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View Full Version : BTA acting normal or no?



Learning2Reef
02-04-2009, 03:50 AM
Alright --- so, I'll face it. I think I have made a newbie mistake. For this, before I get a lecture .. forgive me as I can own up to my mistakes.

Here's the deal. I have a 100gal tank set up. I cycled and completed it in December. My newbie mistake was getting a BTA based on who I thought was a trusted source at a LFS. I've bought other things from this guy, building my trust up I took his word for things.

Anyways -- the BTA is not attached to any rock, but rather my sand. He's in the back part of my tank under a rock, getting little light. During the day for the most part he is closed up, then at night he is opening up. I have him for roughly a week in the tank. He is eating some mysis shrimp, haven't tried silverside yet, definitely need too. When he eats, his mouth opens and gets big, then goes down. I've seen him expel his waste goods. However, he has shriveled up some from when I first got him. I am attaching some photos for you guys to take a look at. Tell me whatcha folks think and where I should go from here. Please keep in mind, my camera is not the greatest! He's attached his foot to the sand, so he is not moving or floating around.

So ... Here are the specs of the tank along with the inhabitants in the tank!

PH 8.2 (need to raise it some)
Nitrites - 0
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 20 (has been sitting there steady and hasn't moved any) --- I do not have a DSB on my tank at all, I don't like the look of it. Cheato was added to the fuge roughly a week and a half ago, it needs time to grow. Will be doing a water change tomorrow, if not Friday.

Alk 3.31 meg/L
MG 1440ppm (I've been dosing it)
CA 320ppm (dosed some more today)
SG - between 1.023 and 1.024

Livestock:
Hippo Tang yellow belly (started out as the size of a nickle then going to the size of a quarter)
Yellow Tang (Med sized)
Foxface (Med Sized)
Bi-color Blenny
Scooter Blenny (he eats frozen)
2 1" long clowns (nemo's)
2 Brittle Stars
Emerald Crab
Porclein Crab
Firefish Goby
Plus some various inverts such as hermits and some peppermint shrimp.



3 head Rainbow Acan (has two more heads coming in)
1 head Aussie Duncan (3 heads are coming in ... 4 for the price of 1 YAY!)
3 head Acan of something (need to get a good photo of it, but my camera is crap!)
Superman Monti -- it's still adjusting to the lighting and starting to color up some.. taking its time
Pink colored digita about 1.5 inches long!
2 Head Krypt Candy Cane has split into 3/4 heads... (4th one has not come in all the way)
2 head blue/greenish candy cane, splitting into 3 heads
Torch Coral

My equipment exists of this:

Sump/fuge with light for the growing cheato.
QuietOne 4000 for my return pump
SunCoast Skimmer for up to 125gallons
2 Koralia 3's

Lighting:

48" Hamilton Lighting retrofit kit in it that includes the reflector, (2) 48" 40w actinic blue fld, and (2) mogul base 250w 14K MH bulbs.


The regal tang has went from about the size of a nickle and has been growing a lot! She/he is about the size of a quarter now! All the fish are eating like you wouldn't believe, which is a great thing!

Phurst
02-04-2009, 10:30 AM
Well, it's not ABnormal behavior, but it's also not optimal behavior. The good news is, the pics don't look too bad. It's not clearly dying or anything. It's not unusual for a new anemone to take a couple of days to a week to get used to a new tank, new water, new lighting, etc. They will do as yours is doing. Hiding, not expanding fully, etc. It's also a good sign that it's eating. The only ting i don't like is that it's not on the rock. The foot of a BTA isn't really capable of holding onto the sand, so either it's perched on a little piece of rubble, or it's just sitting on the sand, which means there isn't much flow where it is. In your first pic, it looks like it might indeed be on a small piece of rock. BTAs will rarely cross sand because they can't hold on to it. We really want to get this guy on your main rockwork. If he is indeed on a small piece of rock, move it and the anemone onto your main rockwork. if he's just sittonmg on the sand, try to get him to attach to the rocks. Either way, he's going to move around some once he's on the rock to find a happy place, but as it is now, he doesn't appear to have anywhere to go in search of a good home.

Learning2Reef
02-04-2009, 11:01 AM
Hahah funny you mention that. He is on a small piece of rock, and literally very tiny piece.

Now here's the thing, is that I have put him on rock and he keeps going back there. I am going to try to move him again today later on in hopes I can get him and the rock. Where he is at is not in the easiest of positions to get to him considering he's in the corner of the tank behind a piece of rock that weighs about 20 or more lbs. He has attached himself to my glass in the front of the tank (of all places), to behind a rock on the other side of the tank, moved back to the side he's on on a rock. Then .... to behind the rock and on a small piece of rock.

He's a photo of my most current rock formations and etc. Now in this photo, he's on the far right side underneath that huge rock!!!!

Amphibious
02-04-2009, 11:48 AM
Learning2Reef, welcome to Talking Reef Forum, the very best forum on the Net.

Let me be the first to commend you on an EXCELLENT first post. NEWBIES pay attention!!! When you want answers to questions please remember, we need all the information posted by Learning2Reef in order not to have to post questions back at you for this information.

Learning2Reef :up::up::up: three thumbs up and a Gold Star!!!

Ok, now the wandering BTA. They have a mind of their own and will wander looking for the optimal spot in their current home, your tank. Yours has a small rock attached. If you can place it on your LR and anchor it there, it may move off and attach to the LR.

But as someone on TR likes to point out, getting an anemone to stay where you want it to, is like herding cats. I think it's Carmie that makes that analogy.

Dick

Learning2Reef
02-04-2009, 12:16 PM
Thanks Amphibious, definitely appreciate the thumbs up! I have read a lot of posts and know what is requested in making a post with questions. This way, it will allow for everyone to know what I have.

So, I had to put some PVC piping together so it would make an L at the end of it for me to be able to get the BTA moved over far enough for me to get him! As he was in an akward position. Of course me having to mess with him to move him, stressed him out and now his mouth is all showing ugly :eek:, but the good news is that I could get him!

So, he is balled up into a small ball before the lights came on. The previous photos that were taken of him were with the lights OFF. Now, this morning, this is what he looked like.

Now... I have moved him (he was attached to a snail shell) to the enter of my tank where there is a spot he can put his foot into, HOPEFULLY. His mouth is all puckered up now like he's trying to kiss me :tongue2: or he's tell me to *bleep* off. Which I am sure this is the case. I'll see how he goes from here.

Thanks ...

rayme07
02-04-2009, 11:53 PM
Hi Learning2Reef welcome to TR. I agree with phurst and dicks post. Hope he pulls through for you. Also nice setup I like your rock work very cool. :)

CarmieJo
02-05-2009, 01:17 AM
Hi Shawnda and :welcome: to TR!

Your tank looks very nice. Good luck with the BTA staying where you want it to. Hopefully though it will attach and all will be well. You will need to really work on getting the nitrates down or you will see your corals browning out. I would not add anything until they are less than 10. I know that you don't like the look of a DSB but have you considered a remote DSB or adding a DSB to your fuge?

Learning2Reef
02-05-2009, 02:07 PM
Hi Shawnda and :welcome: to TR!

Your tank looks very nice. Good luck with the BTA staying where you want it to. Hopefully though it will attach and all will be well. You will need to really work on getting the nitrates down or you will see your corals browning out. I would not add anything until they are less than 10. I know that you don't like the look of a DSB but have you considered a remote DSB or adding a DSB to your fuge?

Carmie --

Thanks for the kind compliments. Definitely appreciate it. So, here's the deal. I have thought about a remote DSB. I haven't done it yet, hoping that the water change that I'm doing on Friday and that the cheato (just got it about a week and a half ago) will start to make a difference. I'm going to give time for the cheato to work its magic and hopefully, it will be all that I need!

Anyways --- so I took someone's suggestion and was able to get the BTA moved from where he was, as he was attached to a shell. I got him out of his spot safely, moved him to the center of my tank on some rock. He moved from the rock in the front of the tank, to up and around the back side of the rock and has went back to the sand?

But they can't move across sand. Is this something to be concerned about? I have read in multiple places, but I don't take everything I read to heart either that a flower pot may work for this guy. He doesn't seem to like rough edge, but rather pretty smooth surfaces. With the flower pot he would get that, but I didn't wanna just jump in with something like that.

Any thoughts from you folks?

Thanks

CarmieJo
02-08-2009, 01:41 AM
I've not heard of using a flowerpot but I don't think it would hurt to try a plain one.

Learning2Reef
03-08-2009, 02:09 AM
I thought that I would provide some feedback for everyone on the anenome.

It has bit the dust!

The anenome and the Koralia decided to make half breed babies, and needless to say when they both puckered up, there was a little to much tonsil hockey being played! The Koralia swallowed the anenome! Then .... all he left was a foot! He said tha the anenome looked so darn sexy, that he didn't ever wanna hear her again with another being!

Amphibious
03-08-2009, 08:34 AM
That's too bad. One of the problems with roaming anemones and exposed pumps impellers.

tracytracy
03-08-2009, 05:36 PM
I seem to have made the same mistake and I asked the guy at the lfs if this was a critter that was good for a beginning tank and he said yes. My tank has been active about two months its a 29gal with a mixed bed of chipped coral and sand. When I recently added the fish the parameters were good then they spiked accordingly I did a water change by 10% which got them back to the correct levels. Now it seems that my anemone has completely with drawn into his bubble like he's dead. Attached is a picture of it.

SG-1.024
TEMP 76
PH 8.2
AMMONIA 0
NITRATE <10
NITRITE O

Tank mates
1-small clown fish
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/003-12.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/002-11.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/001-8.jpg

Here is a picture of it a day ago
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/004-5.jpg

I am not sure what to do I set up a QT yesterday so far I only tested the ammonia and it was 0 I brought the sand that claims to do instant cycling but listening here I am not sure if there is such a thing as instant cycling.

CarmieJo
03-08-2009, 09:45 PM
Shawanda, sorry to hear that you lost your BTA.

Tracy, you are right, there is no such thing as instant cycle. :( However your QT does not need cycled. I keep mine on a shelf in the garage when I am not using it. Dick, gives his new fish the SPA treatment. I guess I ought to go to that, it seems like my QT is always set up anyhow.

Anemones expand and contract so yours may just be in a contract mode. However a 2 month old tank is not stable enough for an anemone. I don't think that QTing it will help. It really needs to go back to the store. That looks like a long tentacle anemone and they need MH lights or lots of T5's with their own reflectors.

tracytracy
03-09-2009, 10:53 AM
Shawanda, sorry to hear that you lost your BTA.

Tracy, you are right, there is no such thing as instant cycle. :( However your QT does not need cycled. I keep mine on a shelf in the garage when I am not using it. Dick, gives his new fish the SPA treatment. I guess I ought to go to that, it seems like my QT is always set up anyhow.

Anemones expand and contract so yours may just be in a contract mode. However a 2 month old tank is not stable enough for an anemone. I don't think that QTing it will help. It really needs to go back to the store. That looks like a long tentacle anemone and they need MH lights or lots of T5's with their own reflectors.

Well seems he was in contract mode he seems to have stretched back out.I asked the LFS if I could bring it back and they said that they don't normally take the fish back. I guess I will have to do the best I can to keep him alive and healthy hopefully he will make it through the tanks transition.

Thanks

CarmieJo
03-09-2009, 08:55 PM
Well seems he was in contract mode he seems to have stretched back out.I asked the LFS if I could bring it back and they said that they don't normally take the fish back. I guess I will have to do the best I can to keep him alive and healthy hopefully he will make it through the tanks transition.

ThanksI'd say don't trust their advice in the future. Ask us first, we are not motivated by greed.

tracytracy
03-10-2009, 09:02 PM
I'd say don't trust their advice in the future. Ask us first, we are not motivated by greed.


You're right and thanks.

Here is a update picture of my anemone looks like he''s taking a dump should I remove the waste?:yuk:

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/001-9.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/tracyb200/006-5.jpg

rayme07
03-10-2009, 09:57 PM
To me it looks like hes on his way out. :(

Phurst
03-10-2009, 10:13 PM
I'd have to agree :(

tracytracy
03-10-2009, 10:26 PM
:help::wall::sick:Well I guess if he does it die it will be a hard lesson learned. Maybe he will survive. It opened back up and moved although it hasn't seemed to attach to the rock and from what I gather that's not a good sign.

tracytracy
03-11-2009, 09:37 PM
Well looks like my fishy hooked to the rock and then he even ate. He seems to be doing better while he is not as active as he was when I first put him in the tank he is at least hooked to the rock and eating.

tracytracy
03-13-2009, 09:36 PM
I'd have to agree :(


Well my buddy is still kicking and no more brown yuck. Yeah for my anemone he's a survivor.

CarmieJo
03-13-2009, 11:51 PM
Is he actually on the rock or does he have his foot in the sand under the rock? This species of anemone usually likes to plant its foot in the sand.

tracytracy
03-15-2009, 11:10 AM
Is he actually on the rock or does he have his foot in the sand under the rock? This species of anemone usually likes to plant its foot in the sand.


now that you mentioned it looks like he's near the rock but anchored in the sand.