does anybody know their way around a saltwater tank? need help!

[python.princess]

i just got a long tentacle anemone (sp?) the day before yesterday. yesterday it kinda deflated and tucked itself in for a while but then inflated and went back to beautiful! but, then this morning, i got up and checked on it and it's not anchored to anything. just kinda laying on the floor, rolling around a little bit... is it normal? should i pick it up and set it upright? leave it alone?

i posted on an aquarium site and have gotten no answers so i decided to try my luck here since there's always someone that knows something about everything! lol!

[Rapture]

You are probably going to have to give a lot more information about your setup for anyone to try to help you

[syclone]

Its been awhile since I had Salt in the water. From what I can remember they are really touchy to water chem., no ammonia, no nitrIte, the such. How old is your tank?
If they are not happy w/ were they are at, to much current, not enough current they will move. Maybe that is what is going on, or could still be getting used to your tanks chem.
I would probably test the water to see where you are on ammonia etc.
I hope this helps.

[lord jackel]

I have over 1000 gallons of SW tanks...but Rap is right we need your setup info.


Specifically:
lighting
salinity
flow rate
age of setup
filtration type
other inhabitants

I can tell you an anemone that is just bouncing along the bottom is dying so you need to get it wedge in a rock somewhere near the light.

To clarify this last point about wedging it in a rock...it needs to be a rock on the bottom with the substrate as the anemone needs to anchor in the sand

[python.princess]

well, it's a 55gal. i checked all the chem levels, salinity, temp, etc and everything is good. we have live aragonite as substrate as well as live rock. the light is "ocean sun" 10,000k, which i was told was bright enough for the anamone. tank mates include yellow-tailed blue damsels, an algae blenny, a maroon clown, and 5 cortez crabs. they are all flourishing.

[Wild Bill]

It's been awhile since I had anemones (sp?), but it seems like different ones need different care and lighting. I know placement in the tank is important, lighting, water flow, anchoring etc. If they don't like the placement for any of those reasons, they will try to change their position and can become loose. I remember a couple of mine moving from a spot I put them to a couple rocks closer to the light and then they were fine.

[lord jackel]

well, it's a 55gal. i checked all the chem levels, salinity, temp, etc and everything is good. we have live aragonite as substrate as well as live rock. the light is "ocean sun" 10,000k, which i was told was bright enough for the anamone. tank mates include yellow-tailed blue damsels, an algae blenny, a maroon clown, and 5 cortez crabs. they are all flourishing.

Unfortunately whoever told you that 10K on a 55g was enough for a long tentacle was enough is mistaken. These particular anemones need Halides to survive as they use photosythsis to gain more nutrients. They also require VERY deep sand beds in order to achor is. They also have ZERO tolerance for any organic waste...which means if you don't have a protein skimmer and change water weekly it won't survive.

Finally, it you can get it to anchor and open up it will pry eat all your other fish and crabs (except the clown).

Sorry I don't have better news.

[python.princess]

the specific gravity is 1.024
ph is 8.4
ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite are all at 0.

the tank has been set up for a little over 4 months

we have a seaclone protein skimmer and i'm not sure what kind of filter we have. we also have two powerheads but i don't know the exact flow rate (matt could probably tell you but he's not home)

[lord jackel]

How much is the skimmer pulling out?

Personally I would say that 4 months is a really short time in the world of SW as your sand bed won't have matured enough yet to support the load you have in the tank. How much live rock do you have? (in pounds). How deep is the argonite bed...it is large pieces or the really small crushed stuff (looks like sand)?

Also, what type of long tentacle did you get? green tip, super color or purple?

[python.princess]

we have about 12 lbs of live rock. the bed is crushed into sand and is about 3 inches deep. i think we've emptied the collection cup of the skimmer like 5 times... i don't know how much that is.


and, also, i'm not sure what type of long tentacle it is. didn't say. it doesn't sound like any you mentioned though. it's a soft pink color.