New RBTA & Help On Another Anemone In My Tank

[cham]

Ive had what I've always called a purple tip anemone (Im sure thats not the right name) and when I got him he was pure white with purple tips. After a month or so he turned a brown color and has stayed that way. He came in on a rock that he has never moved off of for 4 months so I imagine he is happy. Any reason he isn't white anymore?

I moved my purple tip to a new spot thinking the old spot has kept my purple tip happy maybe I could get lucky and keep the RBTA from roaming the tank. Yesterday I put him in stayed put till this afternoon and then the RBTA went swimming. Anything I can do to keep him from doing this? I really dont want to be one of those guys that wakes up to a $50 anemone stuck in a power head with a crashed tank.

Thanks!
Charlie

 

[dantodd]

your purple tip looks like one of the Condylactis species to me. It is an atlantic anemone and not generally a clown hosting anemone. Your RBTA may be having in a chemical war with the existing Condylactis. That or he simply didn't like the first spot you put him.

Anemones have a colony of dinoflagellates (photosynthetic zooplankton) call zooxanthellae living inside them. The zoox produce excess food via photosynthesis and the anemone uses that as a food source. These zoox are brown colored in most anemones and that is what you are seeing in the browning up of your anemone.

 

[cham]

Should I give the purple tip the boot?

 

[dantodd]

I'm not a fan of condy's so I'm a bad person to ask that question!!

Most likely the BTA will settle down into a spot it likes in a few days. If it deoesn't settle down or seems to be moving toward the condy to attck it or just if it starts deflating frequently and isn't eating I would think that's a good time to consider getting rid of one or the other.

 

[cham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8096739#post8096739 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dantodd
I'm not a fan of condy's so I'm a bad person to ask that question!!

Most likely the BTA will settle down into a spot it likes in a few days. If it deoesn't settle down or seems to be moving toward the condy to attck it or just if it starts deflating frequently and isn't eating I would think that's a good time to consider getting rid of one or the other.

Good info, thanks. And if it comes down to it the condy gets the boot. I paid big bucks for my RBTA and looked around for the one I wanted for a couple months.

The RBTA found a spot last night and is still there today, hopefully he will stay put. Funny thing is during the night when my refugium light is on, it makes light come from underneath and the RBTA will be pointed towards the bottom of the tank in the morning. But after a couple minutes of the overhead lights on he flips towards the brighter source.

I tried giving him some krill yesterday but no luck. I will wait a couple days for it to settle down and then try some silversides.