gbta behavior?

[jc286006]

i have a gbta that was not happy in my main tank it would go to the darkest deepest cave and stay there and look like it was trying to committing suicide. i was scared it was going to die on me so i moved it to my refugeium so i could keep a better eye on it .

now it has attached to a rock and hasnt moved in 2 weeks i am thinking about setting up a smaller tank just for it and the 2 perculas i have. would a 10 gal or a 20 gal long be big enough for it and the 2 clowns for a while?

it seems to be quite content in my refuge, but my light on it isnt anywhere near as bright as it needs from what i have read here. it eats good, has good color(lot of brown color) but needs better lighting i think. the main reason i want it out of the refuge is i dont want it to release and go for a walk and get through to my return pump and get stuck on the pump intake i have the guard and sponge on it but i have seen this thing go through cracks in my rock work that i thought would have been impossible to go through.

when i had it in my main tank it wouldnt even come near the light and it seemed like it especially didnt like the blue moonlights.

 

[redvipe2010]

A 20 gal would be ok for a while until they out grew it. Keep in mind the smaller the tank, the faster water conditions go down hill.

It really needs to be moved, keeping it in an area with pumps like that is not good, along with the lighting. What kind of lighting do you have on the main tank? How long was it in the main tank?

 

[sarahkucera]

I think you should probably concentrate on figuring out why the nem was unhappy in the top tank in the first place. Could it have been that it was simply acclimating and the acclimation was scary looking? Sometimes when these things are acclimating, especially to new and intense lighting, they look like they're on deaths doorstep but will bounce back if left alone to do their thing. A lot of people on this forum post that their nems have pulled into caves and essentially almost disappeared for weeks before emerging.

Is your lighting a lot stronger than what it was kept previously under?
I don't think that moving the nem to a different tank will be a good idea unless you have another tank that is up and fully cycled and ready to house the nem.

 

[redvipe2010]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9187543#post9187543 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sarahkucera
I don't think that moving the nem to a different tank will be a good idea unless you have another tank that is up and fully cycled and ready to house the nem.

Agreed! I just don't think it's safe where it's at for the time being, not to mention the lighing. Do post more info on your main tank.

 

[jc286006]

i have 2 ho actinics 2 ho 6500k and 2 ho 18000k lights LFS had the nem under t-5 lights dont know the k-value though at around 20 inches above the display tank my lights dont seem to be any or very much brighter than what it came from unless the spectrum is way different and it doesnt like it. ive had him for a little over 2 months and from day 1 it stayed in the darkest area it could find and would never attach it would eat when i could get food to it but for the last 2 weeks i had it in the main tank it was in a spot where there was no way of feeding it and was really starting to look bad thats when i decided to move it. there probably is no way for it to get into the return pump area because my over flow into it has a piece of plastic egg crate across it. i guess the best thing i can do is see if i can give it back to lfs or away.

 

[sarahkucera]

Ummmmm....wow.....I'm not sure what any of that means.
When you say "ho", do you mean T5's or PC's?
You've listed your spectrums, but not your wattages....so that doesn't really help a lot. What are the wattages of your bulbs?
For example, I am running a 4 x 96 PC with two actinics and two 10k's.
It's nearly impossible to judge these things by the naked eye unless you're some kind of lighting expert, so I wouldn't be too surprised if the lighting is radically different after all.

 

[jc286006]

2 -actinics at 60 watts each
2 -6500k at 60watts each
2 -18000k at 60 watts each
total of 360 watts

 

[sarahkucera]

Assuming ho means you're running HO T-5's, that definitely sounds like enough light for a 75.
What are your tank parameters...temperature, salinity, and all the other standard parameters?
How long since your initial cycle completed?
Other inhabitants?
Flow?
Pictures...full tank and nem specific?

Now that the nem is used to your water chemistry, can you try moving it back into the display tank and see what happens?

 

[jc286006]

temp 81.7
ammonia-0.0
nitrite-0.0
nitrate-0.0
phos-0.04
cal-380
dKH-11
sg-1.026
flow = 4-300 GPH power heads in each corner on timer and relay to alternate flow direction
1- maxijet 600 on back flowing to front
1200gph sump return flowing around 600gph due to head loss coming out at each corner of tank

3months since cycle completed

2 perculas
1 yellow tang
1 lawnmower blenny
1 dwarf lionfish
1 rainbow urchin

10-15 bluelegs
20 astrea snails
10 nassarious snails

5 colonies of zooathids
2 colonies of palyothids
2 small colonies of GSP
1 large toadstool mushroom
1 large colonie of anthilia

moved the rock that the GTBA is attached to back into the main tank this morning it is sucked down into its hole in the rock. if it stays there i will leave it in the tank if it goes a walkin its goin back to the LFS or to someone local that wants it