bta anemone ?

keish24

keish24

Member
i bought a rbta a few weeks ago. lfs sold me frozen krill blocks to feed it. told me i should feed it about once a week with that and to feed phytoplankton every other day. so that is what i have been doing. first time i fed it the krill it ate it and kept it down. about 4 days later i fed it some more krill and it grabbed it and ate it but then a couple of hours later it spit it back out. tried again about 3-4 days later and same results. does it just not like krill? or is it not hungry? or is it sick or something?
also...i got two false percs (wild) a few days ago. how long does it usually take them to host anemone?
 
lexluethar

lexluethar

Active Member
On the anemone, IMO you are overfeeding it. The best source of food for your anemone should come from your lighting. If you don't have proper lighting you really should look into upgrading. Feed your anemone small chunks of silver sides or shrimp once every two weeks or so. If you have proper lighting feeding isn't necessary. I feed mine MAYBE once every three weeks, and I do is just to help it grow a bit more.
On the clowns, it is hit and miss. Since they are wild your chances of success are much higher with hosting the anemone, but it is still a tossup. My only advice would be not to get your hopes up, because they may not host the anemone at all.
 
mlr492

mlr492

Member
This might sound weird but......
Print out a big picture of a predatory fish. Make it scary looking. Then print out a big picture of a clown hosting in an anemone, try to make it as similiar to yours as possible.
Hang the pictures of the side of the tank so the clowns can see it.
Should scare them into the anemone
 
ajer

ajer

Member
I agree with LexLuethar you are over feeding it. I feed my BTA twice a week with chopped shrimp and MarineSnow and it is doing great.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Lex is spot on.. phyto will do nothing for your anemone but it will throw your tank if you OD on it, be careful. As mentioned small pieces I would recommend minced, if you are going to feed at all. In 6 months I have not spot fed my anemone, I feed my tank and the water column pushes small pieces of food into the anem at that time. Occasionally I will feed my fish directly over my anemone so some food pieces will get to it, but I dont directly feed it.
 
liljay0418

liljay0418

Member
I feed mine once a month. I buy the small frozen shrimp from grocery store, thaw in cup of water and feed with a shish-ka-bob stick
Also I have tank raised percula and he hosted immediately
You must have proper lighting also!!
 
huggie

huggie

Member
I feed mine silversides cut up in small bits, every 3 days, they need to eat just like any other animal, lighting alone does not feed them what they need.go to ..... an you can learn more about taking care of these amazing animals.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by Huggie
http:///forum/post/2798159
I feed mine silversides cut up in small bits, every 3 days, they need to eat just like any other animal, lighting alone does not feed them what they need.go to ..... an you can learn more about taking care of these amazing animals.
Well I disagree with this statement and in case studies taken from the wild nearly all the specimens disected, their stomach contents contained pods and other microfauna, not fish. I would like to know that if they need these feedings why has mine grown to nearly 12" in the last 6 months without any direct supplemental food?
If you have no other inhabitants to feed and there is no suspended food in your water column I agree that some effort should be made to give the animal some food, but IMO it is not their staple.
Im wondering if I should be addressing huggie or karen as this seems to be a very familar debate.
 
huggie

huggie

Member
I do agree feeding does stress them,mine also is a good 12 or 14" across and I have had mine about 6 weeks,an she has grown quit a bit in a short time,if the tenticles are long this means it is not hungry.If short they are hungry.
some of them ,their tenticles stay long with no bubbles or no pink color on the tips?
Mine is in bubble all the time an nice pink tips? but, I will say I do not need to feed as much now as when I first brought her home. me an my clown fish love our anemone, I am looking for a rose anemone.
 
lexluethar

lexluethar

Active Member
Originally Posted by Huggie
http:///forum/post/2799154
I do agree feeding does stress them,mine also is a good 12 or 14" across and I have had mine about 6 weeks,an she has grown quit a bit in a short time,if the tenticles are long this means it is not hungry.If short they are hungry.
some of them ,their tenticles stay long with no bubbles or no pink color on the tips?
Mine is in bubble all the time an nice pink tips? but, I will say I do not need to feed as much now as when I first brought her home. me an my clown fish love our anemone, I am looking for a rose anemone.
Please please PLEASE show me a research article that supports what you are saying. I would love to read an article that states tenticle length is directly proportional to anemone hunger. I would also like to see one that states they MUST be fed. The sole reason they have zooxanthellae is to turn light into food. While supplimental feedins won't hurt, by no means is it necessary. I feed mine MAYBE once a month or so and it has grown a great deal.
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by Huggie
http:///forum/post/2799154
I do agree feeding does stress them,mine also is a good 12 or 14" across and I have had mine about 6 weeks,an she has grown quit a bit in a short time,if the tenticles are long this means it is not hungry.If short they are hungry.I am very interested in where you got this information from
some of them ,their tenticles stay long with no bubbles or no pink color on the tips?
Mine is in bubble all the time an nice pink tips? but, I will say I do not need to feed as much now as when I first brought her home. me an my clown fish love our anemone, I am looking for a rose anemone.

In every publication I have read, and I have read a lot there is no proof as to why anemones bubble or do not bubble. Mine has bubbled in the past for a while and has also not bubbled in the past. It has never followed a condition response to food or lack there of. I have seen some specimens only bubble half their tenticles while the other half remains long. If what you say is true then mine is well fed and has been for the last 6 to 8 months and yet I have not directly fed it in that entire time. So much more information factors into the health and well being to these animals then supplemental food and in some instances it is necessary but if your animal is healthy your lighting is sufficient and your water chemistry is good it is not a necessity, and my BTA is proof.
It is important in this hobby that you take the information you gather with a grain of salt. This is especially true for opinions you will get from where ever, even here in this site, and yes from me. If there is one bit of advice I can give it is that, learning from someones experience is valuable and if they are successful then without a doubt its good information. But nothing in this hobby is absolute, and I always question everything.
 
lexluethar

lexluethar

Active Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2799261
In every publication I have read, and I have read a lot there is no proof as to why anemones bubble or do not bubble. Mine has bubbled in the past for a while and has also not bubbled in the past. It has never followed a condition response to food or lack there of. I have seen some specimens only bubble half their tenticles while the other half remains long. If what you say is true then mine is well fed and has been for the last 6 to 8 months and yet I have not directly fed it in that entire time. So much more information factors into the health and well being to these animals then supplemental food and in some instances it is necessary but if your animal is healthy your lighting is sufficient and your water chemistry is good it is not a necessity, and my BTA is proof.
It is important in this hobby that you take the information you gather with a grain of salt. This is especially true for opinions you will get from where ever, even here in this site, and yes from me. If there is one bit of advice I can give it is that, learning from someones experience is valuable and if they are successful then without a doubt its good information. But nothing in this hobby is absolute, and I always question everything.
Glad to see you are still humble dark :)
 
keish24

keish24

Member
from what i have been reading i dont think my lighting is quite sufficient. i have a 260w pc light fixture on a 55 gallon tank that is 20" tall. anemone seems to stay kind of by the bottom of the tank. is there any particular t5 fixture you would recommend? also...it will probably be a month or two before i am able to get a t5....will my anemone be ok during that time?
 
perfectdark

perfectdark

Active Member
Originally Posted by keish24
http:///forum/post/2800085
from what i have been reading i dont think my lighting is quite sufficient. i have a 260w pc light fixture on a 55 gallon tank that is 20" tall. anemone seems to stay kind of by the bottom of the tank. is there any particular t5 fixture you would recommend? also...it will probably be a month or two before i am able to get a t5....will my anemone be ok during that time?
This is where supplemental feedings would be a necessity for your animal. 3x a week small minced raw seafood types, clam, silversides, shrimp.. etc. Yes IMO the anemone will survive the 2 month time line, however if you see it starting to lose color significantly you may have to relocate it to a tank with better lighting or get your lights sooner rather than later. I think the current pros have a 6 bulb fixture which I would recomend, If you have the $ then the aquatinics or tec fixtures are what I would lean towards. HTH good luck.
 
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