Carpet anemone not doing well

[syncro]

Despite my best efforts, this green carpet anemone is not doing well. It is not fully expanding and patches of tentacles are not opening. Mouth is occasionally gaping but is not expelling its insides. It is occasionally spewing slimey balls like it has eaten though I have not fed it in a week. After purchase (from a fellow canreefer) it did great. It was eating, sticky and fully expanded a few days after introduction. Three weeks in, a failure kept the MH lights off for 2 days and the salinity dropped to 29ppt. I corrected the both but since it has been declining.

Three weeks ago:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8166/7137678053_101c50f78d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianlow/7137678053/)

Now:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7360382442_0908bd71fc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianlow/7360382442/)

Tank: 40G, 8 months old
Lighting: 250W MH on 8hrs/day, 4 x T5s on 10hrs/day
Temp: 24.3 - 24.6*C
Salinity: 32ppt w/ ATO
Ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: 0, pH: 8.4
Filtration: Skimmer, 3.5" DSB, live rock, carbon
Livestock: carpet, RBTA, GSP, occelaris clownfish (everything else moved to the sump)
Livestock in the sump: porcelain and hermit craps, sexy shrimp, cheato
Maintenance: Weekly 12% water changes with RO/DI water mixed for at least 24 hours
Feeding: mix of frozen shrimp, scallop, squid and krill chopped fine

I've ruled out (to the best of my knowledge)
- stability - controller keeps temp and salinity rock solid
- lighting - carpet closes up when light is reduced or partially shaded
- irritation - I've moved the crabs and shrimp to the sump, nothing is touching the carpet
- stray current - tested and found none

Possibilities
- chemical warefare with RBTA - I am running about twice the recommended dosage of carbon in high flow area. RBTA is showing signs of stress.
- disease - animal was sick and got infected in my tank and took several weeks to show it
- water quality - I experimented with heavier feedings (few grams every other day) so perhaps tank is having a hard time keeping up though the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate tests all show 0.

Any suggestions? I don't want to see this animal die. I am considering giving it up if it doesn't turn around very soon.

[LeanneP]

Not sure if you are aware that anemone can give off ammonia when it dies so keep a close eye on your tank if you are still leaving it in there. I had my tank crash on me and I lost all my corals when my anemone died. Hopefully someone else has some good advice to turn it around. Good luck.

Leanne P

[dc4]

I would see if one of your local lfs' will take the nem to see if it recovers in their tank. There are a few good stores in your area or find a fellow reefer that is willing to hold onto it for a while to see if they can bring it back to its former glory.

[subman]

Are you feeding it? Carpets need to be fed

[syncro]

Today:
- moved the RBTA to another tank (to eliminate chemical warfare).
- fed 2 grams diced shrimp (about a small red grape worth).
- 12% water change

I'll give it a couple days and if it doesn't turn around I'll look for a better tank.

Thanks!

[subman]

I would say feed even more like a silverside or two a day for a while anyway. They are big eaters. Some say don't feed silversides but I was just wanting to give you an idea of how much they can eat feed it what you want/have.

[reefwars]

Possibly flow

Sometimes there is no cause you do everything right but still fail.

Is it's foot always attached 100%?? Sticky tentacles???

Your carpet should have a viollent touch reaponse basically if you take your fingers and poke it fast it should close up fast like instantly.


If its foot Is in the sand check for bristle worms but from its colour I don't think its irratation .

[2bafish]

Mine sits right under a 250 watt MH. I feed it every other day squid+shrimp+krill etc. and i feed it pretty good. As mentioned before they need lots of food depending on their size. Mine is about 20 inches in size if not bigger. Ive got clarkii clowns hosting it. Mine moved around until he found the perfect spot. I adjusted my powerheads so it moves the edges of the anemone on both sides. And it seems to like it. Hasnt moved in months and grows well. But it took 3 weeks to look better and be happy.

[PFoster]

Is this carpet a haddoni or gigantea?
Gigantea are amazing in color but can be tricky to keep.

I have a crazy red haddoni that we are setting up a dedicated tank for in our showroom. Right now its in one of our coral beds and it needs CRAZY flow or its not a happy nem.

Here is a shot of one of the black clowns living in our carpet.

http://reefwholesale.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8643&g2_serialNumber=4

[syncro]

I have a crazy red haddoni

Gorgeous!

[syncro]

Thanks for all the replies.

Today it is expelling wisps of brown fluid the consistency of syrup - partially digested food? Equivalent of vomit/diarrhea? It was doing this when I was feeding more heavily. It is still eating and foot has remained buried in the sand. However, not very sticky anymore and slower to respond to poking. This is a haddoni (no spots/stripes on the underside).

Ideas:
More food: Already tried up to the equivalent of a silverside every other day. Did not slow decline. Intuitively, the current behavior doesn't seem like under-feeding but it isn't a human.
Flow: Ok, moved the MP10 closer and one notch faster.
Irritation: There were bristle worms and brittle stars, so irritation was possible. Removed these along with RBTA yesterday.
Water quality: Possibly still have chemicals from RBTA. Possibly sick carpet is contaminating the water. Any other tests I can/should run?
Lighting too high: 250w MH on for 9 hrs, T5s on for 11 hrs. Too much light? Acclimated to this level over 9 days. Too fast?

Today:
- changed out the carbon
- 12% water change

[PFoster]

I would up the flow to the point just below where the gravel will blow around.

[syncro]

The carpet anemone is doing better. Staying expanded during the day. Fast feeding response and is keeping the food down. I am feeding once per week about 2 grams. Still not very sticky and many of the tentacles are retracted. I think he is slowly recovering.

[syncro]

The carpet anemone is nearly fully recovered. Thanks for all the help.

I've just put the BTA back in the tank and the carpet is showing signs of stress. It appears they are not compatible. So either the carpet or the BTA has to go. Tough decision.