anenome and cleaner shrimp = trouble?

serotonin · 09-14-2006, 11:33 AM

My new RBTA that I acquired locally, perhaps three weeks ago, is starting to shrink up a lot more often as days go by. This anemone is a result of a fission from it's parent.

Especially when my MH lights turn on, this guy will deflate a lot and pull back into the rock work. My cleaner shrimp, since day 1, hardly ever strays more than 6" away from the anemone. My clowns are also not hosting the anemone yet. Alas, that isn't of much concern to me. I'm starting to worry about the anemone and if it is declining in health. Could the shrimp be upsetting the anemone, ever heard of this?

Water params:
alk 2.75
calc 375
ph 8.2~8.3
salinity 1.026
temp 78~80
nitrate 0
ammonia 0
nitrite 0

I have put a hold on feeding the anemone until it starts to act a little more healthy. Perhaps I'm just worrying too much, i don't know?

Any advice or other params to check, please share them

EDIT: Oh yes, the color on it is quite good I believe. Under actinics the whole thing slows a bright pink with a red hue to it.

rickzter · 09-14-2006, 12:09 PM

How long have you had this anemone? The cleaner shrimp might be spooking it as they are quite sensitive with things touching them. I would let it be and if it doesn't get better within a week or so, then I'd start worrying. I hope the cleaner doesn't smell the demise of the anemone, because that might explain why he stays close. Just keep an eye out.

amcarrig · 09-14-2006, 12:09 PM

What kind of cleaner shrimp are you talking about?

serotonin · 09-14-2006, 01:41 PM

Skunk Cleaner Shrimp - Lysmata amboinensis

It's a skunk, or the other kind that looks almost exactly the same as this one. Mine is the type that has the horizontal lines on the rear fin.

I too thought it may be the shrimp knows the anemone may be doing poorly. but then i considered that the anemone decided it's place in the tank was right aroudn the same place the shrimp was for months. This and the shrimp knows that when i feed the good stuff, its going right at the anemone. Many times that cleaner will jump after my mechanical grabber arm and try to nab the raw shrimp out of it. The last few times i've just been giving nibblets to the cleaner shrimp prior to the anemone so it leaves us all alone

HTH shed some light on my situation. Thank you both!!!!!!

PS: ive had the anemone 3 weeks +- a couple days.

EDIT: Adding some water params

SG is now at 1.025
PH is at 8.4 after lights off, I do have a 32 watt 24hour light running on the TINY fuge with a lot of coraline under it and a 12" long strand of caluerpa

ANOTHER EDIT: (1 day later)
I tossed a filter bag with about 2 cups of carbon into my cpr style overflow last night. This morning the tentacles were inflated a lot more but it is still in the rock pretty far. This is the first time i've ever ran carbon in my system.

EDIT: (1 day later @ lunch time)
Looks even better than this morning, cept I came home to the rock wall crumbled down all over my green slime acro GRRRRRRRRR. Win some, loose some. Things seem to be looking up for mr anemone though. Some of the bottom tentacles are rough looking. Perhaps from rubbing on the rock? Not sure.

serotonin · 09-15-2006, 04:56 PM

Well, I'm home from work now (6hrs later after lunch) and its deflated, stringy and pulled back into the rock. How does this behavior sound?

amcarrig · 09-15-2006, 06:31 PM

Doesn't sound good to me but it's really hard to say w/o a picture. Can you see the mouth?

serotonin · 09-15-2006, 07:55 PM

It's night time now, 2 hours after lights out (just about) and its fully out, like you'd see in a picture. tentacles are full and flowy and i can see the mouth, but i have to use a flashlight to view it so i tried to use non-direct light to see. the central area is quite white.

I don't know if i have shared this yet but; when i got the anemone about 3 weeks ago, this was two weeks after it split. two weeks before it split (a month before i got it, or 2 months total) from that time and previous the mother anemone was not kept under mh.

For the time being I think there may a bit of light shock going on. Cant say for certain tho, that's for sure hehe.

czieler · 09-15-2006, 08:47 PM

My cleaner shrimps hang out in my florida condi anemone all the time... doesn't seem to bother him at all...

amcarrig · 09-16-2006, 04:55 PM

Well, you're familiar with the routine by now

Leave it be for a little while, don't try to feed it large pieces of food for now and keep a close eye on it.

serotonin · 09-18-2006, 01:32 PM

UPDATE:

I haven't feed it for a few days now. I believe it's my lights that are upsetting it. The MH's in particular. I droped the previous 4hr MH cycle down to 1hr and it hasn't shrunk or retraced in the past two days. I'm going to start increasing it by 15mins every few days and see how things go from there. I'll keep this thread updated with my findings.

Thanks again everyone!