green carpet upside down

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mindfluid

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Sep 22, 2003
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I wrote 2 days ago about a new Green Carpet I bought @ my LFS.
I found it upside down this morn. and again tonight. It still hasnt regained
its original shape. I tried to feed it some squid this morn and it wrapped around it for about 15 then opened back up with the squid still there.
I bought some frozen small silver sides today and will try feeding again
before I go to sleep. Can anyone give me some recommendations on what
else I can try?? What is the recommeded salinity??? Right now im at 1022 but the carpet doesnt look happy so far and I dont want it to die.
Thanks to all,

Mindfluid
 
Hi Mindfluid!
Welcome to Aquaria Central! There are a few anemone experts here, but they appear only sporadically. I'm not one of them. By green carpet, I assume you mean a species of Stichodactyla? I think we may have a problem there. There are species of anemone that fare well in aquaria, even thrive, like bubble tip anemones. Unfortunately, carpet anemones are a lot more finicky, and require expert care, from what I have read and seen on the web. In general, it is recommended that they be placed in a tank only after parameters have settled down to very steady levels, after 6 months to a year. I believe they also require a lot more light than you are providing.

The specific gravity is definitely low, and I would bring it up to 1.024-1.025 gradually over the next few days. However, I don't think that will solve your problem.

Although I don't want to pass the buck, you might also try the anemone and clownfish forum at reef central.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome and reply Dave

Im not sure what the scientific name is but its the Green Carpet
you usually see maroon clowns jumping around in. They also come in blue.
Just to give you a little more info my reef is actually
several months cycled with plenty of live rock. Its just that when I set it up I didnt know I even wanted a reef. Just live rock and fish. I kept a few damsels in there to keep it cycled at first but donated them back before adding the skunk clowns.Its been 8 months and theres a few inverts in there now including some of the hardier anemones ie bta,lta etc. Maybe I didnt give the correct specs on my lighting system but the JBJ lights im using
came highly recommended and very expensive. Its supposed to be good enough for corals as well. My tank is only
12 inches deep and the carpets elevated by live rock. Id hate to think I dropped almost 3 bills for the wrong lighting. My LFS was only using a double flourecent (did I spell that right) and they seemed to think that was good enough. They also have many corals and inverts under the more expensive lighting.
Anyway it ate 2 small silver sides last night and has its mouth wide open right now. Its still on the flat side so I guess time will tell. Please let me know any more info you may have as im also asking a few fish stores in my area. Thanks for your help.

mindfluid
 
Well, like I said, I'm no expert. I poked around a little bit, and found that carpets have a few issues:
-If they do well, they get enormous.
-They usually don't do well.

I am probably wrong about the lights, but thought that carpets needed intense lighting, more so than BTAs. The amount you have should be good for most corals, as you said.

The best reference I know for these anemones is Sprung and Delbeek's Coral Reef Aquarium volume 1. I'll try to look it over tonight.
 
I had to wait for an electrician this morning, so got to sit and read a little.

As far as I can tell, the gaping is either because of stress/low oxygen, or a bacterial infection. The recommended treatment is to give the anemone a good bit of current, if you aren't already. Sprung and Delbeek recommend antibiotic treatment with neomycin or chloramphenicol for anemones that have been stressed by transport, but that sounds like a bad idea for a display tank.

Is it moving around at all? When you say it's upside down, do you mean mouth down? It would also help a bit if you knew what species, since they like different parts of the tank.
 
Thanks again for the great info Dave but im afraid I have some bad news. First off..
I dont know the scientific name but I always see these carpets at marine fish stores (even petland's not that I shop there)I tried increasing my tank current but the carpet continued to
give off a cloudy,slimy substance. I called a LFS in Manhatten where I shop sometimes and the shop owner told me it was probably getting rid of digested food but warned I should watch
my nitrites closely for the next day since it could be dying and poluting the water. After testing I found nitrites building and performed a partial water change with no luck. It started melting
even faster so I had to get rid of it before my whole cycle went off balance. Im not sure what excactly went wrong but I think
it just couldnt handle the stress of the move. You cant win them all. Maybe i'll try againg in the future. Big thanks for being the only person to repond to my problem. Im sure it wont be the last
being I still have so much to learn about reef tanks. Take care and we'll speak soon.

mind
 
Mind,

That bums me out, I'm sorry. If you decide to try again, get a little more info from the LFS if possible. It may seem like trivia, but there are several carpets that appear similar, yet have very different requirements. For example, S. gigantea is apprarently much more finicky than S. haddoni.

I hope to see happier posts from you in the future.

Cheers.
 
carpet anemone info

Ok here we go, from what i've read, and my experience, this is it. Anemones come from reefs that are 80-84 degrees F with a specific gravity of 1.023-1.025. When an anemone goes into your tank, it does not know that it is no longer in the reef, all it does know is that the conditions in your tank are not the same as its home, and it will react to that. I had read much about anemones and have been told many different things and have lost a few. Remeber this, anemones need to feel AT HOME! This also means that their diet should be almost exact to their natural food source. Silversides are good and krill works too. Just make sure the anemone gets the full portion of the food, not just body parts. I have been told that squid is not a good food source as it digests very slowly. Do not feed it freshwater goldfish either. If it regurgutates its food, then it doesn't like it. Now, i know some say carpets are hard to keep and bubble tips are easy. My carpet is virtually bulletproof(knock on wood) and has survived many different conditions. However i have trouble keeping bubble tip anemones around. Your anemones must be fed regularly. Maintaining proper water parameters is essential. Also, i've read carpet anemones need a deep sand bed to bury their column, even though mine does fine without it, go figure. It usually buries itself between a rock and the gravel. Also, do not place in the path of a direct current, rather of to the side so the current gently passes by it to carry it's waste away. Anemones are hard to keep, don't be so hard on yourself and work on your water parameters, feed them 3 or 4 times weekly. anemones move about the tank in search of a perfect place and will move until one is found. once it is there, leave it there. I know it sucks when your new anemone hides itself from view, but leave it be, it knows whats best. Trial and error my friend. Good luck. oh ya, change water enough to keep the nitrates low, or get a nitrate sponge.
 
carpet anemones

one more thing, if you get a small carpet anemone that sits low to the bottom, forget about getting blennies, dragonettes, or shrimp, or even a sally light foot crab. My carpet ate my blenny, dragonette, sally lightfoot, red banded shrimp and has many of my snails and crabs sticking to it often. Their tentacles are very sticky. If your anemone ever catches one of your fish, don't bother trying to save it by pulling it out of the anemone, even though it may seem normal afterward, the venom of the anemone will eventually kill the fish. you might as well just let it eat it's victim. I would recommend removing crabs and larger shrimp if they get caught up.
 
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