Ended up getting a bubble tip anemone...

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$eaba$$

New member
Hey guys,

I had heard resulting views about adding a bubble tip anemone to my tank. So, I have a 20 gallon high, I know it is quite small for an anemone, but this anemone is still quite small, and if it gets too big, and can sell it back to my LFS later on. My tank is just about 15" tall. Tomorrow, I will be getting more live rock to be able to prop up some corals a little bit higher, but right now the anemone is about half way up the tank. On my tank, I have 130 watts of power compact lighting, which I know is a bit on the low side if anything for the anemone, and that is why I am going to get it up quite high. Right now though, even at half way under, it seems as it is getting plenty of light, and it is in the open, directly under the light. The anemone is a very light fluorescent green. As I am looking now, it seems to be moving a little away from the light, and more to a vertical incline incline. I will let you guys know where it goes after. Is it normal if it will kind of go into hiding for a little while, and then come out later when it finds a good spot? Also, is there an alright chance that it will play host to my clownfish?
I was told to feed it every so often with stuff such as brine, and will feed it maybe 2 or 3 times a week. Any tips welcome. Oh and if you're wondering the tank has been setup about a year.

Thanks!
 
Brine is not very nutritious, better to feed krill, silversides, mysis, or raw shrimp from the grocery store. I soak it in selcon for added vitamins and feed a couple times a week. Don't freak if it deflates them inflates several times while it acclimates normal, it might hide or move around till it finds the perfect spot also normal. your clowns may or may not host in it. Sometimes in my case the maroon went right for it, ocellaris pair took almost a year, paitence in order here. Congratulations, on the addition. I have 2 rbta's am looking for a green, where did you purchase it? Is it too forward to ask what you payed? Just curious. BTW from experience they like moderate random flow. If you can post a picture, love pictures! : )
 
Thanks for the reply!! Alright, I will do that for the food. In regards to krill, silversides, and mysis, should it be frozen, or freezedried? (I'm guessing frozen, correct?) Yeah, I placed it in the middle of the tank in direct light, but it has moved into a crevice and is tightly fit in there. I'm not too worried though because I have read that that is fairly common, that they "go into hiding" when first introduced. Well, I hope my clown will host in the anemone, but if not, live goes on, and I still have an awesome anemone haha. I got it at my LFS and since I go there a lot, I always get special deals haha. List price there was $44.99 plus tax, but I got it for $30 with tax; a fair deal if you ask me. I will post pics when it comes out.
 
I feed frozen. About your lighting concerns, the genreral rule is 4-5 watts per gallon, that is influenced by placememt of the anemone in the tank, I think your good. They like to bury their foot in a deep crevice and withdraw into it at times. Looks like your off to a good start. I think you got a pretty good deal for a bta at a LFS. I look forward to seeing photos, here's a few of mine.
BTW change your experience form "noob" to 1 year. You are not a complete newbie, you seem pretty knowledgable to me. : )
before the split
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll139/Lmecher/RBTA.jpg
during
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll139/Lmecher/nem3.jpg
and after
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll139/Lmecher/twinroses.jpg
 
watts per gallon is a pretty much unused Rule of thumb now...with all the different types and intensity of lighting available now, watts per gallon isnt an effective way to accurately describe light in a tank...for instance 6 watts per gallon of MH lighting will be far different and likely far better then 6 watts per gallon of PC lighting...apples to oranges now really hence the now useless rule of thumb...

BTA's are not super light hungry nems though and a lot of people have kept them under PC's (some feel the BTA's prefer it)

as for hiding, they do it a bit while acclimating...mine has mounted itself under a ledge and retracts now and then and then stretches out for light when they come on...

i only feed mine once sometimes twice a week...i alternate between silversides and mysis and krill..
 
Coppied from Wetwebmedia, Bob Fenner's website:
Bob Fenner is a lifelong aquarist with an active and continuing involvement in the academic, journalistic, trade, and hobbyist sides of aquarium keeping. He is a former marine science and aquariology instructor at the University of California and in the California State University system.

Care of Entacmaea quadricolor anemone:
On the subject of light/lighting, this species is a moderate one in terms of intensity... 4-5 watts per gallon or so (more is fine) of high CRI, 6,500 K plus temperature is about right. MH and HQI are preferable, particularly for deeper water (more than 18" let's say), but boosted fluorescents of enough wattage will work.
 
More news; my anemone has moved again but is still in hiding in the back of the tank. Also, I found out that it is a neon bubble tip anemone, and is a bit see-through/fluorescent green. I will post pics once it moves out to the front. Also, in a few days, I will be adding the 7lbs of live rock that I got, and will try to place the anemone and its rock high up in the tank.

Thanks!
 
Pics are here!

Pics are here!

well, here's the best pic that I could get of my bubble tip. Just so you guys know, its called a neon bubble tip anemone, and it is a bit seethrough/fluorescent green. Also, it's only been in the tank for 3 or 4 days now. I was just wondering if its normal that it's still a bit closed up like this. Also, the tips, you can't really see on the pics, are growing bulbs a bit. Finally, in the last picture of the whole tank, I just put it there so you can see the placement of the BTA, right in the middle up top where it is very bright, so you can see that it is getting a good amount of light. Enjoy..


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I think you have plenty of light. I wouldn't be surprised if the anemone is actually trying to get away from the light. It looks like a green BTA that is quite bleached, but I wouldn't be too concerned about that. With your lighting along with regular feeding your GBTA will almost certainly start to take on a darker color as it gets healthier and the zooxanthellae recolonize the tissue.

Sometimes an anemone won't take food right after being added to a tank. Just try a small piece every day until it begin to take the food into its mouth. You might try a fresh piece of frozen silverside about the size of a pea as a first food. Fresh shrimp (human consumption type) or a piece of fresh scallop also might be taken in by the anemone. I would stick to frozen. Once your anemone is eating regularly and has regained some color, you can feed it 1 to 3 times per week. But in its bleached state, I would probably try a small piece of food almost daily as it's not getting much, if any, nutrition from zooxanthellae right now.

A BTA alone, along with a pair of clowns in a 20 gallon can make a nice display, but with all the corals you have as seen in that last pic, I expect it will start to infringe on other things in time.
 
thanks for the reply! They said it was a neon bubble tip, so I don't think it is bleached, but I am not sure, you probably know better than me.
 
The "neon" green is the natural green pigmentation of the anemone without the rich brown color of the zooxanthellae. Again, even though it's bleached, it will likely become noticeably darker in the next couple of months, hopefully. That means it is regaining the algae that is responsible for the majority of zooxanthellate anemones' nutrition (as your anemone, Entacmea quadricolor, and all the host anemones are, as well as many non-hosting species).
 
Another update. The BTA has now moved to the back behind a rock so that I can only see it looking from above, and from the side of the aquarium. It is kind of "scrunched" up in a little area; should I be worried? Why does he keep moving to places where I can not see it, might it be getting too much light? It's been in the tank since saturday, so about 4 days or so...

Thanks!
 
it keeps moving because it is heavily bleached and your blasting it with light, even if it is only PC's...you have to acclimate him to your tank...i would move the rock he is on to the bottom of the tank front and centre away from the other rocks...they dont like to crawl on sand so he should stay on that rock....after a week or two you can move him half way up...then as another week passes you can move him higher if he hasnt done so already...

"NEON" is the LFS way of saying bleached, sadly more then half the employees there would be ignorant of this though, and think it normal colouring...

fortunately for you BTA's are pretty tough cookies...just keep your water as close to perfect as you can, stable is more important then perfect though...i wouldnt try to feed it anything until it starts to regain it colour...and in his weakened state i doubt it will accept any food anyway...

also it is still acclimating and the more you bother and move him the longer it is going to take...like i said earlier i would move him to the bottom of the tank or just leave him...he will come out when he is ready...
 
It may be bleached, I honestly don't know, but I'm going with what you say. I actually moved the anemone much further down in the tank earlier today, and it already seems a lot more "full" colored. It was more transparent, but now the base of many of its tentacles are becoming much less see through, and are becoming greenish/yellow. It already looks quite a bit more colorful, but I don't know how, since it's only been getting less light for only one day, or actually a bit more, since it was hiding in the back of the tank with not too much light.
 
The zooxanthellae can regrow quickly in the right conditions. Your anemone doesn't have to be right under the brightest lights for the zooxanthellae to return. It's definitely a good sign that the anemone is getting more color. It should continue to darken up for a month or more. Regular, small feedings can be helpful in expediting the regrowth of the zooxanthellae if the anemone is willing to eat.
 
alright that sounds good. I'll try to feed it some mysis tomorrow, and see what happens. Often during the day, it is not completely open, most likely having to do with the missing zooxanthellae, so how should I go about feeding it? Is it normal that it actually seems to be a bit more open at night when there is only the moonlights? Just so you know, it is about 1/4 of the way up in the tank, so it should not be getting "too much" light, especially since it is only PC's.

Thanks!
 
It's not surprising that it is more open at night. As far as how to feed, just put a few mysis on its tentacles near the mouth. See if it takes it into its mouth. You might turn off the water flow so the mysis are less apt to be blown away by the current.
 
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