I purchased a BTA to host with my pair of black and white mis-bar clowns about a week ago. I put it in a 12 gal nano cube with a few LR. At first it wandered around looking for a place to settle but now it sits at the back of the tank kind of schriveled up and has a few black tips. Is it dying? my clowns have not gone near it. I HAVE A 35 GAL TANK WITH CORALS AND FISH. SHOULD i TRY TO PUT IT IN THERE OR IS IT TO LATE. I have a pair of perculas in the bigger tank so I suppose I can't put the other pair in there.. any advice would be appreciated. thanks ahead of time, I'm kinda new at this but don't want my BTA to die.
help with BTA
- Thread starter LOF14134
- Start date
mhosts
New member
Whats the lighting that you you have on your 12 gallon? what kind of flow and what are your parameters?
MarineFlake
Member
Nems are funny creatures. A photo would be helpful, in the absence of photos, the standard advice is...*drum roll*...wait and see. Nems will typically wander and "shrivel up" when first introduce. The 'usual' sign of a dying nem is the "gaping" mouth and/or expelling its guts. Even then its hard to tell but if its just shriveled up, for now, let it be. As mhosts has already requested, would be nice to know some more info about the tank params and lighting.
GL!
GL!
its a nano cube so lighting is 2-24watt 50/50 compact fluorescent lamps. 72 watts-3watts per gal. not much I know. all the parameters checked out on wednesday s.g-1.024 ph- 8.2, amm-o, nit-0, nitr-o alk-10 so9 is the nem just unhappy because its such a small tank? picture isn't possible right now.
graveyardworm
Premium Member
How long has the tank been set up?
graveyardworm
Premium Member
Way way to soon to add an anemone IMO. I would move it to a more mature tank with better lighting if you have one, and give this tank a few more moths atleast before the nem goes back in. Also consider that the nem is going to outgrow this tank, or atleast take u most of it. Anemone's require a stable environment, and in a small tank it can be difficult.
graveyardworm
Premium Member
Good decision. Thank you. You can try a couple things to get it in there. Hold it with its foot against some LR in an area where you want it. If its healthy it should attach after a few minutes, or place it in area of low flow with some LR to attach to and observe. Make sure it doesnt get blown around and possibly pulled into a PH.
It is quite likely that it will move around a bit until it finds its spot. You may need to move some corals.
It is quite likely that it will move around a bit until it finds its spot. You may need to move some corals.
graveyardworm
Premium Member
The clownfish will do just fine without an anemone to host in. Do you already have another anemone in the other tank?
surfthreeeleven
New member
IMO - PC lighting is just fine for BTAs... In fact, they tend to do better under PC and T5 as oposed to metal halide, as you will generally see them hiding from the light. Most all other anenomes will definitely want metal halides, but your BTA should do just fine in your cube. The only problem is - graveyard is exactly right - you're tank is too young for an anenome. Generally a good rule of thumb is to wait at least 6 months, but a year is alot better. Your parameters need to stabalize, as anenomes (and pretty much everything else) do not enjoy fluctuations. I keep two BTAs in a biocube that I've had running close to 2 years now. They are both very healthy and seem to do great in there.
surfthreeeleven
New member
Also - here is a great site for BTA info... http://www.karensroseanemones.com/ I learned alot from her before I purchased mine....
mhosts
New member
Your lighting and flow should be ok for a BTA... You depending on how deep the anemone is in your tank you may need to run them for a minimum of 7 hours per day.
If your anemone keeps trying to climb up and shows signs of stretching upwards you may need some better lighting.
I think you should do some tests for ammonia/nitrite if your test is under a month old. There are a lot of things that can fluctuate at the beginning.
If your nem just went in the tank, shriveled up and is turning black, there is another issue besides lighting.
Also make sure that you are topping off your water consistently to ensure you are keeping the salinity as constant as possible.
How much Live Rock do you have in there?
If your anemone keeps trying to climb up and shows signs of stretching upwards you may need some better lighting.
I think you should do some tests for ammonia/nitrite if your test is under a month old. There are a lot of things that can fluctuate at the beginning.
If your nem just went in the tank, shriveled up and is turning black, there is another issue besides lighting.
Also make sure that you are topping off your water consistently to ensure you are keeping the salinity as constant as possible.
How much Live Rock do you have in there?
