Upside-Down BTA

[adamp]

Hi everyone. I've got a new green bubble-tip who's anchored himself on the back glass behind much of the live rock - extends his body a very long way, and pops his tentacles out upside down, low in the tank.

I've tried to relocate him twice, but this is "his thing". He's hard to feed where he is, and is almost out of sight.

My conclusion is that the guy likes low light/shadow, low flow, and is a bit odd in that he hangs upside down.

Eating well. No clowns. Any ideas? Advice?

[Rob]

that does sounds weirds...
when you say upside down, do you mean the actaul oral disc faces down, or just that the tentacles are drooping down..

how long has it been in the tank?
has it always acted liek this?

[adamp]

Thanks for your quick reply. He's sort of in an upside down "J" shape, with the tentacles curling upwards from behind some rock. When he's positioned like this, his oral disc is facing up, but sometimes, he's totally inverted upside down with the disc facing down. He's always in a state of some motion.

He's new to the tank - one week.

[Rob]

so basically, the foot is attached upwards on the rocks, and the oral disc drops down through a lower opening and comes out...

while its sounds bit odd, i dont think its anything to worry about.
as long as it regularly inflated, taking food, and looking healthy its probably not a major concern...

it is also quite common that it will move around frequently for the first few weeks until it finds a spot "it" likes..

all of this is assuming you have proper water conditions, current, and lighting for it.
BTA, need at least a good set of PC lights (minimum) and are not very tolerant of nitrates...

if you have an image, it might help me gauge the situation better, so if im misunderstanding at all, please feel free to attach an image..

[gwen_o_lyn]

What are your params?
What kind of lighting?
How established is your tank?

Most anemones need metal halides and prefer a tank at least 6 months to a year old. Please do post a picture.

[JustDavidP]

Your anemone is hiding its foot but reaching for the stars . It likes the anchoring spot, but needs the light. That's why you see it stretching, and curving its body upwards. Again, the anemone wants to keep its foot both shaded, and protected from predation. That spot seems comfy to it. However, the need for light has it reaching. Mushrooms will sometimes do this too.

Can you turn the "base rock" upwards even a few degrees to allow a more natural posture for the anemone? If you can do this, and then put smallish LR pieces near it, to cover its foot, it may be just fine there.

In the end, if it has to exert too much energy to keep itself positioned that way, it will most likely "move" to another spot.

Dave

[adamp]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. The famour J-shaped BTA has died. It spent about a week cycling from curled up in a ball to somewhat extended.

This is my second anenome and I think I'm swearing them off. Funny, most of the pros at my local fish store have sworn them off as well. I've got a world of coral to explore.

[pham411]

i sounded like it got into that non reversable bta state. sorry for the loss. again whats yourr parameters?
maybe we can help you more