Tropical Fish Forums

[allmost]

OK so I have a green bubble anemone, and when I got it, it was a very bright green, almost like it would glow at night (but didn't)
now after a month and a half, the glowing green is gone, and its kind of a bleached green

the anemone keeps hiding under rocks seeking shade (or maybe trying to get out of the water flow ? )

I have 2 T5 lights, each rated at 24Watts, one is white and other is Blue.

just last night I added a moonlight (6 blue LEDs resulting in 6 watts) as moon light, and I have left it on 24 hours a day.

any suggestion, even if not relevant to my question is appreciated.


the tank is 20 Gallons, my bubble tip anemone, and green carpet are doing fine
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65 Gallon tank FW
1 shovel-nose catfish
1 Motoro Stingray
20 Gallon SW
2 clown fish
1 blenny
3 anemones
3 coral

[FloridaBoy]

The names "Green Anemone," "Carpet Anemone" and "Bubble Anemone" are often thrown around and misused in the industry; several species are sold under this name and some of them can be very hard to keep alive for long in most setups. When they start to shrink and bleach out it makes identification even more difficult.

If it is a genuine Bulb Tip (Entacmaea quadricolor) then it is one of the few anemones that are maintainable by experienced aquarists and can even be propagated with correct lighting/water quality; but they can still be fussy sometimes about lighting, feeding and water flow, and it sometimes takes experimentation or even moving them to another tank to keep them from withering away. I have provided a link to Jim Black's excellent article which details the struggles he has had with this species below...

Generally speaking and in my experience; anemones that are moving around a lot and losing color are not happy. If it's not a real Entacmaea quadricolor, then you need to ask yourself some questions, like "can I save this animal?" Some specimens prefer to attach themselves under the substrate and they are happiest when their column is actually buried under 4 or 5 inches of substrate. Do I have this type of substrate? Do I have the correct lighting (tubes or metal halide) required for the internal zooxanthellae algae which allow anemones to survive? Even if you do, please be advised the vast majority of host anemones are very difficult animals to maintain for long in most aquariums.

Most are doomed to a slow death, so let's hope what you have is a captive-bred Bulb-tip (Entacmaea quadricolor)... if you do not have the correct environment, consider returning it to a more suitable environment quickly. Please see my notes on host anemones here:
http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=17688

Here's the link to the Jim Black article:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/btanemjimb.htm

And do visit Karen's great site on BTA's here, tons of information on feeding, lighting, and love for these critters:
http://www.karensroseanemones.com/
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years