BTA won't bubble, long and thin, why?

[judy j]

The reason I wanted a BTA was because they were short and less likely to be a bother to it's nieghbors. It seems happy. Eats well. Isn't moving. Clowns love him. PC lights. But he's getting very large and long. What's up?
Judy

 

[redvipe2010]

This is normal. It is not completly understood why some BTAs keep their bubbles and some don't. How long have you had it? How much and how often are you feeding it?

 

[judy j]

I'm not sure how long I had him, maybe 5 or 6 months or more. I feed him a 1/3 of a chunck of formular one 2-3 times a week and than when I feed the other corals a mixture of frozen stuff, I shoot him some, 2-3 times a week. The more I feed him the larger he is getting. He is stinging everything around him.
Judy

 

[sarahkucera]

BTA's can grow to the size of dinner plates and sometimes larger.
They can also split and then your tank would have two nems.
I suggest that you either move the things away from the nem that it is stinging or you remove the nem. It's only going to keep growing.

 

[judy j]

Live and LEARN.

 

[redvipe2010]

I'm sure you could find someone in your local reef club that would take him off your hands for you if you decide it's not what you want. But agree with sarahkucera, it's not going to get any better, only worse, unless you remove the corals.

 

[judy j]

Not what I wanted to hear. :0( Anyway, if I decide to get rid of him, how do I get him off the rocks? I had one before that I couldn't budge.

 

[redvipe2010]

You can try changing the flow some with a power head to try to get him to move. If the rock isn't too big, I'd just leave him on there. Or sell the rock with the BTA.

 

[raoul]

I got one from a fellow reefer about a month ago and his was stuck on a rock too. Luckily his rock wasn't one of the big base rocks so he was able to get the rock out. He turned the rock so the nem was upside down, he said it let go pretty quickly. I wasn't there, but I'm sure he was ready to catch it.

Good luck!

 

[redvipe2010]

I've never had a nem let go of a rock that easily. I would rather not even mess with it and just give the rock with the nem, less stress on the nem too.

 

[judy j]

This nem is wedged between 3 large rocks. He looks great when he is half opened. But when fully extended, neigbhors beware. At least he's not on the move. I HATE moving rock around. It's like puting a puzzle to gether with 1/2 the peices missing.