Here goes! I am back in the business of saltwater tanks after a 10+ year hiatus. Had a six gallon and then quickly upgraded to a 12 gallon aquapod (love it, except for getting electrocuted last week!) Found out that their is a recall on them and I am getting a metal halide aquapod as soon as they come out next month. Now for the stock. I had a small BTA that did not do too well and I traded it in for a larger BTA that for about three weeks stayed in the same spot on the LR. Today, it decided to move and float around the tank until it settled on the bottom. It looked as though it was dying right before our eyes and then I fed it a little shrimp and it has since come back to life and inflate back up again. I have been buffering the PH over the past couple of days and I can only attribute the sudden movement to that, although I could be wrong. I also recently introduced an Australian Clown that has not gone into the BTA even though BTAs host these types of clowns in the wild. It has actually been taking small chunks from the BTA's tentacles and I am thinking of returning the clown to the store when I change tanks in a couple of weeks. Anyway, I will return with some pictures soon, if I can upload them to this site, and I would appreciate any advice that anyone can give me regarding the BTA. I also have a cleaner shrimp, three hermit crabs and two snails. Thanks and look forward to some guidance!
Anemones and clowns can be tricky to get to bond! It may take some time. Mine, which have been together now about 3-4 years, didn't go near eachother for about 1-2 weeks at first. Good luck. If it is stealing food from the anemone, I think it will try the anemone soon. Keep us posted and again, welcome back to the hobby and to TR.
Appreciate the help! The strangest thing happened last night. The anemone crawled its way to where the clown resides at night, and in the morning, the clown was sitting in the anemone! I know that anemones do not have brains, but this one must have a sixth sense or something! I thought the anemone was surely dead yesterday as it went into shock when I tried to move it (rigid and would not attach itself) so I left it alone to do what it wanted (keeping it away from the intakes of course) and it worked out fine. Any suggestions as to how I should proceed to change tanks (i.e. for cycling purposes and how to reduce shock?) Also, how much substrate should I have. Right now, I have barely enough to make a .5 inch thickness on the bottome of the tank. Any help would be appreciated. Tried to figure out how to attach pictures. Still have not figured that one out yet. Great web site though!
Glad to hear that your Anemone has a "brain" and found your clown, since the clown didn't find the Anemone... Interesting though.
You can put pictures in the member gallery. Personally, I host my pictures somewhere else to reduce the space I take on Rob's servers.
As far as substrate... I, like a lot of people here, prefer a Deep Sand Bed (DSB), 3-4" deep. It is a great source of filtration. The best way to change tanks....is....CAREFULLY. I have moved my tank from a 110 to a 55 (b/c of a leak) then to a 90. Didn't lose anything. There were no cycling problems either, I guess I was really lucky.
I think my BTA is dead. It disapeared into the live rock at the bottom of the tank. The PH in my tank was reading a little low at the fish store, I think 7.8. I have been adding buffer every other day to bring it to 8.0 or 8.3. Do not know what is going on with the BTA, but if it dies I will wait a couple of months before getting another one. I also am thinking of getting rid of my Australian Clown and getting two smaller clowns that will go into a BTA eventually. Any recommendations? Also, you mentioned 3 to 4" on the substrate. What kind and diameter? I have very fine sand right now but in the past, I had crushed coral and that worked out fine. Can I mix the two, or should I layer them? Thanks for the help and I checked out your tank. Very nice!
How long have you had the tank up and running? Maybe it's too soon for inhabitants? I don't know too much about anemones, so I'll leave that for the experts.
However, in terms of your substrate - if you choose to go with a DSB, then you should use only very fine sand, otherwise you'll just be creating a detritus trap. You can just add more sand onto what you've already got in there.
How are your nitrate levels? Have you got a skimmer? What does the rest of your setup look like? Give us a bit more information and then maybe we can steer you in the right direction! :-)
The BTA is back! I do not have a skimmer, nitrate and nitrite levels are at 0, and PH is starting to climb. I will post pictures as soon as I figure out where to post them. The LFS suggested that I do NOT go with a DSB with a Nano Tank, maybe 1 to 2 inches at the most, and using fine sand. Thanks for the help.
If you are buffering to keep your PH up and it isn't, I'd stop buffering and search for the source of problem. IMHO, you need to stop buffering and do a partial water change. The new water will be buffered to the correct PH and help solve the problem. It may take several water changes to level the PH out above 8 but doing it this way is better for the critters than adding buffer. Your anemone is most likely reacting to the constant variations in PH. Going from 7.8 to 8 or 8.3 may look like a small change to you but, it is a HUGE change to the critters, especially anemonies. All marine animals need stable conditions to survive and thrive. In a 12 gallon Nano stability is more important than nailing the absolute correct PH.
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PH Stable at 8.3 a question on substrate thickness in Nano Tanks
Thanks to everyone who helped me out. I did a partial water change this morning, PH is at 8.3. I will do weekly 10% water changes until my tank matures. The HQI tank should come in next week or the week after and I will put all the animals into that tank. Hopefully, with the Metal Halide Lighting the BTA will do fine. It has finally settled down a bit and actually attached itself to a piece of LR. I have one final question. I have read that deep sand beds are not good for Nano tanks. If it is true, then I will keep the sand that I have (about 1 inch tops). If not, how much sand should I get? I know the benefits of a deep sand bed returning Nitrates to nitrogen gas and all that, but does it work in a 12 gallon tank? I hope to keep the BTA, the Maroon Clown, and the Royal Gramma alive for the next 4 years until I set up my huge 100 gallon reef tank when I move back to my permament home! Thanks for the help everyone!
i would not recommend a maroon clown, as they are very aggressive, and will get to big for a 12 gallon tank. a small one would be ok in a that tank for a short time, but in such a small tank it would likely harass or kill the royal gamma.
i would stay away from clowns from the Premnas Genera, and go for one from the Amphiprion genus, like a ocellaris, skunk, percula, etc... tomato clowns also get a bit large, and are aggressive, so you might want to avoid that one as well..
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