Will my anemone get his color back?

ylmaya · 09-18-2001, 09:54 AM

I have a bubble tip anemone that I purchased in February 2000. It started out about the size of a dinner plate, and a beautiful greenish brown. Now it is about 2 inches across and almost pure white. I realize that the 50/50 power compact bulb I had must not have been enough to keep the zoo algae alive. However, now I have added more light....I can already see a difference in the size of the mushrooms in the tank....

Is there a chance of this anemone getting its color back and regaining its glory...or is it just dying a slowwwwwwwww death?

Spanky · 09-18-2001, 07:07 PM

Yep, right now it's dying a slow death.
Try feeding it small (pencil eraser sized) pieces of raw shrimp, nonoily fish, crab, etc. several times a day. It also helps to "squish" it between your finger first. Usually in this condition it's hard to get them to eat a lot at one time but they will eat small amounts several times a day. As it feels better, it will move into more light on it's own. You can tell by the "color" coming back.
What lighting did you add?

HTH
Spanky

ylmaya · 09-20-2001, 01:42 PM

I added a 13" high output flourescent bulb 17000k.......the anemone has "climbed" to the top of a rock and looks like there is a light chance he is getting "greenish" tones back into his tentacles.....I can only wait and hope...I will try feeding....but I have to be careful since my reef is a "mini" (12 gallons) adding too much fresh stuff messes up my water quality and other things suffer.....do you think that liquid foods are adequate or really do I need to go solid and fresh?

rochelleryan · 09-20-2001, 03:54 PM

Liquid food would probably mess up your tank more. Stick with the solid pieces of meat like shrimp. I feed my bubble anemone small pieces of shrimp. Be sure to rinse off the piece in water before feeding so you get rid of as much liquid junk as possible because it can increase your nitrates. I'm sorry to hear about your bubble. Try using a powerhead to direct some gentle water flow in its direction. But it sounds like it's already too late. Good luck.