Giving a white bubble tip color

[rsarvis]

I have a bubble-tip anemone. It's completely white, and that's how I got it, that's how it's always been. I understand bleaching can happen, where the anemone expels all its zooxanthellae.

 

My question is, is there any way to give an anemone color once it's bleached and remained so for so long?

 

I've read elsewhere that a bleached anemone that has been nursed back with hand-feedings should get their color back, but how does that work, and what does it mean that mine hasn't? Is there something you can feed or some other way introduce to it something that will get it some zooxanthellae?

[jason the filter freak]

Hand feed it and put it in a tank with a colored up RBTA

[dzekunoi]

I bought a bleached anem somwat 1 year ago. It took it 9 month to slowly gain color. It's still not completely colored but doing much better. It's healthy, grew big and split over this time too.

[treesprite]

Is the body white also? Mine came from BZA with the tentacles white and they are still white, but the body has it's color. It'snot getting any worse. Is it staying in a place that is somewhat shady? Someone said that bleached anemones do that, and of course if they don't get enough light they are only perpetuating their problem. I think mine will do a lot better when my water is finally not giving me heartache.

[flowerseller]

Hand feed it and put it in a tank with a colored up RBTA

Are you suggesting it might get the idea of what it's supposed to look like?

[davelin315]

Feed it an Oregon Tort and a Superman Monti and see if it can absorb some of the zooxanthellae from those! Seriously, I wonder if they can take in zooxanthellae like corals do in their infancy and also what strains they can take in. When Mitch Carl was here he spoke about blenderizing some corals to free up the zooxanthellae so that they could be taken in. I wonder if an anemone could do the same thing by eating it from the water since they are relatives of coral polyps.

[traveller7]

It is a rare instance they will not at least recover some symbiotic algae if there is light, food, and nitrogen available; but it does happen and know of at least 2 instances where BTAs remain ghost white for many years.

 

Picking up what is traditionally thought of as UV pigments, not sure if those "leak" from neighbors. Toss it in Chip's tank and see what happens :D

 

Feed it an Oregon Tort and a Superman Monti and see if it can absorb some of the zooxanthellae from those! Seriously, I wonder if they can take in zooxanthellae like corals do in their infancy and also what strains they can take in. When Mitch Carl was here he spoke about blenderizing some corals to free up the zooxanthellae so that they could be taken in. I wonder if an anemone could do the same thing by eating it from the water since they are relatives of coral polyps.

Was some notes in the Tridacna cultering methods which included blenderizing clam mantles in the same manner.

 

We have discussed a few times on RC, using a syringe to implant some symbiotic algae from a doner anemone....don't know of anyone that has tried. More likely, we have not found the right ghost white specimen

[jamesbuf]

I got a white LTA from a guy breaking down his tank about 3 years ago. It took around 2 years for it to get its color back completely.

[jason the filter freak]

Are you suggesting it might get the idea of what it's supposed to look like?

 

I'm suggesting that since they share similar pathology (I assume) that a RBTA would be more likely to regain it's zoxanthelle in the presence of another RBTA that shares the same zoxanthelle than on it's own or in the presence of other corals.

[davelin315]

It is a rare instance they will not at least recover some symbiotic algae if there is light, food, and nitrogen available; but it does happen and know of at least 2 instances where BTAs remain ghost white for many years.

 

Picking up what is traditionally thought of as UV pigments, not sure if those "leak" from neighbors. Toss it in Chip's tank and see what happens :D

Was some notes in the Tridacna cultering methods which included blenderizing clam mantles in the same manner.

 

We have discussed a few times on RC, using a syringe to implant some symbiotic algae from a doner anemone....don't know of anyone that has tried. More likely, we have not found the right ghost white specimen

Hey Scott, in case I find a potential anemone, how do you extract the pigments? Do you simply stick the needle in and withdraw fluid? I wonder... I have looked at aiptasia under a microscope and their insides are very fluid and ooze out.

[traveller7]

Hey Scott, in case I find a potential anemone, how do you extract the pigments? Do you simply stick the needle in and withdraw fluid? I wonder... I have looked at aiptasia under a microscope and their insides are very fluid and ooze out.

My plan was to draw from a large tentacle base with the need penetrating the length of the tentacle itself.

Deposit in reverse fashion in the target anemone.

 

fwiw: they seem fairly leaky in general, not sure it is necessary in the proper environment.

[reefmontalvo]

I'm suggesting that since they share similar pathology (I assume) that a RBTA would be more likely to regain it's zoxanthelle in the presence of another RBTA that shares the same zoxanthelle than on it's own or in the presence of other corals.

 

 

Not to add fuel to the fire. But I was told by the trusted people of BRK if you do what you suggest you run the risk of bio warfare between the two anemones. I currently have a RBTA and a GBTA on opposite sides of my tank, that is a risk I was willing to take and so far everything is fine since there so far away. The two clown fish I have each have there own anemone to play with, so that is the best part of the whole thing.

[flowerseller]

Not to add fuel to the fire. But I was told by the trusted people of BRK if you do what you suggest you run the risk of bio warfare between the two anemones. I currently have a RBTA and a GBTA on opposite sides of my tank, that is a risk I was willing to take and so far everything is fine since there so far away. The two clown fish I have each have there own anemone to play with, so that is the best part of the whole thing.

And not to suggest BRK is incorrect or you misunderstood whoever,

I have 15-20 green and red bta's (Entacmaea quadricolor) side by side and intermixed peacefully between each other. They are not the issue.

The issue someone at BRK mentions might be more between say a Heteractis crispai or Stichodactyla haddoni and a Entacmaea quadricolor (bta) .

I currently have Macrodactyla doreensis (my purple LT anemone) and Entacmaea quadricolor together like above with no problems other than stealing food.

[treesprite]

All I can say is, I will not get another anemone off the internet.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I picked up a supposed RBTA at a LFS over in Warrenton over a year ago. It was completley bleached and has stayed that way. Interestingly, it has always preferred to stay under and overhang in my rockwork. After it tried to split for over two months recently, I helped it along with a slice of the razor. The two anems have now retreated farther under the overhang and are about 4" apart, but have not yet fully inflated. (clown isn't too happy about this)

 

I was considering turning the rock over to try and coax them out into the light. Would this be a good idea? I'm not sure if they will stay out or will try to scoot back into a shady area.

 

BTW, if anyone is interested in a small creamy BTA, feel free to take a scenic drive out to Bealeton and help yourself. Add another half out west and you hit prime apple country!

[reefmontalvo]

And not to suggest BRK is incorrect or you misunderstood whoever,

I have 15-20 green and red bta's (Entacmaea quadricolor) side by side and intermixed peacefully between each other. They are not the issue.

The issue someone at BRK mentions might be more between say a Heteractis crispai or Stichodactyla haddoni and a Entacmaea quadricolor (bta) .

I currently have Macrodactyla doreensis (my purple LT anemone) and Entacmaea quadricolor together like above with no problems other than stealing food.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I just thought mine were zen and just wanted to live a nice peaceful life. LOL

 

I picked up a supposed RBTA at a LFS over in Warrenton over a year ago. It was completley bleached and has stayed that way. Interestingly, it has always preferred to stay under and overhang in my rockwork. After it tried to split for over two months recently, I helped it along with a slice of the razor. The two anems have now retreated farther under the overhang and are about 4" apart, but have not yet fully inflated. (clown isn't too happy about this)

 

I was considering turning the rock over to try and coax them out into the light. Would this be a good idea? I'm not sure if they will stay out or will try to scoot back into a shady area.

 

BTW, if anyone is interested in a small creamy BTA, feel free to take a scenic drive out to Bealeton and help yourself. Add another half out west and you hit prime apple country!

 

I did that once with mine and it went into some kind of shock, from constantly flipping each rock it went under. Long story short it died, then I realized yeah you can flip the rock around to make it want to find a better spot, you just can't do it every other day.

[zygote2k]

I just flushed my LTA. It wouldn't eat and it started to wander everywhere- not staying put for longer than a day or 2. It was one of the "white" ones. It came from Marine Scene. They told me it was a natural color, not that the zooxanthellae had bleached. In the last week or so, it had gotten into a cycle of expanding to its' normal size, then slowly turning itself inside out. During the last "cycle", I noticed that it didn't look right, so I examined it and it appeared to be dying, so I flushed it.

 

The RBTA that I got from Chip is happy and stays put. It also eats anything that I throw at it. The maroon clown loves it too and vigorously defends it whenever I feed it.

Edited September 24, 2008 by zygote2k

[flowerseller]

The RBTA that I got from Chip is happy and stays put. It also eats anything that I throw at it.

That's because all my anemones comes with the "red - stay put" gene I give each one via smoke and mirror injections in every other 13th tenticle.

[Sharkb8]

That's because all my anemones comes with the "red - stay put" gene I give each one via smoke and mirror injections in every other 13th tenticle.

 

I like it. Gene therapy and anemones. Two of my favorite topics in one entertaining thread

[rsarvis]

Well, I have a nice white anemone, and I would consider trying the zoox. transplant if anyone's seriously interested in trying...

 

I actually like my anemone's whiteness, but it means I have to hand feed him all the time. I nursed the anemone from a bad state into a healthy thriving anemone a while back, but then became delinquent in feeding for a long stretch. The anemone was declining slowly, so I've recently started feeding regularly again. But now it's more cumbersome because I also have a porcelain crab living with the anemone (not to mention a cleaner shrimp and some hermit crabs) that will steal the food if I don't sit there for 30 minutes to protect the eating process.

 

If I could keep it up reliably, I wouldn't balk at leaving him white, but if it were actually possible to get him some zooxanthellae, so that I'm not the sole source of food, that would be nice, too...

[flowerseller]

Maybe I can do quartet next week and give you a 1/4 to use for injection.

I do not have the time or inclination to do it myself but hey, in the name of science................

[traveller7]

Maybe I can do quartet next week and give you a 1/4 to use for injection.

I do not have the time or inclination to do it myself but hey, in the name of science................

Be better swapping the specimen and adding the "white" one to your collection. I suspect it will begin coloring up by Christmas.