BTA looks terrible >:(
- Thread starter ag09g
- Start date
ag09g
New member
Still alive for some reason. Definitely no better, but if it's worse than when you asked 6/14 it's not terribly noticeable. I've been trying to give it tiny pieces of thawed frozen food, for a while it would eventually consume it, but it took FOREVER. But when I went to feed it a few days ago it actually had a very good feeding response. The base was sticky enough to hold the food, and it actually brought it too its mouth and engulfed it within seconds. Still looks terrible though. As with before, most of the tentacles are gone, but it's oral disc is still quite large - I don't think it's actually lost any mass in its body yet.
So ya. Long story short, no significant change for the better or worse.
So ya. Long story short, no significant change for the better or worse.
ag09g
New member
Thanks for the support! Im not holding my breath on a recovery as its not looking good...but well see what happens
Ill attach a pic, this one is about two weeks old but the nem pretty much looks like this still, though in this picture the oral disc is a bit curled up. This morning when I woke up it was a perfect full round circle, probably a good 3in in diameter which is the size it always was before all this began.
Anyway, ya. If you ever feel like being depressed just go ahead and look at this poor, sad creature :thumbdown
Ill attach a pic, this one is about two weeks old but the nem pretty much looks like this still, though in this picture the oral disc is a bit curled up. This morning when I woke up it was a perfect full round circle, probably a good 3in in diameter which is the size it always was before all this began.
Anyway, ya. If you ever feel like being depressed just go ahead and look at this poor, sad creature :thumbdown
Attachments
ag09g
New member
Yes definitely worse than in my initial post. At least the title just keeps getting more and more appropriate 
Well see how it goes! the good news is Ill be moving in a couple months, and at the rate this little guy is dying, that means ill get to pawn it off on my poor father and let it become his problem.
Most likely within a month of my departure it will start to come back around. Because thats my life. -_-
Well see how it goes! the good news is Ill be moving in a couple months, and at the rate this little guy is dying, that means ill get to pawn it off on my poor father and let it become his problem.
Most likely within a month of my departure it will start to come back around. Because thats my life. -_-
ag09g
New member
Ive double and triple checked, and have a couple test kits for the same thing in different brands that Ive used too. I have a lot of frags in the tank, mostly LPS, that are doing well though, and the coralline algae has taken off so I'd like to think those are indications that my parameters cant be too far off from the norm, especially with the test results being in range.
Ive wondered if maybe there are some allelopathic interactions going on that are killing the nem? But then everytime Ive tried to research why an anemone would lose its tentacles I also see that its either due to starvation or something eating them, and never a mention of chemical warfare.
Maybe its the gorilla crab. I tried to lure him into a water bottle trap, but apparently he's a shy little crab and wouldnt take the bait
Ive wondered if maybe there are some allelopathic interactions going on that are killing the nem? But then everytime Ive tried to research why an anemone would lose its tentacles I also see that its either due to starvation or something eating them, and never a mention of chemical warfare.
Maybe its the gorilla crab. I tried to lure him into a water bottle trap, but apparently he's a shy little crab and wouldnt take the bait
sjwitt
New member
Do you have any way to take it out of your tank and put it in a hospital or QT? Maybe someone can take it for you.
I still think that its likely something is feeding on it. It would be ideal if you could get it off your rocks and move it without any of your Live Rock since you said you have gorilla crabs in them.
I don't know where you're located but there may be someone on the forum nearby or a local reef club member who might take pity on it?
I still think that its likely something is feeding on it. It would be ideal if you could get it off your rocks and move it without any of your Live Rock since you said you have gorilla crabs in them.
I don't know where you're located but there may be someone on the forum nearby or a local reef club member who might take pity on it?
ag09g
New member
I actually have two other tanks that I could move it into, but I've always decided against it because I was afraid the stress of somehow getting it off the rock and transferring it to another tank would be too much for it to handle.
Ya like you said, it it's a crab doing this moving the rock won't help as the crab lives in it too...
So what would be the best way to get it off the rock without horribly stressing it?
Ya like you said, it it's a crab doing this moving the rock won't help as the crab lives in it too...
So what would be the best way to get it off the rock without horribly stressing it?
sjwitt
New member
That's the tough part. It looks from your picture that you may be able to slip your finger under the foot?
If that's not possible maybe put it in a direct current with a small rock or container nearby that it can 'duck' into... or block the light source above to get it to move into another area.
Or move the whole rock into the target tank with light away from the rock and see if you can get it to leave its rock and go toward the light. From the looks of it that's a large rock it's attached to so it may be difficult.
If that's not possible maybe put it in a direct current with a small rock or container nearby that it can 'duck' into... or block the light source above to get it to move into another area.
Or move the whole rock into the target tank with light away from the rock and see if you can get it to leave its rock and go toward the light. From the looks of it that's a large rock it's attached to so it may be difficult.
ag09g
New member
Yes i think i can actually, thankfully the rock doesn't have any deep holes for the anemone to bury its foot in, so I might have a chance to slowly ease my way underneath it. If not ill try some of the other methods you suggested. Thanks for all the help, I'll probably try to move it tomorrow and see if that helps!
ag09g
New member
Ended up moving it last night. Thankfully it was super easy to get it off the rock! It attached to the rocks in the new tank pretty much immediately. It's moved a bit today, but didnt look any worse than normal. I'll definitely post any updates, hopefully this last ditch effort will yield some positive results
sjwitt
New member
Oh YAY!! That's awesome. So glad the move went smoothly. Now there are no live rocks from the original tank, right? So, if it starts to grow tentacles back then it was a predator. If it stays the same then it's probably the damage from the torch. Keep feeding it and see how it responds. If lights and water quality are as good then you 'should' see improvement if it's a preadator.
ag09g
New member
Nope none from the original tank, and I have a 4in hamlet in this one so Im hoping if there were any hitchiker crabs he will have taken care of them by now.
Lights are actually better, 250w halide, I tested the water before I decided to move it -
1.026
mag 1350
alk 9
calcium 370
nitrates 5ish
Parameters looked conducive to healing to me, so I went ahead with the move! Im expecting to see one of three possible results to come from this.
1) the stress of the move will cause it to start rapidly going downhill, though Im hoping Ive avoided this as it seems to have transitioned well
2) like you mentioned, the tentacles will start to regrow soon indicating it was probably a predator
3) There will be no change, and it was more than likely just horribly damaged from the torch and there's nothing that could be done to save it
Only time will tell at this point!
Lights are actually better, 250w halide, I tested the water before I decided to move it -
1.026
mag 1350
alk 9
calcium 370
nitrates 5ish
Parameters looked conducive to healing to me, so I went ahead with the move! Im expecting to see one of three possible results to come from this.
1) the stress of the move will cause it to start rapidly going downhill, though Im hoping Ive avoided this as it seems to have transitioned well
2) like you mentioned, the tentacles will start to regrow soon indicating it was probably a predator
3) There will be no change, and it was more than likely just horribly damaged from the torch and there's nothing that could be done to save it
Only time will tell at this point!
greg1786
Active member
Is there any chance you have any oportunistic inverts? Shrimp? Crabs, etc?? I had a similar situation with two rainbow bta and nothing I did helped, not extra feeding, more or less flow, adding more light. It always appeared ticked off in certain areas and kept losing not just size but entire tentacles. They were literally identicle to yours in condition. I finally caught my peppermint shrimp snacking on everything it could get its grubby little claws on after lights out. One of the BTA had shrunk to the size of a quarter and the other a half dollar and neither had many tentacles. I removed both peppermint shrimp and since then both nems have more than tripled in size and couldnt be healthier. Just some food for thought. I originally thought it was starving by the looks of it but after re reading your original post your lights are MORE than sufficient. Good luck!
ag09g
New member
Thanks greg! I do have a few small hitchhiker gorilla crabs that were in the tank with it, and I know for a fact one was living under its base, so considering everything else I have done has failed Im hoping it might have just been the crab all along.
So I moved the nem to a new tank last night since I couldnt catch the crab/determine and correct whatever the issue was. I was hesitant about doing this as I was afraid the stress would kill it, but it was clearly not getting better, so...
this morning when I got up the nem looked fine. Most of the day it looked fine, though was still moving about the tank, and was heading under the rocks
Im a little bit disturbed though because tonight soon after lights out it deflated and had a gaping mouth. Ordinarily it wouldnt concern me because it usually does this once per day/every other day and the mouth is usually reclosed within the hour and its reinflated in a couple hours. However tonight it deflated with mouth open at about 830pm.....but its still like that now at 220am. Hanging upside down totally deflated with mouth gaping open....
Needless to say, Im afraid I may have killed the anemone by moving it O_O
So I moved the nem to a new tank last night since I couldnt catch the crab/determine and correct whatever the issue was. I was hesitant about doing this as I was afraid the stress would kill it, but it was clearly not getting better, so...
this morning when I got up the nem looked fine. Most of the day it looked fine, though was still moving about the tank, and was heading under the rocks
Im a little bit disturbed though because tonight soon after lights out it deflated and had a gaping mouth. Ordinarily it wouldnt concern me because it usually does this once per day/every other day and the mouth is usually reclosed within the hour and its reinflated in a couple hours. However tonight it deflated with mouth open at about 830pm.....but its still like that now at 220am. Hanging upside down totally deflated with mouth gaping open....
Needless to say, Im afraid I may have killed the anemone by moving it O_O
greg1786
Active member
I completely understand your concern. When I was having trouble with mine, any abnormality in behavior totally freaked me out. It obviously would have have been better for the nem if it could have remained in the tank and you could have removed the crab but given your situation( not being able to catch the crab) i think you made the right choice. At least that is what I would have done. I dont think you killed it though, im sure the already unhealthy nem, coupled with the stress from thd move, could be the culprit for the extended deflation time. The nem is prob short on energy from being "sick", then add in the move, and the amount of energy it takes for them to deflate ( do a water change) and it was prob maxed out. It will likely re inflate in time just needs to recover some energy first. As long as the tank you moved it to is established with good parameters and sufficient lighting i think it stands a pretty good chance. That is, so long as it was the crab distressing it, or the stressor was isolated to the other tank. Keep us updated please, i hope it makes a full recovery!!
