BTA Wont stay still....what do do??

[saltman1]

Hey guys, About 2 months ago I started up a reef tank. After 8 long weeks of letting the tank cycle and cure and frequent WC's the tank was ready to go. Well one of the first things I bought was a BTA. About 1 week later a found him a nice maroon clown and the pair hasn't been apart since. He feeds 3 times a week when I shoot him some sliced up shrimp pieces. He's been doign great for the past 2 months but he never stays in one place for more than 3 days....hes'always moving. Any ideas??

 

[Amphiprion]

If an anemone is moving, then some condition is not met. I would look at these possibilities in the following order:
1.Inadequate water conditions (tank is on the newer side)
2.Improper microhabitat (doubtful for this species, due to live rock)
3.Too infrequent feeding schedule (seems fine to me)
4.Inadequate lighting (too little, sometimes too much)
5.Improper water movement (too much, too little, wrong direction)
6.Some other organism is irritating the anemone

Take a look and narrow down these possibilities. Give a stock list, list of water parameters (numbers are preferred ), equipment, location in tank, etc. You may be feeding often enough, but are you feeding enough food in each feeding? How big is the anemone compared to the clown(s)?

 

[saltman1]

OK H2O Parameters:

Amm:0
Trite:0
Trate:10
Temp:79.8
PH:8.3
Calcium: 450
Alk: 13

Fish is about 1/4 of the size of the BTA. Lightning is 300W of MH + 2 96W actnic. Tank is on the new side setup for about 3 months total....

 

[Amphiprion]

What is your salinity/specific gravity? After this, I would suspect improper flow and/or inadequate feeding.