shy BTA

[Gyr]

I’m a dope.

Three weeks ago I was agonizing about getting an anemone, afraid it would wander around the tank too much, stinging corals. Now I want to know if there is a safe way to get one to move.

I added a beautiful little rose BTA (about 2 1/2 inches across) to my tank a couple of weeks ago, and over the first 24 hours it moved to the back of my rockwork, and hasn’t budged since. My young percula clown started ‘hosting’ it a few days after that. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I am encouraged that the BTA seems happy as it ‘bubbles up’ pretty frequently and it seems to be uninterested in looking for a ‘better’ spot. I’m really pleased about all this, but I have to crouch down and look up and under the rock just to get a partial view of the nem. I can see the light shining through gaps between the back wall and the rocks, striking a portion of the nem (seems like about a fourth of the tentacles are getting direct light). The percula will carry food back to the BTA, but if he actually gives it to the nem is unknown.

I don’t plan to do anything for a month or two, letting the BTA just get used to his new home, but at some point I’d like to get a little better view of him and the cool interaction between nems and clowns. I won’t pull him from his spot manually, but am wondering if blocking the light to that part of the tank for a few hours per day might encourage a move (hopefully to a more visible spot) without stressing him too much.

Has anyone had similar concerns, or have any ideas that might safely motivate a move?

Part of me thinks I should just leave well enough alone, think of it as the prize in the crackerjack box for those visitors who give the tank more than just a casual glance...But I really would like to see more of him.

Thanks,
Kurt

My tank is 55 gallons, light source is two 250 watt metal halides, on for 10 hours/day. I feed mysis shrimp twice/week.

 

[WhisperinLoudly]

Just leave it alone. Probably came from a tank with less lighting than you have so it will take time for it to adjust to your lighting.

 

[Clownfish518]

Anemones move to find a perch that they like, water flow that they like, or lighting that they like. Its generally one of these three. Sometimes food.

Of these three, I like to alter water flow to encourage them to move first - either increase or decrease, more direct or less direct. Moving them by hand can really stress them, and is futile anyway as they can move themselves right back.

Do you have any crevices or overhangs in plain view for the BTA? Some like to poke out from under overhangs, some like to bury their column in a crevice.

I would give it a week or two to see, and plot how to make life for it uncomfortable for it in its current spot

 

[seafansar]

Like clownfish said, move around the current some and see if it will move. I had one that was attached under a rock. It could either come out the front or back. Of course it always picked the back, so I put a flat rock over the back to block the light. It worked, so you could try that too. And as a last ditch effort, you could move the rock that the nem is attached to to a better spot.
But it might just act like the bta my dad has. That thing would not come out from under the rockwork and gradually lost its color. My dad moved the rock it was on several times to get it in the light, but it would always crawl back into the shade. Several months later he bought another bta. This one placed itself front and center where it could expand into the light or hide under a rock. Funny thing is a few weeks after it was in the tank, the poor faded bta moved right next to the new one! Now it's getting its color back and looks healthy as ever. I guess it just wanted a friend! LOL.

 

[Gyr]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. The BTA was in a tank lit by LED lights at the LFS. There were a bunch of them, and I really don't know much about LEDs, but I suspect my tank's 250 watt MHs are significantly more intense. Like WHisperinLoudly said, I am hopeful that as the BTA adapts, he might move to a more visible location.
Regardless, I am in no big rush to motivate the nem to move (I'm going to give it at least another month to get used to his new home, before I try monkeying with him), and I definitely won't physically move him. For one thing, I'd not want to risk an injury, but I doubt I could get my hand back there to grab him, anyway. As far as moving the rock goes, in my set up that's not too feasible. To my eye, the rockwork in my tank is really cool. A lot of tunnels, crevices and ledges, but mostly pieced together with large individual rocks that I stabilized by epoxying the junctions. The BTA happened to attatch to one of the main 'foundation' pieces of the whole schmeer, so moving that rock would be problematic.
When the time comes, I'll see if I can redirect the flow in the tank, or shade the area where the nem is now and see how it goes.
Thanks again, everyone. I sure like this Rose BTA. He's really nice. I'll try to get a picture of him later today to post. It'll be kind of funny, mostly rock and maybe a glimpse of nem.

 

[Sapphire]

Sounds lke you're in a similar position to me - I've decide to leave it alone and just wait.........

 

[Gyr]

Okay, bear with me. Here goes my try at uploading photos to show the BTA in my tank.

First photo is a full tank shot, the nem is barely visible behind the rock just about dead center (the vague orange higher up is my coral beauty).

Next shot is a closer front view.

Here is a front view close up.

Finally, a top down shot (the nem extends up between the rock work and back wall to get into the light when they are on).

So there they are, my Rose and Percula. A bit shy, perhaps, but cute, huh?

 

[Gyr]

Not to brag, but rather to rejoice, here is an update on my rose BTA, which I've had for well over a month now and is hale and hearty.
I stumbled onto an easy solution for it's shyness problem. I first just put a wad of filter material in the top of the rock work to block the light from shining down the back wall, and sure enough, the BTA expanded to the front of the rockwork instead of up the back wall. Not wanting to leave the filter material in the tank long term, I removed it and just put a magazine on the back part of the top of the tank to shade the same area and it worked just as well. I found I just needed to leave the magazine there for the first 30 minutes or so after the MH's came on and once the BTA came out, it would stay there for the day. I then set my lights to come on about an hour later than normal so I wouldn't have to get up early just to place the magazine, and the BTA was out front before the lights cycled on that day (the room gets the morning light and I suspect it's the sunlight that motivates the BTA to expand to the front of the tank, not up the back wall). If I close the blinds and don't use the magazine trick, the BTA still expands up the back wall for that day. Interestingly, the BTA hasn't shown any inclination to change its anchor point, it just expands in one direction or the other, depending on where the first light of the day is coming from.
I'll try to attach some shots of BTA in its more visible location....

FTS

Close up

Nice, huh? Now I get to watch the cool interaction between clown and nem. The clown feeds the nem mysis shrimp, even the pellet food I add to the tank. Way cool.

 

[BarbMazz]

Very pretty. They are way excellent to watch.

Your tank looks fairly new? Keep a close eye on your parameters as nems like them way stable.

 

[Sapphire]

looking beautiful!

 

[seafansar]

Beautiful nem!

 

[Gyr]

Thanks, everyone for the compliments. I sure do enjoy the BTA.

BarbMazz, I agree. The tank looks new, due to barren rockwork, but it is over 2 years old. I went too fast a few years ago when I first got into the hobby and had some corals die. Bummed me out. So I just did a live rock with 2 fish and a mushroom coral or two for the next year or so, then upgraded to MH lights early this year. Paramaters have been rock stable for several months (unexplained bump in nitrates to about 20-40 for a few weeks after adding MHs, zero ever since). After getting input from several RS forum members about what to add first, SPS or Nem, I decide on adding the nem first, letting it find a 'home' in the tank and then adding SPS's. That worked out well for me, as the BTA hasn't moved its anchor point after the first 2 days in the tank, and the SPS's I am slowly adding to the tank haven't been stung.

 

[BarbMazz]

Ah, okay! I apologize, then!

You might win the award for patience, then. Good job!

 

[Gyr]

Thanks,
Hated that I killed several corals by ignorance and impatience when I first started. Wanted to minimize chance of doing that again.
No need to apologize. It has been comments like yours that have helped me learn/become a better reefer. I welcome more.
Kurt

 

[csmsss]

That's a beautiful rose BTA. I never see any at the LFS with color anywhere near as intense and saturated as that.

 

[Gyr]

Thanks, csmsss.
I was amazed by the nem's color when I first saw it in the LFS. Much more intense than the 2 other rosies they had available. I held off buying it that first day, and although it wasn't really long enough, I decided to buy it when it still looked healthy about a week later. Glad I did. The guy I know at the LFS said another customer came in the next day to buy it and was miffed that I snagged it. The BTA's been healthy and holding its amazing color--even growing quite a bit in the few months I've had it. The clown takes good care of it. I'm doing frequent water changes and keeping a close eye on the parameters--all doing well. Hope I can keep the rose happy.
Kurt