LTA or BTA?

[Apercula]

Ive had this anemone for about 7-8 months and Ive always been positive it was a LTA, Ive recently had someone argue that it is a BTA so Id like to get some expert opinions.

When I got the anemone it was bleached tan, with faded pink base. I put it in the sand as appropriate for an LTA and it attached. After about 2 weeks it began moving around the tank, on several occasions it would attach but always let go again, and it managed to get its face into a power head a couple times and lost quite a few tentacles.
By February this year it had shrunk significantly and bleached out almost totally, then it just disappeared, I didnt see it for over 3 months and thought it had died. In May it crawled out of where ever it had been hiding and footed down where it is now in my rockwork.
Since May, with regular feedings and in a spot that gets good light it has quadrupled in size, darkened significantly and is showing more color(green sheen on the face) then ever before.
In the last week my clown has discovered it and is now being hosted by it.

It has distinct verracue on the upper base, there are radial white lines on the oral disc, the base has not colored back up red yet, but it was red at purchase. The only "bta characteristic" that it has is its choice of growing in the rockwork vs sand bed, but the piece of rock it is on has a lot of gaps and it has stretched its base fairly deep into the rockwork.

I still strongly believe it is an LTA, but would like confirmation.

 

[dalilgriffith]

Id have to see the foot but preliminary analysis say its a LTA

 

[Apercula]

Bad picture, it was taken at night with flash, so autofocus had problems, but it shows the verracue on the upper column and the pinkish (nem is still coloring back up) lower column reaching down through the rockwork.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

That is most definitely an LTA. aka M. Doreensis. A very confused one but an LTA none the less.

 

[Slakker]

+1. verrucae and curling tentacles seal it for me.

 

[Gold Stripe]

Never seen an LTA up in the rocks like that.

 

[davocean]

2nd confused LTA.
Mine was on rocks when new and I had weak lighting, but I see you have MH, how old are bulbs?

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12944233#post12944233 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davocean
2nd confused LTA.
Mine was on rocks when new and I had weak lighting, but I see you have MH, how old are bulbs?

Lighting is not always the issue. Too much or too little flow could be a probable cause as to why it is on the top of the rocks.

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12947499#post12947499 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
Lighting is not always the issue. Too much or too little flow could be a probable cause as to why it is on the top of the rocks.

I have to agree. I have two LTA's and it doesn't take much flow at all for them to go searching for calmer seas. Especially if part of their foot is exposed to the flow.

 

[Apercula]

Halide bulbs are 10k 175s changed at christmas 07, Plan is to replace with 14/15k in 2-3 months.
Ive rearranged the rockwork a little and the powerhead placement/direction a lot since the beginning of May to make my Haddoni happy.
With the tank being a 75 and 2 potentially large anemones, and one very large mushroom, Im going to have to remove either the haddoni or the lta at some point, I was planning to remove the lta, but the clown has found it now, and with the way its chosen to plant itself it would be hard to get out of the tank.

Picture from Feb, just before it disappeared for 3 months. I had placed it in a hole in the rock where it could reach the sand under the rock but it was protected.

The spot it came back at is only a couple inches from where it is in this picture, but higher up in the rock, and facing the middle of the tank instead of the front.

 

[davocean]

Mine was lighting issue for sure is why I asked, just process of elimination.
Changed light, same flow, nem went straight to sand bed.
I do agree they prefer calmer flow.

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12947827#post12947827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Apercula
With the tank being a 75 and 2 potentially large anemones, and one very large mushroom

and yet another possible cause as to why it is perched up on the rocks.

 

[Apercula]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12948241#post12948241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 55semireef
and yet another possible cause as to why it is perched up on the rocks.

Its possible, I guess, but the LTA was in the tank alone for 5months or more before the Haddoni was added (without finding a place it liked). It came out of where ever it had been hiding before I fixed the flow to the carpet's liking. The elephant ear is a much newer addition, only 2 weeks in the tank.

 

[55semireef]

It is really hard to determine the reason why your LTA is on the rocks. I do know one thing, mixing two large anemones in a 75 gallon is asking for it.

 

[Apercula]

Yeah, the haddoni was purchased when the LTA was presumed dead, it hadnt been seen for 2 months at the time.
I will have to remove one or the other eventually.
I'd rather keep the haddoni but can't help admiring the toughness of the LTA.

 

[davocean]

Funny, my LTA seems like a wimp compared to my sebae.
FWIW, I have an LTA, sebae, and hairy mush in same tank no prob.
I do run carbon.
Flow diff could be an issue for you, for my LTA I made a cave area so it can go in out for light/flow as needed.

 

[davocean]

BTW, I started w/ a 90g, and my nems were small at purchase, and long b4 this site.
Had I known, I would have got just one nem, as they do get big.
I ended up getting a 180g so both will fit and still have room for corals.

 

[Apercula]

Here is a 3/4 tank shot showing the layout of end of the tank the nems are on.
The powerhead right above the elephant ear is off, was putting too much flow in. There is one koralia 2 just off the pic to the right pointing left, and the dark area in upper left is another koralia 2 pointing right.
The red bowl in the front has blastomussa merletti frags in it and the green basket is protecting my xenia from a coral nipping coral beauty.

 

[55semireef]

Nice tank. Seems like the anemones are still small. That mushroom is huge!

 

[Apercula]

LTA 4in oral disc, Haddoni 8in, EE 13in (LA said 11).
Open brain to right, and blasto frags in the bowl are the only stonies. Theres a med/lg colt to the right off the edge of the picture, rest of tank is mushrooms and polyps.

I probably should remove the haddoni, move the lta to the deeper sand where the brain is, put brain where the green basket is, then let the softies (toadstool and colt) have the area around the island rock to the left.

With the way the lta is attached atm its not going anywhere it doesnt want to.

The big rock behind the ee mushroom was on top of the rock the lta is in making a pillar until a couple weeks ago, moving it has really opened up that end of the tank and allowed better light penetration.