Picked up a Nice BTA..where'd he go?

[goisles1]

Hey all,

Well.. made my weekend rounds to check out some LFS's in my area. One store was having an Invert sale and they had a really nice BTA for $25.

So.. I picked it up.. Drip acclimated it for 1+hours, placed it in the tank in a nice spot. He kind of shrunk himself down for a while. Then last night, I watched him for a couple hours under my Moonlight LEDS. Pretty cool watching him relocate.

Anyway.. Right now, he's pretty deep inside my LR in a hole. I can barely see him. I assume he should make his way out when he get's a little more comfortable with his surroundings?

 

[austinsdad]

I'd say that's a good bet.

 

[Ziggy953]

How much lighting do you have on your tank? BTAs will require pretty intense light. I would say at least T5 or VHO and MH is even better.

 

[melosu58]

He`ll go where he wants to. What type lighting do you have?

 

[goisles1]

I have T5 Lighting.. 36inch Nova Extreme Pro.. 6 Bulb fixture (3X10k and 3 Aticinic)

 

[Ziggy953]

That should be enough light. My guess is he is finding a spot he likes.

 

[melosu58]

I agree that lighting should be OK. Let him find his spot and you`ll see him out.

 

[MistaSparkL]

He'll come out unless he gets stuck somewhere--which is what happened to mine.

 

[goisles1]

He'll come out unless he gets stuck somewhere--which is what happened to mine.

And??? Does your story have a happy ending??

Mine is still in his hole.. Although, at night, he seems to come out a little bit.

 

[Tank2379]

I have an RBTA and after a 1 1/2 months period he decide last night to move under the rock he was resting on. I believe he is going to relocate himself so now I have to be alert cause he can sting corals to dead if he keeps moving everywhere...They'll move until they find that right spot for them..., Once they do they will rest there foot and stay in that spot and grow a good 12 inches or more.... Good Luck. ... Also I think Ziggy has a Good Picture of His RBTA that is really huge.

 

[Ziggy953]

If you see the BTA coming out more at night then during the day that could mean it is getting used to the lighting conditions of your tank. As long as you are seeing it extend tentacles and it has color I would not be too concerned right now. Give it some time and see how it goes.

When I put mine in my tank it vanished for over a week and I thought I had lost $80. Then one day it popped out of the rockwork right where I wanted it. Go figure...

Here is a pic of my RBTA

 

[blrrobinson21]

So these guys can get stuck in the rock work. Hmmm How would you know if there stuck or just enjoying the hole their in?

 

[Ziggy953]

They aren't going to get "stuck" in the rock. If they crawl in a spot they can get out. The only thing they can really get "stuck" in is an intake for a pump or the overflow of your tank.

 

[goisles1]

Thanks for the advice all...

Ziggy - Yes.. his tenticles are extended inside the rock.. It's only been a few days so I'm not concerened yet.

Also.. Your BTA is massive.. That thing is awesome.. Has it ever split?

 

[Tank2379]

I told ya He had a Huge RBTA....

 

[Ziggy953]

It has not split as of yet. It did relocated directly under the new 250w MH on the left side of the tank though. It's not expanding as much as it did in that pic anymore either. I think it likes the more intense light from the 250 over the old 175.

 

[goisles1]

SUMMARY of my 1st week owning a BTA (I hope it's all just normal behavior):

1st 3 days listed already in the thread. Added him to the tank, and he hid inside a LR hole.

after 3 days the BTA came out of his hole. I woke up one morning and he was gone. Searched the entire tank and could not find him. Finally, I took a little mirror from my wifes makeup bag and found him hiding under a rock ledge in the back of the tank. He was attached to the Rock hanging just above the substrate. It was real hard to see him, but I could see his bubble tenticles. He stayed there for a few days.

Sunday morning, when I peered in on the tank I noticed he had moved again and was now stuck to the back glass down at the bottom right hand side of the tank. He looked good.. He was all open but he wasn't extending his tenticles.. they were all tight bubbles against his body.

Today he was on the move again. Before I left for work, he was now on the substrate UPSIDE DOWN. I thought to myself that he was a goner. I watched him for a while. He went from standing on his tenticles to rolling on his side to attaching himself to the glass again.

I just talked to my wife and she mentioned that he's now on the sand again back by the ledge. He's hard to see but she can see his greenish tenticles. So, I assume he's open.

anyway.. I hope he finds a nice spot so I can enjoy him soon.

 

[Ziggy953]

They are funny critters. It sounds like normal behavior to me. It will move around until it finds a spot it likes.

One trick a friend of mine does when adding anemones is he gets it attached to the rock work by holding it in place. Once the foot grabs the rock he immediately feeds the anemone a bit of shrimp or silverside. He then feeds it again the next day and then again a couple of days later. What this does is kind of tricks the anemone into associating the spot with food. It has worked 100% of the time for my friend. I have not tried it but thought the method was sound. It may be worth a shot for you or you can just leave it to it's own devices.

 

[goisles1]

What bothers/scares me is that it was completely upside down. Tenticles in the substrate. Wife just called me again and says she thinks he's upside down again..

anyway.. I guess I'll just see how it plays out.. I'll see how he looks tonight. My LFS sells Silversides and I'll pick some up tomorrow. I've read so much different stuff on these guys.. Spot Feed, don't spot feed.. blah blah blah.. But your freinds process makes alot of sense....
I also think this guy may have been a little bleached when I bought him.. So, I may be dealing with a BTA that was already stressed before I brought him home. We'll see.

 

[Ziggy953]

You have seen the pic of my RBTA above, well here is what it looked like when I brought him home:

That is the same anemone as in the above pic. Mine was in very bad shape when I got it. What I did was put a piece of rock in the bucket while acclimating and it attached to the rock. I then put that rock with anemone into my frag tank so I could keep an eye on it for a few days. Then it went into the main. Trust me I know the feeling of seeing something vanish in your tank. I spent $80 on that anemone and it vanished in my main tank. When it finally came back out it was right where it started from. You may want to try and get the anemone to attach to a rock and then put that rock in an area that you want the anemone. You don't want it rolling around on the sand bed though that will stress it out even more. If it is still on the sand when you get home see if you can get it and get it attached to a piece of rock.