Is my BTA healthy?

[89Foxbody]

I've had this guy about 3 months now I think. He was in the same spot for a good 6 weeks til I got a new light and he moved down a little bit lower but has seemed to settle in now. It doesn't seem like he's too big for my Ocellaris, and they love to play in it. I feed him a whole silverside twice a week. Tentacles are very sticky and he chows down on it immediately. My clowns also bring him some krill when I put it in there.

I just get paranoid sometimes because he will shrivel up, but he always comes right back out in a couple of hours. Is that just a reaction to being aggravated by something? Or is it usually a water quality issue? I do 2 10% water changes a week and my parameters are pretty much perfect so I was just wondering.

It's a 37g tank. 4x24w t-5s, he's about a foot from the lights. There's about 1500 gph of total circulation in the tank.

 

[Toddrtrex]

What are the numbers behind "pretty much perfect" ?

Personally, I would stop feeding silversides --- myself and a couple other experienced anemone keepers have had issues with them. I feed frozen/thawed krill, smaller pieces are better.

An anemone can never be too big for your clowns. Though, they can be too small, in fact I would like yours to be a bit bigger.

 

[89Foxbody]

I have a tiny bit of nitrate in the tank but that's it. Maybe like 5 ppm. I'm working on getting it down. Everything else is 0. 10 dKH, 78*, PH is 8.2 - 8.4.

What issues do silversides present? Just trying to learn more.

And I meant the other way around. It's definitely much bigger now than it was when I got it. At the time it was maybe 3" across and its at least 5 or 6. Then again my clowns are much bigger too haha.

 

[89Foxbody]

Just to clarify - he's not closing or shriveling up regularly. He's done it maybe twice in the 3 months I've had him. Once was right after we put him in the tank, and the 2nd time was a couple days ago. Other than that, he is fully extended 100% of the time.

 

[Allmost]

that looks like a LTA to me.

as long as its foot is holding, and its mouth is closed tightly and it responds to food (sting it, take it in eat it) then its fine

 

[89Foxbody]

Yeah the mouth stays closed and whenever food comes near he pulls it in instantly and the tentacles are very sticky. I just get paranoid about my tank sometimes as I'm sure all of you are familiar with.

 

[Toddrtrex]

I have a tiny bit of nitrate in the tank but that's it. Maybe like 5 ppm. I'm working on getting it down. Everything else is 0. 10 dKH, 78*, PH is 8.2 - 8.4.

What issues do silversides present? Just trying to learn more.

And I meant the other way around. It's definitely much bigger now than it was when I got it. At the time it was maybe 3" across and its at least 5 or 6. Then again my clowns are much bigger too haha.

What is your salinity/SG

In my case, the anemone (( an H. Malu )) was dead in less then 12 hours after feeding the silverside -- was healthy otherwise.

Okay good, glad that it is getting bigger

Just to clarify - he's not closing or shriveling up regularly. He's done it maybe twice in the 3 months I've had him. Once was right after we put him in the tank, and the 2nd time was a couple days ago. Other than that, he is fully extended 100% of the time.

Once in a blue moon isn't anything to be too concerned about.

that looks like a LTA to me.

as long as its foot is holding, and its mouth is closed tightly and it responds to food (sting it, take it in eat it) then its fine

I have no doubt that it is an BTA (( E. Quadricolor ))

 

[Original Fin]

For comparrison, here's mine. About 4 months old, and eating silversides as well, 2-3 times a week. He's roughly 6" in dia in this pic, but like yours, I've seen him shrink down to the size of a quarter a couple times,and I beleive it was PH shock that did it in my case. My PH had dropped to 7.8, so I mixed up some seachem reef buffer to bring it back up, however; I added it way too fast. My bad for going by the directions on the container rather than hitting up some experienced folks here. Anyway, lesson learned. What I did was to mix in RO according to my systems volume, and then I just dumped it in the return secion of my sump all in one shot. I tested the tank 10 mins later, and my API test was pegged to top of the range at 8.8...The nem shrunk way down, but there were no outward signs of distress from any of my other stock...dumb luck. Within an hour, PH had stabilized at 8.3. Don't believe these products when they say that it is not possible to OD and overshoot the mark...it is, just not long term, but long enough to do some damage none-the-less.

Anyways, I still need to buffer occasionally, but now I slow drip it and the nem has no reaction.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Original Fin -- I would stop using that buffer, bad things can/will happen when you chase pH values. Just make sure that your Cal and Alk levels are in check and your pH should follow. Those type of buffers (( not to be confused with Cal/Alk buffering )) are just a temp fix and cause more issues then they solve.

 

[89Foxbody]

Sorry I forgot SG, mine is at 1.025 - 1.026 consistently.

Glad to see pics of another one, they look pretty similar. Seems like mine varies at times where the bubbles will be more prominent. Like right now they are pretty obvious. In the pic, not so much.

Looks like I'm feeding the rest of my silversides to my turtle, lol.

Todd - so you aren't a fan of stuff like Kent Super Buffer dkh or Seachem? Cause that's what I have been using previously but I grabbed a box of C-Balance last time I went to the LFS and want to try it. My tapwater is very hard already. I haven't added a buffer in at least a month and my dKH is still at 10.

 

[preef]

The shriveling is normal. Mine shrivels down to nothing every couple of nights. Stays that way for a few hours and then he comes back. Mine is about a foot in diameter now. I wish it would split because it is taking over the tank and I'm always moving corals out of its reach. I used to occasionally feed mine some thawed raw shrimp. I stopped feeding it when it got big.

Also don't worry about the lack of bulbs on the tentacles. Mine lost them when it got big.

 

[Allmost]

first pic looked like LTA, but the pics after proved me wrong, please accept my apology

 

[Original Fin]

Original Fin -- I would stop using that buffer, bad things can/will happen when you chase pH values. Just make sure that your Cal and Alk levels are in check and your pH should follow. Those type of buffers (( not to be confused with Cal/Alk buffering )) are just a temp fix and cause more issues then they solve.

Thanks Toddrtrex, I've just ordered a Salifert ALK/DKH test kit...I've been waiting for my LFS to restock, they were out. I'm still realatively new at this, and have never tested for ALK, dosed 2 parts/kalwasser or anything like that, but I have been testing for CAL for some time, and it's been in the 400-480 range without supplementation. I'm using IO salts. I now know that CAL is only one part of the equation, and without knowing where ALK and possibly MAG are at, I'm in the dark in terms of correcting those levels to drive PH. I guess this is reef 101, so nothing I can do but learn from it, take my knocks and rock on.

I still don't have a MAG test kit either, but that will be next. I want to think that my MAG would be ok given my 10% every two week water changes, and being lightly stocked with softies, so that's why I've waited so long I guess, but then again, what business do I have thinking? :lol2:

 

[89Foxbody]

Right now its shriveled again and brown stuff is coming out of the mouth, which is wide open. Just taking a dump? lol.

 

[Toddrtrex]

You stated that you got a new light (( I am guessing the 4*24 T5s )), what was the light before it, and did you acclimate it to the new lights?

Right now it could either be releasing waste, or its internal zoax, in an attempt to change them to handle the increased light.

 

[89Foxbody]

Well I got the new light about a month ago.

But I used to have 2 2-bulb fixtures with no individual reflectors in a kind of balancing act on the top of the tank. I upgraded to a Deep Blue Solar Xtreme 4-bulb fixture with individual reflectors and integrated timer and such. So the light output is probably similar, though maybe more intense cause of the individual reflectors. But he should be acclimated to that by now, right?

 

[NYCBOB]

it looks healthy to me. feeding 2x a week i think is excessive. i think 1x per week is enough. bta can get big fast. mine grew from 3 inches to over a foot within 6 months without feeding it much.

 

[89Foxbody]

Yeah I thought 2x a week might be too much but I've heard a million different things, every 3 days, once a week, etc etc. I'll probably cut back on the food then as well. Looks like he is reinflating now, my clowns are getting excited lol

 

[sunil6784]

I've read something somewhere (as specific as I can get) that BTA's get close to 90% of their energy photosynthetically, and about 10% from food. When I had my power compact lights, I used to feed him twice a week. 3 months or so later when I got my 8x54 Tek T5 lights, I reduced feeding to about once a month. He has grown from 3 inches to about 7-8 diameter.

Oh, and mine shrivels up either after eating or when he has to poop.