PLTA not eating...

[jnarowe]

So I have had this PLTA for quite some time now and it still will not take any food. It just lets go. This has been going on for over 2 months. It still has color and generally looks OK, but it does appear to have shrunk a bit.

I am concerned that it will starve. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have good water params and very healthy GBTAs.

 

[rogart]

What have you tried? type (mysis, pellet, silverside, krill, shrimp, squid, gel based foods, cyclopeze, etc.), size (purified, minched, squished, small peices large peices, etc.), when (morning, feeding time, middle of the night, before or right after lights on/off, etc.), how (with your hands or an instrument, current pumps on/off, etc.)....

For example, I found mine eat better with more currrent, could be they like more current and are just happier, or that the current helps to carry away waste. Also feeding more than once a week bothers them. Each one has a preferred size it will accept, and type of food (most commonly accepted - silverside peices about 1/4-1/2" long. They won't eat after lights out. When I touch the food too much they seem to smell or taste it and reject the food. Good Luck.

 

[jnarowe]

Well, I have mostly tried silversides, mysis, and cyclopeze, and the silversides were whole or half pieces. I actually have to feed with an instrument because of the 35" tank depth.

My PLTA moves around the tank a lot and hides under the rocks out of reach for long periods. It can easily choose any flow situation it wants. I may try smaller pieces of silversides and see what happens. My GBTAs all eat whole fish like silversides, anchovies, & herring.

The one thing that bothers me is that the PLTA is not very sticky. When I place something in its tentacles, the grip is not good at all. And once it lets go of the food, it floats or the female maroon gets it and takes it to a GBTA.

 

[jnarowe]

I tried the smaller pieces and it seemed to want to keep them. I had a cleaner shrimp jump right in and try to steal it and noticed that the PLTA was not giving it up willingly. I shooed away the cleaner shrimp and I think the PLTA actually ate a little bit. Now I have to figure out how to feed it without the theives stealing the food.

So, maybe your suggestion on size will help me out. Tanks!

 

[rssjsb]

I usually bribe my cleaners with their own chunks of food to keep them busy while my anemones eat. Works every time.

I find that my pets and I get along so much better when I just give them whatever they want.

 

[jnarowe]

well, you will be well prepared for marriage then! :lol:

 

[jnarowe]

So here's a pic of a couple anemones. The PLTA is the one that I have been having problems with. It has settled here for the time being which is nice because I can observe it and feed it.

It often is gone for a week or two under the rocks only to appear wrapped around a coral. It is not very sticky and the polyps it is resting against don't appear to be getting stung by it. I have started hand feeding it smaller pieces like has been recommended, and the color has improved slightly, but its feeding response seems to be zero. It will hold onto the smaller pieces unlike when I fed it half and whole silvesides.

It is smaller than when I got it, and there is less coloration.

Here is a comparison shot from about 4+ months ago:

Any further suggestions on husbandry for this PLTA would be greatly appreciated!

 

[55semireef]

Your PLTA does look more colorful when you first got it comared to now. Your 35 inch depth does create some problems because your going to have to hold the food in its mouth until it takes it. Try soaking pieces of silversides or shrimp in selcon for a boost of nutrition. I would try feeding your PLTA at least 3 times a week until it regains its original color.

 

[jnarowe]

I do soak in Selcon and have tried a variety of aminos, etc. but some have suggestd that the PLTA is very sensative to taste. No matter if I soak it or not, it still doesn't seem to have much of a feeding response.

I can squirt food into it with a large baster and some will stick and stay, but I have not seen it actually move any food into its mouth. On ething to note is that the better/older pic is a top-down shot, but they both are fairly accurate IMO.

I have a variety of tools that will reach it as well, but it seems to be better to shoot some food at it and then at the cleaner shrimp. I also heard that they get annoyed if you try to feed them too much. Don't know if that is true though.

 

[55semireef]

I guess it depends on the individual. Most of the anemones I have had love to eat. My Crispa that I have could probably eat three times a day and not be bothered by a bit. On the other hand, the GBTA I have only likes to eat about every three days.

 

[jnarowe]

Well, it looks like RC has done it again...thanks for all the suggestions guys!

I tried the shrimp for feeding the PLTA and it had a fairly agressive eating response. Yay!! I cut it up in fairly small pieces and popped a blob right in the center. I also tossed around some pieces for the cleaners and an adjacent GBTA.

When I went out front to take a look, one cleaner was trying to steal but it appeared that the PLTA had folded enough tentacles over the food to keep from losing it.

I am having a hard time reconciling why it wants shrimp and yet doesn't eat the shrimp that climb all over it. And how do they eat shrimp in the wild?

So I will report back on its progress...

 

[jnarowe]

So I just got back from a week away and the PLTA appears to be still making a recovery. I fed it shrimp a couple times before I left and it now looks larger and more colorful.

It is also interesting to note that when I fed her tonight, when she got the shrimp she quickly closed down over it and ate, and also simultaneously stung the crap out of some nearby zoas. This is a good sign IMO since previously the zoas had been totally unaffected by the PLTA. Unfortunately for them, they are sandwiched between the PLTA and a frog spawn.

You may notice that I am calling the PLTA a "she" and this is based on my experience with her and how she has been so fickle...no doubt she is a woman! :lol: