Want a bta but need advice

[chester]

I have a couple of 2 year old clowns that at present use a hammer coral for a host in my 100 gallon, I wondered how people had got on introducing bta's and what potential problems may arise,I have MH and good params,thanks in advance

 

[Anonymous]

i'm currently looking into these kind of things myself,the word on the street is bta tend to move about when introduced.

are you planning on providing a host anemone for your clowns?

 

[aquarist=broke]

well chester,

I know somebody else with more exp. than me has your answer, maybe my reply will spark more replies. By the way, this is just from my experience. She moved constantly at first. I'd get up in the morning to find her under a rock or something. I just kept flipping the rock she was on over so that she was under the light. I also moved her to the left and right. Finally she has decided that this rock that has a two inch hole through both sides of the rock as her home. Also, I don't have any corals, so I dont know about those kinda problems.

I first introduced this BTA on June 22.

Somewhere I read that this look was common with newly received anemones as well as not a good look.
This is a month later:

She has some color and more extension.
This is from yesterday:

She is really enjoying the mixed diet of foods that I alternate.

 

[aquarist=broke]

By the way, She had a medium current blowing to all sides of her. I have noticed that if she is doing her thing(extending/contracting) sometimes a tentacle will spin and spin until it falls off. I wouldn't recommend too much current towards her.

JMOFE.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a couple of 2 year old clowns that at present use a hammer coral for a host in my 100 gallon, I wondered how people had got on introducing bta's and what potential problems may arise,I have MH and good params,thanks in advance

read this:http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17570

there are many other threads and posts on the board(try the search key)

fwiw-imho, anemones have an undeservedly acquired rep for difficulty

 

[Anonymous]

If you are keeping LPS corals a BTA shouldn't be a problem. However, if your clown is happy in your hammer coral there is no reason to introduce an anemone. Unless YOU really want one. Your clown does not need an anemone to thrive.

Now if you still want an anemone, a BTA is a hearty choice. There are some things you will need to do for a BTA:

1. Cover intakes and heaters.

2. Create a cave or hole for the BTAs foot.

3. Have frozen meaty foods to feed her.

4. Be aware that newly introduced BTAs tend to wander for a bit.

5. Keep her away from stinging inverts. BTAs do not have a good resistance to LPS stings, but does tolerate most soft corals in close proximity.

6. S.G. 1.024 - 1.026

7. Temperature 79-85* F

8. Moderate current. Too strong she will move or be injured. Too weak she will move or possibly get infected. Basically the same care as most corals.

You have MH so lighting is not an issue for you.

Good Luck

 

[hossfly]

one reply said if the clown was happy in the hammer to just leave it alone. what about the hammer? when I had a clown he kept messing with my bubble coral till it wouldn't stay open. will they finally get used to the clown and stay open?

 

[Jenemone]

I bought my bta a year ago this month. After bringing it home, I deeply regretted buying it, thinking that with so little experience, I surely had condemned it to death. A year later, it has divided once, and has doubled its original size. It is now about ten inches across. I have it in a 29 gal., and it and the tomato clown are the centerpiece of the tank.

So what I am getting at is that they may not be as hard to keep as their reputation suggests. If you have good water quality, sufficient light, and are willing to feed it, I think they are a great addition. I have 130 watts of PCs, and I feed about every ten days.

Be prepared for it to wander until it finds a suitable spot. Mine was all over the tank for about 6 weeks, but hasn't moved in 8 months.

 

[Anonymous]

Most corals do fine with an clown living with them. Bubble corals IMO are too delicate to house a clown. However, hammers and frogspawns usually react well to the clown after the initial settling in period. You could even add xenia. My clarkii lives in my xenia forest. They show no reaction what so ever.