How does this bta look?

bostonpro

bostonpro

Member
Just wondering what you experts think. On the way home from picking him up, his mouth was exposed quite a bit. Then that nite he shrivled down alot. He looks alot better in this pic than what he did when I got him home from the lfs. Just wondering if this is what he should look like or is there still something wrong with him that I should keep an eye on. thanks
 
mombostic

mombostic

Member
He's a little bleached, but mine was totally translucent when I first put him in.
I fed him three times a week at first until he started darkening, then I went down to two, now he's really dark brown, almost marbled looking (like Thomas said!) and so I only feed him once a week now. That and good strong lighting brought him around in a little less than a month!
 
the claw

the claw

Active Member
Keep us posted on how he does. He is looking a little stressed at them moment, but can bounce back quickly.
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member

Originally posted by bostonPro
Just wondering if this is what he should look like or is there still something wrong with him that I should keep an eye on. thanks
i would not buy one that looked like that. Looks underfed, and like it is bleaching a bit. I would feed it quite a bit, probably everyday till it looks a little better. Also an exposed mouth can be a very bad sign, but especially if it looks like is turning inside out.
 
gwiley

gwiley

Member
i was wondering what kind of lighting you were using and how long you had the button polyps.
the polyps also look either fairly new, underfed, or poor lighting.
nice buy though i love those BTA's:)
 
T

thomas712

Guest
He does look a bit odd, but then it could also be the camera shot, is it?
I happen to feel that you should only feed 3 times per week, feeding it every day could lead to some water quality problems if it winds up just excreating it all the time.
Lighting is what you need to concentrate on, at least 4+watts per gallon of VHO or PC will help.
Let us know if it grabs food right away, if it doesn't then theres no need to worry right away., It will take a couple of weeks to acclimate itself to your tank and may move around a bit.
Thomas
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member

Originally posted by Thomas712
I happen to feel that you should only feed 3 times per week, feeding it every day could lead to some water quality problems if it winds up just excreating it all the time.

Hey Thomas I kind of find that to be odd advice. Since anemones eat small amounts in the wild just about every day. Would'nt it also be wise to feed them in that same manner if you are introducing them to a new system, or if they are not doing well. Since anemones are efficient eaters smaller feeding means less waste, and more consumption, larger less often feedings would mean more waste, less consumption. Also if additional feeding of a small anemone is going to creat such a strain on a system, than that system should not be housing an anemone in the first place.
Just curios not trying to flame:happyfish
 
blemmy_guy

blemmy_guy

Active Member
i feed mine the same as Thomas and my clown feeds it smal amounts everytime i feed the fis, seems to work out good for mine.
todd
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member

Originally posted by Blemmy_Guy
i feed mine the same as Thomas and my clown feeds it smal amounts everytime i feed the fis, seems to work out good for mine.
todd
But if you notice you even said, your clowns feed it a little everyday. I started having much more success and healthier looking anemones the more often I fed. Small amounts, and about every other day, sometimes more often. IMO if you have a ritteri you have no other choice but to feed alot, they have unusual apetites, but for a BTA as they get more mature you can slow there feeding. It's just that the standard line in anemone keeping has always been feed 2-3 times a day and heavy light...if that is all it takes then why do so many die each year in aquariums. I have the results from a poll that some marine bio person did, and the results were astounding how many anemones die a year in captivity. This is a subject for another thread, I don't want to hijack this one.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Sure I can agree to that, everyones lighting is different, all tanks are different, clowns feed or don't feed the anemone, deliberatly or inadvertantly. Every situation is different and anyone that owns an anemone should get the feel of what their anemone likes and reacts to better. Anemone and anemone keeper should learn together.
I can't stress the light issue enough but with regards to feeding I can go 2 months without feeding my BTA's, carpets and ritteri are going to be much different and will need to be fed more often.
We all know we as humans should eat at least 3 times a day, but we don't, and we would be better off if we split those meals into 6 smaller portions spread throught the day.
I never give my anemones enough food that they constantly expell the waste from overfeeding, never. Many do and they would be better off IMO cutting back.
Thank you Broncofish for bringing some good info and conversation here in the clown & anemeone forum. We should swap notes some time.
 
mombostic

mombostic

Member
Now that my BTA has improved so much, he sometimes won't take food that I offer him. It won't stick to his tentacles, just floats away. Then sometimes he grabs it right now. I also supplent phytoplankton and marine snow every couple of days, and I'm pretty sure they feed on this as well, right?
 
regal lady

regal lady

New Member
Thank you for this discussion on the feeding of anemone's. I have had a pbta for about two months now and have been feeding him one to two times per week and he seems fine but not flourishing.... I am a new hobbiest (after a trip to the bahamas and three kids who love Nemo) who doesn't know any better... my consultant at my lfs said to feed it once a week but he sits with his center open alot... the point is that this whole thread has been very informative!!! Thanks for the thread!! Regal Lady
 
bostonpro

bostonpro

Member
He seems to eat pretty good. I've been feeding him some mysis and brine. I have about 6.5 watts per gallon of pc light, so hopefully that should be good enough. I'll try and take another picture within the next day or two and post it. To me he seems to be doing better, but this is the first anemone I've had so I'm not sure what to look for. Thanks guys for all your posts.
 
bostonpro

bostonpro

Member
Looks about the same to me. Maybe a little bigger. What do you guys think? He has no problem taking food. Should I be looking at getting better light? Right now I have 130 watt pc on a 20 gallon tank. The lights are about 6 months old, when should I replace the bulbs? Thanks for your input.
 
ross

ross

Active Member
I would replace the bulbs...pc bulbs dont last very long. Just keep up the feeding and he should come back...
 
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