Bleached and starved RBTA

[SlvrSurfRidr]

I've got a 5-6" RBTA that was very healthy about 6 months ago. It split, and ever since both halves are bleached and struggling with eating. I've got a pair of small (2-3") ORA Black Misbars, and they CONSTANTLY steal the food from them. The clowns are a pair, but they each host one of of the halves of the split RBTA. My water parms are close to perfect, and there is plenty of flow and light (running a 150HQ with supplementary actinics in a 28g JBJ cube).

Any recommendations on what I can feed these guys, or what I can do to nurse them back to health? I was feeding a good sized half of a silver side a couple times a week, now I can't get them to take a quarter (I'm feeding daily in hopes of getting some love). I've tried dosing Marine Snow daily, spot feeding mysis, nothing is working.

Help!!

 

[garygb]

I'm wondering if something was stressing your anemone and that led to the split. I say that because a healthy anemone that divides becomes two smaller healthy anemones that soon are eating and growing. If you have another established tank, maybe you could try them in there. If not, my advice would be to find someone who is currently having success with a BTA and give them your anemones.

 

[bues0022]

As a general rule of thumb you shouldn't feed your BTA's large pieces of food like a silverside. They should be fed smaller pieces of chopped-up food. I would discontinue attempting to feed large pieces of food, and instead concentrate on the mysis or other chopped food.

Also, from what I know (which isn't a whole lot) I believe marine snow is supposed to be a coral food, right? As I understand it, you are supposed to rehydrate it in a vitamin rich solution, then dose to the tank as it simulates the size of particles that SPS like to eat.....that's how I understand it after talking to the TM rep at least.

It's interesting that you say that your clowns steal the food from your nem. Mine tend to do just the opposite. In any case, what you can try to do is put a jar or other container around the nem when you are trying to feed. This will allow the BTA to get the food into its mouth without the clowns stealing it.

Finally, I shouldn't be one to ask since I never test....but what are your water parameters? Is temp or salinity off? other specs check out?

 

[sedor]

Your clowns should in fact bring food to the anemone. I would continue to try and spot feed, but as bues0022 said use smaller bits of food. You could also use the top of a 2 liter soda bottle to block to clowns while your spot feeding if it came down to it.

 

[SlvrSurfRidr]

thanks for the input guys. guess, I'll just do smaller pieces of a bit. My LFS tells me that Marine snow will be absorbed by the BTA (but it's not a substitute for real food). Params are as follows:

temp 78
ph 8.4
AlK 9.0
CA 420
MG 1250

 

[Jamie1210]

+1 to what everyone else has recommended so far, but instead of using the soda bottle idea, I would take it a step further and recommend taking out the clowns for a few weeks to let the 'nem fully recuperate. all that wigging around when the 'nem's not healthy/not eating is definitely not helping it.

you also said the BTA halves are 2-3" each, which is quite small to be hosting a clown, and it brings on more stress

 

[davocean]

I've personally stopped using silversides since I've read several exp reefers, and I myself that had bad experiences w/ them.
Really, light is their main source of energy, you could not spot feed at all and they would be fine in most cases.
Nursing bleached nems may call for spot feeding more, but I'd keep it small/light such as mysis.
Be careful not to overfeed and throw your params out of whack, things can change fast in that size tank.
How long has system been running?
Lighting?