Green BTA Question

[estein02]

Purchased my first BTA today...let it acclimate for 3+ hours then put it on a ledge of my LR where I was hoping it would stay. It is on the left side of my tank in a location where the light gets to it and where I thought that the water flow wasn't too much. When I placed it there the tentacles were moving, but to me (don't know how much this means) it didn't seem to be moving to crazy. Aftere it was in there a while it started squeezing itself through a small crevice between the piece of LR I placed it on and the one above it. Now it is situated towards the back of the tank in an area where it is somewhat difficult to see it. What should I do? From what I've read...probably nothing. My parameters are good...temp 78, pH 8.4, amm 0, trite 0, trate 10, calcium 400. Any input would be great.

 

[dawman]

That is very common and nothing to worry about . They are going to move to where they feel best at . A lot of times it is not where we want it , but moving it will basically do nothing as it will go back to it`s favorite spot . I have a LTA that did that and I had to use a mirror so I could see it to feed it . Now it is about 3 times the size and now have a descent view .

 

[estein02]

I'm not really worried...I just can't see it very well. Plus I have no idea how it squeezed through the space between the 2 rocks...crazy! I'm thinking about changing the PHs in my tank for a better flow. I'm going to post my plan on New Hobbyists to get peoples thoughts.
Thanks...

 

[estein02]

Overnight the BTA moved up in the tank a little bit. Before the lights went on it was open and, from what I could tell, still looked good. Now it looks to be all sucked in and the tentalces (if that's what they are called) look a little stringy. Is this normal or is it not happy? I'd love to get a picture, but I've given myself a headache straining to try and see it. Please help.

 

[rod buehle]

Anemones "purge" themselves of the old water while aclimating to your water. Yes its normal

 

[estein02]

How long does this "purging" usually take. It was in the tank all night before it started happening...is that how it typically happens? thanks

 

[dogstar]

Yes this all sounds normal..BTAs like to find a place where they can attach their foot deep inside a cave/crevice and extend their body out into the open and face up toward the light....When stressed or thretened they can/will expell water and pull into the rock for protection...understand that this animal has recently been through a lot of stress from collection or tranporting and bagging ect........most when settled in will pull a liitle into the rocks nightly and some all the way in and some may seem to never pull in but all will/should attach in a manner where they can. The '' purging '' is a natural way for them to do a self water change. Some do them more often that others. mine about once a week. Perfectly normal...
Because yours is new and still getting used to your tank and its new enviroment, just give it time to find its happy place. Dont worry so much about feeding ect. light is more important and when it is ready for either, it will seek it.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
Yes this all sounds normal..BTAs like to find a place where they can attach their foot deep inside a cave/crevice and extend their body out into the open and face up toward the light....When stressed or thretened they can/will expell water and pull into the rock for protection...understand that this animal has recently been through a lot of stress from collection or tranporting and bagging ect........most when settled in will pull a liitle into the rocks nightly and some all the way in and some may seem to never pull in but all will/should attach in a manner where they can. The '' purging '' is a natural way for them to do a self water change. Some do them more often that others. mine about once a week. Perfectly normal...
Because yours is new and still getting used to your tank and its new enviroment, just give it time to find its happy place. Dont worry so much about feeding ect. light is more important and when it is ready for either, it will seek it.
I feel better, but I wanted to post a picture just to be certain. Not the best picture, but you can see the BTA.

 

[crox]

It will be fine and don't worry about it.

 

[sepulatian]

Eric, as others have said, anemones take time to get used to their new surroundings. Don't move him. Your water is great and your tank is more than adequate. Give it some time.

 

[estein02]

Well...you are all right. The BTA seemed to have found a home. Of course it is facing the back of the tank so it is difficult to see, but it is open and looks good. I am going to be changing my PHs soon for a could of Hydor Koralias so we will see if it stays put. Now I have to wait and see if my clowns will find it. They are tank raised so I'm doubting that they will but we'll see. Thanks again...

 

[estein02]

I'm going to try and avoid posting something everytime I think the BTA doesn't look good, but this time I think that it looks worse then before. When I looked at it around noon it looked great...latched onto the rock and expanded, but now not so hot. Actually looks like it lost it's footing and fell and is on it's side. Am I worring needlessly again, or should I do something?

After further looking...the BTA was face down so...probably not what I should have done...I reached into the tank to turn it over. I put it in a different spot because when I reached in some rocks got messed up (what a pain). Anyway by the time I was done the tentacles started to blow back up, but I don't think it attached to the rock. If there was something wrong with it how would I be able to tell?

 

[dogstar]

Is it in a place were you can get a better photo ??
If its swelling up at times and then deflateing then thats what they do...
If its loseing its footing then something could be wrong with the foot, cant say for sure but sometimes they can heal if left alone.....BTW, some times can takes weeks for them to come out and act '' what is considered normal for anemones ''...Yours seems to have good dark color and thats a good thing. This meens that it can go a while without getting light or food. IMO, leave it be.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
Is it in a place were you can get a better photo ??
If its swelling up at times and then deflateing then thats what they do...
If its loseing its footing then something could be wrong with the foot, cant say for sure but sometimes they can heal if left alone.....BTW, some times can takes weeks for them to come out and act '' what is considered normal for anemones ''...Yours seems to have good dark color and thats a good thing. This meens that it can go a while without getting light or food. IMO, leave it be.
Man...these anemones are crazy. One minute it looks dead (to my novice eye) is all srunched up and floating around freely in the tank. After I re-placed my rocks I put the BTA on a different rock in the front of the tank and now it's opened up beautifully. We'll see where it is tomorrow. A lot to learn with these things. I've got the "Aquarium Corals" book...need to read it again. Thanks for all of your help.
Got an unrelated question for you. In a reef tank, what do you believe the flow rate should be? My tank is 65 gallons.

 

[dogstar]

Some critters require more flow than others and some cant handle much so it really depends on what your keeping.....a basic rule is around 15 to 20 times turn over and thats considered medium by most, so moniture the livestock and see if they seem stressed by the flow but most everything should be at least gently blown. I have a 15 turnover keeping softies, LSP, 2 anemones and many fish....most everything has been happy for years with that.

 

[estein02]

Dogstar...really appreciate the help and assurance. The anemone is doing well, obviously likes the new home better then the last. With the new pumps I am getting I will have about 1,250 gph of flow which is almost 20%. Hopefully the BTA will still be happy as well as everything else in the tank.

 

[estein02]

Ok...I came home from work and the BTA was all contracted but still attached to the rock. I went out to dinner and when I came home after dinner it was not attached to rock and was getting moved by the flow on the bottom of the tank. Is this normal? I wouldn't have minded if it was contracted but still attached to the rock but when it is tumbling around across the sand and LR I get concerned. I know that it is somewhat healthy because I placed it back on the LR and it is opening back up. If it does this again should I just let it tumble around?

 

[dogstar]

IMO, It should not be still detaching unless its just not happy anywhere or its sick or damaged....or other critters in the tank are bothering it....
I dont see details about your lighting in the thread....
IMO, dont just allow it to tumble around. Gently place it back high in the tank but in gentle currents.
Its not easy to always figure out a problem and sometimes one never can but lets keep trying...
Give some more details about the tank, your lighting, tankmates, age of system, ect...and any thoughts about the LFS where you got, system it was in there, if thats where you got it.

 

[nycbob]

i hv the same type of bta. get a clown fish, the bta will be much happier. my clownfish defend his bta like crazy. if a shrimp tries to steal the bta's food, my clownfish will chase the shrimp away.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
IMO, It should not be still detaching unless its just not happy anywhere or its sick or damaged....or other critters in the tank are bothering it....
I dont see details about your lighting in the thread....
IMO, dont just allow it to tumble around. Gently place it back high in the tank but in gentle currents.
Its not easy to always figure out a problem and sometimes one never can but lets keep trying...
Give some more details about the tank, your lighting, tankmates, age of system, ect...and any thoughts about the LFS where you got, system it was in there, if thats where you got it.
Just tested my water and got the following results:
Temp: 77
Salinity: 1.023
pH: 8.3ish
Amm: 0ppm
Trate: 10 - 20ppm
Trite: 0ppm
Calcium: 420 ppm
Alk: 10.9 dkh
Phos: 0
My lighting is a current nova extreme T5 VHO: 2 x 39watt 10,000k daytime and 2 x 39 watt actinics. My tank has been setup for about 6 months. In the tank I have 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 lawnmower blenny, a few zoo frags, a sun coral, snails, hermits, emerald crab, sally lightfoot, and a fire shrimp. I haven't really seen any of them picking on it though. I trust the fish store immensly. They specialize in just marine aquaria, don't overstock their tanks, have each tank on seperate filtration, etc... The owners are more hobbist then store owner. They spend as much time as they need to with you and don't look to make a quick sale and push you out the door.
I'm currently working on adjusting the flow in my tank...getting rid of my maxijets and replacing them with Hydor Koralias (1 koralia 2 and 1 koralia 3). I just added an aquafuge 2 with a sand bed of about 3" with some chaeto. I have a sump with an aquaC urchin skimmer and a mag drive 7 as the return pump. I think that is about it. Thanks again for your help.