RBT dying?

Boltline

New member
I picked up a new RBT this weekend and did drip acclimate him to my tank prior to adding him in. It's day 4 now and he isn't looking so good. I know nems take a while to come around but he isn't looking so good. I'm not sure if his mouth is gaping open or he is just sucking him self into the Rock. What do you guys think?

 
Well BTA's commonly shrivel and look like their dying. its so common to see a "is my BTA dying" thread. to know whether its acting normal or not we need INFORMATION!!!!!
water parameters are a must. the exact numbers.. NOT what you rate the water as (good, fair, poor) also how old is your tank. thats another must know. also what type of lighting. make/model.

BTAs are pretty resilient and can live in fairly harsh conditions in comparison to other anemones. they often scare new owners who didnt research into their phases they go through.
 
Well BTA's commonly shrivel and look like their dying. its so common to see a "is my BTA dying" thread. to know whether its acting normal or not we need INFORMATION!!!!!
water parameters are a must. the exact numbers.. NOT what you rate the water as (good, fair, poor) also how old is your tank. thats another must know. also what type of lighting. make/model.

BTAs are pretty resilient and can live in fairly harsh conditions in comparison to other anemones. they often scare new owners who didnt research into their phases they go through.

Thanks Hotelbravo! Guess by now you can tell by now I'm new to the hobby.

As for tank info... It's a 50g cube with 10g sump. Got about 49g of total water volume. Tank parameters are NO3 10-12ppm, PO4 0-2ppm, DKH 7.5(currently taking to get back up to 8), Ca is 400, Mag 1300. Only have one clownfish atm + clean up crew. I'm using an XR15 and at its highest intensity it's 70%(about 230 par from the highest point in my tank). Tank has been up for 7 weeks. Also I did start carbon dosing a week ago to help bring my NO3 down but only dosing 1ml even though it calls for 3 to start. For flow I'm running 2 mp10s. 1 is averaging about 45% and the other is doing 35%. I'm doing 10g water changes every two weeks. Oh and I am running carbon and GFO.
 
Thanks Hotelbravo! Guess by now you can tell by now I'm new to the hobby.

As for tank info... It's a 50g cube with 10g sump. Got about 49g of total water volume. Tank parameters are NO3 10-12ppm, PO4 0-2ppm, DKH 7.5(currently taking to get back up to 8), Ca is 400, Mag 1300. Only have one clownfish atm + clean up crew. I'm using an XR15 and at its highest intensity it's 70%(about 230 par from the highest point in my tank). Tank has been up for 7 weeks. Also I did start carbon dosing a week ago to help bring my NO3 down but only dosing 1ml even though it calls for 3 to start. For flow I'm running 2 mp10s. 1 is averaging about 45% and the other is doing 35%. I'm doing 10g water changes every two weeks. Oh and I am running carbon and GFO.

whats the salinity at??

all the rest of the information sounds good though the tank is a little to new for an anemone but i dont think thats the issue. i think your anemone will be fine. they will shrivel to expel waste which also includes purging water and getting cleaner water. mine does it like clockwork even still to this day right as the white lights go down and blues go up he starts. its quite normal. the mouth does look odd in the picture but ive seen many do that before and they were healthy.

another subject to go over is feeding. while under good lights BTA's DO NOT require feedings. however most people do feed them to make them grow faster and bigger. a few options of food to feed them are; squid, oyster, clam, scallop, shrimp, small chunks of fish. whichever you choose make sure you buy fresh. one thing to stay away from is silverslides they have caused problems and even killed anemones due to spoiled fish. just a bad product to feed. i personally rotate oyster and squid i catch most of it myself but i do buy sometimes. fish markets are great and usually much fresher than the grocery store but some places do not have those available so grocery store is the next best thing.. one other thing to look for is that you do not want to feed cooked food only raw. try not to get anything with added perservatives if possible.
 
whats the salinity at??

all the rest of the information sounds good though the tank is a little to new for an anemone but i dont think thats the issue. i think your anemone will be fine. they will shrivel to expel waste which also includes purging water and getting cleaner water. mine does it like clockwork even still to this day right as the white lights go down and blues go up he starts. its quite normal. the mouth does look odd in the picture but ive seen many do that before and they were healthy.

another subject to go over is feeding. while under good lights BTA's DO NOT require feedings. however most people do feed them to make them grow faster and bigger. a few options of food to feed them are; squid, oyster, clam, scallop, shrimp, small chunks of fish. whichever you choose make sure you buy fresh. one thing to stay away from is silverslides they have caused problems and even killed anemones due to spoiled fish. just a bad product to feed. i personally rotate oyster and squid i catch most of it myself but i do buy sometimes. fish markets are great and usually much fresher than the grocery store but some places do not have those available so grocery store is the next best thing.. one other thing to look for is that you do not want to feed cooked food only raw. try not to get anything with added perservatives if possible.


Thanks for the tips! This really helps! My salinity is at 1.25 btw
 
I will just add that I have a couple RBTA's in my tank and they do not like vodka. I've dosed on and off a couple times and every time I do they shrink down and generally don't look happy.
 
I will just add that I have a couple RBTA's in my tank and they do not like vodka. I've dosed on and off a couple times and every time I do they shrink down and generally don't look happy.

Ima keep an eye on it. Nem looks like he is coming back. :D

I think I was just freaking out.
 
Definitely could be. I've had a couple scares with mine over the years and they have always bounced back. Good luck.
 
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