Pic of RBTA under crappy light and worse parameters

[mattsilvester]

Hi all,

Here's a pic of my RBTA:

It may (or may not) surprise people to know that this specimen is being kept under T5 lighting and pretty bad water parameters (50ppm nitrate / 1.5ppm phosphate).

It has been in my care for over a year now. For various reasons, my tank plans did a bit of a u-turn a while back, and knowing that I could no longer maintain good water parameters I tried to remove the RBTA but was unable to do so. It is too far embedded in the LR. So I thought once I replace my MH lighting with sinple T5 (144W over a 240 gal tank) he would start "wondering" and I;d be able to move him them......

Instead, he began to expand more, become "fuller" and his "bubble tips" returned and are now constantly "bubbled up".

I'd like folks to take a look at the pic and tell me do you think it looks healthy. It hosts a clarkii clown pair and I feed it once or twice a month with silversides or prawns.

As I say, it appears to be getting bigger and healthier, not the other way around.......

Please note the colours aren't great in the pic - "in the flesh" it is a much nicer RBTA colour like you see in the books etc.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[patriots81]

thats very nice but it looks orange, but i guess you said that the pic is bad so maybe its red. nice though

 

[danikowa]

Looks pretty healthy to me... When they want more light they tend to fill up with more water and they get a more transparent look to them. As long as it still eats i would think it is happy

 

[rkelman]

There is nothing wrong with T5 lighting. It doesn't surprise me that its doing well at all. IME Nitrates aren't much of an issue for Nem's either.

 

[mattsilvester]

patriots81 - yes the true colour is a bit more red than that..... not blood red, but certainly more red than orange.

danikowa - I actually think he's getting enough light. He was higher in the water column, and climbed down a bit.

rkelman - thats good hear about nitrates..... although I am working to reduce them anyway. zero is not really achievable, but I think 10-20ppm is.

Well thanks for the input, good to hear I get the general "thumbs up".

 

[Coral Hind]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15540888#post15540888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
There is nothing wrong with T5 lighting. It doesn't surprise me that its doing well at all. IME Nitrates aren't much of an issue for Nem's either.

I agree and also from my experience with BTA's they do not require the pristine water conditions that most corals require. The T5 lighting will also sustain them depending on some factors such as height, age of bulbs, reflectors, water clarity and so on. This RBTA however does not look as though it is getting enough light and it does appear as though it is starting to bleach out. Something needs to be corrected ASAP before it bleaches any farther.

 

[mattsilvester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15542741#post15542741 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Coral Hind
I agree and also from my experience with BTA's they do not require the pristine water conditions that most corals require. The T5 lighting will also sustain them depending on some factors such as height, age of bulbs, reflectors, water clarity and so on. This RBTA however does not look as though it is getting enough light and it does appear as though it is starting to bleach out. Something needs to be corrected ASAP before it bleaches any farther.

So should the bit in the middle, where there are no tenticles, around the mouth, be the same reddish colour as the rest of it?

What steps would you suggest be taken to improve the creatures health? Starting with the easiest / most economical first?

Many thanks

 

[Coral Hind]

In order for it to gain and maintain the color the lighting needs to be increased some. A full tank photo would be nice. I would also feed it every week at minimum. I actually feed mine every other day but I am fattening them up so they will grow faster.

How long are your lights on for? Possibly increasing the photoperiod a couple of hours would help.
Is there a reflector on the bulb? Reflectors are a must with T5HO's as they are not a direct lighting source.
How high off the water surface is the bulb? I keep my T5's at 4" above the water. Beyond that and the PAR seems to drop fast.

 

[mattsilvester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15543281#post15543281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Coral Hind
In order for it to gain and maintain the color the lighting needs to be increased some. A full tank photo would be nice. I would also feed it every week at minimum. I actually feed mine every other day but I am fattening them up so they will grow faster.

How long are your lights on for? Possibly increasing the photoperiod a couple of hours would help.
Is there a reflector on the bulb? Reflectors are a must with T5HO's as they are not a direct lighting source.
How high off the water surface is the bulb? I keep my T5's at 4" above the water. Beyond that and the PAR seems to drop fast.

I'm away from home the next few days, but I'll take some pics when I get back and post them..... pictures paint 1000's of words

 

[bues0022]

I've also heard that for BTA's smaller food particles are better than large. I guess it takes more energy for the BTA to digest big foods than what they get out.