help!! anemone stressed?

[matty_g]

I have a green bubble tip that has been in my tank for 3 weeks now and seemed to be doing very well. I feed him once every 3 days or so with silversides. When i got him, i also added an ocellaris clown.

One day after feeding him a different type of food he looked like he was throwing up weird snot looking stuff. His mouth started to open very wide and tentacles started shriveling up. It looked like he was splitting at first... but im not sure. Eventually he curled up and stayed there all night, when I woke up he was back to normal and had starting hosting my clown. He usually does this after i feed him but always seems to bounce back. Im worried that he is stressed for some reason, and may die.

What is he leaking? why? and is this normal? What do I do if it is a bad thing? Why do they retract themselves? What does this mean for the clown?

Any help/links would be great!

Anyway here are a few pics, its hard to see, but if you look closely you can see the stuff he is expelling... looks kinda like underwater snot.

thanks!

[sjwitt]

A couple of things.

First, how large a piece are you feeding? If it's too big, the anemone will try to eat it and regurgitate it. Very bad because it takes a lot of energy and nemmie isn't getting any nutrition. It will eventually starve to death. So, depending on the size of the animal the piece should be small, about 1/2 the size of a pea is what I usually do (and mine are large).

Second, Silversides have been reported as problematic by some. I don't know exactly why ... could be some folks got a bad batch because others feed silversides and have no issues.

From what I can see in the picture it looks like your nemmie is bleaching and it's tentacles are retracted (meaning it's starving). (Picts aren't showing up ... just one little thumbnail and it won't load when I click it.) Take very small pieces (I use scallops) and feed small portions every other day or 3rd day and see if that will stay in.

[matty_g]

well, when he is at his biggest he is about 4 - 5 inches, i feed him maybe about the size as a marble maybe a bit more. I guess im overfeeding. What about the clown? I have seen some resources saying clowns will provide all the food they need? does this off set the amount I give? The silver sides i get look have a little eyeball and a short little body. half the size of a pee would be one silver side for three days?

Ill feed less and see i suppose.

thanks!

[sjwitt]

If your lighting is sufficient and you feed the fish you shouldn't have to feed the nemmie. I feed mine beause ... well because I like to.

I had 2 about dinner-plate size, fed them only on the weekends. 2 bay scallops (raw) smashed up and fed them with the turkey baster (so chunks are small enough to go in the tube). They get fed Sat and Sun, 2 scallops each day. They got really big. When the weather cooled off, the tank cooled down and both spit. Now I have 4 desert-plate sized nemmies.

[worm5406]

WOW.... how big of a scallop?

I went out today and decided to supliment my anemones with some variety.

Shrimp, scallops, and a filet of flounder.

I cut it all up and put it in a ziplock spread out to freeze and keep ready.

[sjwitt]

Bay scallops are small. They're about the size of a dime but thicker. Like I said, I have (now) 4 medium sized RBTAs and several fish and other coral that all take part in that feast. What doesn't get snatched by the nemmies gets eaten by the fish, coral, and other inverts.

[rssjsb]

Pieces of food should be no bigger than the eraser on a number 2 pencil.

[sjwitt]

Just to be clear, I don't feed the scallops whole. I smash them up so they're small enough to be sucked up into a turkey baster, then I squirt the food toward the nemmie colony. Most sticks, some slips away for the rest of the tank to enjoy.

[rssjsb]

I should also have been clearer. I was responding to this:

Originally Posted by matty_g

i feed him maybe about the size as a marble maybe a bit more. I guess im overfeeding.

[matty_g]

should i switch from silversides as he gets older?

[rssjsb]

I would switch right now. Shrimp, scallops, squid - all are better (and less unpleasant to cut up and deal with, IMO). Some people have attributed losses to silversides, although I think they were mainly talking about the more difficult anemones like giganteas and magnificas. Still, there's no reason to rely on them when there are other alternatives available in the frozen seafood department of your grocery store.

[sjwitt]

^ +1

[matty_g]

thanks for all the help, ill pick him up some new food tomorrow. Although i need horse blinders in the lfs otherwise i always buy new toys lol.

he does barfing once a day, could be that he is still getting over the excess food but always looks fine in an hour or two. If he keeps doing ill post a few more pics (that actually work) .


thanks again!

[Ebisan]

I would love to keep feeding my nems but 10 silversides (cut up) were causing my water quality to go down. I am still battling hair algae because of it.