RBTA hiding in the dark

[djxtc21]

I picked up a small RBTA at the swap and he is doing great, but the only problem is that he always ends up at the bottom of the tank towards the back where there is very little light

its really hard to reach where he has placed himself

the question is should I move the rock to get him out or is there a good chance he will move when he realizes he is not getting the light he needs?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

It will move to a place where it feels comfortable.

 

[TheDumbSter]

i think u should just give him to thedumbster... lol... nah he'll move

 

[nanchil]

it will move to a place where it feels comfortable.

+1

 

[Imbarrie]

It could just be getting used to the new environment.
In that case you should leave it alone, It will find a new place on its own.

Can you post your setup and parameters?

A RBTA needs specific conditions that have to be met or it will slowly recede and die. Since you purchased it from the swap I am confident that was communicated.

My GBTA hid for two weeks, I turned the rock around into a shady area and it found a great place on its own.

 

[djxtc21]

The tank is a 125g RR tank (the long version)

I am running a 55g sump/fuge (estimating 30g of water in there)
A reef octo skimmer (sorry I forgot the model, but it was rated for a tank up to 300, which i know is always exaggerated)

The tank has ~200lb of live rock

The lighting is provided by a 72" nova extreme pro unit (12 bulb x 39watts each) running ati and fiji purple bulbs

phos: 0.02
nitrate: 0.02
ph: 8.2
temp: varies from 76-79 daily
salinity: 1.026 (refractometer)
ca: 450

and the tank has been running for 6 months

 

[djxtc21]

I am hoping it will move, because it would be very difficult to get it out from where he's at

 

[Imbarrie]

Just watch him for a few days.
If possible, put a small piece of shrimp or fish on the tentacles.

If he hasnt moved in a week then I would start to think about the next step.

Is the rock he is on movable?
You should never remove the nem from the rock. But maybe after a week you could turn the rock or move other rocks out of the way.

Post a pic.

 

[djxtc21]

the rock is not movable unless I move a lot of other rock

I am going to try pointing a powerhead at him to get him to leave the rock, but it may be hard to get the angle

 

[Imbarrie]

dont use a powerhead that is a terrible idea

 

[Chongpark27]

it will move to a place where it feels comfortable.

+1

 

[Zuska]

the rbta is just stressed out right now. it will the there for a few days untill its happy to come out and find a good spot to live in. hope you dont have to many corals in their because they like to move around untill they find the perfect spot.

 

[jr973]

+ 1 on the many corals and) movin around they do zap I don't believe its a hard zap as some other anemones but can do damage but I had the same thing I put a small one in my tank becaus the mother split and he did the same hell I didn't even know where he was until not too long ago he popped up at the top of the tank I'm sure it will do the same give it some time

 

[djxtc21]

well I have a ton of frags, so I can only hope for the best

he seems to be getting healthier day by day, his tentacles are getting fatter
so i guess ill just wait it out

thanks guys

 

[tentacles]

If you can, move your frags to a frag rack or something until he finds his spot. Don't use a powerhead to get him out though, it'll only stress him out more. Just let him do his thing

 

[Imbarrie]

Or you can put your frags in the sand for now. Nems are reluctant to go through sand.



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