Worried about my nem

G

Grouper954

Reefer Addict
Yesterday a good friend of mine got very angry with his powerful anemone. The little guy ate a few of his "pride & joy" fish. He decided he didn't want it, and quarantined it to his fuge. Then he called me.

My tank has been setup for a few months now, and I recently added a flame scallop (who seems to be improving) so I figured I'd give it a shot and try to keep the anemone. I took him home on the rock he was attached to, and he was all closed up the whole way home. After acclimating him, I strategically placed the new rock with the nem in my tank. He opened right up and his absolutely beautiful. Last night, he decided to move. Part of him is still attached to the rock, the other part of him is resting on the sandbed. I am concerned about his health :frustrat:




He's just limp. I am not familiar with anemone behavior, and I'm kinda freaking out. Please help. :bowdown:
 
Nems in good health, will move where they want to in a tank. Unless conditions change, they usually don't move much once they settle in. Do you have excellent lighting and excellent water quality? If so, it will bounce back and do great for you. If not, I would look to move it to someone else or a fish store that can properly care for it. I see you want corals in the future. Any corals that the nem touches will be toast. Give it plenty of space once it settles in.
 
hoopsdaddy said:
Nems in good health, will move where they want to in a tank. Unless conditions change, they usually don't move much once they settle in. Do you have excellent lighting and excellent water quality? If so, it will bounce back and do great for you. If not, I would look to move it to someone else or a fish store that can properly care for it. I see you want corals in the future. Any corals that the nem touches will be toast. Give it plenty of space once it settles in.
Click to expand...

I'm running a Tek Light right now with just one bulb @ 54w to keep power costs down until I need all 216w for the corals. Sounds like I need to get three more bulbs asap.

& my water quality still has to be determined lol.....I know my salinity is straight and my Nitrite is at zero. Other than that, I'm not sure. I actually just got a test kit so I'll break it out tonight!

Thanks!
 
Nems are extremely hard to keep in new tanks and really should only be put in tanks that have been established for a year or more. They need pristine and stable water conditions and have very high lighting requirements. Your tank is pretty new and from your scallop post it doesn't sound like you've started to add fish yet. When you add your fish, your bioload will change in the tank particularly with feeding, resulting in fluxuating water conditions that will be hard on your nem. Also, when nems die they are toxic and can wipe out your entire tank (probably not a huge deal right now since you don't have much in the tank, but it will set you back). Your nem doesn't look good at all to me, if its even still alive (though it may look better in person than in the pics). I would recommend getting rid of it asap, especially since you don't even know what your water conditions are. In the future, you shouldn't put anything in your tank if you don't know your water conditions, and without researching first to make sure they will be compatible with your tank! Good luck :)
 
'nems are some of the hardest animals to keep healthy in our tanks, and they require strong lighting and stable water. You definitely need more than a single T5 bulb to keep this 'nem alive. You also need to be careful if there is other livestock in the tank, a sick nem will release its stinging cells, and this can easily poison / kill other livestock in the tank
 
They have it right on the previous posts. Your nem is probably not going to make it. Honestly, the scallop you have is also going to struggle to live. They have an extreemly high mortality rate in the aquarium trade. I would see if you could move both of them to a LFS. Get the rest of your bulbs ordered, and start adding some easy corals to care for. Zoas, mushrooms, leathers, ect.... and then add a couple fish.
 
Damn it, I was really enjoying my scallop.

I think my LFS will bitch about taking the nem.....I've already called and asked them for advice so they know it's condition. And with the reputation of Flame Scallops in this hobby.....it sounds like I'm shit out of luck.
 
At this point, its far more important to get your nem out of your tank than your scallop due to the poisonous nature of the nem. If there is any chance that your scallop will survive (and even the best reefers have trouble with them), then you've got to get the nem out. I am so sorry this isn't working out the way you had hoped :( Hang in there, and check live aquaria for some good ideas for beginning fish and corals that will fare better in your tank. And of course you can always ask for opinions here too!
 
Hang in there. I know it really gets frustrating at first. Do all the research you can before you get anything. There will be tons of stuff you can't have in a tank like yours, but there are also tons of awesome things to put in a tank like yours. Once you get your nem problem solved, get your lights. Then start buying some awesome corals and fish that will work with your setup. Some of the best looking tanks on here are 55gallons. It will take time, but if you will keep at it you will have an awesome tank!!
 
Remember that at the end of the day, fish stores exist to make a profit off of their customers, no fish store should have sold you a 'nem as a new hobbyist, and fellow hobbyists should not have given you one either

Before putting anything in your tank, you a a hobbyist should research the critter, especially if you plan on keeping a reef. Once a critter is in a tank (fish are the worst) it can be very, very difficult to get them out if they start doing damage. I tried pushing the envelope shortly after I started and added a large angel to a reef tank. This ended with me having to tear all 200+ pounds of LR out of my tank to remove the problem fish after it started snacking on clams and corals

If you have questions about things you're thinking about adding in the future, feel free to post those questions here, we will all be happy to provide information on the experiences we have had - this will save you time, money, and stress in the long run
 
Here are my parameters.....
Salinity @ 1.022g
pH is @ 7.9
Ammonia @ 0 ppm
Nitrite @ 0 ppm
Nitrate @ 0ppm

Here's how he looks this morning. I realized part of him was underneath the rock, so I flipped him over. He seems to be doing much better. I've had this tank filled with water, live sand, and live rock for the past 3-4 months. I'm hoping he'll make it.

Can anyone identify him? Sorry for the crap quality
 
I really don't know what kind it is, but I'm with everyone else suggesting that you find somewhere to rehome the nem. If your tank is only 3-4 months old, it simply isn't mature enough to adequately support a nem. You can try it, but you will probably regret it when it dies and takes everything else in your tank with it. We aren't trying to hurt your feelings, and we aren't saying that you aren't capable of keeping one eventually. We're just saying that trying to keep one in a young, volatile tank is a really bad idea. It's a mistake that a lot of new reefers make, much to their dismay. Even experts don't attempt to keep nems in young tanks. It just doesn't work out in the end, and you're risking the lives of everything else in that tank. Not worth it, IMHO.
 
Out of curiosity, what color were his foot and tentacles when your friend first got him? The pale whitish/grey tentacles aren't looking very good to me, but it would help to know what color they were to start with before your friend added him to his tank.
 
Perhaps a quick craigslist posting with "free to a good home?"
He ate your friends' fish? Doesn't even sound like anything you want to be in your tank.
I've employed the "wait and see" tactic too and it's never worked out. Trust me, if peeps on the forum are screaming get it out of your tank, they are saying it for a reason.
So, Get that nem outta your tank!
 
Somebody responded to my Craigslist ad tonight and is willing to trade a Xenia. I've been researching them and I think I'll be able to support it.
 

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