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BTA vs. Torch Coral Frag


OPtasia

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So, our closest LFS had a year end sale on BTA's. We have a small psychotic tomato clown in our biocube that insists the return tube from the sump is it's host and I decided to get a medium sized green BTA for it. Thinking, well maybe it'll adopt the BTA and act like a normal clown fish. Pffrt. Famous last words.

 

The BTA has been doing some wandering, like they do, and has picked a sheltered half hole in the front of the rock work that gets good light and medium flow. On it's way there, it managed to sting the ever loving crap out of a torch coral frag and it knocked it over, putting the torch coral right in the path of the stream coming from the nearest powerhead. I woke up this morning to a dead coral head and chunks of torch coral blown all over the tank. Between the BTA stings and the high flow, it just obliterated that poor little coral frag.

 

Maybe, just maybe, some of that torch coral tissue will take root in the rock work and grow back, but I seriously doubt it. The tomato clown continues to ignore the BTA completely. 

 

BTA 1: Torch Coral 0

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You can pretty much forget about the torch doing anything other than dying. I’m sorry...

As for your clown, tomatoes are pretty rough and need a good size anemone , plus they grow large for a nano. How big is yours? Do you have a picture of the nem and the clown?

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It's a 32 gallon nano. The BTA in question is a little larger than a baseball. Other than a Randal's Prawn Goby that loves to hide under the rockwork and substrate, it's the only fish in the tank. The BTA has apparently settled in a cave-like impression on some base rock. It just stung up the little torch coral frag on it's way there. I have no doubt the torch is dead. I changed out the 50 micron filter pad that I use for mechanical filtration for a fresh one because it was full of torch coral bits. My CUC will handle the rest of it. 

 

If the BTA continues to be happy in it's new spot, i'm inclined to leave it in the tank. If it goes walk about and stings up more corals, i'll re-home it back to the LFS.

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