RBTA Problem

[kwiker]

I have had my RBTA for a little over a week now. I acclimated it for threee hours. The first couple of days it was beautiful and fully open. On the third day it started moving towards the backside of my rock wall. It has been back there with no light for about four days. It moves maybe an inch a day now. Is this cause for alarm or will it eventually find a good spot and inflate again?
Thanks for any help!

 

[Biggie]

Most likely its looking for flow or too get out of the blast of flow. Once it finds a home they pretty much stay put unless you change around the rocks. Try and give it a piece of shrimp and see if it takes the food. If it eats then its probably just looking for a good spot.

 

[Newreeflady]

Mine toured my 12g nano until it found a spot with very high variable flow and where it could sink its foot into.

If you have low flow, it may not be happy.

-A

 

[kwiker]

It is behind all of my rock. There is no way to feed it and if I could I would not be able to tell if it ate it or not. It has been shriveled up for about four days b/c of no light. Do you think it can live after this?

 

[Biggie]

How old is your tank? What else do you have in it and whats your perameters? What kind of light are you using?

 

[kwiker]

I am using 65 watt 50/50 pc.

my water parameters are
ph 8.2
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites -0
Nitrates-0
Sg-1.025
Temp-77-79

Tank is about 6 months

 

[thedigitalimager]

Anemones require a mature tank with excellent water parameters and strong lighting. Also, they do better at higher specific gravities, in the 1.024 to 1.026 range. If you can meet their basic needs, the RBTA's are one of the easier anemones to keep. Just watch out for the powerheads! Here's a great resource for all keepers of Entacmaea quadricolor anemones.

Geary

 

[Biggie]

Hmmm Lights a bit weak IMO. Someone else can chime in here but I had My BTA under PC's for along time but they were 96 watt double fixture. I ran 4 of them alternating Actinics with 10 K's and they seemed to like it. I later swithced to 400 W MH with 14 K Hamilton Mogul and they really liked that. I question the lights thats my suggestion. It may come around after it finds a comfort zone. I also positioned near medium to high flow. You running any Microvert foods in the water? Get some DT's or Cyclopeez. Its a filter feeder but will take just about anything if you hand feed it to it. Get it a clown fish to host too. They feed it for you. the clown brings food back to it.

 

[marc price]

I agree with biggie , when my rbta would split i'd put them in a basket about 3"-4" from the surface with a 65W lights of america p.c. directly over them . It did keep them alive till i found buyers , but was def. not enought light for the long term . one 65W pc does not have the needed lux lumen output . I'm guessing around 4000-5000 lumens if that . They really should have a minimum of 12,000-14,000 lumens in a bright lacation not a dark basement . biggies dual 96's where prob around that range .

 

[thedigitalimager]

Your water parameters appear to be good, but your lights are definitely too weak. However, when the lights are weak, BTA's will usually stretch themselves way out and "reach up to the lights" as opposed to hiding in the rocks. I've seen anemones thriving in 80' of water in the Red Sea. It could be the lights, but it may be something else. Have you measured for phosphates? Was it attached to rocks when you bought it? I'm wondering if it might have a damaged foot.