11becca20

Yesterday I bought a bubble tipped anemone. It was doing fine until we fed it. (We feed it food from an Arcti-pod.) When we fed it, it fell off of the rock where we had placed it. From there it moved into a cave. This morning I came down and noticed that it looked a bit smaller. Within a half-hour it was 3 times smaller than it's original size. It tenticals were also very thin. I have read that it might do this after eating, or to expel waste. Is this normal? Should I be worried? Thanks in advance.

agsansoo

Yes, more the likely just expelling waste. Totally normal behavior. It could be the anemone didn't like what you feed him also, that's why it ran for cover. Try feed it mysis shrimp, raw devained shrimp or raw scallops. The last two you can get at your grocery store. Make sure the pieces are only about a 1/4" long.

How big is your anemone ?

11becca20

The anemone is 5-6 inches in diameter. It seems to now be moving farther back into the rocks. I read that they needed a lot of light, but that if they get too much they can become bleached. Is that why it's is going farther into the rocks, so it won't become bleached? Thanks for the answering my other questions.

sirdarksol

Anenomes are capable of deflating themselves, and do so for many reasons. I don't own any, but have sat for a long time at the tide pool at my local zoo and have seen them do it in response to a particularly strong wave, contact from an exploring starfish, or a probe from an overeager child.

agsansoo

Anemones bleach from lack of light, not the other way around. The zooxanthellae algae that lives symbiotically in the anemone needs light. Without lots of light the zooxanthellae algae dies, giving the anemone a bleached look.