anemone question

[jamal]

i just got an rbta yesterday and today it has attached but i dont see its tentacles and it is scrunched down in the hole that i placed it in. should i be worried? is this normal? i read the anemone faq but i didnt see this behavior mentioned

[jason the filter freak]

I imagine it's adjusting to stress

[FishWife]

Is it one that was sliced yesterday? I'd hide, too!

[jamal]

yea the one i got in the auction. i am just so new to anemones that i didnt know but i know that they do get really stressed. how long does this normally last? when should i take steps?

[FishWife]

I'm hardly an expert; I've been hovering over one I bought from bluezoo for about three weeks now. I read a lot about them before we got ours. Mine has regularly shrunk down to nothing and expanded out to double its size, etc. Sometimes it looks bubbly; other times its completely shriveled. At first I hovered.... I fussed, I fed... I lost sleep.

 

THEN, I watched Chip cut and toss anemones around. I've determined a couple of things:

1. Who knows? Their behviors seem infinitely variable.

2. They're animals and they do respond to the environment. They can and do move as it suits them.

3. Sometimes they move and sometimes they dont--and then they do.

 

Finally, I've READ that if they die, they dissolve, so not to worry if it never reappears.

 

THERE! The sum total of my anem wisdom so far . HTH!

Edited November 12, 2007 by FishWife

[traveller7]

i just got an rbta yesterday and today it has attached but i dont see its tentacles and it is scrunched down in the hole that i placed it in. should i be worried? is this normal? i read the anemone faq but i didnt see this behavior mentioned

Normal BTA behavior and reaction. Even with a natural division.

 

fwiw: expect it to find a hole, heal up over about 1 week, acclimate to lighting, and be ready to actually eat around day 7. Before then a sliced anemone does not typically have a fully closed oral cavity. Many times I have watched them catch food, move it to half a mouth and have it float away 20 mins later :D

[jamal]

thanx for the responses i can get some sleep now

[Origami]

I've got two in my tank - a flower and a condy. The condy regularly shrinks down to nearly nothing (and it's pretty big when fully expanded, too!). I've read that this is just one way that they expel waste from their bodies. Anyway, while your RBTA is probably adjusting to stress, if it's like my condy, you'll see that it cycles like this rather regularly.

[jamal]

anem is already improving. he is peaking his preverbial head out of the hole. i am hoping he stays there as he is at the very top of the tank for lighting

[FishWife]

anem is already improving. he is peaking his preverbial head out of the hole. i am hoping he stays there as he is at the very top of the tank for lighting

 

Hooray!

[djcerna]

If not he will cruise around untill he finds a nice place to attach. Hopefully it will be in plain view.

David

 

i am hoping he stays there as he is at the very top of the tank for lighting

[bprinehart]

My GBTA did the same thing when I introduced him to my tank. Stay squished up to almost nothing for about a week, and only in the last month has he seemed to really relax and fully stretch out in the tank. Just wait till he shrivels up to expel waste for the first time, your heart will drop into your stomach!

[Origami]

Just wait till he shrivels up to expel waste for the first time, your heart will drop into your stomach!

 

 

 

LOL! I felt the same way. What a relief it was when it expanded again. It really is amazing how much smaller they can get when they shrink down!

[txaggies07]

Anemones can be frustrating. Although, it is kind of funny when they shrivel up and the clowns still try to rub in them. They try so hard, but with no success.

[jamal]

im going to have to feed it heavily at first because he is a little guy. its good and bed that i have occelaris clowns. good because it can get big without having to be shielded but bad when its gets big enough for the couple and they would prefer my overflow