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Do you know why it died? 7 months isn't very long in relation to how long they live, but it's odd that an animal like that did well for that length of time and then declined suddenly.
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Actually, 5 to 7 months is the lifespan of one of these creatures if they are not photosynthesizing or getting adequate nutrition from feedings as well. They can live for this period of time if they are acquired from the wild where they had good nutritional capture from both prey and photosynthesis. Their stored lipoproteins and glucans allow them to survive in this manner for quite some time, although their demise is usually very quick once these stored nutritional supplies are consumed.
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....and she looks as if her insides are coming out. Not the brown excretion that I have seen in her healthier past but white bubbly textured crap.
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This is very common as the os and siphonoglymphs lose the ability to adequately function. If the "brown" stuff ejected was dark brown and stringy, you may have witnessed the partial ejection of the zooxanthellae, unfortunately also part of the demise of many anemone. Sometimes, even with adequate lighting, the shipping of these creatures will occasionally make them dump their zooxanthellae, especially if they are then kept in holding tanks with little or no lighting. Peter Holthus and MAC are addressing this issue through certification of the chain of custody for all imported ornamentals so that specimens and situations like this do not occur.
I am so sorry to hear that you lost your anemone, they are very captivating and interesting creatures to study and propagate. I would suggest that you do a great amount of research on these creatures before getting another, and then trying to get one that is tank-raised/captive propagated. Dr. MAC in Baltimore has captive-propagated anemone, and
Entacmaea quadricolor would be a good specie to try
once you have developed a good environment for them to be kept in. They require a
very mature tank (preferably with a large refugium) and good husbandry skills for these delicate creatures to survive, much less to thrive.
Without a description, I will have to assume that the anemone you had was of the genus Heteractis, commonly known as Ritteri or the Long Tentacled Anemone. These generally have a poor record of survival in captivity, even with experienced aquarists, and I would not recommend them to most aquarists whether they are experienced (I heard "Old Salts" somewhere here
) or not. In a survey that Eric Borneman did in 1999, there were none surviving in captivity even with experienced aquarists for more than 2 years, although there are some that have lived for as long as 10 to 12 years in some large public aquaria. E. quadricolor would be a much easier and more successful choice of anemone to keep. Even if you choose an E. quadracolor, I would suggest that you maximize your tank for the survival of this creature before attempting to acquire one, expecially if your tank is less than 18 months old. These are not easy creatures to keep, and they realistically require a great deal of attention to detail and constant committment to their husbandry (feeding especially!)
