My mini BTA split today!

Hephalump

Hephalump

New member
I'm so excited! My mini BTA that I've had for almost a year just split today. I know there's a bit of controversy about whether such a thing as a mini BTA exists, but I'm pretty confident in that identification. This little guy has only grown marginally in the past year. I am also confident that it is not a mojano or aptasia or any other species of pest anemone :)

Check it out:
Split3-8-12.jpg
 
Hephalump said:
there's a bit of controversy about whether such a thing as a mini BTA exists, but I'm pretty confident in that identification
Click to expand...

Do you have any reason why you think such a thing exists? (In terms of reference material or paper or the like?) Personally, I would think it was a majano anemone - they can look very similar to small BTA's and will often exhibit bubble tips, similar coloration, etc.

In some ways you ARE correct... it is in fact a mini-bulb tentacle anemone. It just may not be a mini E. quadricolor :)

Keep an eye on it... two might be cute, but two hundred might make you rethink how cute they are...
 
Last edited:
^^^ Agree.^^^

This has been discussed before. There is no documentation of there being "mini" E. quadricolors.
 
I figured there would be some resistance to the idea that this is really a mini BTA. Who knows, it might not be E. quadricolor. I'd be ok with that. Fortunately, I have some pics of the anemone from last September that I think will show that it is not a majano. Also, it is noteworthy that my female clown did briefly host in this nem when it was first introduced to the tank last year, but she lost interest in it when it moved up behind the overflow (which is where it is in the following pics)

Still think it's a majano?
Nem1.jpg


Nem2.jpg


Nem3.jpg
 
Hephalump, thanks for sharing, and congrats! While I would agree that it's probably not "E. Quadricolor" I am long since convinced that it is not a pest anemone. And it certainly looks like a BTA, only "mini". Have you been feeding it this whole time, or just ignoring it?

As for documentation, there is an older thread on here that I started showing some links to a species in Germany called Cribrinopsis Crassa. There are a couple sites I linked to that offer a "mini BTA" for sale that they label as Cribrinopsis Crassa, but I believe it is a misnomer for some other anemone, name unknown but exhibiting traits of a BTA, only smaller.
 
Oh yeah, and is there any chance you could try and get a pic of the mouth? Not doubting the ID, but mostly curious. BTAs typically have white lines radiating from their mouth. I am curious just exactly how much this thing looks like a full size BTA. :)
 
Yeah, I've been feeding it quite regularly. Mostly spectra pellets, but also Rods Food, and frozen mysis.

I don't think Cribrinopsis Crassa is the right name for this species either. A search on Google images for Cribrinopsis Crassa yields two distinct anemone species. One is a Mediterranean species which does not resemble a BTA and the other is the Mini BTA. It's quite possible that the name of C. crassa could have been applied to the mini BTA simply because of threads like the one you started about it, this one, and others like it.

Interestingly enough, a search on RC for mojano (and its various spellings) yielded several accounts of anemones that fit the description of mine. I wonder how many of these get killed due to the mistaken identification of mojano.

Unfortunately, the pictures I have posted here are about as good as I can get with my camera. I'll see if I can get a better angle on the mouth, as they've moved since yesterday.
 
I agree, there have been a few other accounts of what I personally believe are "mini BTAs". I know this because everytime it comes up I go into stalker mode!! I'm gonna get me one of them eventually!

BTW, just to keep things tied together, here's your original thread from back when you bought it:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2019349

And here's two on the whole C. Crassa mix-up issue:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1995853
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1962878
 
Those photos look much more like an E. quadricolor than the earlier ones. They might just be young E. quadricolor... When you call them "mini" are they staying the same small size? I can't recall seeing a small E. quadricolor in stores, but fortunately they have been successfully propagated (sexually) and there are now photos available of them from barely settled larvae to full adult.
 
Yes, I am calling them "mini" because it had never grown bigger than about 1.5 inches across before splitting. Mine came from an asexual split by another anemone that likewise stayed the same small size. There were several of these in the LFS on the day I bought it, and they were all quite small, and all showed the white flecked pattern that this one does.

I suppose it could just be a "baby" but after a year of frequent feeding you'd think it'd get at least a little bigger. If it continues to split at a small size, and does not do so with such frequency that it becomes a pest (one split in a year seems pretty ok to me), then I'd submit that it is indeed a morph of E. quadricolor that stays small.
 
Reading this post makes me think the LFS sold something other than a BTA. When I bought it, it was about 2 in across now about 4 1/2 months later its about 4 in across. I feed it daily, the nem is on the same rock. And when I got it had almost NO color, now the stalk is kinda a tanish/gold color and around its mouth is turning a purplish.
 
I do believe it is a majano. I have a few in my tank that get to the size you speak of. When I first seen one in my tank, I swore my bta split. But it never grew. People that come to my house off to buy them.
 
tempimage.jpg


Just a little update here, my clowns finally decided to host these nems! As you can see, the anemones are still roughly the same size as they were a few months ago. You only see one in the pic because the other is behind the clownfish. They also haven't split again yet, which leads me to be even more confident that they are not mojano.
 
bradleym said:
Glad to hear you didn't go giving it away, cuz I'm pretty sure I called dibbs at some point.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you what. When they split again I'll send you one, assuming I can figure out how to get it off of that rock.

They're definitely not flower anemones. I have one of those too, and he's really big, plus I don't think they're known for reproducing asexually.
 
LOL! Yea good luck with that. They are gonna be a pain for sure. But if you do ever have an extra I'd definitely take it. :thumbsup:
 
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