Is my GBTA suicidal???? ARGH

helitaiwan963

helitaiwan963

New member
Hey guys,

So i bought a red and green BTA 2 weeks ago from a lfs and put it in one spot and it's stayed there and hasn't moved one bit...

So i wanted another BTA so i picked up a GBTA 2 days ago now and I put it on the rock. It looked like it was doing great! So i wake up this morning and after about 25 minutes of searching, to my dismay, i found it behind one of my center rocks where most of my live rock is piled on to. What a headache.

So i spend almost 2 hours pulling the live rock apart to get to the anemone to get it out of there in order to save it. Well, i moved it onto another rock, started "bubbling" up again and about 2 hours later, i find it starting to move behind the rocks again! I was like, ok, well i'll watch it, maybe it will stay mostly out of there..., nope. Went under a rock again...


So i took it out and moved it to a smoother rock, cuz when i bought it from the lfs, it was attached on the glass so i thought it may like a smoother surface. I know the BTA's like their feet in a ditch... but this thing is like 5-6" diameter and i don't have a crevice that big for it!

So now the anemone is moving under/behind the rock again... WHAT GIVES! I thought they were supposed to try and find a "happy spot". Why would it keep going behind rocks where there are no lights whatsoever?

Any tips? I'm expecting it to be behind the rock again tomorrow and i have to take apart my rockwork again to move it out in order for it not to die...I really don't want the GBTA to die.... :hmm5:
 
im not sure but I do know that they like to have a deep crevice to hide their foot..maybe its just going deep into the rocks to plant its foot and it will stretch up back into view.

best of luck
 
It likely needs to adjust to your lights, just give it some time. I'm sure todd will jump in with this exact advice. Use window screening separated by egg crate to "dim" the lights and slowly remove them over a week's time. Another thing you really shouldn't do is manually move the nem. I can tell you that if you wanted to be in the shade on a hot sunny day and a big unknown person moved you into the light you wouldn't be happy. Your nem will figure it out, just have patience. :thumbsup:
 
theronsta said:
im not sure but I do know that they like to have a deep crevice to hide their foot..maybe its just going deep into the rocks to plant its foot and it will stretch up back into view.

best of luck
Click to expand...
he's going a little too deep to be able to stretch back out for light unfortuantely. thats what i was hoping it was doing but he's going deep behind my rockwork.

reppo13 said:
It likely needs to adjust to your lights, just give it some time. I'm sure todd will jump in with this exact advice. Use window screening separated by egg crate to "dim" the lights and slowly remove them over a week's time. Another thing you really shouldn't do is manually move the nem. I can tell you that if you wanted to be in the shade on a hot sunny day and a big unknown person moved you into the light you wouldn't be happy. Your nem will figure it out, just have patience. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
hmm... my lights aren't horribly strong to begin with.. just T5ho.

I'm just really worried about it dying. When i look at it behind the rock this morning, it looks bad... it was all shriveled up and it's mouth was pretty loose. I thought it was dying. Once i took it out tho, it bubbled up nice and big again and looked healthy! I just don't want it to die.
 
Leave it alone. Your doing more stress to the animal and to the system by going in and removing all the rock just to get it out. Then removing its foot from the rock its attached to. This could do serious damage to the nem.

They are wonderers, where they will eventually find a spot they like. It is most likely not liking the intensity of your light or flow and went into hiding. Or, It probably doesnt like the chem warfare going on in the system with the other BTA in the system. Nevertheless for the now, don't worry, the nem will eventually come out or stretch out to get light once it's used to it. Just make sure you can get to it so you can feed it. The one I bought for my wife has not stopped moving to this day. I just let him be till he finds his spot. For now just leave it alone.
 
deehz said:
Leave it alone. Your doing more stress to the animal and to the system by going in and removing all the rock just to get it out. Then removing its foot from the rock its attached to. This could do serious damage to the nem.

They are wonderers, where they will eventually find a spot they like. It is most likely not liking the intensity of your light or flow and went into hiding. Or, It probably doesnt like the chem warfare going on in the system with the other BTA in the system. Nevertheless for the now, don't worry, the nem will eventually come out or stretch out to get light once it's used to it. Just make sure you can get to it so you can feed it. The one I bought for my wife has not stopped moving to this day. I just let him be till he finds his spot. For now just leave it alone.
Click to expand...

hmm... the more i read, this is what i'm leaning to do... it's just that when it goes behind the rock... it's REALLY hard for me to stick my feeder and give it a krill. I haven't even had the chance to feed the new nem yet.

So the anemone isn't stupid enough to just stay behind the rocks and die off? They will eventually "find the light"?
 
The nem is not "stupid" or dumb. We don't give corals and fish the credit they deserve: they are smart, hardy, resourceful, and have millions of years of evolution on their side. We can't mess with evolution and animals that have been around longer then humans. Give it time and it should be ok.
 
IMO you are moving way to fast. Give it a couple days to a week in hiding before you try to force it out. I think you will find it will come out on it's own.
 
hmm ok... i'm going to keep an eye on it. i unplugged all the powerheads that aren't covered yesterday till i can get to putting sponges on the bottom of them later today
 
I have the same trouble with a RBTA. I have had it for a month. It kept going around behind a big rock into the dark. I even turned the rock around so it would get light. It just moved back to the dark side. I gave up and just fed it. It is just now starting to peek around to the light. It did look a little sickly once or twice but a feeding perked it right up. The whole thing has me wondering about how much light they really need.
 
boatguy said:
I have the same trouble with a RBTA. I have had it for a month. It kept going around behind a big rock into the dark. I even turned the rock around so it would get light. It just moved back to the dark side. I gave up and just fed it. It is just now starting to peek around to the light. It did look a little sickly once or twice but a feeding perked it right up. The whole thing has me wondering about how much light they really need.
Click to expand...

me as well... mine moved behind the rock again but it looks "bubbled" up already. i've not tried to feed it as i'm going to let it aclimate for another day or so. but at least this time it's moved somewhere where there is a little light peaking thru the holes of the rocks.
 
Leave them alone!! They will take weeks to find their sweet spot. Please just let them properly acclimate.
 
well it's been about 2 weeks and no improvement. the bta seems to be very unhealthy now and still sitting under a rock...

does anyone have a description in what i should look for if the anemone is dying? I don't really want it to rot away in my tank.
 
IMO 2 weeks it is not enough time for it to settle. Try to feed it small amounts of shrimp. Are the tentacles sticky? Can you post a picture?
 
Try a conch shell mine has been in for a week hasn't moved yet .
The shell is the size of a small football.

268658_2282165493577_1232012439_32734886_1654209_n.jpg


184178_2282164573554_1232012439_32734883_1914805_n.jpg
 
Supernova26 said:
IMO 2 weeks it is not enough time for it to settle. Try to feed it small amounts of shrimp. Are the tentacles sticky? Can you post a picture?
Click to expand...

I have tried to feed it krill but it's not sticky. It won't eat the shrimp. I can try and get a pic, but like i said, it's under a rock and really hard to see. I'll see if i can get one though.

ed102475 said:
Try a conch shell mine has been in for a week hasn't moved yet .
The shell is the size of a small football.
Click to expand...

Hmm... interesting. I'm gonna give it a lil more before i decide what to do.
elder luis said:
how´s the water flow? The BBT anemone won´t stay where the flow is too strong
Click to expand...

Flow is decent everywhere else. I have about 700 gph in the 29gal. The powerhead it's nearest to has been unplugged though so i don't have to worry about it getting sucked in. So where it's at, there is very little flow.
 
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