BTA scared me

[DaveG99]

I bought a BTA on friday and it has been fine until something happened today. I got home and looked at it and it was really small and skinny. I know from researching that these things shrivel up when they let their waste out. But even knowing that I thought for sure it was dying. It just looked nasty. But I just checked it out and it is back to normal. I fed it a chunk of frozen mysis and it grabbed it right away and ate it. I guess I am just nervous since I just got it and its my first anenome. It moved the first night I got it but it has been in the same spot ever since. Now hopefully my two false percs will get away from the rock they hang out in and go to the BTA.

 

[mdcoblentz]

good luck with the percs. I just got a RBTA too and I too was freaked out about it shriveling up but the day after it was looking real good again. I wouldn't worry too much about them. from what I've read it happens often. I just saw one of my false percs in mine today rubbin around but then he goes off swimming again. I hope thats a good sign! anyways. good luck!

Micah

 

[LauraLea]

Dave,

I got a GBTA about a week ago and it did the same thing. I completely obsessed/paranoid about it. I sat by the tank and worried, went home and checked on it at lunch - like there as anything that I could do, etc, etc. I got a lot of help/ encouragement on this site (especially Finding Nemo). If someone had told me several years ago that I would be sitting by a big glass bowl wringing my hands, I would have told them they were crazy!

Mine is about 5 1/2 inches across and it shrinks down and compresses to an almost 1 1/2 inch cube several times a day. Like you, I am a newbie with this animal, but several people have assured me that what we are seeing is completely normal and that if something really happens to it that you will know it for sure. That it will get "slimy" looking pretty quickly and will reak!

I also understand that besides eliminating their waste, that they are actually emptying out their water and refilling with fresh.

I felt really bad for a poster last week. He thought that his was dead and he pried it off a rock and flushed it. Most of the feedback that he got said to basically just chill....