BTA moved somewhere I cannot feed or see

[zak786]

Hi

My bubbletip anemone now 10 days since I bought it from the lfs was nicely placed in the tank on display its moved itself to the back...hidden away...

I know they move around before settling.. but its in a place at the back of the tank attached to a piece of live rock so i cannot get to it to feed it or even see it.

What can I do ? I dont want the anemone hiding ...whats the point in having it ? It looks lovely and should be on display but more worrying and important is that it needs to be fed once a week doesnt it ??

HELP !!!!!

 

[BigAl07]

You're dealing with a MOBILE living animal. That's like expecting your new puppy dog to sit in the front window of your house. It's not practical or possible. It will go where it feels it gets what it needs for survival. Some will do this only at first and then eventually come out into a more visible area. All you can do it keep your water quality HIGH and hope for the best. Keep an eye on it the best you can and if you see it "Expiring" you need to get it out even if it means moving rock and such.

Good luck and Happy Reefing

 

[marineflake]

Hi

Hello!

My bubbletip anemone now 10 days since I bought it from the lfs was nicely placed in the tank on display its moved itself to the back...hidden away...What can I do ?

Not much. Odds are *if* you move it with out damaging it, it will move again. Lot to be said for proper light acclimation, salinity, temp, etc. They are capable of wandering, deflating, all kinds of interesting behaviour. You gotta know what your getting into before you get into it. It will climb out when its ready, provided water conditions are not a problem or other injury.

...I dont want the anemone hiding ...whats the point in having it ?...

Maybe its not the right animal for you. Perhaps a nice wrasse or some clownfish?

...It looks lovely and should be on display but more worrying and important is that it needs to be fed once a week doesnt it ??...HELP !!!!!

Not all nem keepers feed. Its a huge gaping pile of puss IMO...The discussion around feeding, not the nem ; ) Many reefers will tell you to feed or it will die, others say if you feed it, it will die. Go figure. Me, I feed mine. However, light, unlike the debate around feeding, *is* a requirement for a photosynthetic creature. At some point as the keeper, you have to make the decision as to its health and act accordingly. I would recommend spending the next couple days leaving it alone and reading as much as you can on nems. If you Google for "karen's anemones" you should find a site that I found extremely helpful when I first starting keeping BTAs.

Best of luck!

 

[zak786]

I want an anemone of course.... my tank parameters are all good including the SG, KH, PH, Nitrate, Nitrites, Phosphates, Mg all....all are spot on....

I will keep an eye on it just dont want it to die...have read karen's anemone already.... is a good read...

Hello!



Not much. Odds are *if* you move it with out damaging it, it will move again. Lot to be said for proper light acclimation, salinity, temp, etc. They are capable of wandering, deflating, all kinds of interesting behaviour. You gotta know what your getting into before you get into it. It will climb out when its ready, provided water conditions are not a problem or other injury.



Maybe its not the right animal for you. Perhaps a nice wrasse or some clownfish?



Not all nem keepers feed. Its a huge gaping pile of puss IMO...The discussion around feeding, not the nem ; ) Many reefers will tell you to feed or it will die, others say if you feed it, it will die. Go figure. Me, I feed mine. However, light, unlike the debate around feeding, *is* a requirement for a photosynthetic creature. At some point as the keeper, you have to make the decision as to its health and act accordingly. I would recommend spending the next couple days leaving it alone and reading as much as you can on nems. If you Google for "karen's anemones" you should find a site that I found extremely helpful when I first starting keeping BTAs.

Best of luck!

 

[marineflake]

Good to hear, more often than not, its just the nem starting its usual routine of maybe deflating to, shall we say, relieve itself or maybe its finally gathered the energy to go find a new home, a spot where it will be happier. Either way, moving after 10 - 30 days of being first introduced isn't abnormal, in fact, its to be expected. In your case, its 'hiding', but give it a couple days and see if it changes its mind. As long as you can keep an eye on it while it rebels, you should give the nem the time it needs to find its 'happy place'.

Best of luck!

 

[prison police]

Nems will move to where the light is right for "it", where it feels like its getting the right amount of flow and food. All you can do is keep watching for it to come out. I dont think it will stay back there and starve....it will come out...be patient. Good luck and keep watching!

 

[Gyr]

Hi Zak786,
I had a very similar issue with my BTA. I was able to get it to consistantly extend to the front of the rock work by shading the area where the light was shining down the back wall of the tank behind the rock work. To date, Rosie is happy and growing, and it is neat to be able to watch it's interaction with the clown fish.
That is the short version. If you want a more detailed account, here is a link to the thread:
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/anemones/47376-shy-bta.html.
Good luck.
Oh yeah, as far as feeding the nem goes, I feed mine. I give it a blast of mysis shrimp when I add them to my tank for the fish (every other day), and for the past month I have been giving it a whole (small) siversides every 7-10 days. It has been growing well, even before starting the silversides, at least 3X as big as when I bought it. One thing I have noticed is that the body of the nem turned darker after I started feeding the silvesides, but I kind of like that and the rose color of the tenticles looks even better.

 

[zak786]

Hi all and thanks for the useful advice

So the nem is still more or less in the same place...he has moved slightly forward so is slightly more visible. Am feeding him a little bit of brine shrimp once a week but he is losing colour.... Was luminous green before but is not so green anymore...

Should I still be worried ?

 

[Cassy]

I also have a bubble tip and it did the same exact thing I waited for a couple days and just turned the rock around.. he's been there ever sense

 

[marineflake]

Whats the latest?

 

[PureDezigner]

My BTA is doing something similar. It was in a cave for about 5 days then moved to the back of the piece LR facing the back of the tank. There is no way for me to feed it and it has been over 7 days since I last fed it.

I am very worried, but thanks to great advice from BigAl I will not be moving my rock around to get him out in the open. At least now I can see him he looks very healthy. Hopefully when he is hungry enough he will come out from behind the rock. I wish my yellow stripe maroon clown would feed him but he only takes food from him instead, go figure. XP

 

[zak786]

I lost him about a month ago

Whats the latest?

 

[Gyr]

Zak, so sorry about your BTA. What a drag.