Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 OK, so I woke up this morning and my BTA was acting awfully weird. It was all scrunched up and the top of it was pressed against the substrate. Later, I noticed that the thing looks like a donut. The hole where it's mouth is supposed to be now goes all the way through the bottom of the BTA. I tried looking up info on this and I found others that have had this experience but no real answers as to the strange behavior (or the donut shape it resembles now). I know it isn't dead, however. I tried to move him around and he slowly moves. I put him upright to see if he'd open up. I thought by turning him rightside up, the light would help, as well. Eventually, he turned himself back upside down and all of his "tentacles" are now upside down and in the substrate (foot straight up in the air). He was doing great yesterday. He was open and lively when I went to bed and this morning...bang...he was (and still is) like this. I checked the water params and everything is good. PH 8.0, Salinity 1.025, temp 80, nitrates <10, nitrites 0, ammonia 0. I just don't know what's wrong with him!! HELP ME PLEASE!! Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 sounds like he is a gonner... get your nitrates down.. they are too high Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Author Share Posted December 9, 2006 Well, i only put <10 on the nitrates because it is so close to 0 on the scale, i wasn't 100% sure. If I had to guess, though, they are almost at 0 if not there already. The colors are sometimes hard to distinguish on the kit. What might cause this reaction with the BTA so suddenly???!!! Link to comment
Kogut Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 If not there already? This mean your tank has recently finished cycling? If so, that's why your anemone tanked. They need stability. The anemone could've just had a bad night. Watch for signs that it's getting worse. If it starts to disintegrate, then get it out. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Author Share Posted December 9, 2006 stop moving it around. Yeah, I only moved it around once, as I thought it might have been dead. I just wasn't sure. Since I've moved him from under the rock and right side up, he since flipped around and is upside down again. I haven't toucfhed him since the first time I moved him. He tentacles are still moving (I can tell that it's not the water current moving them, as they are clearly deliberatly moving). If not there already? This mean your tank has recently finished cycling? If so, that's why your anemone tanked. They need stability. The anemone could've just had a bad night. Watch for signs that it's getting worse. If it starts to disintegrate, then get it out. No, sorry, that's not what I mean. I just meant that the colors on the test kit were so dang close with 0 nitrates, that they may be at zero. I just had a hard time deciding, so I went with "<10". For all purposes, assume nitrates are zero. Sorry for the confusion. The tank cycled MONTHS ago ;-) Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Author Share Posted December 9, 2006 OK...I just called my LFS to talk with them about the BTA...now I have the full story... About a week and a half ago, the BTA arrived at the LFS. They put him in their tank and within about 30 minutes, he attached to the rock (ok, no big deal so far). Well apparantly when I called them to see if the BTA came in, they said it had and that they would bag it up for me. Turns out, the BTA had been attached to a rock and the girl spent about 20 minutes trying to wriggle it off the rock so she could put it in the bag. So....is it possible she damaged the foot and over the past week and a half it progressively got worse to the point where the BTA is almost a gonner? Link to comment
coraln'fish Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 OK, mine did this same thing, what it is is the anemone is all at once releasing his waste materials due to stress. My nitrates were high also and he was just placed in the aquarium as well. My LFS said the temp may have been too low. He's fine, the hole in mine went all the way through as well. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Author Share Posted December 9, 2006 OK, mine did this same thing, what it is is the anemone is all at once releasing his waste materials due to stress. My nitrates were high also and he was just placed in the aquarium as well. My LFS said the temp may have been too low. He's fine, the hole in mine went all the way through as well. Was the foot on the bottom on your BTA pretty clean looking or was it "torn up" a little? That's what is leading me to believe the foot was damaged. Link to comment
coraln'fish Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Mine was actually already attached to a rock but you could still see the rock at the other end. Oh, well if the lady worked on getting it of the rock then yeah he's most likely been damaged, once they're in place you can't remove them forcefully. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 9, 2006 Author Share Posted December 9, 2006 Mine was actually already attached to a rock but you could still see the rock at the other end. Oh, well if the lady worked on getting it of the rock then yeah he's most likely been damaged, once they're in place you can't remove them forcefully. Yeah, unfortunately I think that might be what happened. And since it happened on the foot, I wouldn't have noticed it until it was too late. I working with the LFS to see if they'll replace it for free. Waiting on a call back from them. Link to comment
clifford513 Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 There is a good possibility that the foot was damaged. I am not saying that is the only thing that caused it, but it is suspect. Link to comment
coraln'fish Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Cool, but the anemone being all shriveled and nasty looking is just him being stressed, he should be fine but getting a replacement would be cool. Ryan Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Cool, but the anemone being all shriveled and nasty looking is just him being stressed, he should be fine but getting a replacement would be cool. Ryan OK thanks. I'm thinking the stress is from the damage to his foot haha. I'll keep you posted on the unlikely sucess or possible demise of the poor little guy. I hate to see something in my aquarium go belly up :-( Link to comment
clifford513 Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Run some carbon and give it a little time. It may be fine Link to comment
idog Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 You will know within a few minutes whether he is dead. He will start to flake away. As long as he is in one piece, he may bounce back. Does he look like this? Mine does this from time to time. Takes a day or so to come back. He doesn't leave his spot though... Link to comment
Kogut Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 idog's is expelling waste. You'll see a string of brown coming out sometimes. Normal. People w/ 36 posts aren't the best source for experience-based advice. Just because something happened to you once doesn't mean it's the norm. The foot should not be torn. It should be smooth. This is something that you will know from experience and research prior to purchasing a specimen. If the LFS emp. damaged it, then it technically is their fault. I'd call them and let the owner/manager know what's happening and see if they have any insight to the cause and a possible solution. Don't move it anymore. It will right itself if it is going to. Simply continue to observe it and run some carbon so that it doesn't pollute your tank any further. If it starts to break up, stick a cup in your tank and try to capture the whole thing in the cup underwater, then lift it out. Tupperware works, too. You don't want to pull it out if it's falling apart b/c it will go everywhere and could destroy your whole system. Ryan - aka Coral'nfish guy - I realize you have had a similar experience, but you've been here for 3 days. Typically we try and give advice without telling someone that you know exactly what is wrong when you really don't. You have to be careful because if you have experience with something, and it's not a lot of experience, it could lead someone down the wrong path. ~C Link to comment
clifford513 Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Right on Kogut! Man, you're dedicated. I'm in a useful, detailed post slump. I hope it is just a phase Link to comment
Kogut Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Right on Kogut! Man, you're dedicated. I'm in a useful, detailed post slump. I hope it is just a phase Haha! Thanks. I was noticing that you actually out-rank me on seniority, which is a rarity now-a-days. I miss the Tigahboy days of this forum where the noobs asked for advice instead of giving it out. lol. I'm on a bit of a rant involving people with very little experience and them thinking that they have all the experience they need to tell people how to handle their tanks. Ugh. I'm also recently off work. Free coffee all morning gets ya goin. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 idog's is expelling waste. You'll see a string of brown coming out sometimes. Normal. People w/ 36 posts aren't the best source for experience-based advice. Just because something happened to you once doesn't mean it's the norm. The foot should not be torn. It should be smooth. This is something that you will know from experience and research prior to purchasing a specimen. If the LFS emp. damaged it, then it technically is their fault. I'd call them and let the owner/manager know what's happening and see if they have any insight to the cause and a possible solution. Don't move it anymore. It will right itself if it is going to. Simply continue to observe it and run some carbon so that it doesn't pollute your tank any further. If it starts to break up, stick a cup in your tank and try to capture the whole thing in the cup underwater, then lift it out. Tupperware works, too. You don't want to pull it out if it's falling apart b/c it will go everywhere and could destroy your whole system. Ryan - aka Coral'nfish guy - I realize you have had a similar experience, but you've been here for 3 days. Typically we try and give advice without telling someone that you know exactly what is wrong when you really don't. You have to be careful because if you have experience with something, and it's not a lot of experience, it could lead someone down the wrong path. ~C First off, thanks for the information. I really appreciate it! I ended up speaking with the LFS. The foot was badly disintigrated. All of my creatures in the tank wanted a closer look and that just made things worse. The BTA wasn't dead but it was appearing that it was on it's last leg (maybe "foot" is a better name) for sure. I knew that removing BTAs from the rocks is not good and can damage BTAs. I just didn't realize the LFS had done that. After speaking with the LFS, they wanted me to bring it in. I just got back from there and they agreed that there may have been some slight damage on their part that was progressively getting worse. And since it was on the foot, I wasn't able to notice it until it got sso bad that the bta couldn't hold on to the rocks anymore. They also agreed that the poor guy was going down the tubes :-( Anyway, it sounds like they are going to take some responsibility for it and help me out with replacement. Regardless, thanks again for all the input. People w/ 36 posts aren't the best source for experience-based advice. Just because something happened to you once doesn't mean it's the norm. I DO want to thank the noob for chiming in, though. I understand that they aren't always the best source of information (I'm obviously a noobie myself). That's why I waited for additional input from the more experienced guys. Thanks to everyone, though! Link to comment
Kogut Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 See? Not all LFS are bad. I worked at a great one for over a year. Still go back. The foot is the most common problem in anemone purchase. Carpets have had such a low survival rate for so long because of the way they're collected. People can have the perfect system, but if you don't know what you're looking for when purchasing an anemone, it's hard to actually spot a problem. The foot is supposed to be completely smooth with ridges that resemble your skin when you've had a long bath and it gets wrinkled. That is an anemone foot in a nutshell. Glad there is some resolution coming of this, afterall. Be advised, however, that if your clownfish try to host in an anemone, it is very trying for the anemone physically. This could further escalate the situation with something like a torn foot. Makes it kinda hard to hold on when you're getting pushed around, ya know? If you can get a good anemone, though, having clowns will actually help it settle down much more quickly. It will also be far more likely to keep its spot. Btw, feedings with manufactured products such as squid, krill, and even mysis are great for anemones. You can google how to make your own, too. Basically make friends w/ the fish guy @ your local market. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 See? Not all LFS are bad. I worked at a great one for over a year. Still go back. The foot is the most common problem in anemone purchase. Carpets have had such a low survival rate for so long because of the way they're collected. People can have the perfect system, but if you don't know what you're looking for when purchasing an anemone, it's hard to actually spot a problem. The foot is supposed to be completely smooth with ridges that resemble your skin when you've had a long bath and it gets wrinkled. That is an anemone foot in a nutshell. Glad there is some resolution coming of this, afterall. Be advised, however, that if your clownfish try to host in an anemone, it is very trying for the anemone physically. This could further escalate the situation with something like a torn foot. Makes it kinda hard to hold on when you're getting pushed around, ya know? If you can get a good anemone, though, having clowns will actually help it settle down much more quickly. It will also be far more likely to keep its spot. Btw, feedings with manufactured products such as squid, krill, and even mysis are great for anemones. You can google how to make your own, too. Basically make friends w/ the fish guy @ your local market. I was actually feeding him frozen squid (thawd out of course) and some mysis. So at least I was on the right track! And yeah, my clownfish were going crazy over the thing. The BTA didn't seem to be bothered by them. Yes, I said them. My two True Percs shared the BTA if you can believe that. Anyway, they seemed to get along OK. I'll probably have to worry about my percs going into depression now that their good friend is gone Hopefully I'll give BTA Round 2 a shot once I get back from Christmas break. I'll be gone for a little while starting in about a week so I don't want to add a replacement BTA until I get back and can monitor him closely again. Link to comment
coraln'fish Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 My bad, sorry on the seniority thing, didn't mean to come off like that was the absolute answer it was just what I had experienced. Just trying to help. I am a novice so I'll remember that. Thanks. Ryan Oh, Buehler, hope the anemone thing works out. Link to comment
Kogut Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Sharing is caring. My old duo and RBTA. Link to comment
Buehler Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Hey looks great! Stupid question (just out of curiosity). Are Green BTAs and RBTAs the exact same except for their color? Link to comment
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