GBTA wont eat

R

reefinnewb

New member
I recently bought a gbta, last saturday to be exact so ive had it for over a week. I'm not sure if it is still acclimating or what but it will not eat.

All params are great
ammonia, nitrites=0
nitrates=~0 undetectable but I dont believe it.
calcium 420
ph=7.9
alk=8

The nem came from a tank that had only pc lighting and i currently have 250w 20k halide. I have it shaded with screening acclimating it but it is tucked up pretty good. During the lighting it is fully bulbous and looks great,just small and at night it is huge. All my sps are thriving and growing great. Will it be ok not eating until it acclimates. Will the light be enough to feed it.
 
It could still be acclimating to it's new home. Is it able to hold onto food? Is the color good? What else do you have in the tank? I hope you mean dKh when you say alk=8, PH is a little low, why do you say you don't believe nitrates are zero? What is the salinity and temp?

A pic would help a lot.
 
What are you feeding it? Mine are particular: they reject krill, shrimp, but will eat silversides and the frozen blender mush I feed the fish.
 
The color is wonderful. It turned into a bright green from the drab color it had at purchase. It still is very full of bubbles. Today I say it poop so i know its getting food from somewhere, just not me. I have only tried shrimp thus far as my silversides got freezer burned BAD. It will hold onto the shrimp then let go. Same with flake if some falls on it.

I dont know why I dont believe they trates are zero lol I know that sounds dumb. I just have in my head that there are always some. The ph is a little low, i agree and will work on getting that up. The temp stays very steady with only a 1-2 degree change from morning to night. That is 78-80. Salinity is kept at 1.025. Yes i do mean dKH btw.

edit: I also tried mysis but it had no interest in that at all..
 
Oh i forgot to add, I have a wide variety of sps, lps, mushies, and zoas. I also have a rock/flower anemone. They are not touching but are fairly close. You dont think they are chemically fighting do you? I would think the bta would win though. I have one fish, a true percula but hasnt found the nem yet. It is not moving at all so i feel it is happy where it is just not content with the food or lighting. Ill grab a pic of it tomorrow when the lights come on. Also I heard something about bristle worms causing trouble for nems is that true? Cause i have a very large one in there. If that is a fact then ill trap it.
 
DSCN0627.jpg


Here is a picture of it with the lights out and with the camera flash.
 
maybe try some chopped sqiud? it worked for me last night. i haven't tried scallops yet. but i read they may eat those. i got my BTA same day as you. i fed it a silverside tonight. grabbed the fish with a quickness!!! only to find the fish stuck to the screen on my filter a few minutes ago. will give it a smaller piece tomorrow. guess i should have figured it was too big when i saw the fish tail hangin' out with the BTA mouth closed. :lmao:
 
lol i did order some more silversides last night so I will give that a try. I was going to try squid but i could only find it mashed in the cubes, i figured that would make a mess.
 
It's ok if it's still a little frozen and together, right? That's what I do...just cut in squares and feed.
 
I dont know, i thought they would only take it if it was the same temp as the water. Hey if it takes it, keep doing what your doing.
 
I feed prime reef as it 'holds' together well. I put it in the tentacles and if it grabs it then it will eat, if not I remove it and try the next day. Mine wouldn't eat silversides.
 
I've never kept both, but FWIW, I've heard anecdotally that rock/flower anemones will win a chemical war with BTAs.

Otherwise, a week is not long enough to worry about, I think. That's a big leap in lighting. I "rescued" a pretty pitiful-looking BTA that took nearly three weeks to emerge from the rocks and eat. He's amazingly healthy now.
 
I guess they are not competing then since the bta isnt moving and is staying right in one spot. I tried feeding again today and I think it ate one small piece of shrimp. The tentacles are sticky enought to hold the food and the mouth is very tightly closed. My last nem met its match with a powerfilter after being beat up by a tomato clown after 2 months, so im a bit nervous/inexperienced with nems. I would love to successfully keep one as I think they are beautiful and very interesting animals. Any other suggestions on what has worked for people is very well appreciated. Also where i can purchase the food.
 
well got some bad news. Yesterday when I was messing in the tank I bumped the rock the nem was on. Well i guess that was enought to make him wonder. The clown started hosting it last night and this morning I wake up and its in my seio. I had it covered but it still got sucked in. The mounth is just about whole, it is torn up but still there. The lights are on and the tentacle are bulby. I could not get it out of the seio so Im letting it like it is for now. Do you think it has a chance?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9162879#post9162879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefinnewb
well got some bad news. Yesterday when I was messing in the tank I bumped the rock the nem was on. Well i guess that was enought to make him wonder. The clown started hosting it last night and this morning I wake up and its in my seio. I had it covered but it still got sucked in. The mounth is just about whole, it is torn up but still there. The lights are on and the tentacle are bulby. I could not get it out of the seio so Im letting it like it is for now. Do you think it has a chance?
Click to expand...

It may have a chance if the mouth is still mostly whole. Keep a close eye on it though, if it starts to expel stringy spaghetti-looking stuff out of the mouth it is dead/dying and needs to be removed immediately. I would at the very least do a good water change because it's going to be pumping mucous into the tank due to the injuries and that could be bad news for everything in the tank. I hope you at least turned off the seio since you say you can't get it out...

-Sonja
 
Yea turning off the seio was the first thing I did. I just ran to walmart for more water so im gonna make up some fresh sw and do a pretty large water change. It is still bulbous so I think it may be ok for now. I will keep a very close eye on it.
 
ok the mouth has completely closed tight. My only worry is the foot has a tiny tear in it. But it still has its bulbs and looks as though it is trying to free itself. It moved slightly.
 
Ok here is a picture of it. I believe really only the foot and part of the tentacles got it. There is still a part of it stuck and i dont want to remove it. Im hoping it gets out on its own. If it doesnt Ill give it a few days and let it heal somewhat then try. Well heres the pic.

DSCN0629.jpg
 
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