White / Translucent Anemone. What to do

[Hjnlssmith]

Hello everyone,

My daughter and I are new to saltwater fish tanks. We have had our 75gal tank now for just over a year and have had some white clowns, a cardinal and a goby for quite some time. This weekend we purchased 2 additional clowns and a couple or wrasse.

We also saw what we considered a white anemone (mini maxi?) and liked it so much we bought it too. After looking on line, it appears that there really are no white anemone and what we have may be a bleached anemone that is actually poorly and needing rehab time. Is that correct? We fed it a couple of pieces of krill and it seemed to eat them no problem.

The other concern we have is trying to provide a safe environment for it. It seems that the power head we have was too much for it and it went tumbling along the bottom of the tank at one point. We ended up turning off the head for now to allow the anemone to get a foot hold somewhere. Not sure if this one prefers sand or rock. What is the best way to set up the power head(s) to allow flow but not disturb the anemone to where it tumbles away? The head is about mid depth pointing up a bit and toward the center of one of the long sides.

Any ideas on what type of anemone this is?

Thank you for any help or suggestions.

Henry

 

[Timfish]

My guess is either a small carpet or a Rhodactis mushroom. Hopefully it's tha latter as there'e a better chance of recovery. Patience is definitely needed. Let it decide where it want's to go and be careful over feeding it (persoanlly I wouldn't feed it and just let it pull the nitrogen and phosphorus it needs from the water).

 

[Hjnlssmith]

Thanks for your response. After looking up mushroom anemone / coral, it appears indeed to be that.

We were able to turn the power heads on again after getting some covers for the intakes and have positioned the heads such that the anemone is able to not be blown all around the place. It definitely does not like being on the rocks. It seems to alway disconnect during the night and in the morning we find it in the sand next to one of the rocks. So we are now leaving it alone to choose its own destiny. We will try and minimize the feedings for it. Just not sure how to know when it needs to be fed. Are there obvious indications?

Updated photo of where it is now hanging out.

 

[Hjnlssmith]

By the way, the wrasse in the last photo I posted; can someone tell me what kind of wrasse it is? Haven't found any photos on line that match its colors.

Thanks,
Henry

 

[dedragon]

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Chiseltooth Wrasse

www.liveaquaria.com

This might be the wrasse, but not reef safe if it is

 

[dedragon]

I would recommend giving the anemone to someone with more experience for recovery as that one is super bleached and it might be a carpet anemone (possibly haddoni carpet). The anemone could need treatment (cipro or other) plus a super stable tank as well as weekly feedings (side note- Make sure not to feed anemone for at least 2 weeks when it is settled)

 

[Hjnlssmith]

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Chiseltooth Wrasse

www.liveaquaria.com

This might be the wrasse, but not reef safe if it is

Thank you for the quick response. I have read several different sites that claim that this fish grows to 3.5" others say 10". Some say reef safe, others say not reef safe. Also, one said it was a fish for advanced hobbiests while another said it is good for beginners. Confused. It seems to be very comfortable in our tank (75 gal) so far.

You mention reef safe. We are not intending to have a reef tank and got the mushroom because we were told it was a white anemone. I have seen mushrooms referred to as corals and as anemones and therefore not sure what it is. Will consider possibly having someone more experienced look after it to revive it.

Thanks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone,

My daughter and I are new to saltwater fish tanks. We have had our 75gal tank now for just over a year and have had some white clowns, a cardinal and a goby for quite some time. This weekend we purchased 2 additional clowns and a couple or wrasse.

We also saw what we considered a white anemone (mini maxi?) and liked it so much we bought it too. After looking on line, it appears that there really are no white anemone and what we have may be a bleached anemone that is actually poorly and needing rehab time. Is that correct? We fed it a couple of pieces of krill and it seemed to eat them no problem.

The other concern we have is trying to provide a safe environment for it. It seems that the power head we have was too much for it and it went tumbling along the bottom of the tank at one point. We ended up turning off the head for now to allow the anemone to get a foot hold somewhere. Not sure if this one prefers sand or rock. What is the best way to set up the power head(s) to allow flow but not disturb the anemone to where it tumbles away? The head is about mid depth pointing up a bit and toward the center of one of the long sides.

Any ideas on what type of anemone this is?

Thank you for any help or suggestions.

Henry

This is a mushroom and likely bleached due to exposure of too much white light intensity and lack of sugars in form of foods.

 

[Hjnlssmith]

This is a mushroom and likely bleached due to exposure of too much white light intensity and lack of sugars in form of foods.

We have a Fluval light and use a programmed setting for light intensity through the day. 1 hour of ramp up, 8 hours of daylight and 1 hour of ramp down. Does that sound adequate or too much?

 

[dedragon]

anemones are considered a part of a reef tank as most corals are. Reef safe is a bit of a confusing term in general as some fish go after different invertebrates. Stuff like butterflyfish can go after clams and anemones, some dwarf angelfish I see going for more fleshy lps, etc. It is about finding what sort of invertebrates you want/can keep and what fish you might want. 75 gallon is a bit small for fowlr so you are going to be limited there. I only keep reef tanks so not really sure what that specific wrasse might go after, others can help with that

 

[vetteguy53081]

We have a Fluval light and use a programmed setting for light intensity through the day. 1 hour of ramp up, 8 hours of daylight and 1 hour of ramp down. Does that sound adequate or too much?

Moderate light and water flow. Too bright and they loose the zooanthellae which turns into energy source and provides color and growth.

 

[dedragon]

We have a Fluval light and use a programmed setting for light intensity through the day. 1 hour of ramp up, 8 hours of daylight and 1 hour of ramp down. Does that sound adequate or too much?

most lights can be used for mushrooms as they are low light but which lights are you using specifically? 1x fluval 3.0 wont be good for any anemone as they are low powered lights with not great optics

 

[ScubaFish802]

We have a Fluval light and use a programmed setting for light intensity through the day. 1 hour of ramp up, 8 hours of daylight and 1 hour of ramp down. Does that sound adequate or too much?

if you have a fluval flex these light setting are pretty high for that tank, you might try searching 'fluval flex light settings' or something similar on here. Back when I had one of those tanks there were a few threads where people posted some good light settings

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have seen mushrooms referred to as corals and as anemones and therefore not sure what it is.

To hopefully provide some clarification to this for you: stony Mushroom Corals are from the taxonomic family Fungiidae in the order Scleractinia, and soft Mushroom Corals (and ball anemones) are from the order Corallimorpharia; both are in the taxonomic class Hexacorallia (which includes all stony corals, black corals, mushroom corals, zoanthids, and sea anemones).

So, stony mushroom corals are legitimately corals, and soft mushroom corals are their own thing (Wikipedia lists Corallimorpharians as "false corals") - neither are anemones.

 

[Hjnlssmith]

most lights can be used for mushrooms as they are low light but which lights are you using specifically? 1x fluval 3.0 wont be good for any anemone as they are low powered lights with not great optics

I have the Aquasky Bluetooth 27W 36-48" LED light. I have attached the specs for it in a photo.

 

[dedragon]

that light is not very strong so you are going to want to upgrade if you want to keep most anemones. Mushrooms can usually do fine, but even minimaxi or rock flower anemones want more light than these can put out by themselves. Host anemones (carpets, long tentacle, bubble tip, etc.) like even more light than mushrooms and rock flower nems.

Best to try and find some par charts for this light, but it is low powered and using rgb leds which arent great for light output. Optics on these fixtures are usually subpar as well

 

[Hjnlssmith]

that light is not very strong so you are going to want to upgrade if you want to keep most anemones. Mushrooms can usually do fine, but even minimaxi or rock flower anemones want more light than these can put out by themselves. Host anemones (carpets, long tentacle, bubble tip, etc.) like even more light than mushrooms and rock flower nems.

Best to try and find some par charts for this light, but it is low powered and using rgb leds which arent great for light output. Optics on these fixtures are usually subpar as well

Thanks for all of your comments. Motivated to make a better place for my swimmers and non-swimmers.

 

[OrionN]

Hello everyone,

My daughter and I are new to saltwater fish tanks. We have had our 75gal tank now for just over a year and have had some white clowns, a cardinal and a goby for quite some time. This weekend we purchased 2 additional clowns and a couple or wrasse.

We also saw what we considered a white anemone (mini maxi?) and liked it so much we bought it too. After looking on line, it appears that there really are no white anemone and what we have may be a bleached anemone that is actually poorly and needing rehab time. Is that correct? We fed it a couple of pieces of krill and it seemed to eat them no problem.

The other concern we have is trying to provide a safe environment for it. It seems that the power head we have was too much for it and it went tumbling along the bottom of the tank at one point. We ended up turning off the head for now to allow the anemone to get a foot hold somewhere. Not sure if this one prefers sand or rock. What is the best way to set up the power head(s) to allow flow but not disturb the anemone to where it tumbles away? The head is about mid depth pointing up a bit and toward the center of one of the long sides.

Any ideas on what type of anemone this is?

Thank you for any help or suggestions.

Henry

That look like a small bleached small Haddoni, although I cannot ID with 100% certainly from the pictures posted. It should seek to bury it's foot in the sand so leave it be. It may not be 100% bleached so feed it sparingly will help it recover.
The tank is new, and anemones are finicky animals to keep. They are not beginner animals but if you keep your salinity, temperature stable and keep water condition good, it may do OK.
Keep in mind that anemones are mostly water, so the biomass of your anemone is small, maybe the size of a damsel. Don't over feed it because this is very detrimental to the anemone. and to the water condition of your tank. If the anemone can digest food, feed them every 3rd day or less. It takes them a while to digest food.
You can do zooxanthellae transplant, but being a new reefer with small tank, it is unlikely that you have a healthy doner anemone to harvest the zooxanthellae from. The process of transplant is as detailed by my article below.
Goodluck with your anemone. Along with clownfish, host anemones are lovely animals. They are what hooked me into marine aquarium many years ago.

Zooxanthellae Transplant for Bleached Anemones

 

[Hjnlssmith]

That look like a small bleached small Haddoni, although I cannot ID with 100% certainly from the pictures posted. It should seek to bury it's foot in the sand so leave it be. It may not be 100% bleached so feed it sparingly will help it recover.
The tank is new, and anemones are finicky animals to keep. They are not beginner animals but if you keep your salinity, temperature stable and keep water condition good, it may do OK.
Keep in mind that anemones are mostly water, so the biomass of your anemone is small, maybe the size of a damsel. Don't over feed it because this is very detrimental to the anemone. and to the water condition of your tank. If the anemone can digest food, feed them every 3rd day or less. It takes them a while to digest food.
You can do zooxanthellae transplant, but being a new reefer with small tank, it is unlikely that you have a healthy doner anemone to harvest the zooxanthellae from. The process of transplant is as detailed by my article below.
Goodluck with your anemone. Along with clownfish, host anemones are lovely animals. They are what hooked me into marine aquarium many years ago.

Zooxanthellae Transplant for Bleached Anemones

Thanks Orion for the comments. Our little anemone has settles in a corner of the tank now and has been there for about 3 days. We will follow your feeding suggestion. Temperature and salinity are good and we have a water change coming up in a week or so.

 

[BostonFishGuy]

They also have Dominican white anemones too .I had one for a cpl years then got eaten by my filter was half in the slots half out I took the cover off and just left it on the sand and he survived then 3 days later got eaten by my water jet with no cover on it.