new BTA

[mwrmma]

couple things. . . . just got a new BTA yesterday. dripped it for about 2 hours, put him in and within about 30 minutes both maroon clowns were all over it! that made me very happy. this morning i found the BTA scaling the glass. both clowns were still inside of the tentacles. is it normal for them to climb the glass? also, the tentacles arent very bubbly. is there anything i can do to make him form the bubbles, or do some differ from others and just not form bubble tips? also, what is the probability of this guy splitting? thanks in advance!

[lando]

All is very normal. The anemone will require a few days to find a spot it is happy with. Sometimes the spot they prefer is one we do not...

[MT79]

also, the tentacles arent very bubbly. is there anything i can do to make him form the bubbles

Removing the clowns is about the only thing. For what ever reason the bubble tips tend to disappear when hosting clown fish.

also, what is the probability of this guy splitting?

Can't say. They split for different reasons. One of which is stress. Sometimes the stress from going from the retailer to the LFS, to your aquarium is enough to cause them to split. Good luck.

[melosu58]

I also agree that he`ll move around till he finds his spot. All you can do is watch and see. Wherever he goes he will find a place to shade his foot.

[loyalrogue]

Originally Posted by mwrmma

couple things. . . . just got a new BTA yesterday. dripped it for about 2 hours, put him in and within about 30 minutes both maroon clowns were all over it! that made me very happy. this morning i found the BTA scaling the glass. both clowns were still inside of the tentacles. is it normal for them to climb the glass?

Congrats on the successful clown hosting.
That is one of the coolest relationships in the ocean.
As for climbing the glass, yes, that's perfectly normal.
The anemone will wander periodically looking for a spot where it's comfortable, and where it likes the light level.
Make sure that your filter intakes and powerheads are protected to keep the anemone from being sucked up and shredded.

Originally Posted by mwrmma

also, the tentacles arent very bubbly. is there anything i can do to make him form the bubbles, or do some differ from others and just not form bubble tips?

BTAs seem to inflate more when they have strong lighting, and deflate under weaker lighting.
You've got about 5wpg which is near the low end for most anemones, but it's MH which is stronger/more penetration than other kinds of lighting which helps offset that loose rule of thumb.
I'm sure once he settles down you'll see him regularly inflate again.

Originally Posted by mwrmma

also, what is the probability of this guy splitting? thanks in advance!

100% if you take a razor blade, and slice cleanly thru the middle of it while it's climbing on the glass.
If you do decide to propagate it by cutting, I would remove the clowns while the two halves heal.
If you're not comfortable actively propagating it, you could try and help it happen naturally by 1) feeding it meaty foods, and 2) doing a large water change (40%) once every month or two months to try and trigger the change.
HTH
Good luck, and congrats again!

[Lance M.]

Remember don't touch it, or if it goes into a place you don't really like it to be, don't grab it and put it somewhere else.

For instance my bta is in the back right of my tank and you can't see it unless you look throught the right side of the tank, but it moved there on it's own and likes it.