When it comes to the popularity of anemones sky rocketing over the last few years, the bubble tip anemone is definitely one of the top three clear winners as they are easily one of the most commonly kept anemones in the world now.
Thankfully, the bubble top anemone is generally very easy to keep with it being relatively hardy as far as anemones go and usually being considered to be a beginner friendly tank.
That being said, as we covered in our article on a bubble tip anemone closing up, even an entry level, beginner friendly anemone often requires its keeper to have some previous experience within the aquarium keeping hobby as they really can be sensitive and have problems that fish, snails, shrimp, and plants can deal with and not have a problem.
This is why we see so many people reaching out due to having problems with having a bubble tip anemone deflate on them with many people asking how they are able to help their anemone heal.
A deflated bubble tip anemone can be a serious issue and the anemone can commonly perish if it is not treat quickly but our points below should be able to help you work out what the problem is and fix it.
Injury From Tank Mates.
The number one reason that we see for a bubble tip anemone to start to deflate is that they have been bitten by a tank mate.
This could be due to people accidentally including non-reef safe tank mates in their tanks or a a species that is considered reef safe nipping or biting your bubble tip anemone causing it to deflate.
Just because a fish, shrimp or even snail is considered “reef-safe” does not mean that every single one of them will be and there will always be exceptions. On top of that, some species of angelfish are considered reef safe until they reach around five years old and then they will try to eat everything in sight.
Dealing with a tank mate eating your bubble tip anemone can be more difficult than some people realize as beginners usually don’t have spare tanks to separate your anemone and whatever is eating it.
This can commonly cause the aquarium keeper to have to either choose one or the other of just leave the bubble tip anemone in the tank to be eaten.
High Water Flow.
The second big reason that we see for people’s anemones starting to deflate is that they have been placed in a tank with too high of water flow.
We have seen so many people reach out to us over the years asking why their anemone won’t stay put and it ends up being due to having strong water flow in the tank.
A bubble tip anemone tends to do best in a tank with moderate or low to moderate water flow. If your bubble tip anemone is in a high flow tank then it can commonly start to deflate but thankfully, reseating the anemone to a new area of the tank will commonly fix the problem.
Unsuitable Light.
Technically, a bubble tip anemone can do well in an aquarium that has moderate to high lighting intensity but the definitely tend to thrive on a moderate amount of light.
Too much light can cause the anemone to burn or have other issues commonly causing it to start to deflate.
This is also another easy problem to fix in some tank setups as you may just be able to lower the lighting intensity in your aquarium to stop the problem.
In addition to that, you need to factor in that some of the cheaper lighting intensity units on the market will also have inaccurate control dials and inconsistent bulbs adding more potential problems.
The Placement Of The Anemone.
Sticking with the previous two points, the placement of your bubble tip anemone and also cause it to start to deflate.
This is commonly due to the lighting and water flow of the tank as we covered above but the same setting on your pump or lighting unit can also be changed by incorrectly placing your bubble tip anemone in your tank.
As we mentioned in our section on lighting intensity above, bubble tip anemone can live in tanks with high light intensity but this is usually offset by the placement of the anemone being deeper in the tank to reduce the amount of light that actually hits it.
Planning out the placement of your bubble tip anemone can allow you to keep the anemone in a tank that has areas that are unsuitable for your anemone while the anemone is placed in its own location that is perfect for it.
Water Temperature.
Another reason that we see people have problems with their anemones starting to deflate is that the water temperature in the tank is too high or low for the anemone.
Bubble tip anemones are tropical creatures and need a water temperature between around 72 and 83 degrees Fahrenheit to do well in an aquarium.
If your tank water dips below 72 degrees or goes above 83 degrees then this can cause the anemone to start to deflate in some cases, especially if the temperatures are kept out of limited for an extended period of time.
Thankfully, this is another easy problem to fix as you should be able to use a quality aquarium heater and thermometer to keep your tank at a consistent temperature.
Low Quality Water.
It should go without saying that anything living in your aquarium needs high-quality water to live a long and healthy life and bubble tip anemones are no exception.
If you have poor quality water going into your tank or if something goes wrong with your filtration causing the water quality to drop then this can commonly cause anemones to start to deflate.
This is another easy problem to fix as you should be able to do regular water changes and make sure that your filtration system is up to par to maintain high-quality water in your tank.
A Lack Of Nutrients And Food.
Bubble tip anemones are filter feeders and will get a lot of their nutrients from the water column but they also need to be fed directly to do well in an aquarium.
A common sign that your bubble tip anemone is not getting enough food is that it will start to deflate.
To fix this problem, you need to make sure that you are feeding your anemone directly on a regular basis.
This can be done by using a syringe to target feed the anemone or by adding food to the tank that will sink down to where the anemone is.
In addition to that, you should also make sure that you are using a high-quality aquarium food mix that contains all of the necessary nutrients for your anemone to thrive.
Water pH Levels.
Although very rare, problems with pH levels in the tank can cause a bubble tip anemone to be deflated.
This is definitely one of the rarer reasons though and it can quickly be fixed by adding some aquarium salt to the tank to raise the pH levels.
For the most part, you shouldn’t have to worry about this issue but it is something that we wanted to include just in case you were struggling with your anemone starting to deflate.
Summary Of Why Your Bubble Tip Anemone Deflated!
- Injury From Tank Mates.
- High Water Flow.
- The Placement Of The Anemone.
- Unsuitable Light.
- Water Temperature.
- Water pH Levels.
- Low Quality Water.
- A Lack Of Nutrients And Food.
