Seabe anemone swelling and shriveling?

We have a 90 gallon tank that is 3 years old with 100lbs of mature live rock. We acquired it from a prior owner and have had it for a month. The professional from our LFS that moved it for us sold us a seabe anemone a few weeks ago. It spent some days looking like it was trying to split, and then shriveled down to almost nothing after spewing some stringy mucus from its mouth. The next day it blew up like a balloon and started moving around the tank - sometimes rolling. It has spent the past two days sideways - foot showing (swelling, folding and shriveling also). Is this normal?

If photos would help I can post some.

Thank all for any advice/assitence.

 

Hi and Welcome to 3reef,

No that is not normal but Sebae are famous for being one the hardest Anemones to acclimate.

What you see coming out of the oral opening are Mesenterial Filaments, a bad sign. Floating is also a bad thing.

You can try to place the foot in a depression in the sand in an area of very low flow.

You can try this: Please read link below.

Protocol for using Ciprofloxacin to treat infected anemones. - Reef Central Online Community

Posting water chemistry values are important in assisting to nail down the problem as well.

The tank really should have been left allowed to age since the move before the introduction of the Sebae, they are just too sensitive. That specimen looks bleached as well.

Try a LTA or a BTA next time.

 

So the tank was moved a few weeks ago? Wonder if a mini-cycle occurred/is occurring. might explain the anemones health, or lack of.

 

Thank you all for the support. Here's a photo

 

What kind of lighting?

 

We have Marineland Reef Capable LEDs on the recommendation of the guy who moved it for us. Will test the water today and post. The LFS tested it last weekend when the anemone started acting weird but said water was fine. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, ph of 8.2.

It looks pretty unhappy this morning. It does look like it has some insides poking out of its mouth.


We are willing to try isolation and Cipro but only have a spare 5 gal tank.

A steeper learning curve than anticipated.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

Btw I am new to forums so if I have poor etiquette please do feel free to guide me there too.

 

Well unfortunately, those reef cable lights from Marineland are really not :/ They should be fine for lower light corals, such as most softies, mushrooms, etc, but not for higher light corals/inverts such as a Sebae.

 

Hmmm. We have a set of T5 HO fluorescent lights that came with the system. The professional who moved the tank recommended the upgraded lights saying T5s output is unstable and bulbs require frequent changing. He sold them to us.

We still have the T5s - would they be better?

It's starting to sound like the seabe should be living somewhere else - with folks more experienced and a set up that can properly support it.

Even if the Cipro works but the lights are not sufficient it would seem it is not likely to fare well over the long haul.

We would rather give it away than kill it. Needless to say we've tried to follow "expert" advice wishing for the tank to thrive.

Open to ideas. Is it worth trying to treat the anemone or should we send it back to the store? We won't get any refund or credit at this point but we're trying to do what's best for the anemone.

 

+1 i tried my luck with a sabea a while ago and i wont be doing so again, they are extremely delicate. ill add that moving the anemone (any anemone) personally should be a last solution option as it will stress the animal out.

 

How many bulbs was the T5 fixture?