LTA driving me (slightly) nuts!

[930Reef]

Kind of...not really that nuts, as it's an animal and will do what it wants, but:

Here's the thing: she's an amazing result of millions of years of evolution, and I'm not about to pretend I know better than she does about what she needs. I'm only concerned that with an exposed foot, she won't be healthy. Is this legit concern? Will she eventually get sick and die from not having her foot buried.

Sand bed depth is average of 2", which isn't enough for her, I know, but I've piled it 3-4"deep around her wherever she's been. She pulls up her foot no matter what. Here's the backstory:

LTA in my tank for 3 weeks now. Happy and healthy, but will not stay attached!

She started out where sand meets rock, but wasn't attaching completely.

I then put her in the sandbed, down to glass. She attached but released and came up within a day or 2. Also, getting clean glass pretty hard on the bottom of the tank. Used every sort of helper I could think of: pvc ring, rock rubble, etc. She still released.

2. Buried a small acrylic disc for her to attach to. This seemed to work for a day or two. Then I piled sand up around her foot after she seemed comfortable. She pulled her foot up to the surface the same day.

3. The ocellaris I have is being hosted by her, but I've had to put him in my sump for the time being, in time out, as he loves her so much that he won't leave her alone. He flipped her face down a couple days ago! Her attachment practices have gotten no better since he's been gone.

Currently opens wide to soak up the light (about 90-100 par at her location on sandbed), beautiful green-brown color, plenty of zooxanthellae, tightly closed mouth, sticky, eats like a champ, etc. She hasn't moved from this location, of her choosing, in 3-4 days now, but her foot sits on the surface of the sandbed.

15 gal DT with a 20 gal sump, skimmer, all params and salinity, temp, are all just fine. I test multiple times a week. 15-25% water changes every week.

So again, is this bad for her? Or should I just let her be, and if she doesn't bury that foot, is it dangerous for her?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

 

[930Reef]

Kind of...not really that nuts, as it's an animal and will do what it wants, but:

Here's the thing: she's an amazing result of millions of years of evolution, and I'm not about to pretend I know better than she does about what she needs. I'm only concerned that with an exposed foot, she won't be healthy. Is this legit concern? Will she eventually get sick and die from not having her foot buried.

Sand bed depth is average of 2", which isn't enough for her, I know, but I've piled it 3-4"deep around her wherever she's been. She pulls up her foot no matter what. Here's the backstory:

LTA in my tank for 3 weeks now. Happy and healthy, but will not stay attached!

She started out where sand meets rock, but wasn't attaching completely.

I then put her in the sandbed, down to glass. She attached but released and came up within a day or 2. Also, getting clean glass pretty hard on the bottom of the tank. Used every sort of helper I could think of: pvc ring, rock rubble, etc. She still released.

2. Buried a small acrylic disc for her to attach to. This seemed to work for a day or two. Then I piled sand up around her foot after she seemed comfortable. She pulled her foot up to the surface the same day.

3. The ocellaris I have is being hosted by her, but I've had to put him in my sump for the time being, in time out, as he loves her so much that he won't leave her alone. He flipped her face down a couple days ago! Her attachment practices have gotten no better since he's been gone.

Currently opens wide to soak up the light (about 90-100 par at her location on sandbed), beautiful green-brown color, plenty of zooxanthellae, tightly closed mouth, sticky, eats like a champ, etc. She hasn't moved from this location, of her choosing, in 3-4 days now, but her foot sits on the surface of the sandbed.

15 gal DT with a 20 gal sump, skimmer, all params and salinity, temp, are all just fine. I test multiple times a week. 15-25% water changes every week.

So again, is this bad for her? Or should I just let her be, and if she doesn't bury that foot, is it dangerous for her?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

I should also add that at night, she tips over on her side and lays on the sand. This is usually when my clown goes nuts and flips her face down.

 

[Swayze27]

I bought two prior to researching their needs, my fault. Went through the same scenario you just described and ultimately lost both. They need a deep sandbed bottom line. Even piling it up in places just doesn't cut it. They need a legit 4-5" bed. I don't want a deep bed so I moved on to other species.

 

[930Reef]

I bought two prior to researching their needs, my fault. Went through the same scenario you just described and ultimately lost both. They need a deep sandbed bottom line. Even piling it up in places just doesn't cut it. They need a legit 4-5" bed. I don't want a deep bed so I moved on to other species.

At this point I'm thinking of returning to lfs for a credit and switching to a bta...I have a ton of great space in my rockwork. I'd like to do this while the lta is still healthy.

Original reason for not getting bta was because thy split, etc, but at this point I don't want to kill the lta out of my own stubbornness.


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[Swayze27]

I would go that route