To RBTA or not to RBTA

[mandown123]

I have a local guy offering a small RBTA. I love the idea of it, but I am wondering if I am ready for this. What are some valid concerns i should have. I think I am overestimating the danger. I feel like Im gonna wake up and all my stuff is going to be RBTA food. Is this paranoia?

I have a 30 Gallon with 4x 39 w t5's; corals are generally looking good in my tank. tank is about 4, 4.5 months old

[pat8you]

i don't know a while lot about them but i did do some research on them because i really wanted one as well. some things you should consider. Live aquaria says they can get up to a foot and i was concerned it would take away a lot of room for my corals (i have a small tank). They can easily sting and damage corals.

I'm not sure the exact requirements as far as light goes but i know its high. You may have enough with 5.2 but if the bta doesn't have enough it may roam around more trying to find a place with better conditions again posing a threat to corals.

You know your tank better then anyone so i will just mention this as something i've heard. They do require very good water conditions as well as stable. I'm sure yours are fine but usually they recommend a tank that is a bit older then your just because they don't fluctuate as much. So you may want to have the LFS hold it for you and measure your water every day for a week or so and see how your tank is doing.

Hope that helps. if you get one you better post pictures for me cuz i love the RBTA's. I was currently living through ziggy's rbta since i can't have my own.

[melosu58]

They need a mature and stable tank. Reason being is that the parameters need to be stable and not jumping around. I usually suggest at least 6-9 months. I know alot of folks that have them and they are beautiful. As Pat said they do get quite big and multiply alot also.

[MsBeanCtr]

I've got a rtba and it's done fairly well (my tank is almost 2 years old). My biggest complaint is that I know where I want it to be.....too bad it didn't agree. It ended up moving around to the back of my live rock.

Oh, and just an FYI here.....my clown fish do not host my rtba.....so if you've got clownfish I wouldn't hold my breath.

All of that being said, they are neat to watch and I enjoy feeding mine every week....it's really cool.

[mandown123]

i know that the clowns may not host it.. especially mine which are a pair of tank bred occ. clowns. the clowns keep looking like theyre trying to host my candy cane coral though, so maybe they are looking for a home lol. i dont know either way i think theyre amazing. the one this guy is selling is from a parent that split 2 clones and i want to take the smaller of the 2, i believe he said its only like 3-4 inches diameter. my clowns are babys, only like 1 inch long so its almost perfect if they do host it

[lando]

When considering an anemone, the BTA is a good option. As mentioned, they do require mature tanks that have very stable water parameters. If the RBTA is aquacultured you will have a better chance on having the animal do well. These anemones do require light, howver, I have two under 48watts of 50/50 CF lighting in my 12gal nano (it split several months ago) for about two years. Offer stable water parameters and the appropriate light for the depth of the tank and it should do fine, especially if if is a cloned anemone.

[mandown123]

i am going for it i will post pics when i grab it up. it is a clone of a rbta in someones tank in my area. it is very small i think 3 inches, a new clone. it looks gorgeous from the pics he sent me, 35 bucks, not too bad so im going to try my luck. i think i can do this. ill pick up tomorrow or friday and take pics

[Ziggy953]

$35 is hard to pass up for a RBTA. I paid $89 for mine. Get some pics posted!!

[mandown123]

its beautiful. here is the pic he sent me, i am going over his house tomorrow or the weekend to see it and grab it.
he said his clowns hosted and then it split and now they host all 3 but hes selling the other 2 clones.

[Ziggy953]

Very nice!

[usmcmarc]

I have seen my 6 Line swim thru my RBTA a few times (The GSM's promptly chased him away) and he was fine. I think most fish instinctively stay away. So you should not have to worry about it eating your fish.

Be warned...It WILL move around. So you might not want to affix your corals where they cant be moved. Mine was in one place for months, and just recently decided to up and move to the other side of the tank. I had to pry off all my coral and re-arrange everything. So, Let it settle in for at least a few months before placing any corals around it.

[land locked]

I have had my tank for about 6 months and it killed my husband to wait the AA recommended 6 months but he did. His patience was finally rewarded this weekend when we purchased his RBTA, for $79 (I am jealous $35!!!) It is pretty large, maybe 6-7 inches in diameter. Our maroon clown (2, had them only a few weeks) fish could not even wait until in was out of his hand before they were already rubbing all over it. There was no hesitation for hosting in it, but I did a lot of reading regarding good pairings for clown fish and anemone. I do have one issue of concern: It is spotted with white/clear spots. I assumed it still maybe in a bit of shock from the move but I could not find anything online about these dots. Not sure what that is about. If anyone knows please let me know.

[mandown123]

good luck with it! i cant wait to add it in when i pick up tomorrow.