Bubble Tip

[kubes]

So I got a BTA yesterday to make some clownfish happy, the anemone has adjusted well and is looking good and happy. It somehow found the most obscure place in my aquarium to hide, in a small crack between rocks that my fish likely wont be able to fit in to be symbiotic with it. So my question is, should I somehow get it to move so that the clownfish can be happy with it? My tank is 55 gal, my lighting is a coralife 10,000 k duel daylight and actinic with lunar LEDS if you wanted to know how the BTA will go with light, but what do you all think? I have a pic of it as well.

 

[Anonymous]

I hope it doesn't look as bad in real life, but I'm sorry to say that BTA looks badly bleached.

As to how to get it to move, you might have to play with the current produced by your powerheads, but it's far from straight forward. Is it getting good light (your fixture is a metal halide, plus actinics, right?) in the current position? That'll be key in recovering, if it's able to.

 

[metalac]

I heard that they like to look for places where there is a hole so they can put their foot in. Maybe that's what happened.

 

[brandonberry]

That is true. They tend to retract back into the rocks at night and come out during the day. The key to getting it past the bleaching spell is to feed it daily, if it will accept food. Do not force it though. If it cannot make food through symbiotic zooxanthellae then it needs to get it some other way. Also, chop the food up good so it will be easier for it to digest rather than giving it a whole silverside or something. It should come around over the next couple of weeks. I've seen them bounce back from almost nothing.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, it should slowly expand up towards the light, leaving the foot deep in the rocks. I agree that offering it some food is wise.

Don't worry about your fish finding it, when it is healthy and ready, it will stretch up and the clowns will find it.

It does look bleached, but that might just be the photo. Either way, good food and good water conditions and it will come back. To be perfectly honest, I don't think I have ever seen a BTA for sale in a store that didn't look a bit bleached.

Whatever you do, don't move it. Doing so will only disturb it more and delay it getting accustomed to your tank.

 

[Kelpie]

Here's a good website for Q&A about Entacmaea Quadricolor (BTAs) and their husbandry. She also includes a lot of info about caring for stressed and bleached anemones and their recovery.

www.karensroseanemones.com

 

[rbursek]

Evry one wants a BTA, but they are not like a BLT, LOL, they are tuff to keep, pure water and fed locally, mentor has lost 3 of them, now a Reef only tank and has one for 6 months!
Bob

 

[shred5]

Yea I agree that anemone looks bleached in the pic. If so you should feed it to help keep it alive till it gets most of its zooxanthellae back. It very well could be hiding because the light is too much for it to handle right now. It will come out when it is ready. They will also settle where the conditions are right not where you want them to go.

You also ask if you’re lighting is right but you do not list what your lighting is. You should have researched this before you bought the anemone. The good thing is BTA’s generally prefer lesser light levels than other anemones and are one of the easier to keep anemones. It is a good first time anemone. They also move around from time to time and any power head in the tank should be anemone proofed or it will get into them eventually. Some foods to try are small pieces of shrimp, silversides or mysis. With feeding they also will split from time to time producing clones. I have also had mine spawn from time to time.


Dave