I'm in the research phase of my first anemone. It's going to be a GBTA. Do I have any control over where it attaches, or will it simply float or move around till it finds the right combination of light, current and substrate? My bare bottom 34 gallon tank has 24 LEDs, good parameters, an MP10 and has been up since last Fall.
Do I have any control over where my GBTA attaches?
- Thread starter vresor
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I'm no expert (my RBTA is wandering right now...) but as far as I know you can only try to offer it the surrounding it likes. They like some hole or cave to put their foot in and protect it from strong light/current. If your rockwork doesn't offer such a cave, you can buy one or make it from DIY rock.
Even if they settle down though, it doesn't mean they will stay. Mine sat under a plate in an overhang, then suddenly decided to walk around and is still moving as I type this.
Maybe someone with more experience can confirm this?
Even if they settle down though, it doesn't mean they will stay. Mine sat under a plate in an overhang, then suddenly decided to walk around and is still moving as I type this.
Maybe someone with more experience can confirm this?
Neogenocide
New member
I'm currently trying to answer the same question. I think you can help guide it to a certain spot by setting you tank up in a certain way, however I don't think you can ever truly keep it there. My baby GBTA that I just added stayed put for almost a week, and then started moving, and has been moving for 4 days. He's made his way to the top of my rock work, which amazes me at how well they can climb, and I'm guessing it's still searching for more light. I'm in scramble mode to try and get a new light fixture together now just to keep it happy. I also have to be careful so I don't bleach it if I blast it with too much all at once.
Scott
Scott
bues0022
New member
Here's my thoughts on the matter of wandering BTA's: (copy and pasted from a different thread)
On the topic of a BTA moving "all the time" as some say...I would argue strongly against this statement. In my experience, from reading, and discussions with other people with far more expertise than me, a BTA will remain in its spot if all of its living conditions are being met satisfactorily. There is no benefit to the anemone (risk of being stung/sliced by corals, risk of not finding another rock in the ocean, predatory animals, etc) to "just move around" IF all conditions are appropriate.
Water quality, light, food, Flow, and foot - the five conditions that must be satisfactorily met for all anemones.
Water quality: In the ocean, if local currents drastically change after storms, rivers dump crap into the ocean etc, the nem may want to move to conditions which better suit its liking. In our tanks, however, there are no other areas which have better water - but the anemone doesn't know that. This is my #1 pick for why anemones move without apparent reason. It may even be something in your water which you do not test for - or it may be BECAUSE you just did a water change and didn't match tank water close enough. The anemone is searching for something it just can not find inside a glass box, hence the so called "anemone's just sometimes walk around for no reason". We can't see the reason - so we assume there isn't one.
Light: Lighting in the ocean is quite strong. Far more than our little electrical lights we use. Even on a cloudy day the par is very high - ever had a sunburn on a cloudy day? When you introduce a BTA, you may have a spot picked out that you really want it to go, but it may decide it is too bright or too dim and promptly move. As it gets light-acclimated to your tank, it may move to a spot that is "just right" for its health in the long term. This acclimating and moving to a new home may also cause confusion to BTA's "moving a lot".
Food: Yikes! There is a lot of misconceptions about the "proper" diet for anemones. I did a write-up on RC a while back about the topic: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1835320 A basic summary of that thread is.....assuming a healthy nem, food is likely unnecessary. If you would like to feed, feed small (pencil eraser max) meaty, raw, SW-found foods. Unhealthy nems need more food to gain energy and should be fed more. Feeding leads to faster growth. Feeding can also in some cases overcome less-than-ideal lighting because the food is supplementing the light source. More in-depth information can be found at that link.
Flow: You need to determine the flow requirements of the species of nem you want, and make it match in order to decrease the likelihood of movement. BTA's will like moderate flow, but not too high or too low. Either of those may cause it to move around. Some can be very picky. I know someone who's Haddoni moved across the sandbed after her cleaned a powerhead and replaced it (he thought) in the exact same spot. Apparently it wasn't quite exact. Haddoni's like low flow - if their oral disk is being moved by the current, it's too much and will cause it to move.
Foot: This is my #2 reason why BTA's apparently move without known cause. The foot of most anemones also requires special concern. Some anemones like to bury in the sand, some at the sand/rock interface, and some directly onto rocks. BTA's like to have their foot in a deep crevice, hole, or cave. Basically, it's a safe zone for them to hide in if they need to retract. It's also a way for them to regulate the amount of sun it gets. These deep holes are key to keeping a BTA happy with it's current spot. They like their foot shaded, and head out in the sun.
Hope that's a good summary of what I think about BTA's.
On the topic of a BTA moving "all the time" as some say...I would argue strongly against this statement. In my experience, from reading, and discussions with other people with far more expertise than me, a BTA will remain in its spot if all of its living conditions are being met satisfactorily. There is no benefit to the anemone (risk of being stung/sliced by corals, risk of not finding another rock in the ocean, predatory animals, etc) to "just move around" IF all conditions are appropriate.
Water quality, light, food, Flow, and foot - the five conditions that must be satisfactorily met for all anemones.
Water quality: In the ocean, if local currents drastically change after storms, rivers dump crap into the ocean etc, the nem may want to move to conditions which better suit its liking. In our tanks, however, there are no other areas which have better water - but the anemone doesn't know that. This is my #1 pick for why anemones move without apparent reason. It may even be something in your water which you do not test for - or it may be BECAUSE you just did a water change and didn't match tank water close enough. The anemone is searching for something it just can not find inside a glass box, hence the so called "anemone's just sometimes walk around for no reason". We can't see the reason - so we assume there isn't one.
Light: Lighting in the ocean is quite strong. Far more than our little electrical lights we use. Even on a cloudy day the par is very high - ever had a sunburn on a cloudy day? When you introduce a BTA, you may have a spot picked out that you really want it to go, but it may decide it is too bright or too dim and promptly move. As it gets light-acclimated to your tank, it may move to a spot that is "just right" for its health in the long term. This acclimating and moving to a new home may also cause confusion to BTA's "moving a lot".
Food: Yikes! There is a lot of misconceptions about the "proper" diet for anemones. I did a write-up on RC a while back about the topic: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1835320 A basic summary of that thread is.....assuming a healthy nem, food is likely unnecessary. If you would like to feed, feed small (pencil eraser max) meaty, raw, SW-found foods. Unhealthy nems need more food to gain energy and should be fed more. Feeding leads to faster growth. Feeding can also in some cases overcome less-than-ideal lighting because the food is supplementing the light source. More in-depth information can be found at that link.
Flow: You need to determine the flow requirements of the species of nem you want, and make it match in order to decrease the likelihood of movement. BTA's will like moderate flow, but not too high or too low. Either of those may cause it to move around. Some can be very picky. I know someone who's Haddoni moved across the sandbed after her cleaned a powerhead and replaced it (he thought) in the exact same spot. Apparently it wasn't quite exact. Haddoni's like low flow - if their oral disk is being moved by the current, it's too much and will cause it to move.
Foot: This is my #2 reason why BTA's apparently move without known cause. The foot of most anemones also requires special concern. Some anemones like to bury in the sand, some at the sand/rock interface, and some directly onto rocks. BTA's like to have their foot in a deep crevice, hole, or cave. Basically, it's a safe zone for them to hide in if they need to retract. It's also a way for them to regulate the amount of sun it gets. These deep holes are key to keeping a BTA happy with it's current spot. They like their foot shaded, and head out in the sun.
Hope that's a good summary of what I think about BTA's.
Wow, now that's a thorough reply. Thanks Bues! What I take from your information is that while I may be able to exert some control over the location of my future BTA, I likely won't know anywhere enough about its own physiology to manipulate my water quality, light, food and flow to get it to attach where I want it. Sounds like the rest of life!
NaClCrocodile
New member
The only way I've seen is with intense flow creating an invisible fence basically. The idea was that there was so much flow between the islands that the BTAs wouldn't risk moving out into the flow. Other than something like that, drop that baby in before you glue all your favorite SPS pieces etc. and hope that it stays put.
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