YOU Can help Me? BTA

fox1135

Member
it has been fed and i think that that might have been some of the problem. the lighting is: 2, 10,000k but im not 100 percent sure on that. and i moved it almost to the top of my tank to compensate. it looks great now and its full in color. the only thing im worried about is my kenya tree that has algae on it. if my nitrates are zero how could it get algae on it in like 2 days? doesnt sound possible. i think that might have something to do with the anemones health last week. also him adjusting to the tank
 

fox1135

Member
so if i took my tap water and had it tested for phosphates ammonia nitrites nitrates and all that stuff, are there drops that can bring down any of that stuff?
 

fox1135

Member
and thank all of you for your help, really, i appreciate what all you guys and girls are doin for me. i dunno what i would do without these boards
 

dse

Member
buy an RO unit to remove phosphates and any other unwanted problems. but it will be your phos that has made your KT plasterd
 

sula

Member
In answer to your question, the way you rid your tap water of it's impurities is by filtering it with an RO/DI unit - stands for Reverse Osmosis/ De-Ionization.
As for your second comment, you posted 3 times in 4 minutes, keep in mind this is not a chat room with us all waiting with bated breath for the chance to answer a question.

Sorry if that sounds rude but I get really frustrated by that kind of attitude...
 

fox1135

Member
No im sorry i saw i was doing that, its just hard to remember this stuff at work. i just write it when it comes to me, its the only time i have to discuss it.
 

yearofthenick

Active Member
Give fox a break. He's new here, don't turn him off to forums. I know I've been guily of multiple posts every now and then, and it's just because I think of new things. This guy is new to the hobby so give him some slack guys!

Fox, I have successfully kept BTA's under T5's without problems. It can be done. Also, if you target feed (i.e. with a turkey baster) then make sure you don't do it too much.
I have kept a total of 4 anemone's during the course of my experience in this hobby. My very first anemone was a BTA and I target-fed it once every few days and it just made him mad... he was always moving behind the rocks. I finally went to my LFS and talked to the owner of the store. She's an older lady, and has been keeping SW fish for the 150 years she's been alive. Ok she's not that old, but we're talking a LOT of experience here. She's probably in her 70's and their very first SW tank was a wedding gift to each other when they married in their early 20's. Long story short, she knows her stuff.
ANYWAY, she told me that the best way to feed your anemone's is NOT to target feed them, but instead constantly keep your water filled with phytoplankton... you can buy a bottle of it in the store and a capful every few days should be enough.
Anyway, since I've been adding phyto and NOT target feeding, all 4 of my anemone's have done awesome, and are very happy in all of my tanks.
I have kept anemone's under compact fluorescents and they will not live... I had to nurse one of them back to health because a buddy of mine bought a LTA for his 14g biocube, and it was terrible. The anemone got really pale and brown...
But T5's are sufficient if you put him high enough. I have a 30g with two double-bulbed T5's and my LTA is doing awesome.
But I would agree with the others that you probably should add more live rock... just make sure it's cycled!
Lastly, as for water, you can get that at pretty much any local fish store. They should keep both RO water and salt water for you to do water changes... most stores are pretty reasonable too. My store charges $.29/gal for RO water and $.79 for Saltwater. Some stores charge a bit more though.
 

yearofthenick

Active Member
Sorry, got them mixed up. Phytoplankton is small and good for your corals (5-20um). your BTA will want something a little bigger like Zooplankton (500-2k um).
I prefer using Brightwell Aquatics Zooplanktos-L. My anemone's love it! It looks like this....
 

fox1135

Member
wow, thats great advice. i spot fed it and i dunno but i got a vibe that it wasnt to thrilled about it. so thanks for the tip about zooplankton and about your water comments. and it feels realllllly nice to hear than someone has kept a bta under these cause everyone made it sound like death in a few months. youve been really encouraging, thank you so much. and i appreciate evryones patients cause i am new to blogging and saltwater aquariums and its hard to find info/ do everything correct so thanks nick, very helpful man
 

yearofthenick

Active Member
No problem dude!
Hey, another prime indicator of your BTA's health is by looking at his mouth... it should generally be closed all the time, except when he's "pooping" for the lack of a better term.
Also, he should respond to touch by trying to close up. if he's non-responsive, then he may not be doing well.
Lastly, I forgot to stress the fact that your BTA NEEDS to be in a medium-high flow area. He needs water to pass across his tentacles so he can filter out the zooplankton in the water.... So long story short, in looking for a good place you think he'd be happy in, find something closer to the light (higher on the rocks) and in a medium/high flow area.
Good luck! and personal message (PM) me if you have any more questions for me.
 
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