Reef Discussion
I suppose its got the ability to come back however sorry to hear this especially as they are soo much $$ and looks so awesome in the 1st pick.
Can I ask what are you dosing into your tank ? (besides Alk/CA/Mg). I had this sort of trouble last year and I think I killed the colours in some of my corals with too much kindness. I suggest too much/many nutrients...
If you were in VIC I would offer it a sleep over at my place for a few weeks...
Can I ask what are you dosing into your tank ? (besides Alk/CA/Mg). I had this sort of trouble last year and I think I killed the colours in some of my corals with too much kindness. I suggest too much/many nutrients...
If you were in VIC I would offer it a sleep over at my place for a few weeks...
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I can really only provide sympathy however some observations of mine:
Mine lived under a rock for 12 months and was still red. so its not light
My Nitrates have varied between 0.5 (now) and up to 40 ppm over the last 2 years
Never have fed my BTA in 2 years and has grown 4x
Maybe its bad luck however if it was me I would try and find someone to hold it for you ASAP as its really got to be something to do with water parameters. I still think too many nutrients, I would cut back on the Seachem stuff for a while and see if it improves
Mine lived under a rock for 12 months and was still red. so its not light
My Nitrates have varied between 0.5 (now) and up to 40 ppm over the last 2 years
Never have fed my BTA in 2 years and has grown 4x
Maybe its bad luck however if it was me I would try and find someone to hold it for you ASAP as its really got to be something to do with water parameters. I still think too many nutrients, I would cut back on the Seachem stuff for a while and see if it improves
I run a low nutrient tank that's why is important to feed my corals. Nitrate undetectable- 0.02. Phos undetectable - 0.02. Sailfert & Hanna egg. We have. 6 BTAs and a ALL thriving except him. He has placed himself in a cave but reaches out for light when they are on. I truly don't believe it's nutrients. ! He lost his colour within a few days of being in the tank Someone suggested our lights were not enough hence changing the globes on the weekend ! There is no way we can have someone baby sit as I would probably do more damage getting him out if the cave he resides in. His foot is quite deep. The only observation I have is from the day we put him in the tank he had a brown/tan coloured foot as opposed to our other BTAs with a strong pink colour. Maybe he was unhealthy when we bought him ?? Are they supposed to have a pink foot. ?
Colour isn't the only change, it is also morphing into less bubbly tentacles. For how long do you have it?
I noticed the feeding frequency can affect the happiness of BTAs. I've had BTAs that thrived without ever been fed. Some would do better when fed large chucks of shrimp, twice a month and would grow too quickly when fed more frequently. Finally, and most importantly on your case, whenever they started loosing the bubbles I managed to recover it by feeding it very frequently, like once a day with small amounts of frozen food, like brine shrimp.
Once it got back to its original shape I get back to feeding very infrequently.
It may be worth a try.
I noticed the feeding frequency can affect the happiness of BTAs. I've had BTAs that thrived without ever been fed. Some would do better when fed large chucks of shrimp, twice a month and would grow too quickly when fed more frequently. Finally, and most importantly on your case, whenever they started loosing the bubbles I managed to recover it by feeding it very frequently, like once a day with small amounts of frozen food, like brine shrimp.
Once it got back to its original shape I get back to feeding very infrequently.
It may be worth a try.
Best advice I had from @TheJordans was if the foot was still firmly attached then your BTA is aok.
I think @MagicJ might be on the right track. I have 2 BTA's in two different tanks split from the same parent. One tank is quite new (<5 months) and the other has been running in various forms for 8 years. Both were different colours when I got them and have now changed colour to be even further different. One is light green all over and the other has a purple base with deep green ends. Both are healthy and being hosted. I don't target feed, only broadcast feed both tanks with the same stuff you do Lesley. If it's only been there for 2 days the original tank might have just been very different.
I think @MagicJ might be on the right track. I have 2 BTA's in two different tanks split from the same parent. One tank is quite new (<5 months) and the other has been running in various forms for 8 years. Both were different colours when I got them and have now changed colour to be even further different. One is light green all over and the other has a purple base with deep green ends. Both are healthy and being hosted. I don't target feed, only broadcast feed both tanks with the same stuff you do Lesley. If it's only been there for 2 days the original tank might have just been very different.
hi, holly. We have had him for 2 months now, he lost is red colour within 2 days of entering our tank.I am just really disappointed that's all, we spent so much money on him, unlike the other which cost $25-$50. We have had such success with BTAs that we have sold some for a profit which is why we took the chance with this little fella, hoping he would eventually (down the track) split and we could get some or our money back and still keep on for ourselves.
Just hoping that he does at some stage get his colour back and remains healthy, not just for the money side of things but I hate the thought of him dying ?
Ahhhh sorry I thought it was 2 days :/
I'd be pissed off too though. For $300+ you'd hope they stay red. Was it under LEDs in the purchase tank? Only thing I can think of is the luminescence you get off LEDs might be behind its colour. Now under t5s it looks different...
I'd be pissed off too though. For $300+ you'd hope they stay red. Was it under LEDs in the purchase tank? Only thing I can think of is the luminescence you get off LEDs might be behind its colour. Now under t5s it looks different...
it's not looking to be dying right now, maybe just give it time. if it causes you too much worry... consider attempting to sell it for the price you paid to at least recoup your funds sooner rather than later. i got into this hobby to stress less. the one thing i really want to adhere to personally is that this hobby should not cause you severe stress.
i would certainly recommend you find out what the water parameters of the seller's tank were. perhaps the BTA doesn't like low nutrient water. maybe, just maybe it likes prawns, it could be conditions and maybe it's just having a tanty and all will be ok in time.
maybe it needs some trace elements not contained within Seachem products. Trace contains:
Guaranteed Analysis
Boron
0.028 mg
Cobalt
0.0003 mg
Copper
0.032 mg
Maganese
0.085 mg
Molybdenum
0.003 mg
Zinc
0.169 mg
Rubidium
0.00008 mg
Nickel
0.00003 mg
Vanadium
0.00002 mg
Amounts per 1 gram. Ingredients: copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, boric acid, sodium molybdate, zinc sulfate, rubidium chloride, nickel chloride, vanadium sulfate
I understand from reading in many sources that BTAs, like a lot of other inhabitants require some Iodine. I rarely see it in trace contents though. Maybe give it a whirl? I tend to target feed my BTAs at least every 2 days with a combo of mysis/brine/prawn/reef roids/and some regular flake food all mixed with water. i squirt the nems and the rest of the tank gets the rest. my green BTAs are always pale, stringy and generally not bubbly. i think my lights don't help, the best i can do is ensure they are fed and loved and i will upgrade my lights when possible. the other annoyance is just the fish not hosting them but i can't really win there right now.
good luck!
i would certainly recommend you find out what the water parameters of the seller's tank were. perhaps the BTA doesn't like low nutrient water. maybe, just maybe it likes prawns, it could be conditions and maybe it's just having a tanty and all will be ok in time.
maybe it needs some trace elements not contained within Seachem products. Trace contains:
Guaranteed Analysis
Boron
0.028 mg
Cobalt
0.0003 mg
Copper
0.032 mg
Maganese
0.085 mg
Molybdenum
0.003 mg
Zinc
0.169 mg
Rubidium
0.00008 mg
Nickel
0.00003 mg
Vanadium
0.00002 mg
Amounts per 1 gram. Ingredients: copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, manganese sulfate, boric acid, sodium molybdate, zinc sulfate, rubidium chloride, nickel chloride, vanadium sulfate
I understand from reading in many sources that BTAs, like a lot of other inhabitants require some Iodine. I rarely see it in trace contents though. Maybe give it a whirl? I tend to target feed my BTAs at least every 2 days with a combo of mysis/brine/prawn/reef roids/and some regular flake food all mixed with water. i squirt the nems and the rest of the tank gets the rest. my green BTAs are always pale, stringy and generally not bubbly. i think my lights don't help, the best i can do is ensure they are fed and loved and i will upgrade my lights when possible. the other annoyance is just the fish not hosting them but i can't really win there right now.
good luck!
Thanks very much for all your research and answer. Much appreciated.
Agree with everything your say except that ...there is no way in hell we would be able to sell him at the moment to recoup even a small amount of money. Wouldn't pay more than $20 the way he is now. I suppose I will look at this as a challenge, to be able to bring him back. lol
I have bought bleached btas before and had success so I cant see why I cant look after this one.....crossing fingers behind my back.
the amount of zooxanthallae will change the colour. nutrients incl feeding will cause the zooxanthallae to multiply and make the anemone apear brown under good lighting. this may br the root cause of what you are observing. it apears that the anemone is axjusting to the local conditions. by doing this it is maximising its chances of survival
Your anemone is healthy, just does not appear as you would like it to. The underlying colour would still be present, but the zooxanthallae are now masking the red hue. As for bubbly ness of the tentacles, bta's will often change form and these is no correlation between health and form. Your anemone is adapting to the local conditions of your tank so that is can optimise its chances of survival and growth. I would recommend that you continue feeding it and allow it to grow in size. If and when it decides to split, move one of the clones into a different tank with different conditions and see if you can once again get it to go red. Remember in the wild anemones feed continuously (on plankton etc). This food nourishes the anemone and the nitrogenous waste produced by the anemone facilitates the metabolic processes of the zooxanthallae.
