anemone. The pictures in this thread are amazing. http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic74210-9-1.aspx This is also a good article to read: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/feature.htm As far as what is going on; it could be a number of things. It looks to me like one of its tentacles has become injured or irritated. What are the tank mates, including fish, corals and invertebrates? Have you noticed anything bothering it? Are there any possibilities that salt accumulated somewhere and dropped into the tank, landing on the anemone? What are your water parameters? How long has this tank been up and running? Did you transfer the sand bed over also? If so, how long did you leave it cycle before adding the livestock? Thanks again. <You’re welcome! Brenda> Re: E. Quadricolor, New Tank Issues – 11/15/07 Hi Brenda, thanks for the reply. <Hello Ryan, and you’re welcome!> You are not going to like this? <Yikes!> I did the entire change over in one day! <Ouch!> After asking many people if it would be OK if I used existing live rock and water as well as some Chaeto, they all said yes. <No, it is not ok, especially with anemones.> So if this was not OK what can I do now? Water parameters were fine until I fed the anemones, I fed them shrimp, same shrimp I've fed for over a year. My ammonia was a little high the day after and I'm assuming that one or both of the anemones did not eat their "dinner", causing the higher ammonia. <The ammonia spike is caused by the cycle. This is extremely toxic to anemones.> I did a water change to fix the problem, a rather large water change and after that they both looked fine. Here are the water parameters, ammonia 0, nitrite 0 (yes I'm sure), nitrate 0, calcium 400, Alk 10 DKH, salinity 1.025, temp. 79....I think that's it. <I do recommend a salinity of 1.026 for anemones.> The tank has a couple of frags that were attached to the live rock, Montipora and that is it, no other corals or fish....oh other than the one Palythoa hijacker. Please let me know if there is a way I can fix this situation? <I suggest getting the anemones out of there for a while. See if you can find someone local to take it in. If you are starting with a new sand bed, you need to wait a minimum of 6 months. If you transferred the old sand bed, it will take less time, but I can’t give you an exact time frame. It could take a few weeks, or even a few months. There are too many variables. You will need to keep checking your water parameters. Once everything has been stable for a while, you can put the anemones back in.> I assure you I did a lot of questioning before I went ahead with this move and everyone said it was fine. Now I need your help, please. I did not check the links yet because I'm in a bit of a rush and trying to catch you today rather than tomorrow. Thanks for your help, Ryan. <You’re welcome! Brenda>

Re: Entacmaea reading – 10/04/07
<Hello Jake, Brenda here filling in for Bob while he enjoys some time off.>
Thank you for your response.
<You’re welcome!>
I know my system is small, but I monitor the parameters closely, and do plan to upgrade. I received the tank and animals from someone who did not take good care of them, and I have nursed it back to health.
<Congratulations on the recovery!>
I was just wondering why the anemone was eating its own tentacle.
<I’m not exactly sure. I’m also not 100% convinced that is what happened. You stated that the anemone put the tentacle in its mouth and when it spit it back out it was a shorter tentacle. An anemone is capable of changing the shape of its tentacles. I would not be alarmed here. My guess is that the tentacle had a small piece of food on it. It is common for an anemone to place a tentacle in its mouth during feeding.>
I had read through most of the information and I did not see that question anywhere.
Again, thank you Mr. Fenner, you and the other staff have been amazing in teaching me how to care for my animals.
<Glad you find the site useful.>
I highly recommend the site to anyone who asks.
Jake
<Good luck Jake! Brenda>

BTA & Candy Cane Coral Concerns   9/11/07 
Good Evening,
<Hi Jackie, Mich with you.>
I have what I would call a disastrous problem.
<Well, let's not panic just yet.>
About a week ago, my BTA decided to move from his location (of nine months) atop a large rock.
He attempted to travel through the rock (why not over the rock??)
<Heehee! Why did the chicken cross the road?>
to the <get to the> other side. However, it appears that he is stuck.
<Mmm, perhaps, but I'm doubtful.>
A third of his body is on each side of the rock, and half is inside of the rock. I don't imagine that he can survive for very long in this position. It does not appear that he is doing anything to remedy this problem on his own.
<I suspect he may be trying to divide. Anemones often disappear inside the rockwork during this process, yours just may be more visible.>
What, if anything, should/could I do to remove him from the rock?
<I would wait and see. It is unlikely that he is permanently stuck... think Jell-O.>
On a different topic...what's the best way to feed (teeny tiny pieces of shrimp) a Candy Cane coral? It's such a slow eater that when I place food in its tiny tentacles, it's not long before one of my greedy shrimp
manages to confiscate the food.
<They can be buggers, can't they? I accidentally killed one of my cleaner shrimp one time by trying to scoot him away from a coral I was trying to feed. A little guilt there... The best thing I have found it to place the coral you are trying to feed in an isolation container while they feed. A floating breeder container works well. It's not the most convenient option but it does reduce the frustration levels you begin to have with the shrimp.>
I'm afraid it will starve to death.
<Your Caulastrea likely won't starve but will definitely benefit from supplemental feedings.>
Sincerely,
Jackie
<Cheers, Mich>

Rose Bubble Anemone, beh....   9/5/07
I've had this Rose Bubble Anemone in the tank for about 4 weeks. He was a beautify creature, well inflated, feed well and the clowns were right at home in him. But the last 5 days he has started moving around the tank from rock to rock and spend all his time deflated and shriveled.
<::sigh:: He's not happy.>
I know anemone do this from time to time to expel waste and restock on nutrients
<True, but not for extended periods and they don't have to move around to do this.>
but I've not known one stay retracted for so long. Is he suffering some ailment or is this quite a normal thing with bubbles.
<He is indeed suffering. From what is the question. Have you changed anything about your set-up (lighting, additives, water flow, etc.)? Have you added any new livestock? How big is the tank? We can try to help but only with a lot more information.
Best,
Sara M.>

What is my BTA doing? Entacmaea quadricolor - 6/25/07
Hi Guys
<Hi Dave, Brenda here>
I have had a BTA for about 4-6 weeks now and everything seemed fine. I am feeding him a bit of cockle every 5-7 days and most of the day he stayed fully open. I have 2 x Common Clowns which have paid no interest in him what so ever (unfortunately).
<There is never a guarantee that clownfish will take to an anemone in captivity. Give it some time, it may happen.>
Every now and then he would pop into a crevice in my LR and out the other side, back and then forward to the front again. Saturday I saw what looked like a little pile of dust/parmesan cheese near his mouth but he seemed fine.
<I would need to see a picture of this.>
Yesterday (Sunday) he popped to the back of the tank and hasn't come out since (now Monday evening).
<It may be nothing to worry about. Your anemone does not know that you want it in the front of the tank for you to view.>
He hasn't moved around the tank since I have had him, and seemed happy and bubbly till then!!!!
<Is your anemone actually roaming around the tank, or has it just found a crevice in the rock that it is able to expand on either side of it?>
Any ideas?
<How long has your tank been up and running? What are your water parameters, lighting, tank size, amount of flow, filtration, tank mates, and any other equipment you are using? If you can get a picture without disturbing the anemone that would be helpful.>
Dave
<Brenda>

BTA and Other Anemones – 06/17/07
Good evening Crew. I have two questions that I hope have easy answers.
First: I have a BTA that seems to be doing quite well--was when I purchased and remains a nice shade of light brown, shows its bubbles fairly often, etc. One thing that concerns me a little, though, is that it seems to prefer locations that have limited light. I have a 110 g that is 30" high, illuminated with 6 x 54W T5s (3 10,000K daylights and 3 actinics--thinking of swapping 1 actinic out for a 10000K daylight, just haven't gotten around to doing it yet). I know BTAs like to perch in ledges,
<Mmm, only in captivity. In the wild this species is most often encountered in crevices... wedged twixt... and if disturbed, pulled back out and away from touch>
and I have plenty of rock, overhangs, crevices, etc. The other night I had to move the rock on which it was perched to deal with an unstable rock underneath, and the BTA moved and is now sitting under an overhang of rock, about 90% shaded. I realize that BTAs will move to find a suitable location, but is this normal?
<Mmm, normal... for abnormal/aquarium settings, yes... It will move itself...>
From what I read, my lighting doesn't seem to be too strong.
<Agreed>
Second: I purchased some really nice Florida aquacultured rock and noticed that the rock came with a few (4 that I can see) very small anemones. Some are striped (brown and clear) and some are clear. I have tried to identify them using WWM, but they are too small to make an accurate ID. My question is, should I be wary of any anemone that comes on Atlantic rock?
<Possibly... there are many "pest" types... some can/will displace, sting other life...>
Put another way, are there Atlantic anemones that one typically sees on rock that are not pest anemones?
<Yes... by definition, like a terrestrial plant "weed", unwanted... or at least not found to have purpose as yet>
As always, I appreciate the insight.
Andy Bulgin
<There are ref. works re... Maybe see the Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach series... Bob Fenner>

Bubble Tip Anemone, E. Quadricolor, Lost Its Bubbles – 6/3/07
Hey Bob F. and Crew,
<Hi Luke, Brenda here>
I have a question about my bubble tip anemone. It has become a droopy tip anemone. The tentacles have become stretched, and now lack the bubble tips.
<It is not completely understood why some of these anemones loose their bubbled tips in captivity. It is not a health issue. However, your description of “droopy” and “stretched” does concern me. Without seeing a picture and knowing your equipment and feeding schedule, it is impossible for me to know if you have an adequate environment for this animal. It is possible the health of the anemone is deteriorating. The stretched tentacles may be a sign of not enough lighting or food. If you can provide me with your equipment list, feeding schedule, types of food, water parameters, and a picture if possible, I will be happy to look into it further.>
I was wondering if you knew how to make it a bubble tip anemone again.
Thank you, Luke
<You’re Welcome, Brenda>

E. quadricolor Behavior   5/10/07
Hi there.
<Hello.>
A quick question that I couldn't find an answer to on the FAQ's. 
<Okay.>
We have had a green BTA for about 3 months now that has a maroon clown hosting in it.
<Neat.>
The past Sunday, now Wednesday) we acquired more live rock  ( had our tank for 8 months or so, just added more prettiness) and did some aquascaping.
<Was the rock precured or did you cure in a QT tank prior to adding to your display?>
Anyway, my question is this. 
<Okay.>
The spot that my BTA has picked is no longer getting light, will he move on his own? 
<Yes...it should.>
We have 2 power jets circulating water currents, and plenty of light from what I have read on your sight.  I read that we shouldn't' try to move him, but will he move on his own? 
<Correct...if you attempt to manually remove him, you may fatally damage the animal.>
What can we do to entice him out?
<You can get a powerhead or turkey baster and "impose" on it w/ strong flow to encourage it to move.>
  Someone said that as long as the clown is feeding him he doesn't really need the light, but that doesn't sound right to me. 
<A combination and balance of both is necessary.>
Any help will be appreciated!!! Thanks so much, Love your site.
<Welcome and good luck. Adam J.>

BTA expelling pink  3/23/07 Dear Bob, I recently transferred my BTA into my 6 week cycled tank. <You should not have an Anemone in a tank this young.> I moved him attached to the rock his foot was on and in a bag so he was always under water.   After placing him in the tank he started to expel some round pink objects   (please see unclear picture).   <Likely poop and bits of undigested Prawn.> I had just fed it that morning with some cut  up prawn shrimp. Any ideas what the pink expulsion is besides shrimp? <It's poop!> The  foot is a dark brown, the tentacles are green and full and it seems to be liking  the new halide lighting. <Please do brush up on the care of these creatures.  Try doing a search using the term Entacmaea quadricolor.> Best regards, <Good luck with your E. quadricolor.  Brandon.> Jason

Re: BTA expelling pink   03/23/07 Dear Brandon, <Hello again Jason.> I know putting the BTA in my 180 gallon was a bit premature however its previous 55 gallon tank had sprung a leak and I had to transfer it over. <You gotta do what you gotta do.  I was just illustrating that these animals need established systems that's all.  Further, I suggested that you read up on the care of these critters, because you seemed shocked by what is an ordinary occurrence.> Most of the fish I was able to store in my QT tank however I did not want to combine the  BTA in that small an environment as it is crowded already with the fish. <Likely a stressful event.> My  question is what should I be looking for in the anemone to see if it is doing O.K. or if it is in distress?   <Droopy mouth, staying closed all the time, turning to goo.> The water levels are normal 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates, ph  8.4 <Nitrite, Calcium, Alkalinity?> The tank has 3- 250W MH with 2 rows of actinic bulbs, a 30 gallon trickle sump and a 2- gallon mud refugium with mangroves. <Interesting setup.> Thanks again, <You are welcome.  Brandon.> Jason

Anemone seeking clown? - 3/21/07
Hello Crew,
<Hello, Brenda here>
I have a (I believe) unique, if not odd, question.  Do anemones seek out clowns to host by moving around the tank?  
<No>
I ask this because over the last 4 days I watched my BTA move from a location at the top of my live rock to the glass, overnight.  First, it moved to the top left, back corner and stayed there for two days.  Over night on the 2nd night it moved to the lower left back corner and was there for a day and a half (until yesterday morning).  By the time I returned home from work last night it had moved to the lower left front corner.  Last night, after the lights went out, my female percula went in and slept there for the night.  The male stayed very close but did not go in.  Neither fish had ever been hosted by the BTA in the past and have been together for several months.  As I've continued to think about this I began to wonder if the BTA knew how to find the clowns.  It sounds too weird to me to me to be true but the last three positions the BTA was in/attached to have been the last positions the clown pair has slept in the previous night.  Is this just a coincidence or did I see another amazing behavior of our saltwater friends?
<It is odd, but is just a coincidence.  An anemone will move to find a comfortable position.  Hopefully it settles down soon.>
Bob
<Brenda>
 

New tank, New BTA Problems– 3/15/07 OK so here is my 24gallon AquaPod. Its been running for a month, set up with 20lbs. of great live rock in the display and in the rear chambers (LFS got it from a customers tank) with lots of nice coralline growth.  Water movement is handled by a MJ1200 with a FLO attached, and I just recently added a second pump behind the rockwork that has a spray bar that pushes water against the rear wall and out towards the front under the rocks.  A 70W HQI pendant (suspended 6" above water level) provides my light on a 12 hour duration cycle.  (LEDs at night).  A custom skimmer by sapphire aquatics completes the set-up.  Oh, and my current water regimen is to top off with RO/DI/UVed water, and my water changes are 2.5 gal. weekly with filtered seawater that we san Diegans get for free!  My long-term goal for the tank is only 3 or 4 small fish (1 blenny so far, and I would like to add one or two small clowns, and maybe an orchid dotty or a royal Gramma) and some mixed soft corals since this is my first reef foray.  I would also like to take a shot at an anemone and see if I can create a symbiotic environment with the clowns. <A 24 gallon tank is too small of a tank for this anemone, especially with corals.> SO After 2 weeks, I added a Clean up crew (snails, hermits, and one skunk cleaner shrimp) to take on the accumulating green algae.  The shrimp has been a treat to watch, and he eats readily when I add a small pinch of ground-up dry food (spectrum Thera A+....looks like quality stuff...)  I have had a couple of the snails and one hermit go missing, and I’m not sure if they're being eaten by the shrimp as well.   <They are not likely being eaten by the shrimp.  There may not be enough food available to them in a new tank.  Crabs can not be trusted and have been known to kill snails, small fish and pester anemones.  I am also not in favor of the bare bottom tank you have chosen.> (haven't seen any harassment myself).  Well, after another 2 weeks, the water parameters have all remained solid, and yesterday I took home a Starry Blenny, and a nice looking green bubble tip anemone. <It is recommended to wait six months to a year before introducing an anemone.> After an hour of drip acclimation, I was very careful not to damage the disk/foot, and was rewarded with a spectacular view for the rest of the day and even night (looks great under the blue LEDs).  Well you can imagine my shock this morning when I thought the anemone disappeared!!   <They will roam to find a comfortable place.  It may not find a comfortable place in its current home.> Here is how he looks now in the second picture. <Under the circumstances, this is normal.> I just re-tested all levels (all nitrates, pH, calcium, phosphate, Alk.) everything reads fine....I've been all over your site trying to figure out if he's stressing, or if he's just digesting!! <Did you come across a recommendation to wait six months or more before trying an anemone?  It does look stressed.  Digesting?  Did you feed it and what did you feed it?> How often does this kind of behavior occur with other BTA's and how long do they usually stay closed up for digestion?? <I can’t answer that, I don’t know if it is digesting, or if it is not happy in the environment.  It looks like it has gone into hiding or splitting, either would be caused from stress.> I was thinking at first that the halide turning on might have shocked it, but it was under similar lighting at the LFS and I am reading that they like lots of light.   <I don’t consider 70 watts of metal halide a lot of light for your tank.> So, that is it! Sorry for the lengthy email!! <I suggest doing more research on these anemones.  I also recommend doing some research on the benefits of sand beds.  Brenda>

My new BTA is Shrinking, Entacmaea quadricolor –  2/28/07 
<Hi Josh, Brenda here>
I just got a bubble tip anemone 4 days ago on a Friday evening.  Sunday morning 10:30 it looked great, then I left and came home around 2:00 and it was shriveled up to about 1/4 of the size and excreting a white/clear slime.
<It is expelling waste.>
Also, the mouth was enlarged and looked inverted with some curly stringy stuff coming out.
<Yikes!  Is the anemones mouth tightly closed the rest of the time?>
For all practical purposes it looked about 10 minutes away from death.
<I have seen that often.  I remember being in a panic the first few times. My anemones have me trained now.>
I checked all my water parameters and everything was great, I did a 10% water change anyway.  We then left again around 4:00 and came home around 8:30 and he looked great, completely re-inflated and actually the overall body looked bigger than the day before.  
<Great!>
He did well all day Monday until about an hour after I got home and he started shriveling up again and this time was excreting a brown substance which I am assuming was waste.
<Yes, anemone waste is not always the same color.>
He then continued to shrivel up as bad, or worse, than Sunday morning.  I though he was a goner this time for sure.  Nothing I could do at this point but to just wait it out.  He was still that way when I went to bed around 11:00.  I got up the next morning and checked him before I went to work around 6:30 and he was completely re-inflated again and yet still looked even bigger and perfectly healthy.  
What is he doing?
<Possibly acclimating to your lighting.  Do you know what kind of lighting it was kept under previously?>
From what I understand, anemones don't typically shrivel up that bad right?
<Wrong, they can shrivel up to almost nothing.>
I know it is hard diagnosing without a picture.
<Yes, but we still try.>
I don't know if it is just still acclimating to my tank or what.  
<Yes, it is likely still acclimating to its new home, but will still expel waste from time to time.>
Does the anemone coming back what seems bigger each time have any significance?
<Not necessarily, would need to see a picture.  My guess is that it is still part of the acclimation process.>
I have yet not even seen a picture on the web with one shriveled up as bad as mine was.
<I can fix that.  http://www.karensroseanemones.com/deflating.htm  Great website!  Be sure to read through all of it.>
Any ideas?  
<Most of what I’m reading seems normal.  The curly white appendages you are seeing, is not typically seen externally on an anemone.  Are you over feeding?  I suggest meaty foods, no bigger than the anemones mouth 2 – 3 times a week.  Make sure you have adequate lighting, filtration, and water parameters.  Also make sure your anemones color is up to par, meaning no loss of zooxanthellae.  If you have any more problems or questions, please give us your exact water parameters, including salinity and temperature along with your equipment list, age of your setup, other tank mates, and a picture if possible.>
Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks very much - your website is extremely helpful for so many other things I want to learn about.
Josh
<You’re welcome!  Good luck with your new anemone!  Brenda>

BTA reproductive cloud  1/29/07
Hi
<Hi Richard.>
  I'm a little puzzled today.
<Well lets see if I can put you together.>
  Yesterday my GBTA was not opened  fully.  This has happened before and usually the next day everything is  back to normal.  Last night for a few minutes he/she release a dark fluid like substance.  I couldn't figure out why.  Today he/she looked much better and was almost fully open at about 10 inches across and I was thinking .  Tonight, he/she started releasing a milky substance which, of course, clouded the water.  This release has been going on now for about 30 minutes.  What could be the reason for this release?
<Richard it sounds a reproductive event, E. Quadricolor can reproduce through means of sexual interaction as well as splitting (creating clones of each other)…others have had similar experiences which you can search for on WWM.  I would not be concerned with the actual event itself, however I am inclined to ask if there have been any recent/drastic changes in the tank…and would also like to know the tank chemistry readings as well, just so that we can rule out any potential problems.>
What should I do about it?
<Large water change, run some chemical filtration media/carbon.>
Thanks for any help you can give.
<You are welcome.>
Richard
<AJ.>

Re: BTA reproductive cloud   1/29/07
Hi and thanks.
<You’re welcome.>
All water chemistry readings are within good parameters.
Calcium 425, Alkalinity 8.3 Nitrates 0, etc. I had done a water change of 25% (110 gallon tank) on Friday. Yesterday, some of the rockwork had sagged a little so I rearranged it which included a slight move on his/her home rock. Perhaps he's/she's stressed because of that change.
<Perhaps.>
Last night I changed 10% as I was almost out of water due to the fact that I had changed the 25% on Friday.
<Sounds acceptable.>
Today everything seemed back to normal except that the button polyps are still closed. The GBTA had great color. Its tentacles are full and plump but have rarely been bubble tipped. He/She is active today and has moved to a new location. I don't believe he/she is eating normally yet, because the Formula one just sat in amongst its tentacles and didn't make it to the mouth before the clowns and shrimp poached most of it.
<I would hold off feeding for at least a few days.>
Also, shortly after I fed it, it started to release some more milky stuff. I have Chemi-pure which I'll start right away.
I did read several articles late last night and noticed the pictures of the "smoking anemone." Those could have been mine except for the color.
I'll also do another 25% water change ASAP.
<Sounds like you’re on the right track.>
Thanks again, A. J.
<Anytime.>
Richard
<Adam_J.>

Re: BTA conditions/sexual reproduction   1/29/07
Hello again, A. J.
<Hi.>
A little more info.
<O.k.>
I tried to vacuum the milky substance as it was released last night. That event lasted about an hour. I did another 25% water change today.
<Sounds good.>
The anemone has moved again and is now looking somewhat smaller.
<This doesn't sounds good...>
I don't see another anywhere in the tank. I was thinking that he may have split during the night. Oddly though, he had a rather large white solid looking substance (poop? that finally disappeared)
<Or intestines "insides"....if it is unhappy.>
hanging from his mouth most of today and his mouth has been fairly elongated today, too.
<Also not a great indicator.>
His tentacles are fairly plump and they have good color. Should I continue with the water changes and if so for how long?
<a trio of so of 20% should suffice, and then continuing with your normal schedule.>
The Chemi-Pure is working. I will hold off on the feeding for a while.
<Sounds good.>
I've double checked all water parameters again today. They are the same as yesterday.
<I would just be patient and keep a watchful eye out as of now.>
Again, thanks.
<Anytime.>
Richard
<Adam_J.>

Re:  Bubble Anemone Lighting 11/20/06
so, an hour ago the anemone looked really good, now he is tiny and shriveled, attached to the same rock at the bottom he has been the entire time...is there anything I can/should do!!???
<Anemones will contract at times, but should fill back up within a 24-48 hour period.  Were any chemicals/medications added to the tank?
Outside of this, there is not much you can do but keep a close eye on it.  Dead anemones can quickly pollute a tank and threaten the life of the other tank inhabitants. Keep in mind that anemones are not the easiest of inverts to keep for any length of time.
James (Salty Dog)>

Bubble Tip went into hiding    11/4/06
Hello all, I am need of your worldly knowledge and assistance.  I have a 135 gal. aquarium with 130 lbs. or live rock.  It has been established for several months now with a 25 gal refugium and a aqua-c pro protein skimmer 2 65 watt actinic blue lighting and 2 175 watt metal halides.  But that isn't my problem as you could have guessed, my bubble tip which is quite large (Ritteri sized) was introduced into my aquarium almost a month ago first acted like a Ritteri absorbing as much light as it can.
<Heteractis and Entacmaea species are indeed "light-loving">
  But lately it has become very scared of my halides, hiding and when they come on.  
<... trouble>
Well just the other day it went to the top back of my tank above my live rock shelf after the halides turned off and stayed there until they turned on yesterday.  Now it has forced itself between the back of the tank wall and my live rock shelf.  It is completely deflated (trying to pry itself down to the bottom of the tank) and doesn't look good at all.  As a remedy I have moved the live rock away from him so that he can move as needed,
<No need... can/will move if/when wants>
but that doesn't solve my ultimate problem.  I believe that he has an issue with my lighting, maybe to strong for him, I don't know?
<Not likely the light/ing...>
I have had many anemones in my time (Ritteri, LTA, BTA, Sebae, Carpets), all under the same set up, they never tried to run from the lighting, so what gives with him?  My actinics come on for 1 hour before the halides and stay on for 1 hour after the halides turn off, and my halides are on for 8 hours a day ( I also have a moon light which stays on 24 hours a day).  He is on the right hand side of the tank, so I turned off the right side halide light in an attempt to get him to come out from behind my live rock shelf, but I think he doesn't know what to make of it all now.  What should I do about getting him to come out, and what should I do about the lighting issue?
<Much more likely something (damage) to do with the actual specimen... I would move it to other circumstances given this information... Some place with no other Cnidarians. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Michael

Re: Bubble Tip went into hiding   11/5/06
Thanks for your quick reply Bob I do appreciate it.  But you were right (as ya'll always are)
<I wouldn't go this far>
he came out of hiding and is running the tank like crazy.  I need a game plan can you help me please?  Just to clarify something, I used to have A LOT of anemones ( I am in the military and move quite often), so every time I moved I'd have to start over, but at the moment he is the only anemone in the tank (tank mates are True percula, cardinal, 6-line wrasse, mandarin goby) so it is a light bio load.  But should I turn the other halide on after a couple of days (first let him get used to the single light which is doing quite well by itself)?  Or should I go ahead and turn it on now and let him try to settle down with the original set up?
<I would do this latter>
I can run it either way.  Do you think that the BTA is damaged?  
<Does read as such, yes>
He attaches his foot to everything and even hangs upside down
<Not good>
on occasion when both halides would turn on.  He eats pretty good, not like a carpet anemone would, but alright., his mouth isn't sagging/or gapping open, and his disc is all intact.  
<No obvious tears?>
Normally when both lights came on he would run to the deepest part of the tank and flatten out and deflate somewhat, but today with just one halide he swelled up and extended a little towards the light fully inflated.  My tank is actually 40" long by 36" wide by 22" deep, almost a perfect square so I am wondering if 2 lights are too much for him (again most tanks of this size are usually about 6' long or so)?
<I would start with the one, but likely run the two>
What do you think about this new info, and should I turn on the other halide and if so what acclimation procedures do you recommend?
<Posted on WWM...>
Also I know from experience that anemones will roam the tank until they find that perfect spot (especially BTA's), but this guy runs my tank like it is NASCAR race non-stop, I have never had an anemone do this before and I do have gentle alternating wave making currents on 24/7, so I know it isn't my water flow?  I am puzzled about this whole idea, please help again.
Thanks,
Michael
<There may be other (mostly chemical) factors at play here... No data presented re. I would re-read over the articles and FAQs files on Actinarian use in aquariums... Bob Fenner>

Re: Bubble Tip went into hiding   11/6/06
Thanks Again Bob, but no there is no visual signs of tears or damage to my BTA, and lately I have been reluctant to turn on the other halide, he seems to be doing well.  But you believe that there are pest anemones in my tank.
<Mmmm... the other Cnidarian classes...>
  If so I cant see any, I am very picky about that kind of thing, also I have a peppermint shrimp to take care of any that I cant take care of myself (Joe's juice, although I haven't used it since I have introduced my BTA), but I don't see any other anemones pest or otherwise.  He has kind of slowed down his movement some limiting himself to one rock, but runs up the rock when the lights are off (only the moonlights are on), and back down to the bottom once the actinics come on.  But here is my next question which puzzles me to no end.  Once he runs down to the bottom right after the actinics come on in the morning, he deflates and then the halides come on and reinflates and the cycle runs on.  Where he is positioned (right where I feed the tank), I know he is getting his fair share of formula 1 and prime reef.  Is this normal?
<Not atypical... especially for a newly-introduced specimen. I take it this is not a captive-propagated clone>
Or is he just digesting yesterdays food and is expelling waste getting ready for the next day, or there something more to it that I should be concerned about?
<Doubtful>
Thanks Again Bob for your quick replies and your help.
Michael
<Wish I could state, or speculate more specifically. Bob Fenner>

Re: Bubble Tip went into hiding   11/6/06
Oh also Bob, he won't come to the side where the halide is, he more less sits in the middle of the tank off to the side of the halide,
<Interesting. May well be photo-adapting>
he still gets a lot of light, but not like when both halides were on.  If you want to call me about this dilemma my # is XXXX
<Mmm, don't "do" calls... and am out again on the morrow>
, and sorry for the second reply.
Thanks Again,
Michael
<No worries. BobF>

Anemone Splittings BTA beh., tank "size"    10/6/06
Hi Mr. Fenner & Crew,
<Marilyn>
14 months ago, my RBTA did a split, yielding 1 Clone which is doing  super.  
Well, 12 days ago, the original RBTA did another split and 2 l/2  days later, it split again, yielding twin clones : ) so now I have a beautiful  tank with
the original RBTA and 3 clones!  Problem: the original RBTA is  discharging quite a bit of it's mesenterial filaments.  Is this a bad sign  or is this normal?
<Mmm... can/does happen... but these should be "brought back in" within a short while (a few days)>
I don't recall it doing this on the first split 14 mos.  ago.  My water parameters are as follows:  pH 8.0, dKH 10.75, Alk  3.86, CA 395 - 400, & sg 1.025. Temp. 76.5 - 78.5F
<These all look fine>
Another question - I've been able to find a formula on how to figure the actual gallons of water a tank can hold but have not been able to find information as to how to figure out how many gallons of water is actually in a  tank with 100 lbs. of LR and 30 - 40 lbs of live sand ( 2 inch. sand  bed)
<Mmm, could be calculated given the known density of both of these... they are variable...>
displacement so if I do a 15 gallon water change, what would the  percentage of change be?  Do hope you can help me with a formula of  some sort.
<Well... do you want to weigh a given bit of rock and sand and measure their displacement volume to determine densities? Density equals mass over volume, D= m/V... from here you can/could calculate the volume taken up by both (on the basis of their known mass... weight on this planet... as in V= m/D... and "take out" the volume (at about 231 cubic inches per gallon) of the rock and sand... leaving you with water volume...>
Thank you for your help to my two problems/questions.
Marilyn  
<Welcome. BobF>

BTA sys., beh.   9/1/06
Hello there!
<Hey, Mike G with you tonight.>
I have cruised your site for quite sometime and while I've found tons of useful information, I haven't really been able to find the exact answer to my question.  
<I'll try my best to help.>
Yesterday I got a bubble tip anemone and placed him in my 25 gal tank (I have about 20 lbs of live rock, two green Chromis and a percula clown, which I also purchased yesterday in hope of it bonding with the BTA
<Perculas and Bubble Tip Anemones are really a hit or miss match. True and False Percs tend to radiate toward the carpet anemones in nature.>
system consists of an Eclipse filtration system with original fluorescent lighting
<The system you speak of is an unsuitable one for the maintenance of most marine invertebrate life. Protein skimming is generally preferred to conventional filtration methods when dealing with these creatures, and anemones are especially demanding with regard to water cleanliness. Additionally, the light that you are providing this animal with is less then ideal. Anemones require very high amounts of lighting, and your chances of success increase with the amount of light you provide. In most cases, heavy power compact lighting is considered the minimum for a Bubble Tip, though I personally prefer not to keep them in anything less then metal halides. I strongly suggest that you upgrade your lighting, as it would be in the best interest of your anemone. An inexpensive skimmer might also make a wonderful purchase.>
and he seemed to do fine.  I originally put him in the center of my tank on the live rock, and later in the evening he had moved up on the glass towards the top of the tank, near the current from the pump.  He looked fine, bubble tips and all. This morning I woke up to find him in the same condition.  I went out for the afternoon and when I returned, I found him in the same place, still adhering to the glass, but completely closed up (his tentacles were not even visible) and was excreting a brown slimy substance (which I have read is relatively normal).  I realized that I might need better water flow since they tend to like a little current, so I went out and purchased a powerhead and got that running.  
<Good choice/research.>
After a couple of hours, he began to open back up, but his tentacles were completely deflated and dull in color.  His mouth was also open fairly wide which I know is a bad sign.  
<Indeed it is.>
Now, his mouth has closed a bit (it is still open about ½ inch (or a little less) in diameter) and some of his tentacles are plumping back up, but his color is still bad and I can see some slimy whitish/clearish stuff coming off of him.  I have tried searching the site and haven't seen exactly this scenario. I think it might be dying because of the open mouth�.is there anything I can do to save it
<I don't think that the anemone is currently in a critical condition. If you provide it with proper current, lighting, and filtration by way of powerheads (be sure to cover the intakes with a sponge to prevent waking up to anemone puree), a new lighting system (I'd invest in a 100 watt metal halide fixture in your situation, they are not all that expensive these days and would do wonders for the creature. If not, look for a decent power compact setup (I'd consider 200 watts of power compact to be your minimum, though more is always a good thing). Also, look into getting yourself a skimmer.>
and why would this happen so quickly \when all of my water parameters seem to be perfectly fine (pH ~8.2; nitrates ~20mg/L; nitrites 0; ammonia 0; SG
~1.023) and all other livestock is doing well?  
<Your nitrates could be lower, and your salinity could be higher (anemones tend to do better at salinities of 1.024 to 1.025, and the less nitrates that are present, the better.>
Thanks so much for your help!!  
<You're very welcome. Good luck! Mike G>
Ali Myers

Bubble Tip Bleaching...Not Enough Info...Not Enough Light   8/24/06
Hi,
<Hello>
I have had a BTA for 1 year now. When I purchased it it was a maroon color, I was told it was from the Red Sea region, and that the color would not change. After about 5 months it had significantly changed in color. It was a cream color, now it is completely white. I went back to my LFS and explained the problem. He promptly told me that that was no problem and all I had to do was add phytoplankton every other day. So I purchased some and have administered it properly and kept it refrigerated. The outer portion has regained some of its color but the part that fans out and has the bubbles is still white. The bubbles are so small they are almost non-existent. The BTA is housed in a 29 gal. with a PowerGlo light approximately 7 inches from the BTA.
<You are very lucky to have kept the BTA that long under those conditions.  Your tank is too small to house anemones and the lighting you are using is
no where near enough.  Water parameters can change too fast in a small tank, something anemones do not take well.  Lighting on your tank should
have been somewhere near 4 to 5 watts per gallon.>
I put an Iodine supplement in the water once per week. This has not seemed to help at all. I feed the BTA weekly with fresh shrimp.  Should I purchase a different light, different plankton supplement, different food or anything else?
<Yes, larger tank (minimum of 55 gallon), better lighting, but unlikely your present anemone is going to reverse it's condition.  Read here.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm>
Thank you so much for your help.
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>

Bubble Tip Anemone/Systems   7/10/06
Love your Site, Very helpful,
<Thank you.>   
Couldn't seem to find an answer to this question. Is there an optimal placement for a bubble tip anemone?
<Will choose a site that favor their requirements.>
When I first introduced him to my world, I had him placed mid level (vertically) in the tank. Its a 2ft tall 6 sided 25 gallon tank.
<Not a good tank for anemones, very little surface area per gallon.>
I know now from research that I should have at least 50 gallons for anemone.
<At least.>
Anywho....He moved around a bit, I moved the liverock he was on to the top of the tank, about 6 inches from the surface, and he seems to be doing better, stays in one spot, although my little clown wants nothing to do with it. Is one location better than another, or should the anemone choose his own real estate?
<The anemone will choose his own location.  Hopefully you have enough lighting to satisfy it's needs.  Do read here and related articles and FAQ's above title bar.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm>
Much Thanks, Dave
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>

Re: Anemone... health  06/14/2006
Roy,
It is a rose tip bulb anemone. He has been kept for about 6 months in a 40 gallon tank. He has been in the new tank for a total of 5 days. The first
two he was out fully. I think that maybe he is getting used to the new light cycle. I forgot to mention that in the last tank the lights were on between
2pm and 10pm and in the new tank they are on at 8am to 5pm. Do you think that is the issue?
Thanks so much,
Matthew McGhee
<<Matthew:  RBTA anemones are pretty hardy and can go through some dramatic looking changes from time to time.  Since you have been successful at keeping it for awhile, I think it is just getting used to the new tank and you don't have anything to worry about.  As far as the lighting change, it will adapt.  Best of luck, Roy>>

Another Anemone Purchase
Hi, <Hi> I recently purchased a green bubble tip anemone.  I don't really feed it too often because the maroon clown that i have usually does. <Make sure its getting enough> I was just wondering if you could tell me why it shrivels up sometimes. <Normal behavior for excretion or a number other reasons.> It will just do it randomly.  Is this bad? <Depends.> Is this a sign that i should be doing something different.  My water quality is good enough for the other corals in the tank. <What is good enough?  Things in this hobby aren't really every good enough.  Your corals may look fine, but if your water parameters aren't right on target they could just be slowly declining.  Test your water, do frequent water changes and make sure everything is optimal.  I also have to say that these anemones don't really do well in a tank unless you are an expert at keeping them.  Do research on the website - correct lighting, feed schedule, so on... more than likely you will see its eventual decline in your tank.  Good luck, Jen S.> Your reply would be appreciated.

Bubble tip beh.   3/15/06
I have a bubble tip and it keeps hiding under the rocks.
<I wonder what this behavior portends? That is, of what survival value might this be?>
I was told to just leave it alone and it would find its best spot.
<Generally good approach>
I have left it alone and it has stayed in place for 10 days. It seems to get smaller each day and will show some tips in the morning but when the lights come on within 2 hours it pulled all of its tentacles in and looks like it just a blob. The clown was very happy with it when I first got it but it wants to be able to love on it not have a blob.. any suggestions.. Thanks Dale
<... Please read re BTAs on WWM... There is insufficient information offered here, but a good deal posted there re this species aquarium husbandry. Bob Fenner>

Anemones/Behavior  2/18/06
Hi, <Hello Dori>
I have been reading non stop about anemones and have been unable to locate the information I need.  Could be panic is setting in?  <Maybe.> Anyway, I hope you can help.
I have had this bubble tip anemone for a few months and after the first week of adjustment he settled in quite nicely and the clowns took up residence.  About two weeks ago he began to behave differently.  His tips shriveled and his mouth extended. He would close up and later emerge, mouth ok, but his tips never achieved their original form.  A few days ago he decided to relocate, and has not stopped since.  He has made his way all around the tank and up the glass to the top. He is currently hanging upside down on the front glass part of the tank.  ok - I stand corrected - he just launched himself. He is not torn, nor is he oozing anything. his mouth is relatively tight and his tips are very tiny now.  
Is he dying?  should I remove him to prevent the rest of the tank from issues?  the clowns still follow him most of the time, but on occasion they hang out in the torch.  (so much for loyalty). <Dori, when anemones are on the move it generally indicates they are not happy with the conditions present.  It may be lighting, water quality, too small of a tank creating constant parameter shifts, etc.  Provide a little more info please.  A good article for you to read on BTAs.  Gives some insight as to keeping BTAs.>
Any advice?
Thanks in advance <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Dori

Bubble Tipped Anemone Mobility   2/8/06
Hi Crew,
<Hey, Mike G with you this afternoon.>
I have a current issue at hand I would like your input on.
<That's what we're here for.>
I purchased a while back a Rose bubble tip anemone from a reputable online company specializing in rare corals, colorations, etc., with a good history
of shipping great specimens.  This purchase was no different in that the BTA was very vibrant and acclimated quite well.  
<Always good news.>
I placed the anemone in a spot of the rockwork that is a little closer than ½ of the way up in my 250 gallon tank.  He promptly inserted his foot in a crevice and seemed happy. This location provided moderate flow (tentacles swaying back and forth), and good light from one of several 150 watt HQI Metal halides directly overhead. Since then, the crevice his foot has been attached to has allowed him to alternate facing either the front or the back of the tank (depending on his mood I guess).  This remained the case for about the first month.
<Sounds ideal for your anemone.>
Recently, we woke up to find that the anemone had walked upward to the next rock higher (very top of the rockwork maybe 12” from the top) and very
strong flow rate blasting from a near by power head (power head rated at 900 gph).  His tentacles are flailing around in the current produced from the
power head and now closer to the same 150 watt MH light as it basically moved mainly vertically and slightly over horizontally.  My main concern is
that this 1 ft. move has now placed the anemone dangerously close (about 2”) from my Spaghetti finger leather (Sinularia flexilis).  My leather was
shipped attached to a very small round rock and I had to utilize underwater epoxy glue to attach him otherwise I would have already moved him.  I am not sure how easy it will be to break the rock from the epoxy and what kind of stress that would be for the leather…although the alternative may be worse.
<In my experience, underwater epoxy doesn't hold very well at all, though I suppose I may only have access to bum epoxy. If you can't remove the leather, you can use powerheads aimed at the anemone's foot to force it to move to where you want it to. That, or you could merely wait for it to get to where it's headed and move all corals out of the way as it goes.>
I am afraid that the anemone may be intentionally encroaching on the leather and either one or both will be damaged/killed.
<I doubt the anemone's movement into the leather is in any way intentional - their movement seems to be, for the most part, entirely blind.>
In case water parameters are of issue here, ammonia/nitrite 0
<Perfect.>
nitrate 2.5
<Fine.>
pH 8.4
<Fine.>
SG 1.025
<Fine.>
temp 76.5 – 78
<A touch low for an anemone, though not at all serious in the least. ~80 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.>
PO4 0
<Perfect.>
dKH 12
<Fine.>
calcium 380  
<Low - should be ~400-450. I seriously doubt this has anything to do with the anemone's flight, however.>
I do 10% weekly water changes with Tropic Marin Pro Reef mixed/aerated with RO water and aged for one week.  
<You have good taste in salt and a wonderful water change schedule.>
Daily top offs with buffered RO water, skimmer pulling about 1 cup of great skimmate daily.
<Sounds like an incredible system! Good luck with it!>
Best regards,
Steven
<Same to you. Mike G>

Rose Bubble Tip Anemone   2/7/06
I just recently bought a Rose Bubble Tip from a fellow reefer and it is gorgeous.  It is doing very well in my tank.  My question is, when I
purchased it and brought it home I notice some slight discoloration on him.   Now I know he came out of a very well taken care of tank with metal halide
lighting, but he seems to have white around the base of his tentacles and some spots of white on his tentacles.  Could this be some kind of nutrient
deficiency or hopefully not some kind of infection.  Thanks for your help.
<I wouldn't worry about this.  May be from a change in water parameters, lighting, etc.  Did you drip acclimate the anemone?  Is sensitive to sudden changes in ph, SG.  James (Salty Dog)>

BTA beh. health  2/3/06
Hi <Hello Danny.> I've just got a green BTA & it has shriveled up a bit & has something by its mouth that resembles mucus. I would appreciate it if you could advise me if this is normal or is it going to die. My tank holds 200 litres & has sand bed & about 40 kilos of living rock with efficient skimming. All the levels seem fine but the BTA has only been in the tank for about 4 hours, am I jumping the gun? Thanks Danny <Don't pull the trigger, your BTA is just ridding itself of waste.  Give it a chance to adjust.  James (Salty Dog)>

BTA behavior  12/29/05
HI guys, <Hello>
I have a question about my anemone.  I have two bubble tip anemones in my 29 gallon tank that are awaiting the cycling of my 55 gallon.  The tank has 130 watts of power compact lighting over it and both anemone are approx. 6 inches from the surface of the water and about 10 inches form the light.  My
rose BTA is doing exceptionally well and is almost always open and accepting of food.  Recently my green BTA stays closed up more and his tentacles never puff up as much as they did about a month ago.  He still accepts food, but instead of him immediately stinging the food and closing up around it, like he used to, I have to place it near him while he slowly closes around it.   Nitrate, Nitrite are 0.  ammonia is about .25 ppm.  I'm thinking ammonia my
be the problem, but I wonder why it isn't affecting the other anemone?  Any light you could shine on my problem would be great. <If it were the ammonia level it would affect the other anemone also. You may be reading the lowest level your test kit will read. Are you dosing iodine/iodide?  This does help along with adding a trace element supplement.  Your lighting is borderline at best for a 55 gallon tank. I'm thinking you may be feeding too often, no more than once a week.  Also try soaking the food in Selcon or another vitamin product.  Anemones do produce most of their own food by photosynthesis. This is why proper lighting is so important. Keep in mind that anemones are not the easiest creatures to keep for extended periods of time.  Read here also.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm>    Thanks a lot. <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>

BTA color 12-14-05
Your guys' website has been a huge part in how well my aquarium has done over the past year.  Thank you guys so much.  
<Always glad to help.>
I recently purchased a green BTA which is doing great under 130 watts of light.  I have been trying to
find out if there is anything I can do to brighten up his color a little more than it is.  He is mostly a dull green/brown with very green tips.  He
looks spectacular under actinic and moonlights, but looks a little on the bland side under daylight.  
<You will often see a washing out of color with full spectrum lighting.>
If there are any suggestions they would greatly appreciated.  I'm considering upgrading to the Coralife 280 watt halide
AquaLight, if you think more light would help his color.  
<It is not the quantity of light that produces color, but the quality. You will want to look into changing your lighting spectrum to more of a 20K or actinic style.>
Have seen this stuff called Black Powder by Marc Weiss' supplements.  I don't know if you've heard anything or seen results from it.  It says it can greatly
increase color and growth, but many forums I've seen say his supplements are mostly sugar and don't do much over a longer period of time.
<From my experience with that product I would have to agree that it is not worth the time or money.  You would be better served to use that money toward more water changes, frequent carbon changes, and switching your light spectrum to the more blue that you are wanting. Travis>
Thanks again
for all of your help.

Inflated Bubble Anemone Tips 12-05-05
I started with one BTA, and over the course of a year I have ended up with four in my aquarium.
<Gotta love that.>
The original split the first time, and one kept the nice inflated tips. The other ones just have long skinny tentacles.
<I would be willing to guess they are in a different area of the tank.>
My clownfish live in two anemones, that always stay entwined, as if they were one. My question is why did only one anemone keep the nice bubble tips, and is there anything I can do to encourage the other anemones to inflate their tips?
<It is not known why BTA's lose their tips. Some say it is due to water conditions or placement in the tank. Not much you can do to change them, but keep your water as clean as possible and let them find their own happy spot in the tank. Travis>
Thank you very much. 

Bubble tip anemone - splitting? 11-28-05
I have searched a number of items regarding anemone splitting and unable to fine anything directly related to my situation. Just purchased a bubble tip anemone about a week ago.
<Bubble tips are prone to split after being moved.>
There is a hole where I believe the mouth should be. In other words the anemone is now the shape of a donut. Is this the early stages of splitting or is this the beginning of the end?
<Could be either one. If it begins to deteriorate, remove it.>
The anemone remains attached to the rock and the tentacles continue to inflate and deflate.
<That is a good sign.>
If it if splitting, how long does this process usually take?
<A healthy bubble tip can split over-night.>
Thank you in advance for your reply. I have found your site very useful.
Regards,
Rick
<Travis> 

Wandering Bubble tip Anemone 11/16/05
I have a bubble anemone in my 55 gallon tank. They are settled on a 10 pound piece of live rock at the top (should they be in sand?) 
<No. BTA's are reef dwelling. They should be in/on rock.>
Days after I got it, it split in 2 and both were hosted by my 2 perculas I have 1 18000k light and 2 blue actinic lights in the tank. 
<Splitting is often stress induced, so it is no surprise that it occurred when the anemone was moved.>
One anemone became twice as large as it was originally but the other is constantly moving, has only a few tentacles sometimes, and is usually closed. The anemone is always in weird shapes and doesn't look that good. What's happening to it? 
<It is common for the "daughter" anemone to move about after a split. It also sounds like yours may have split very unevenly, possibly due to injury. As long as the anemone is safe from pump/powerhead inlets, I would let it wander (not much you can do anyway). If it settles soon, it will probably be OK, if it doesn't it may not make it, but it sounds like you parent will be OK. Best Regards. AdamC.> 
In most of the FAQ pages I read on Caulerpa, the problem seemed to be on how to get rid of this stuff rather than my problem. I know some of you (Anthony) prefer Chaetomorpha rather than Caulerpa, so I thought maybe I should try that instead. Does the Chaetomorpha have the same nutrient utilization capabilities as the Caulerpa? 
<Chaetomorpha does not grow quite as fast as some Caulerpa, so it does not take up nutrients quite as fast, however it does seem less sensitive and far less prone to "crash" and re-release nutrients into the tank. Also, for reef keepers, it is far less noxious to corals than Caulerpa.>
Second question, which is unrelated: I have an approximately 30" Zebra moray that is very healthy and active, coming out of the rocks on occasion to take a look around. What I have noticed though, is that my 4" Bicolor dwarf angel will take bites or nip at the body of the eel any time he comes near him. The eel will jerk anytime this happens and it doesn't appear to be doing any damage to the skin, but I am afraid that it will discourage the eel from coming out and/or stress him. At this point it is only occasional but thought I would check with you guys to see if this is anything I should be worried about. Again thanks for your dedication and help. Steven R. Vejil 
<This interaction could go on forever without any serious problem, but there is a fair risk that the eel will either eat the angel or the angel will begin to cause injury or intimidate the eel from coming out to eat. I would suggest separating them, especially if the interaction gets any worse. Best Regards, AdamC.>

Entacmaea quadricolor and Clown Behavior 10/9/05
If you cant have two anemones in a tank without poisoning each other is it okay to keep them if they split into 2 or more?
<Yes keeping a clone of an original anemone would be one instance where keeping more than 1 in the same tank would be acceptable.>
Also I just got a bubble anemone and my small clown fish just started swimming in it but the other won't (percula) and they used to swim side by side all day, is there any way to get the other clown (this one is larger) into it?
<There is no way to force him into it, he will go into when he wants or he won’t. It’s quite common to see a tank with clowns and anemones, and no hosting “action” occurring. The other possibility is that the other clown will not allow his/her partner in the anemone. It’s also quite common to (when viewing a pair of clowns) see the female resting in the anemone with male just outside patrolling the territory. For more on clown behavior check out Joyce Wilkerson's book “Clownfish.”>
Also how big will this anemone get in a 55 gallon tank?
<Have seen Entacmaea quadricolor at 12” in diameter but in captivity they often split before reaching such a size. Make sure to read up in the WWM FAQ’s re: BTA. Adam J.> 

Entacmaea quadricolor behavior 10/9/05
I had my anemone for a week now and my small percula now started using it. The anemone looked healthy until night when its mouth (center) was open wide and its tentacles started to look thinner. Do you know what’s happening?
<Sounds like normal night time behavior for Entacmaea quadricolor. They will usually attach their “foot” within the rockwork and retreat or deflate during night. Also remember that anemones are mostly composed of the water that surrounds them, from time to time they will expel the water within them and take on new water. Read in the WWM Re: BTA Care, Adam J.>