Rainbow BTA color qnd bubble tips affected by tap water/ RODI?

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Ive had this anemone since early November and for the first month he was displaying bright, vibrant orange bulbs, green tentacle stems and bright pink tips. Since late december, he has noticeably shrunk in size and hes lost his bubble tips and his colors are the same but more dull. His foot sticks excellently though and still uses his tentacles to bring in food and eat like a pig. Im using NICREW 32W Saltwater Aquarium Light, Marine LED Reef Light for Corals, Programmable Timer Controller, 30 to 36-Inch https://a.co/d/7mRuZ3l lights that are more than enough for his lighting needs and actually moved down a bit because they were too bright at the top. Nitrates are at 10 ppm and ammonia is at 0. Nitrites are close to zero as well. I use a protein skimmer to manage the levels, and it does a good job, but i use it once a week because it has a tendency to run the tank too clean, especially with nitrates. Flow is moderate as well. The only thing i can see is if im using tap water. A lot of reefers use RODI for their tanks including the business where i bought the anemone from. Could this change in size/tentacle color be because im using tap water, even though my other parameters are in check? If anyone else uses tap water and their anemones are still big and bulbous, please speak out!

 

[TX_REEF]

Some people get away with it but I personally wouldn’t recommend using tap water because it includes unknown variables. Did you change the lighting or flow in the tank recently? How are your phosphates? Do you feed it and if so how frequently and with what?

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

Some people get away with it but I personally wouldn’t recommend using tap water because it includes unknown variables. Did you change the lighting or flow in the tank recently? How are your phosphates? Do you feed it and if so how frequently and with what?

I feed it every other day and doesnt hesitate to swallow the raw shrimp. I did not make any changes to lighting or flow because hes been in the same spot for over a month. phosphates i dont test for but can only assume they are low like the other parameters because of the combination of the protein skimmer and cheato. I also will say he has grown noticeably more tentacles for some reason but the tentacles are all small like the others

 

[TX_REEF]

I’d honestly feed less, every other day is a lot and causes the nem to spend a lot of energy digesting. I asked about phosphate because too low (or zero) on that or nitrate can also be problematic. Reduce the feeding and see if that makes a difference at all. Try to only change one thing at a time so you’re able to pinpoint what the issue is, rather than trying to change multiple things at once, because then you’ll never know what works or doesn’t.

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

I’d honestly feed less, every other day is a lot and causes the nem to spend a lot of energy digesting. I asked about phosphate because too low (or zero) on that or nitrate can also be problematic. Reduce the feeding and see if that makes a difference at all. Try to only change one thing at a time so you’re able to pinpoint what the issue is, rather than trying to change multiple things at once, because then you’ll never know what works or doesn’t.

I Increased feedings because his tentacles were like spaghetti noodles and shrunk significantly. Ever since these feedings hes been doing so much better with improved quality of life.

 

[XxAlex_OhxX]

I feed it every other day and doesnt hesitate to swallow the raw shrimp. I did not make any changes to lighting or flow because hes been in the same spot for over a month. phosphates i dont test for but can only assume they are low like the other parameters because of the combination of the protein skimmer and cheato. I also will say he has grown noticeably more tentacles for some reason but the tentacles are all small like the others

Like look he looks excellent right now what do you think?