Hermit v. anemone and Starfish v nitrates

The color of the anemone itself is normal for a condy but its foot should be bright red. If yours is not, then the anemone is not healthy. It may have been unhealthy when it was still at the fish store or it could have started deteriorating when you added it to your tank.

 

a lot of anemone's are near death in the stores. The ones with the red bases would be healthier. Then, as their actual tentacles get dark and will turn a brownish color, that shows even further health.
Don't under-estimate the anemone's. They are among the toughest to keep creatures out there for our aquariums. And like John said, if they die, they will release a poison into the tank which can kill every other living thing along with it. It's something I myself have gone through, which is why I recommend getting them out of the tank as soon as something starts to turn for the wrong. Just not worth it IMHO.

 

but why would half the anemone's in the tank be red footed and the other half colorless? when do i know to take him out?

my dad has been breeding fish for 30+years and specifically sent me to the LFS that I go to (been selling fish to the owner for 20 of those years), I really don't think they would sell me an unhealthy specimn :-/

 

Because only half of the anemone's are healthy Half isn't bad from an LFS, I would say maybe 1 out of every 15 that my LFS gets in are doing well.
The major things to look out for (besides the foot) is to make sure the tentacles are still real sticky (should not feel slimey), and make sure it does not have a bad odor (you'll know).

 

no slimyness and no odor.....

 

Not To say that its your LFS's fault or that your dad gave you bad advice, things just happen. Not all animals are as healthy as the others. Maybe your anemone is sick, maybe it's near death, or maybe it just needs to get used to its new home. Who knows? They're right tho, keep an Eye on it. Don't sit there and poke and prod it every 5 mins, but keep a look out for other changes in color, texture, and or behavior.
Good Luck!

 

Hard to tell what type of anemone, but it looks extremely bleached. The base/foot should be a very rich color and the tentacles should have some color to it. To me, it looks like it would be a condy or a Haitian, but I'm no anemone expert when it comes to ID. If your tank is stable and healthy, any damage sustained to it should be repaired within a week or two. High nitrates will destroy an anemone in a hurry, your tank may be way too young to house an anemone as well.

 

The ones with red bases were healthy. White foot means a foot into the grave unfortunately. If you are using CF only, the amount of lighting an anemone needs will be somewhere in the 10+W range per gallon of water, and the tank cannot be deep. As it is, move the anemone as close to the surface of the water as you safely can get it so it can absorb as much light as it can.
I wouldn't write off your LFS as being purposely malicious, especially since you have such a long history with them. They may be just as uneducated about anemone health as the average Joe citizen of the world that sticks a "Nemo in a goldfish bowl" and wonders why it died.

 

I agree, just let it be and let nature take its course at this point. One lesson I have learned over the last 5 years of this hobby is "the less you mess with the tank, the better off it will be." Just feed it well, like 1 small silverside each day or every other day, to help it regrow the zooxanthellae within its tissues. The other thing to consider is upgrading your lighting as soon as possible. Depending on how deep the tank is, get either a T5 fixture, or if your tank is more than 18" deep get a metal halide fixure. Good luck, we're pulling for you.

 

K, had the bf move all the lights to right on top of where the anemones are (i'm at work lol) and we're gonna see how it goes. I jsut picked the one i did b/c it looked the happiest and now its gonna die and take my whole tank down poor lionfishy fish, poor huma huma trigger, poor starfishyfishes, poor urcie urchin, poor domino damsels, poor blue damsel.....