Poop question....

amnesia

New member
Do 'nems (bta in this case) normally look like a big pile of poop when they poop?

Here's the story.

After lights out last night (and all day yesterday) my BTA looked the best it has since I aquired it. I came home from work today to find it looking particularly bad. Almost looked as if it were melting. It was almost flat against the rock on which it resides, tentacles were almost completely deflated and very short (they almost weren't even there). It had what looked like a large brown fish poop coming out of the gaping mouth.

I redirected some flow in his direction, tossed some carbon into the aquaclear and started mixing 5 gallons of fresh SW. It's been roughly an hour since I got home and the 'nem is looking better. It is starting to inflate, it has tentacles again though they don't look great. The mouth is closed but not as tight as it has been.

My LFS said my water params were in check, and although my lighting is subpar, I was assured this 'nem was being kept under MUCH less lighting at the wholesaler's, and it is closer now, to the same lighting it was under at my LFS (96 watts of PC). At the LFS I would guess it was about 14-16 inches from the lights, now it is roughly 10 inches away. IceCap SLR T-5s are coming in the future.
 
The pooping reaction is normal. Water quality is paramount along with Lighting. With your current lighting He may slowly bleach out. Your LFS is right and wrong about the lighting. Wholesalers do not intend to keep but sell, so some of them my not have adequate light but most do. How long has your tank been set up and when did you aquire your BTA?
 
I've had the BTA since monday this week. Dripped acclimated it for ~2.5 hours. It attached to a rock within 15 seconds or so and has been nicely expanded with great bulbs on the tentacles since, untill today that is. It hasn't moved a fraction of an inch from where I placed it.

Tank has been up since November, not ideally long enough I know, but parameters have stable.

I am currently moving the lights down so they are closer to the 'nem (roughly 6.5 inches away).
 
He will move until he is happy. Is his mouth closed? That is a good indicator if he is stressed. Can you post some pics?
 
No pics, cause I have no camera :( From acclimation until today the mouth has been nice and tight. It isn't completley closed now, but it isn't gaping now like it was earlier.

It hasn't moved yet, but I'm not worried if it does. I have no corals in the tank atm aside from a couple zoos and a mushroom of some sort.
 
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