Nem help?

I can help you Whitney but I'm in a hurry :9( Put him on the sandbed for now and I'll get back to you tonight!

 

This doesn't sound good Whitney, especially him being on the sandbed upside down :9( Although I don't have all the info I need from you, it sounds like the nem is injured or sick and very weak. Nems will move when they are hurt and when they do not like where they are at...some get bored too and just go on walkabouts! LOL Nems can stay in one place 10 years or longer if they are happy :0)

If its foot is tore/injured, he will die unfortunately. Here's what I can tell you with what I know from your post. Place him on a rock in a shallow bowl so that water flows over him...NOT a lot of flow! If he can, he will attach to the rock. Feed him; brine or small mysis shrimp (small mysis would be the better of the 2 _brine that is spiralina infused would be the second choice) Just a little food as you don't want him to overeat and purge it all back out. If he doesn't eat, try again about 12 hours later (one time with the lights on, the other time with lights off. If you have anything (fish, crabs, bristleworms, etc) that tries to steal the food, cover the dish/him with a collander giving it time to react and eat the shrimp. Don't worry at this point about lighting for him. They can go a minimum of 3 days with little/minimal light. Your focus at this point is to protect him (from critters and from being blown around) and to see if it will eat :0)

Here's where you can help me to further help you/him. What size tank? Lighting? How long have you had the nem? When was the last time you saw it eat? What did it eat? Is there a chance that he was injured during the move ( dropped, a rock/something fall on it, moved to a different rock, stung by the other nem, etc)? The more you can tell me, the better ;0)

 

Nitrate a touch high, but if you don't have ton of macro in a sump or a refugium that's pretty standard (a good show that your tank is filtering via bacteria)

salinity in specific grav or refractive index? (I am assuming spg) The biggest concern there is is the salinity considerably different from before the switchover?

 

So your Salinity is 1.024/1.025? If so, it's okay but don't go lower than 1.024...1.025 to 1.026 is good :0) Is the Alkalinity at 14.43? Not following that one Whitney :9( If the Alkalinity is 14 dKh, that's too high :9( What salt are you using? Are you adding anything like a buffer to keep the pH up? That's pretty odd that he would detach fron you just moving the rock that he was on...had he been on that rock for some time or had he recently moved? If he had just recently moved to that rock, then I could understand him easily detaching (he probably wasn't where he was wanting to be yet). However, if he was on that rock for some some time, hours/days, he should have been firmly attached.

Do you have bristleworms, crabs or anything that may have/be irritating it? Also, as small as the nem is, that's not good if it was a month since you last saw him eat. I'm really leaning toward that he is either being/was irritated by something (could even be too much flow) and he's starving. I'm happy to hear that you have T-5's as he'll get what he needs photo-wise...keep him in low flow (doesn't use his energy to stay in one spot) and try to feed him! If he seems to be opening a little when the lights go off, try to drop some mysis on him so he can grab it and try to eat. Watch him and see :0) Have you seen him expell anything? If yes, what color was it and was it stringy or a ball/chunk? If he's starving, you might be able to save him :0)...just depends on how far gone he is. It will take effort and persistence on your part but they are worth it :0) I have 7 nems... Can you give me an idea on its size? Mysis, unless it's the small ones, may be too big for it right now. I'm thinking if you have brine, try that first. It's not as nutritious but it's something. If its the regular/large mysis, it eating just one is good. If I'm on the right track with him, try to feed it twice a day...in the AM before the lights come on and PM when they go out... when he opens, even if a little, then he can get it inside him. I'll hang in here with you and him :9) Just answer my questions and give me as much info that you can on it/its behavior. Did you try the rock and bowl? If he isn't attaching at all, just place him in the bowl :0) You don't want him to blow around, have anything irritate it (even sand) and you want to keep him where you can feed it and watch it :9)

 

How's the Nem doing Whitney?

 

So sorry to hear that it's gone Whitney :9( f you are ever interested in getting another, let me know as I will have a bigger, hardier one for you. I'll help you along the way so it lives :0) I have rainbows and Roses'.