Is this BTA OK?

[pandafish]

Hi we have a new addition to our tank a green BTA. We aren't sure if it looks happy.
when we got it it was rather pale and fattened right up when we put it in the tank.
It has been 4 days and it looks like this in the morning. How many hours of daylight or actinic light does it need? put itself here when we first added it and hasn't moved. Is it normal for BTAs to get skinny tips? How do I know if it is unhappy or hungry?
This is a 20 gal long tank with one 96 watt true actinic and one 96 watt 10,000k daylight
Temp=77.2
SG= 1.024
PH= 8
Amonia=.1
NO3=7
N02=0
Alk=2.2

 

[ricor_craz]

pale or bleach anemones usually means, it's very sick or dying when you got it. i would suggest you take it out and nurse it before you put it back in your tank. if it dies in your tank, it's not gonna be good for your tank.
try to manually feed him some cyclop-eeze or shrimps, see if it takes it in

 

[pandafish]

so does it look sick? The actinic has been on for about an hour and the tips are getting bigger.

 

[chipmaker]

I am of the concept that critters as such need at a minium of 10 hours of suitable light. Some maybe more some maybe less but 10 hurs is a good place to start. My BTA gets all shriveled up at night as well, but once the initial actinics come on and then the daylight, its as big as a dinner plate in short order..I found that current flow has a lot to do with how much some of their tentacles swell on the ends. When ours was in toomuch flow the tentacles never swoll up much on the ends, less flow and they swoll up pretty decent.....It does need good flow and current but nor excessive, and lights is a must, or it will move till it finds a more suitable place to live.

 

[pandafish]

Thank you chipmaker. I will turn up the amout of time the lights are on. What about feeding? How do I know if it is happy?

 

[dogstar]

IMO, from the photo, that BTA looks fine. The mouth looks good and the color too. Could be a little darker but for being new, its OK.
Dont be suprised if it tries to move higher in the tank. They like to have their foot deep in a crevice ( not in the sand ) but able to open up wide and unobstruted across the rocks.
Mine stays on the very top under MHs. If you feed it often, it may stay there.
I beleive their tenticals get long and stringy when they are happy and bubble up more when they are stressed or feel threatened. But its debatable.......
With PCs, be sure to change them often.

 

[pandafish]

Cool! thanks DogStar. Look at the reflection in the tank his foot is wedged down between the rocks...deep like a couple of inches (looks like he is on the sand but the forground is a rock not sand). Will change out the PCs every 9 months or so.