Is my RBTA dying??????

Kaman8

Kaman8

New member
I have my rbt for about a 1 1/2 month now, but the last 3 weeks it was hiding everytime when i turn the light on and at night when the lights are off it was walking all over the tank every night. The last week it doesn't take any food and the tentacles are not sticky.Tank is 8 months old.
Do i need to take it out???

Tank parameters are :

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 ( was 20 the week before...had a nitrate spike)
ph 8.1
calcium 440
kh 10.5
magnesium 1305
sg 1.025

IMG_4395_zps6b08a871.jpg
 
Anemones need a mature set up that has been cycled for atleast 6 months or even better a year or so! If it starts to melt and stink which it looks like it is get it out before in pollutes your set up.
 
It looks very bad, but it is still attached to the rock which is good. What kind of lights are you running? What are the other critters you have in the tank. What caused the nitrate spike?
 
judging by the size of its tentacles it appears to be extremely malnourished. When a BTA isnt getting enough light to make its own food or is not being supplemented with actual food , it will literally eat its own body starting with its tentacles as a last ditch effort to stay alive. Go to the store and buy some frozen raw shrimp or scallops like you would cook with to make dinner. Cut them up into tiny pieces about half the size of a pea. Try gently dropping a piece on the nems mouth and turn off all your flow. Give it a good 45 min- 1 hr to try and consume the food and it is prob extremely weak. If it does well with that piece wait a few hours and try giving him another. Do this every other day until the nem begins to regain strength and grow back it tentacles. Another important thing is getting the nem into some light. if its hiding under a rock all day and not exposing itself to any light it doesnt matter how much you feed it, it will eventually most likely perish as it wont be able to produce enough zooxanthellae. Next time it goes under a rock, try taking the whole rock its on and putting it in an area with moderate to high light and moderate flow and see if he likes it there. Good luck
 
greg1786 said:
judging by the size of its tentacles it appears to be extremely malnourished. When a BTA isnt getting enough light to make its own food or is not being supplemented with actual food , it will literally eat its own body starting with its tentacles as a last ditch effort to stay alive. Go to the store and buy some frozen raw shrimp or scallops like you would cook with to make dinner. Cut them up into tiny pieces about half the size of a pea. Try gently dropping a piece on the nems mouth and turn off all your flow. Give it a good 45 min- 1 hr to try and consume the food and it is prob extremely weak. If it does well with that piece wait a few hours and try giving him another. Do this every other day until the nem begins to regain strength and grow back it tentacles. Another important thing is getting the nem into some light. if its hiding under a rock all day and not exposing itself to any light it doesnt matter how much you feed it, it will eventually most likely perish as it wont be able to produce enough zooxanthellae. Next time it goes under a rock, try taking the whole rock its on and putting it in an area with moderate to high light and moderate flow and see if he likes it there. Good luck
Click to expand...

I already tried to give it frozen shrimp today, but it won't take it and then my cleaner shrimp took it away..i will try tomorrow again and give something to the cleaner shrimp first. I tried many times to move the rock where it is attach to the light, but everytime i do that it will move itself back in the cave. It just doesn't want to stay in the light. How can i put food in her mouth when it is closed? In what condition should i take the nem out of the tank?? Haven't seen a dead nem before.
 
Shia said:
It looks very bad, but it is still attached to the rock which is good. What kind of lights are you running? What are the other critters you have in the tank. What caused the nitrate spike?
Click to expand...

i have overfeed the tank. Everytime when i feed mysis shrimp to the fishes they will not eat everything.....just a few pieces.
 
You dont want to put the food in her mouth because you could damage her inside. Just turn off all the flow and sit the food right ontop of or next to her mouth. Her tentacles are big enough to aid bringing food to her mouth which is why you have to drop it as close as possible. Get a clear tupperware and poke a bunch of holes in it so water can get through and use it to cover the nem while she eats. You want to look for her mouth to swell up after youve put the food there its a sign she is trying to eat. Remember shes very weak so it could take a long time for her to eat it dont give up after 5 minutes. Try that now or as soon as you have time and see if it works its important to get her nutrition asap or she isnt going to make it much longer
 
Im sure you already know this but just in case make sure you thaw the frozen shrimp under cold water she will not accept it frozen
 
It doesnt matter I only suggested cold water because if you that shrimp under hot water it will start to cook the outside of it but your tank water isnt hot enough to do that
 
greg1786 said:
It doesnt matter I only suggested cold water because if you that shrimp under hot water it will start to cook the outside of it but your tank water isnt hot enough to do that
Click to expand...

ok thanks.......i will try asap and hope it will get the energie back and hope that it will move itself to the light
 
What lighting do you have? I had the same problem with my last rbta. I was only running a 65w PC light and he was suffering due to low light, he slowly shrunk and would not open as often. He eventually got to the point that his tentacles weren't sticky and from there on he just vanished.. I'm assuming shrunk down and died. I now have a new large RBTA and he is doing great under my 6 T5 bulbs! If you are using low powered lighting I would think this would be the root cause to the anemones illness.
 
Andrewr2488 said:
What lighting do you have? I had the same problem with my last rbta. I was only running a 65w PC light and he was suffering due to low light, he slowly shrunk and would not open as often. He eventually got to the point that his tentacles weren't sticky and from there on he just vanished.. I'm assuming shrunk down and died. I now have a new large RBTA and he is doing great under my 6 T5 bulbs! If you are using low powered lighting I would think this would be the root cause to the anemones illness.
Click to expand...

But my nem never come out to the light. Everytime I turn on the light it will hide in the cave and when I turn off the lights it will come out. I am running AquaticLife Light 24" 36 Watt Expandable LED Marine Light. My other corals are doing all great.
 
the flowerpot and shrooms are low light corals which is why they are fine. the kessil would be a much better choice light.
 
I should also state don't blast the tank right away if you do get the kessil, start off low and slowly bring the intensity up, you will want to acclimate the corals slowly to the new light
 
shifty51008 said:
I should also state don't blast the tank right away if you do get the kessil, start off low and slowly bring the intensity up, you will want to acclimate the corals slowly to the new light
Click to expand...

At how many percent shall I start and how many percent increase every day? Can I still save the nem with this light?
 
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