Trouble with BTA

[bigsteve2169]

Hey everyone i just got a Bubble tip anemone in my tank and last night all the bubbles deflated.... what does this mean. maybe my flow is too strong. i hope its not dieing. any tips, suggestion would be much appriciated THANKS!!!

[spanko]

From what I have read the bubbles will deflate from time to time. Leave it alone, let it find it's sweet spot in the tank and see how it goes for a couple of days.

[Uploadead]

What size tank is it in? They grow big. Fast. Feed them half a silverside every so often and give it good lighting (MH is preferable) and it should do well. Make sure it can't get sucked into anywhere though, that's their hobby.

[bigsteve2169]

its in a 10g tank w/ 2 fish and 1 other coral. ill make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesnt get sucked up. put it in about 9:00 pm on friday and it still hasnt moved yet. on 1 side all the bubbles are big again but the other side is still shrivled up. and sorry but whats a silverside?? i have a 65 watt PC 50/50 light over the tank. hopefully soon im getting a 70 watt MH sunpod but they are kinda pricy so im holding off for now. does any1 know if my clown fish will bond to this type of anemone? thanks

[linkia lady]

I have a bta and the bubble tips do go away from time to time. Silversides are small silver fish that you can buy frozen to feed your bta. I suggest getting some, cut them in half before you feed it. I really do think your tank is too small for a bta, just my opinion. It is probably shriving up because I don't think you have the proper lighting.

[dsoz]

Poor anemone, it is probably not going to make it. You should have done research before you got it. There are lots of treads on here that tell what the minimum set-up for an anemone are. 65w of PC and a 10 g are not included.

 

You should have bought the sunpod BEFORE the anemone. Also a bigger tank. Especially if you want anything besides the anemone. When it grows big, it will fill the entire tank and sting all the corals you have.

 

You still have time. Take it back to your LFS and get something that will do better. Frogspawn coral, or hammer coral are good substitutes for anemones. And a lot easier to care for. Also, clownd will sometimes host these corals as well.

 

dsoz

[kkyyllee]

it will grow to the size of ur 10 gallon, and like dsoz said u should have waited till you had the proper lighting

[rics4me]

Don't fret. I had a RBTA in a 12 gallon uniquarium for over 2 years under 70 watts of PC. Not only did it split twice but it doubled in size as well. BTA's CAN DO WELL UNDER PC"s. I have succesfully kept BTA's. Haddoni's, and Sebae's all under PC,T-5 and Halide. All of them work. Let your BTA find a place to its liking and give it a few days to get settled. If your water quality is good your anemone should settle in shortly. IME, BTA's kept under PC and T-5 generally had longer and skinnier tentacles. The ones that I have kept under halides have had shorter and thicker tentacles giving them more of a true bubble anemone appearance. Vary the diet of your anenome to include crustaceans particularly shell on shrimp. They are high in iodine which benefits them. You will find varying opinions on NR so don't get discouraged. I think most people on here care about the well being of our captive creatures and want to make sure that forum members are providing optimal environments for their livestock. Clearly, as others on this thread have stated you MUST research a specimen prior to aquisition. Live and learn. Read the forums and ask questions. Others here have a great deal of experience and knowledge. You should wisely take advantage of that.

[RayWhisperer]

I'll chime in. I agree with rics4me. I too have a RBTA in a NC 12. However, I have 96 watts of PC lighting, dual refugiums, and dual pumps on a wavemaker. Are all of these modifications necsesarry? No, but every little bit to help keep the environment optimal helps.

 

My first question would be, how long has the tank been set up? Stability of water parameters and water quality are paramount IMO. Having said that, what are your water parameters now? As was mentioned before, cover filter and power head intakes. These are killers of anemones. 65 watts over a 10 gallon AGA(or similar make) is pretty slim for lighting, even for BTA standards. Do you have any extra lights you could throw on top, just to help it get by? Since your lighting is minimal IMO, you'll need to feed a bit more often. You should probably feed it twice a week for now. With this will come the need for nutrient export. Water changes are in order. Minimal 20% weekly IMO. Pretty much everything else has been covered already.

[bigben1730]

ok well all the parameters are good. PH is normal. nitrite and ammonia are at 0. nitrate obviouslly goes up over time and i do a 2.5 gallon water change every 1-2 weeks. I made sure it couldnt get sucked up anywhere but i do have a 20 gallon aquaclear filter and a 30 gallon 1 as well. also have a power head. i think it was too much flow becase it wouldnt attach and 1 morning when i woke up it was upside down on the sand. when i picked it up it was all gooey and fell apart in my tank. i even turned off the power head for a couple days to give it a chance but didnt work. Im just going to wait till i get the sunpod and a refugium before i try again.

[kkyyllee]

sorry to hear about the nem

[bigben1730]

o yea and my tank has been set up since march. I also have finger leather and its doing great. growing really fast. think ill have to sell it soon cuz its running out of space and the sweeper tentacles are about 5-8 inches long. does anyone know if you can frag it?

[RayWhisperer]

Yes, just cut it with a sharp razor blade.

[Amy]

Sorry to hear about your anemone. I have one in my 10 gal, the tank has been running for 3 years now. The anemone has been in there for 6 months now and has tripled in size. I too am running pc lighting, I also feed twice a week or should I say my clownfish feeds her anemone twice a week. I put the food and she is right there to feed the anemone, quite a thing to watch.

 

I am not concerned about it getting to big as it is okay if it is the only coral eventually in the tank. However my mushrooms are the size of my hand each, my toadstool leather is gettin to a nice size also.

 

I am not saying that these lights are the best, but hey it is working for me which I am happy about.

 

I have been looking at the Nano Cubes, taking my time I must add as they are dear in price, lights are expensive to replace, filter media is also expensive but most of the feed back from folks that have these is what concerns me. They are certainly not your "plug in and play" aquarium that I thought they would be. If you have to do modifications to them what is the point. What I have is obviously working great so this is where I am at with mine.

 

At the moment the only thing I am looking at doing is the lighting thing, to upgrade it and also more water movement. I am running an aqua clear filter which is great, love them. But I have been told that a powehead in a 10 gal is just to much.

 

Anyone have a comment or suggestion regarding the water movment for me???

 

[kkyyllee]

def get a power head

[Amy]

What size would I be looking at??

 

I don't want to blow my corals around the tank.

 

[RayWhisperer]

What size would I be looking at??

 

I don't want to blow my corals around the tank.

 

You won't. Just be sure to cover the intake so your nem doesn't get sucked in.

[Amy]

Your talking about the intake right??

 

Is there anything else that one can use for more water movement besides a powerhead??

 

Also what size of one should I get (gph)??

 

[RayWhisperer]

Anothe filter would provide additional current, however a powerhead is probably your best bet. Look into a Maxijet 900. They run cool and move a lot of water. Something in the neighborhood of 260+ GPH.

Yes, I was talking about intake for both the filter and powerhead. Anemones have a nasty habit of getting sucked in when they move too close.