Green BTA Question

[Kasey]

I gently placed him myself and he latched on and hasn't moved much (went down slightly into the hole in the center of the rock).

I read on wetwebmedia not to touch, feed or bother at BTA for the first week.

I just want to be sure the acclimation is going fine or....?

He isn't puffy on the foot as he was at first, but is almost folded over and not displaying his tentacles.

 

[Ben1]

Looks pretty poor right now, the tentacles seem to be bleached a bit.

I really dont know anything about your tank or where you got this anemone so its hard for me to make any suggestions.

I wouldnt think offering a light feeding wouldnt hurt, with something small like mysis shrimp. But in the condition it is in it probably wont take. Hard to say.

 

[Entacmaea]

I would let it be for now- if it doesn't attach with its foot, it is not a good sign
(it doesn't look attached in the picture, but it is hard to tell). Once (if) it does attach- they usually like to bury their foot in a rock crevice and have their tentacles sticking out- feed it lightly a day later, but don't force it. Extra energy from food is needed and could be valuable, but not at the expense of stressing it...

Also, looks pretty small- maybe 3-4" across? Hard to tell. Keep all clowns and shrimp away from it as well until later, as they can stress it too. Good rule of thumb is that BTA should be 6" before being robust enough to host clownfish, otherwise clownfish can literally nuzzle it to death...

Good luck. Drmaccorals.com also sells tank-raised BTA's- for future reference.

 

[Kasey]

Thanks for the input.

My tank is new, only about 84 days old. My damsels and cleaner shrimp haven't bothered him. I didn't buy any clowns yet, so that I could ensure the BTA takes fine and grows first.

My temp is 77, slightly cooler than my LFS (where I got the BTA). My SG is 1.0245 (LFS was at 1.025). I have two powerheads with covered intakes and a spray bar on my Rena. I run 3 watts per gallon of 50/50 9 hours and LED moonlights for 12 hours. I'll do a full water test later today after work. I did a water change last week, but will prerp for another just in case.

My LFS had him for a few months, I would stop in and check him out every week and things seemed fine, which is why I bought him. He is about 4" across, but laying over himself, so it is hard to see his size from the photos.

I know my photo skills stink, but the tentacles are a nice vibrant green. Also, could you steer me to some good photos of BTA anatomy and what properly attached looks like?

 

[mr_X]

3 watts per gallon doesn't mean much if your tank is deep, and you are using something like CF. i'm not saying the light is the issue, but just be aware that it might not be enough. that might be an entirely different problem. i would think the BTA would be all the way open if he wasn't getting enough light.

 

[bug0926]

It doesn't look good. Your don't need one to keep clowns. How many days have you had it?

 

[Kasey]

I know I don't need one to keep clowns. I wanted to get a BTA healthy and comfy before I bought some clowns.

Today is the second day I've had him. He looked fine at the store and I drip acclimated him for a little over an hour.

I put him in the spot he is now and he latched onto the rock and hasn't moved much since or opened up.

I tried gently squirting some mysis at him today, but saw no real reaction. The center section in the photo I though was the stomach has receded slightly as the day progressed.

If I view him from the top of my tank, he is spread out long and elliptical, like a clam would look like (does that make sense). The color is NOT any more bleached on his base.

What, if anything could/should I do? Keep lights off, keep on, turn off a powerhead, nothing. I hate to think I'm just slowly killing a creature when I could do something ya know....

 

[Anonymous]

It's been a while since I've kept any anemone in my own or a customer's tanks, but I've seen many species do that for the first few days (getting towards four, five, six days, then I'm concerned). I will assume that your other parameters (such as pH) much more closely followed the shop's than what you've already listed. The two that you've listed alone can explain its sucked up stance on life right now. The specific gravity isn't so far off, but I'm wondering just how much cooler your water is. How closely do your lights mimic the shop's? What's that pH at? Other readings? Is it opening up at all?

It appears that it's attached itself, at least to the point of not rolling around in the tank, and that's a good thing.

 

[Kasey]

Once I placed it in the tank, it stayed there - it hasn't rolled around at all.

It hasn't opened up that I have seen.

I am going to bring a sample of my water or call my LFS to find out there exact numbers.

It's only been two days, so I could be premature in my worries.

If my levels are real far off (temp/ph), should I try to adjust for the bta's sake (and risk hurting the other inhabitants) or hope my bta takes?

If, by Sunday he isn't opening or eating, I'll worry.

 

[JimC]

FWIW I thought my BTA was a goner a few times the first month after I brought him home. The thing actually spent a good 3 weeks where there was no light, I couldn't feed him, thought for sure he wouldn't make it.

Now he just keeps a splittin...and movin

I wouldn't disturb him for a while.

 

[mr_X]

do you have any flow in the tank? i don't think they like it dead calm.

 

[Kasey]

x: yes i have flow, a power head on each side of th etank, a spray bar on my rena return and my sump return

I talked to my LFS and they said they keep there tanks at temp 78-80, ph 8.1-8.4. My ph is 8.2 and my temp is high 77. Guess my temp wasn't that far off, but I raised it one degree anyway.

I noticed that my cleaner shrimp molested the BTA a couple times briefly and he closed up more.

As you can see from the photos, he isn't throwing his stomach (?) out anymore and he is slowly moving down into the rock hole.

 

[brandonberry]

I think the only issue you have at this point is that it is indeed bleached. It will take some time for it to regain the symbiotic algae. Until then you will need to feed it regularly if it will accept food. Start off with small pieces of food that won't take a lot of effort for it to swallow. Do not force it to eat if it won't accept food. It may be good to feed all the other tankmates first so they won't be tempted to pick at it and try to steal the food. As it begins to accept food and look better, gradually offer it more. You will be surprised how quick it will bounce back once it does turn around and start regaining zooxanthellae.

 

[Entacmaea]

Just hang in there- looks like it is making progress. From the picture, it doesn't looked bleached, but rather typically colored, but still try to feed it. Also, still feed it regularly even after you think it has regained any zooxanthellae it may have lost- and it is best to feed whole prey items ultimately- not just chunks of food. The BTA will derive other nutrients from other parts of the item are are not just in its "meat". Small mysis or thawed whole shrimp are best. Keep you cleaner shrimp away from it, as they can tear into the anemone (actually open up the mouth) to get the food fed to it...

If you haven't already, read Host Anemone Secrets (Ron Shimek)- it is a very brief read (24 pages) , but will give you good insights on how to keep anemones.

 

[Entacmaea]

Just hang in there- looks like it is making progress. From the picture, it doesn't looked bleached, but rather typically colored, but still try to feed it. Also, still feed it regularly even after you think it has regained any zooxanthellae it may have lost- and it is best to feed whole prey items ultimately- not just chunks of food. The BTA will derive other nutrients from other parts of the item are are not just in its "meat". Small mysis or thawed whole shrimp are best. Keep you cleaner shrimp away from it, as they can tear into the anemone (actually open up the mouth) to get the food fed to it...

If you haven't already, read Host Anemone Secrets (Ron Shimek)- it is a very brief read (24 pages) , but will give you good insights on how to keep anemones.

 

[SnowManSnow]

is he sticky when u touch him?

b

 

[Kasey]

Is the body or just the tentacles supposed to be sticky?

Although he hasn't lost color and doesn't smell (he isn't dead), he is now at the lowest point in the tank - crawled all the way into the hole in the rock. I can't tell if he is attached or just laying on the sand though.

He is tentacles down, and looks flipped inside out - basically not displaying at all. I tried feeding some mysis again and although he reacted slightly, i don't think he took any.

It looks as if one of my damsels is guarding him from the others though.

I can only either let him be or move him to higher ground....

 

[mr_X]

Also, could you steer me to some good photos of BTA anatomy and what properly attached looks like?

if your LFS had him for a few months, you saw what he was supposed to look like just before you purchased him. he should have been connected to something in the store tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Once I placed it in the tank, it stayed there - it hasn't rolled around at all.

It hasn't opened up that I have seen.

I am going to bring a sample of my water or call my LFS to find out there exact numbers.

It's only been two days, so I could be premature in my worries.

If my levels are real far off (temp/ph), should I try to adjust for the bta's sake (and risk hurting the other inhabitants) or hope my bta takes?

If, by Sunday he isn't opening or eating, I'll worry.

No, I would definitely NOT make any changes in the tank for the sake of the BTA. Watch, go ahead and have your water tested (the one thing they can't test for, obviously, is your temperature compared to theirs), if any numbers are off then make corrections for that, but at this point it's late in the game to try to match shop parameters. The only parameter I might suggest changing is to try bringing the temperature up to 80. However, I've observed tropical anemones in waters where I had goosebumps (diving 60'+) that were quite obviously thriving. They can tolerate the temp you've got. What they can't really tolerate are big changes.

In my opinion (which, admittedly doesn't count for much), just make sure that your parameters are good, and let the anemone come around on its own. The pH is the most important parameter for any aquatic organism (too many folks seem to ignore this), and absolutely can NOT be changed quickly. If yours is off by even .1 (one tenth of a point) it's enough to cause a good bit of stress.

Let the anemone be. It's not surprising that a damsel is now hosting it. Don't try to feed it at this point, especially if its now got its own dammy (what species, by the way?) because the dammy will feed it. The foot is what's supposed to be attached, but the tentacles are what should be "sticky". Be careful, some people are very sensitive to nematocysts and most docs have no clue how to treat.

 

[Anonymous]

Also, could you steer me to some good photos of BTA anatomy and what properly attached looks like?

if your LFS had him for a few months, you saw what he was supposed to look like just before you purchased him. he should have been connected to something in the store tank.

I'm guessing that this is a smart shop, and they kept the anemone in a bare tank, so that it probably required little more than a lifting of the foot off the glass/Plexi.