Are BTA's reef safe?

binaryterror

New member
I am just curious. Because I heard that they will sting other corals. I am planning on a mainly SPS tank, and with a BTA (if they wont sting the SPS corals). Thanks!
 
I put in one rose bubble tip anemone about a year ago. I thought the clowns would appreciate it (nope, they have stayed in the green hairy mushrooms they were in before!) That one RBTA has split multiple times and now I have huge RBTAs all over the rock...they have killed two corals (a bubble and a beautiful green anchor) and are currently harassing a clam. I'd never put one in a reef again

If I could get rid of these evil devil-spawn...

I'm setting up another tank just for the anemones but I'm going to have to swap out a bunch of the rock.
 
well. most peoplr that have an actual plan.. will put the bta in the tank first and wait for it to settle into its happy spot, and then add sps after. the reson they sting coral is when the bta is first added, it will walk all over the rocks until it finds a spot with flow and light that it likes. could find its spot in a day, could take a few weeks.

The bta wont split usually unless its getting fed to much, or its over 12 inches or so... or its very stressed and trying to save its own life.

My bta is my favorite thing in my tank. Id say go for it as long as you have addiquite lighting, and under the condition that you will anemone proof your powerheads first!! ;)
 
I don't recommend it, for awhile it could possibly be alright, and then at night with the lights off it could move and kill you favorite coral. It could happen in a week or a year you just never know when the nems will want to find another spot. I have ten in my tank and all have been in the same spot for months, until last night one of my bigger ones decided it needed to move half way across the tank.FWIW
 
anemones are not reef safe. They can and do move and if they come in contact with your corals the corals will inevitably lose the battle.

That being said a lot of people keep both, since the anemones move relatively slowly you can usually save most of your corals when the anemone goes on the move.

Putting an anemone in a tank with corals will put the corals at risk. Some have even reported anemones hunting down certain corals. Anemones can also emit chemicals designed to protect their territories so you may see corals suffer when there is no direct contact with an anemone, in this case run carbon which will usually keep the warfare in check.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7319896#post7319896 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by artful-dodger
(a bubble and a beautiful green anchor) and are currently harassing a clam. I'd never put one in a reef again

I'm surprised at that. My bubble definitely overpowers the BTA if it comes near. The BTA runs shrieking as soon as the bubble puts out stingers.


You may want to look into non-bta anemones. MY btas move a bit, but my sebae never even twitches.
 
Well, I was planning on putting him in first, way before I get any corals. I know he may move in the middle of the night or something, but I would probably make sure that he has some space to himself. Plus with all SPS, I would always just move the corals out of his way.
 
So is the BTA a really bad idea? Should I just get corals when I am there and forget about the BTA, or should I try it? I am going tomorrow so hurry!!
 
Ok, thank you. That is what I was looking for. I will get one then. But I will keep chcking back on this thread all night to see if anyone else has any opinions. Thanks again!
 
Mine has stayed put pretty well but something else to think about is how big they can get. Just because they can split doesn't mean it will. I'm having to explore forceably spliting mine because its considerably bigger than a dinner plate. Also as mentioned they can decide to move after quite some time, for no apparenat reason. Mine did and I put it back and its pretty well stayed put.

Mine is happy directly under my MH, in a crevas between two pieces of rock, with an arch over it so it can blossome or rereat as it wants to.
 
I have a RBTA and a GBTA in one tank, they have stayed in one place so far, but yes, the can move. Personally My BTA's are my favorite in the tank. I have had no problems yet.
 
Mine stay in place, unless i do something,

Clean a pump, they move.
Move a pump, they move.
Move a rock anywhere in the tank, they move.
Move a large coral anywhere in the tank, they move.
Change bulbs, they move.


Basically, anytime you do anything that changes their light, or flow, they'll go wandering.
 
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