GBTA mouth appearance

[RoscoPColtrane]

I got a GBTA from a fellow reefer 2 weeks ago. It has not moved at all and seems to inflate its tenticles ok, no bubble tips though. It has taken small pieces of food a couple of times, however its mouth is not tightly puckered and resembles a closed "outty belly button." The mouth does close tightly after it eats.

Lights and flow are good. Only parameters that are not so hot are Ca ~380 and Alk ~4meq/L. All other corals look good.

Is this a normal appearance for the mouth? Does this mean it needs more to eat? Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[garygb]

If it is eating, the color is good, and it is stationary and inflating well, I don't think I would be too concerned. Also, Alk of 4 meq/L sounds ok to me --what is your ph and how much does it vary from lights off to after lights are on for several hours? What type of lighting do you have?

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

I don't test for pH, at least with an acurate test. I drip Kalk and try to do so at night to reduced swings. The tank has been up for >2.5 years, I don't test nitrate or phosphate. The lights are 2x175 watt reeflux 10k's with actinic pcs. Turn over is 20x/hr. I'll keep an eye on the color.

Is feeding 3x week too much? I'm at twice a week now.

 

[hybridgenius]

You should try testing everything. Sometimes it could be either one.