New Green BTA - Questions

[bmallia82]

Hi Guys,

I have had up for about 5 months now a 125 gallon reef tank with the following fish. 1 yellow tang, a mated pair of False/True Percula (dont know which one), and an algae blenny.

I recently put in a nice, healthy green bubble tip anemone. Within Hours he attached himself to the creveses of a rock and expanded 4x larger than when i put him in the tank.

2 questions

1) The tips have become deflated and his mouth is wide open.
- To my understand this means he is healthy

2) It has been about 3 days now and my clownfish have not found the anemone. How long can this take??
DOes the fact that my clownfish are tank breed and mated have anyting to do with

Will they ever find an anemone or should I go get another clown??


please advise, thank you

 

[cbowman]

If he is deflated with a gaping mouth, he is probably not happy, or is going to the bathroom. Does it stay like that? or has it inflated again? It takes time for clowns to find the anemone, you probably should have put the anemone close to where the clowns host or have their nest when they lay their eggs. I had a pair of black and white oscellaris and it took them about 4 months to start hosting my RBTA's and they were right next to their home. it just takes time. Hopefully the mouth will close up and the tips will inflate again. if it starts to look like he is falling apart and looks slimy, take it out immediately and flush it because its dead. Hope this helps and hope it bubbles back up. If you want different clowns, maroons are a natural host for Bta's but they are kind of aggressive, but a beautiful fish.

 

[bmallia82]

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to try and get some pictures tonight. This is not the first anemone I am keeping, so I know that it's not dying. I dont think the mouth is open but the area around it is exposed. brownish circle.

I should probably start feeding him too

 

[Bmgrocks]

I'd wait about a week before you start feeding. Its just a little stressed, give it a few days to itself, allow it to acclimate itself to your tank, adjust to your lighting, water chemistry, ect. They are pretty hardy, yours is simply taking a little more time, It is completely normal. Just leave it be, and I'm sure in a couple of days, its mouth will be reasonably shut, and tentacles inflated.

As long as the mouth is closed i wouldn't be concerned. Alot of my BTA's have a .5" area of their mouth in each direction exposed, where no tentacles grow. Its normal and they are fine. Some anemone's have more tentacles than others.

Some clowns will never host. The fact that you have a pair increases the chance of hosting, They'll most likely get it eventually. The key is time. If you are impatiant, you could switch out clowns, trading one for another at a LFS who is known to host.

I however somewhat regret having my Black Ocellaris hosting, I switched out my Reg. Occ. for another one, who took to the BTA immediately, now however, The Black Occ. Attitude has skyrocketed. I can't stick my hand in the tank with out being Attacked! lol.... Great display, but it really brought out his Attitude..

Good Luck,
Give your anemone time, I'm sure it will be fine...