RBTA Still Nor Settled After A Month

[MHG]

So my RBTA has been moving around the tank. Never spending more then two days in the same spot. Its been over a month. He has been in top of the rock pile and the bottom.

I have a 60 cube with DIY LED's. My PAR before I re-aquascaped was about 350 at the top of the pile. Now my pile is lower so he is at about 300 PAR when he is on the top but tends to hang out in the 80 PAR sections of the tank.

I have two MP-10 that do a gentle 10 percent reefcrest mode at night and ramp up to a 90 prevent 6 second anti sync pulse during the day. He is never really waving much at all since he tends to hang put directly under the pumps or on the middle between them. Most of my turbulence is across the sides and front of the tank.


At night he walks around the rock work and sometimes around the perimeter of the tank.


I don't know if its common for them to take soo long to find a spot...

 

[agoodman86]

the experience that i have had with my gbta is that it likes consistency. when something in the tank changes, parameters, temp, flow, lighting, feeding frequency, it will move. perhaps your change in flow at night is contributing to your problem.

 

[MHG]

In am leaning towards the same thing. However the currents are quite different between day and night in nature.

 

[agoodman86]

yes, currents do change on a natural reef, but is your bta a wild caught specimen? or is it several generations removed from the wild and has grown accustom to a system with consistent flow 24/7?

 

[agoodman86]

another thing, its been my experience, that if a bta is unhappy it will detach so it can ride the current to a better home, or in our tanks right into a powerhead or overflow. i know this from experience, and it isnt a pretty sight

 

[mcfa2403]

Assuming good, stable parameters it may be that it just hasn't found a good crevice to put its foot in. They prefer to bury their foot deep in a dark low flow area, but in a place where they can extend up into the light and flow.

 

[MHG]

Today he decided to attach to a clam. then later moved to just above them. He typically sits in two spots. And yes he anchors deep and extends up. But at night he goes for a walk...