BTA now white

donald

Member
Ok i have had this bta for about 9 or 10 months now, it has always been colored(greenish, sometimes more brown) but it has now become white. Now i have changed my bulbs, they are the same spectrum and style. I just changed out the year old ones for some new ones. They however are a different brand. The bta is in the same spot that he always has been and still comes out like always, he just doesnt "inflate" quite as much as he used to. I figure that he bleached because of the new lights but that has been one month ago. Will he ever get his color back? How can i help speed this up? I really like him and dont want to lose him. Any advice would be helpfull, thanks.
 

donald

Member
I have the current 4 x 54w t5's. i had the original bulbs in there for one year and changed them out for new 54w made by uv lighting company. I had 2 406 actinics and 2 10k bulbs and i replaced them with the same. The length of time that each is on has not changed. Water perameters are the same as they have been since i got the bta. He is still in the same location as always. Thanks for the info.
Ps. he lives in the middle of the tank both left to right and up and down.
 

donald

Member
It took about one month for it to turn white and i have had the bulbs in for the same amount. Im almost positive its the lights that caused it. Will it return to normal? How can I help speed this up? Thanks
 

perfectdark

Active Member
Put good quality lights in your fixture. Im guessing something is wrong with the type you replaced them with.
 

donald

Member
I bought the lights from a reputable dealer and they are made by uv lighting company. They are the lights with the 180 degree internal reflector to put out 40% more light.
 

nacl freak

Member
Interesting. I thought bleaching would come from not enough light. I would think your BT would self relocate if light was to intense. Do you target feed?
 

donald

Member
yes I feed him silversides but not very often mabey once every 2 weeks. I feed the tank dt oyster eggs every day and dt phyto about once a week. The strange thing is that i have a fungia palte coral rock and it has produced one plate coral and already has another one growing. My green open brain has never been bigger and my zoos are doing fine. So there must be enough light in the tank.
 

rod buehle

Member
Originally Posted by nacl freak
http:///forum/post/2754859
Interesting. I thought bleaching would come from not enough light. I would think your BT would self relocate if light was to intense. Do you target feed?
Bleaching can come from the shock of going from "less light" to "more light" if the tank is not "acclimated to the light. People say that T-5s are supposed to last a year, but I dont believe that they are any different than any other fluorescents and are probably dropping in intensity after 5-6 months .. Then going from a bulb such as currents to U-V (the best out there IMO) there is going to be a big diff in intensity/par. Anemones arent always smart enough to move. Especially when they were not receiving enough light, they arent going to move if all of a sudden they are getting enough light..
When replacing bulbs, 4 good ideas are ;
1) change one bulb at a time, or
2) raise the fixture, or
3) put some screening/shield between the lights and the tank, or
4) reduce the photo period.
"fully expanded" and/or "Larger than ever" is not always a good sign. Sometimes these animals are expanding their tissue as much as possible to increase their surface area to capture as much of the light as possible.
They wont regain their zooxanthallea as quickly as they loose it. It can tank months/year for it to recover. Keep feeding it small pieces of food (I am not a fan of silversides/sardines).
Good luck
 

ibew41

Active Member
get rid of the actinics they do not help your anemone just make the coral and fish look better. maybe try a 50/50 on the other 2 and keep the 10k
 
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