"wilting" anemone

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Liz

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So my mother recently inherited a 29 gallon eclipse tank (? or atleast the lighting is eclipse, or something), it has a pajama cardinal, yellow tang, and goldstriped maroon clown, as well as crushed coral substrate and liverock... and an anemone.

It seems overstocked to me... but apparently this woman who gave it to us had it for several years and feeding it a bare minimal.

So this anemone apparently shrank while she had it, and now sits in the corner of the tank with drooping tentacles (?)... it is still alive since if you bother it it will clam up, but what can I do to make it feel better? One of the bulbs is actinic, not sure about the other... each is 18w.

The tank is not getting any supplements or anything.

What steps should I take to get the anemone feeling better?
 

dorkfish

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Liz said:
What steps should I take to get the anemone feeling better?
Start by researching (lots and lots of that) reefkeeping, getting a good protien skimmer (coralife super skimmer is suposed to be good), adjusting the water to proper conditions, getting halide lighting, adding atleast 300-500 gph of powerheads (water flow is the most important part of any reef aquarium, and more is only better), removing the eclipse hood (completely useless for reef aquaria) and all the other stufff you will find out you will need to keep corals and anemones happy while researching reefkeeping.
 

sapgranth25

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i know your on about your anemone BUT i was wondering if your yellow tang is doing ok?

has it grown as normal dose he seem happy in a 29gal tank?

has the women had the yellow tang in there long?
 

Liz

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I know it's overstocked :(.
I don't know much about yellow tangs, or what "normal" for them is.

Also, it's not my tank and I don't think my mom is willing to spend that much time/money, if I'm lucky I'll be able to talk her into taking the anemone to the lfs.
 

sapgranth25

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i was not been funny with you i was just wondering see cause i wanted a yellow tang a month back it was only tiny but i was adviced not to buy a yellow tang for my 29gal tank cause it would not be happy then it would die but with the look of it your yellow tang is doing ok...

yeah get rid of the Anemone cause if it dies in your tank it will knacker your water & bring problem to what ever else is in there ect ect
 

Fishieness

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sapgranth25 said:
i was not been funny with you i was just wondering see cause i wanted a yellow tang a month back it was only tiny but i was adviced not to buy a yellow tang for my 29gal tank cause it would not be happy then it would die but with the look of it your yellow tang is doing ok...

yeah get rid of the Anemone cause if it dies in your tank it will knacker your water & bring problem to what ever else is in there ect ect
well a fish like a tank would get stressed out, and over time, most die from the stressed caused by a small tank. i would highly suggest that you reconsider, there are tons of nice fish you can get for a 29, but IMO, a yellow tang is not one of them.
what type of anenome is it? can you get a pic? it is probably not happy because the eclipse tanks do not have the proper lighting to care for animals like anenomes. If you cant upgrade, i would find it another home. i bet someone form your reef club would buy it form you depending on the type.
 

jessie

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i have kept several tangs and IMO there isnt any that would be ok for a 29 gallon tank. if you make a trip to the lfs then take the tang too. but thats just my opinion
 

Liz

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We can't. If it was mine I would, but we got this tank from a friend of my mom's who is moving and couldn't bring the tank along, and who really loves the fish and wanted my mom to take care of them. And my mom just kind of took it because it was free, she won't upgrade. So the tang has to stay. It has been in there for several years and is alive and (seems) happy.
 

Liz

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This question isn't directly related to that anemone, but I don't want to make another topic....

Could I keep ANY anemone under 1.5 wpg fluorescent, if it was kept near the surface (say, within 10" of the surface)? If not, what about 3 wpg?

I know wpg isn't too accurate...

If it's possible to keep anything under that lighting, though, what kind of bulb do anemones like? From what I've read, 10000K bulbs are better than like actinic and stuff.
 

Barbie

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No, it's not possible. Anemones need intensity or lumens. WPG doesn't really come into play as you can't "place" them anywhere you want them in the tank. They're freely mobile and will move around the tank hoping to find a place to suit their needs. That much light wouldn't begin to give it the intensity it needed to keep the algae alive in it's cells for food. Anemones do not particularly care what spectrum the light is, as that tends to be more the way your eyes perceive the light and color than a matter of lumens. The more blue the light is, the less available light for the anemone to use to thrive.

The reason tangs aren't recommended for smaller tanks has to do with survival rates and behaviors. That yellow tang should get more than 6" across and it cruises large areas in the ocean, constantly moving. In that tank the stress of not being able to cruise at all will eventually lead to it's untimely death. Saying that he's been in there a couple years is not any excuse for continuing the cruelty, honestly. It's like the guy in the trailer park bragging about having his pitbull chained to the tree for 2 years straight and never letting it off or something. You can do it, and the fish might live, but for how long is the point.

Barbie
 
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