The Trials and Tribulations of a gBTA

[Phyl]

Last night I looked under and through my rocks to the back of my tank where my gBTA has chosen to take up residency. Oh no. It doesn't look good. Look through the bottom glass by contorting my head over my protien skimmer until I'm about to pass out. Confirmation. It really really doesn't look good this time. It has had days where it looks *great* and others where it has really looked quite sad but this is it for sure.

Test the ammonia, I think it is dead. It is stuck to the outside of the baffle (on a solid piece) but it is slumped down, completely deflated. I think I see its mouth hanging inside out. Ammo tests the most perfect 0 I've ever seen. Brand new test kit so I know it is ok.

I decide to leave the little bugger in there because getting it off the wall would just be traumatic for it anyway.

I wake up this morning and go to look for said BTA. Gone. I can't see it through the holes in the rock. I look under the tank in the same goofy position as last night trying to get a glimpse of it... nothing. *sigh*

No WAIT! There it is! It is HUGE (a good 7" across) standing on the side of the baffle about 1/2 way up the tank (12" off the bottom). It looks great! I take a piece of krill and hand it to him with tongs. He takes it greadily and eats it. This is the first time I've been able to feed it because it has been too hard to get to in its cave.

What in heaven's name is going on? I look in the tank each time I go in to the living room waiting to see if it is alive or dead. Each time I look it is on one extreme or the other of the spectrum.

This has been such an emotional roller coaster. I definitely wasn't prepared for this. Are they all this volitile? I keep hoping he'll settle in but 2 weeks in the tank and now he's on the move again (spent 2w in one spot) and he still spends every other day looking like it will be his last. Literally every other day. Crazy.

Anemones: Not for the faint of heart.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I had one in the tank for probably 2 months. It looked great almost every day. It stayed in the same spot and the Clown looked after it.

One day it went mobile, 2 days later it was dead. I really can't figure them out.

 

[MYTY1705]

Having the same issues. My RBTA has been in the tank a week and a half. He keeps moving aroun one rock over and over. Each time I look at him he's on the other side of the rock from where he was before. Tuesday night the thing looked horrible, all deflated and what looked like a giant booger hanging off him. Last night when I got home 4-5" across all puffed up. Nothing wron in the slightest. I have not directly fed mine yet though. I was trying to wait for him to get comfortable. Is this a good idea or should I throw some krill his way???

 

[macman7010]

Anemones by nature have some strange habits, although there conditions are often reflective of the quality of the water from which they live. You must remember that Anemones totally deflate and open thier mouths to dispell any waste. Often times you will see your anemone totally deflated with a string of mucus like waste coming from its mouth. To the unknowing hobbyist it appears as though the anemone is on its last leg, although that is normal. Although it is not really good for anemones to inflate and deflate on a regular basis. BTA and RBTA anemones are known to be travelors and the more you feed the more often you will see your anemone laying delfated expelling waste.

Basically the symptoms you guys are all describing are rather normal. Any terrible odor or odd marks, cuts, or openings on the anemone are sure fire signs that it is in trouble. Make sure you have plenty of light 5-10 watts per gallon and are keeping your calcium, strot, and alk levels normal and test for phosphates. Even more important for BTA anemoness is the use of Iodine. They absorb this and it helps them recoup from over illumination or any other damage.

Anemones are typically hit or miss. I bought a gorgeous BTA some time ago that did wonderful for several months then suddenly got a large abrasive cut that spead all over it killing it before the week was out. I personally dont like BTA anemones because they are such travelors requiring that all filter intakes be covered and they can sting other anemones and corals, making them tough keepers.

 

[schoeplein]

<3 Anemones.

Definitely peculiar. Looked all shrivelled when I got mine. Stuck the baggy in the tank, after 30 minutes put some water in, and did so every 15minutes after that until the baggy was full... during this time he continually expanded.. it looked like he had just recently expunged material and the baggy smelled like bottom. I drained as much of the water out of the bag and filled what I could with my own tanks water. Then gently slid him out of the bag onto the most convenient "holey" rock I could find. It took a couple hours for him to right side himself but this morning he's fully expanded and looking prime. Currently on Day 2.

Hopefully the experience goes well. Just mixed a capful of iodine on Sunday and supposedly that helps. Need to figure out what to do about calcium tho.... I'm just anxious to see my clowns enjoy it.