RBTA and Salinity levels

[steelhead97]

I've been reading on here and a lot of people are suggesting that Rose bTA like a high salinity level 1.025-1.026 and do well under those conditions. I usually have my tank at 1.023 and sometimes as low as 1.022 because I do travel for work and sometimes go days at a time without topping off. I do notice now that the past week the BTA's have moved from their spot and are now seeking shade and not opening up fully. Does anyone have experience keeping BTA's and can comment on what would be ideal conditions? I will also be getting metal halides soon.

 

[garygb]

Ideal conditions would be natural strength seawater, this varies depending on location, but 35ppt (1.026) is a good target. Also, temperatures vary considerably over the range of Entacmea quadricolor, but 77F to 82F would probably be okay (82 is an overall average for reefs). In nature, where BTA's are found, nitrates are undetectable--however, they tolerate nitrates in aquaria. I'm not sure how high they tolerate without problems, but shooting for undetectable can't hurt. You're going to be getting MH's, so their needs in terms of lighting will no doubt be met, in fact, you will need to acclimate your anemones to stronger light. In the wild, this species is sometimes found down to depths of over 100ft below the surface up to shallow water. So, they can seemingly adapt to a wide range of light intensities. From my own observations, they appear to like moderate, random water flow and seek that out in the aquarium. As far as feeding, there are lots of opinions on that one, but I have observed they do well from direct feeding at least a couple of times per week, perhaps every other day or every third day. HTH