BTA and the Bubble

[Allmost]

Hello,
so what is the factor that changes the shape of the Bubble on BTAs ?

I have a couple in different tanks, some are perfect bubbles, and others are looking more like LTA.

has anyone found any correlation between the parameters we can test for and the bubble ?


TIA,

 

[Big Dave PDX]

A quick answer for you -- NO! I've had 2 RBTAs right next to each other, both clones from the same original, one has bubbles, one doesn't. Go figure!!

 

[jorda9095]

this is a hotly debated issue and nobody can really attribute one singular source. in my own opinion, i think it has to do with the amount of light.

 

[charliet21]

I dont think it has to do with light. But i could be wrong. Im running almost 9w a gallon and still dont get any bubbles... maybe u neef less light. But i always that if there no bubbles means there hungry qnd bubble there not

 

[jorda9095]

I dont think it has to do with light. But i could be wrong. Im running almost 9w a gallon and still dont get any bubbles... maybe u neef less light. But i always that if there no bubbles means there hungry qnd bubble there not

this is my theory. less light, more bubbles. it just comes from personal experience. ive seen them in the store bubbled up under crappy lights and then the tentacles are elongated in my tank after a few days

 

[ali1]

^ this is true. Most lfs have crappy lighting and the bubbled rbtas turn to straight tentacles under our lighting.

 

[charliet21]

I can see that being very possible. But lemme ask u this, if u have to bta in same tank with same lighting,why would one bubble and the other not?

 

[cet98]

just a theory.....

just a theory.....

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[phender]

All I know is, when everybody used regular normal output fluorescents to light their tanks, you never saw a BTA with long tentacles. When people started using Metal halides, you started seeing long tentacles.
It may be a color in the light spectrum that is not present in the more intense lights that was present in the NO fluorescent rather than intensity.
There is an article somewhere by Charles Delbeek when he worked at the Honolulu Aquarium that suggested that more light meant more bubbles, but he was using natural sunlight.
Then you have situations like Big Dave PDX mentions where two BTA right next to each other show different tentacle shape or one anemone consistently showed one side bubbled and the other side long. I would like to see actual light or PAR meter measurements in those situations, since there might actually be lighting differences in those situations that our eyes cannot see. Then again there might not be any difference. Either way, it would interesting to see.
I have had lots of BTA's over the years. Feeding didn't seem to make any difference in whether or not they bubbled.

FWIW, not all BTA's in their natural environment show bubbled tentacles either.

 

[jorda9095]

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seems pretty logical. i would think that the bubbles increase the amount of surface area for the nem to exposed to light but i guess thats wrong. how powerful of a light do we need then to bubble them up?

 

[phender]

seems pretty logical. i would think that the bubbles increase the amount of surface area for the nem to exposed to light but i guess thats wrong. how powerful of a light do we need then to bubble them up?

I'm not sure what experimentation is behind this hypothesis, but I would certainly like to see it. It seems logical except it goes against what many people see in their aquariums. You could also say that bubbling the tips would increase the surface area of the tentacles and since the bubbled tentacles are more transparent than the long tentacles, bubbled tentacles would let through more light to the lower tentacles.

Without actual experimentation, his speculations are no better than any of ours. I memory serve me right, there was a member of this forum that tried to do an experiment with BTA's at Mississippi State (I think). I don't think they were able to get any meaningful data.

 

[garygb]

I personally think it has something to do with the spectrum. Since getting ATI T-5 fixtures running a combo of blue plus and daylight, my BTAs always bubble. As the bulbs get old, the anemones bubble less. As soon as I replace the bulbs, they bubble again. Under MH in the past, I rarely had bubbling.

 

[phender]

I personally think it has something to do with the spectrum. Since getting ATI T-5 fixtures running a combo of blue plus and daylight, my BTAs always bubble. As the bulbs get old, the anemones bubble less. As soon as I replace the bulbs, they bubble again. Under MH in the past, I rarely had bubbling.

I agree. I think there is something in the daylight bulbs they don't get in the 10000k and above we currently use on our tanks. I have some daylight bulbs around. Maybe I will make a switch and see.

 

[ocellaris123]

I personally think it has something to do with the spectrum. Since getting ATI T-5 fixtures running a combo of blue plus and daylight, my BTAs always bubble. As the bulbs get old, the anemones bubble less. As soon as I replace the bulbs, they bubble again. Under MH in the past, I rarely had bubbling.

Interesting you say this, When I ran MH in the past I got long stringy tentacles (have kept many bta's under MH) but now I run a 6 bulb t5 (aquatic life fixture) with a combo of 4 blue plus, 1 purple plus, and 1 coral plus and my BTA's bubble alot.

 

[Roger30]

Those are some get looking clowns! Great thread, considering getting a RBTA wondering a lot of the same questions!

 

[Megatrev62]

I've noticed bubbling in my bta only when the actinics are on, specifically royal blue 3 watt leds. It's the only time I notice bubbling?

 

[garygb]

Thanks for posting that ocellaris123, lends more support to the spectrum hypothesis.

 

[Big Dave PDX]

I personally think it has something to do with the spectrum. Since getting ATI T-5 fixtures running a combo of blue plus and daylight, my BTAs always bubble. As the bulbs get old, the anemones bubble less. As soon as I replace the bulbs, they bubble again. Under MH in the past, I rarely had bubbling.

I have 3 400W MH over my 155 (were under 250W before tank swap) and my BTAs are all bubbling (for now!) I'm due for new light and going to go back to the 250W. When they were in the 120 gallon under the 250s, some bubbled, some didn't. Don't recall if they started bubbling more when I moved to the 400W. I'll have to keep an eye out when I switch back and see if I notice any changes.

 

[bobpiker]

My rbtas used to bubble lower in my 120 but when moved to my 220 and the rbtas closer to 6 ATI t5s (only about 12" away from the light) they've been long ever since. The only real change I can see since the fixture and bulbs are the same (newer bulbs now) is that now they have much more flow and are constantly swaying in the water. I believe flow has a huge impact on whether they bubble or not.

 

[R.ahlskog]

I have 6 rbtas in my tank. The ones in high flow have lost their bubbles. The ones in low flow still have great bubbles. Must be flow.