RBTA not doing well

palmer373

palmer373

New member
4 days ago my mom won a roughly 3 inch RBTA, clarki clown, and a 3g nano setup from a raffle. both of us were really excited about it cuase we havnt had either before. we thought all would be perfect until i noticed a problem 2 days ago. the anemone had a gapping mouth, the gap was about 2inches so i was very worried. i guess from talking to a LFS owner the clarki (about 4-5 inches) was essentially "bullying" it to death. we gave the clarki to another LFS owner that night who had a LR tank with some other clarkis in it. the anemone was doing better, with just a very small gaping mouth, probably about half an inch in diameter and was really open (tantacles out and all bubbly). today, the 'nem flipped over like 3 times (it also did this 1 time before) and ended up moving about 6 inches. now it is all deflated, unbubbly, and had weird brown stuff coming out of it. ive been told that is poop but it hasnt eaten anything for a week becuase it wont take the food. im a noob with anemones, clowns, and essentially reefing. i do have a 75g FOWLRASC (Fish Only With Live Rock A Some Corals) with 3 32watt T-8s that has been up since sept of 09 (i have a 2 bulb T5 setup i just fixed so i might add that if i have to, im planning on using it to start a 33reef). it is very healthy and lively, i have copepods and corraline algae growing like crazy. i was curious if i should move the RBTA into the 75 like into a basket that ive seen people on RC use? if so where could i get one of those? i really dont wanna lose this guy so im trying everything possible to save it. what can I do? please give me imput and i know i started off screwy, i was planning on moving this guy into the 75 or 33 in a few months, maybe i need to do that now?
 
Is the bta in the 3 gallon tank? It wont live in there i would move it to another tank asap. the 75g doesnt have enough light. how much light do you have on the 33?
 
the 33 isnt set up yet, i was thinking of putting the T5 2 bulb setup i have for the 33 on the 75 with the T8s. the little guy is doing really well right now so im getting hopeful, we already have a wild percula on hold at a LFS. he has been living there for a while so im hoping he will pair up. if the anemone is doing well in the nano, im gonna leave him in there for a little bit until the 75 or 33 is ready. i will move him soon.
 
sorry i missed the part where you said you got rid of the clarki. Anyways anemones produce a lot of waste way too much for a three gallon tank, and they need to be introduced to a well established system. How much light do you have on the three gallon?
 
the perc is on hold until further notice so it could be a month before we get the guy (or girl) it all depends on how the nem is doing. the bulb i have is an 18w 50/50 CF. if i put the Ts and T8 lights on the 75, that would total 108W for T5 and 96W for T8 so do you think that would be ok if i put the RBTA in the 75? if so, how would you recommend i do it? i dont wanna loose the RBTA cuase it gets "lost" in my rockwork (i just threw the LR in the tank when i first set it up so there are a lot of crevases), i have seen on the anemone and clownfish that people put baby nems into a basket looking thing. would that work? where could i get one? thanks for your help, this little nem was $100 at the LFS but i got it free (part of winning the drawing) so i really dont wanna lose this guy.
 
Yeah they are pretty expensive i paid 60 for one about the size of a quarter. If I were you i would get a basket and put it in the 75 with the t5's over the basket just until you get your 33 up with proper lighting and letting it establish. Im assuming the water in the three gallon came from your 75 if so i would try to move the nem with the least amount of stress possible.
 
actually the water came from the LFS (the only thing i need to set it up was a chair to watch, they brought the nano, LS, LR, water, etc ) im not sure if i have mentioned but i do plan on plumbing the 33 into the 75 (it will be easier to maintain) so hopefulyy that should be a plus. ok so is the basket special? where could i get it? the ones ive seen in pics dont like the normal ones we have laying aorund. could i make one and if so how?
 
oh i forgot to add, the RBTA goes in cycles of inflated and deflated. is this normal? sometimes in the day itll deflate and then at night it almost always is inflated. it just seems odd.
 
Wow thats awesome that you won all that stuff. yeah sometimes when they are getting use to a tank they will deflate and inflate. Is the mouth closed? The mouth is what i would be most concerned about. Can you upload some pictures? Since its not the same water that is in your 75 it can be stressful to move it just make sure to drip acclimate. As for a basket you might be able to make something out of eggcrate if you have any laying around but im not sure where to buy a basket like that.
 
well actually my mom won it but its technicly mine cuase i take care of it lol. the mouth is about 1/4 - 1/2 inch in diameter. it is not closed like i know it should be. ill try to post pictures soon cause i know that will help. should i try to stabalize the nem before i move it into the 75? ill try to get some eggcrate soon and make a basket. also, what temperature is ideal for RBTA? the nano doesnt have a heater so it stays about room temp which is about 75-76 degrees F. i know that is really low and im planning of getting a heater that will raise it about 4 degrees F. thanks for all of your help, the RBTA is starting to do pretty good, it could be better tho!
 
I keep my anemone tank at 80-82. Im not sure about when to move it. I would think the faster you can get it in the other tank the better but im not positive on that one. If its looking a little better i would say go ahead and acclimate it to your other tank. Has it tried to move any more or flip over?
 
alright ill try to get a heater asap then.it is looking ok, it still has the gapping mouth but its ont he ok side. it hasnt moved the spot it is in for a day or so, i cant tell if the foot is anchored to anything tho becuase it is sitting on coral sand. i cant put pics on either cause i cant find the cable. If and when i move the anemone, should i put it in the basket or what? i have pretty good flow in the 75 and active fish so they are swimming around a lot.
 
i have bad news, while i was away for a week, the RBTA bleached and then died. i did have the time to move it to the 75 so it stayed in the nano. what can i say, you learn more from mistakes so this is a good lesson.
 
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