Anemone Almost Dead

[diegoluv]

Tank size- 125
Age of tank- 4 Months
Lighting- 2 96 Watt Ultra Actinics, 2 250W MH's
Salinity- 1.024
Water temperature- 80
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- <10
Calcium (If applicable)- N/A
Magnesium- N/A
Alk or pH- 7.8
Dosing anything?- Iodine
Any recent changes to tank- Added Livestock
Inhabitants (fish)- Yellow Watchman, 2 Mated Pair of Perculas, Blue Tang


I left today at about 2 PM and everything looked better then ever. I just got home and my RBTA looked horrible and was secreting the slime that they do when they are sick. I immediately removed it and the rock it was attached to for fear of deathly ammonia. Everything else in the tank is looking better and better as time goes by. Even the RBTA was looking better and better everyday until this. I checked the PH and it was at 7.8. Problem is, I dont have any PH buffer on me. Of course, nobody is open today. Anyone that has some would be a life saver right now. I opened up everything in my house to get some oxygen flowing but Im sure thats not going to help.

If anyone can help, please call me at 478-320-0067 thanks.

[Techknowledgy]

CA is NA? Alk and PH are two different things. I'm confused.

[diegoluv]

Yes, CA is "Not Available" because I have no tester. The Alk OR P/H is 8.3 because I dont have an alkalinity tester either so I put my PH. I just copied what the sticky at the top of the section said to answer. Thats the moderator that made the template. I am assuming they did that because not everyone has all the tests so they are giving a bare minimum.

Asking for help, no need to be cynical about it....

[RussM]

Knowing Roland, I doubt he was being cynical... just wanted clarification on what the 7.8 value was actually for.

Describe the 'slime'... is it dark stringy stuff coming out of the mouth? Was it fed a silversides or a chunck of other food recently? Could be that it's just excreting waste... my 4 'nems all look like crap when they poop. (no pun intended)

[diegoluv]

hmmm.....I fed it some mysis earlier today but it really looked horrible. It wasent dark I dont think. I think it was more of a clear stringy looking mucus type fluid. The mouth of it was also portruding and it was wide open and white. I had anemones before and none ever did this I dont think?

[Techknowledgy]

Thanks Russ, not being cynical. If the PH is 8.3, that is spot on. You will have to measure the Alk somehow, as well as the CA. Are you dosing two part at all? Do you have a fuge? Skimmer working okay?

[diegoluv]

now the water that I put it in to isolate it is all milky looking now. I put a power head and a heater in there to try and save it. Why is the water milky looking now?

[RussM]

Unless it starts expelling its guts too, I think that it is just pooping. Freaked me out when I first was what you described, but it was fine the next day.

[Techknowledgy]

It is now freaked about being moved. They don't like change very much.

[diegoluv]

Sorry, I meant the PH is 7.8. I dont why I put 8.3 (cause thats what it usually is). Thats why I am thinking it is the PH. I dont have a way of testing the calcium but I am assuming its ok because I dose it twice a week, the last time being yesterday. I have an Octopus Skimmer and it seems to be working great.

[diegoluv]

So should I put it back in the tank? If it is not better by morning pull it? I am afraid of it dieing overnight and putting a whole different mess on my shoulders...lol.

[diegoluv]

I put it and the rock back in the tank nd it looks a hell of a lot better then it did when I took it out. Maybe it was the "pooping." Ill keep an eye on it tonight and go from there. Thanks to both of you for the guidance.

[RussM]

You're welcome... I think you just did the right thing. BTAs are surprisingly tolerant IME... a small rose was one of the few things that survived a massive pH catastrophe I had a while back.

[Techknowledgy]

Your call, but I would put it back, if it just flat out dies, which is unlikely, overnight, pull it in the morning. It won't decompose in just a few hours. I have a 125 display with 180 gallons of total water. I have to dose every day. Nems- like all of these more fragile critters like stability.

[diegoluv]

If you dont mind me asking, what do you dose? Iodine, Magnesium? How often? How much? I have about 160 total volume in mine with about 200 lbs. of rock, 20 gallon fuge.

[Techknowledgy]

I make my own two part. Dose 30ml CA and 30 ML Alk every night. Pretty similar set up, plus I have a 20 gallon frag tank. Buy the kits and check your params on the reef calculator until you have it dialed in. If you do a 15-20% water change every week (I have to because my tank is packed with corals and fish) no need to dose mag. or iodine. Scripps will keep that where it needs to be.

[diegoluv]

Great, I didnt know there was a calculator on here. Ill check that out. I usually get test kits but found that keeping up with all the params is time consuming, and just going to the lfs and have them check it is easier. I guess I better start testing myself again...

Thanks again for the help...

P.S. The RTBA is looking a lot better now...

[Techknowledgy]

Cool. The calculator is here:
http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

[LarryM]

Not being cynical, just a comment. You should not just add something that you are not testing for. You can actually over dose and harm your system with good intentions. I would suggest purchasing a few kits for elements you are dosing.

:2cents:

[sonnybihis]

sounds like you have everything under control thanks to everyone's help. a few things about btas...they shrivel up and look like they're gonna die when they poop and also when they're gonna split. they also have a tendency to reproduce sexually...that is they release milky white sperm/eggs. if this happens you wanna do water changes and skim the heck out of the water. unless a bta has been "dead" for a prolonged period of time don't move it...that's the worst thing you can do...

[diegoluv]

It's not that I dont test for them, I don't test MYSELF for them. I take water to the LFS and have them test what I ask for. I then keep a log of the readings. I try and get the water tested twice a week. I just so happened to have problems (thought I did at least)on the one day that all the LFS' are closed. Thats always been my luck. Thanks to Techknowledgy and Russ, I was able to rectify the situation promptly. AKA, putting the dreature back....lol