RBTA Struggling

[onetootreefor]

Hi all,

I have an rbta in one of my tanks that has been the same way for 2-3 months!! That's right months!

It is shriveled and tiny and deflated. Mouth is often open but never any brown stuff coming out. NEVER.

Most of the time it is completely closed and inside itself and sometimes it opens up with very small bubble tips. Sometimes it inflated but remains very small and then quickly deflated again.

I know that most of these signs point to death but he's been like this 3 months. He hasn't moved from where he is at all. Doesn't even move a centimeter. My clowns used to host in him. Before the clowns he was 100% fine. I don't know what the clowns could be doing to it but it did start happening after the clown hosted in him. I never see the clowns biting or picking at it they really try to protect it. In fact one clown loves it so much he rubs all over it even when it's small and defends it when it's closed.

My water parameters are very spot on I grow acros and sps in this tank so I'm pretty meticulous.

10-20 nitrate
.03-.05 phosphate
9.4 alk
480 calc
8.2 ph

This is a picture of it tonight and what it looks like 85% of the time

Below is a picture of what it looked like right when the clowns hosted

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[Navig8tr]

Have you tried feeding it?

 

[Uncle99]

It looks blue.....very blue.......likely what is making him upset,

Not sure how we can help.....turn down the blues and repost.

 

[onetootreefor]

The pictures taken are from when my blues come on at night.

My peak period is 5 hours with much more light. Also, the phone makes it look bluer than it is.

I use the radion ab+ schedule.

My lighting hasn't changed from when it was healthy until now so not sure if it's that affecting it. It was healthy for a while before it started acting like this.


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[onetootreefor]

Have you tried feeding it?

I did try feeding it 2x a week just mysis shrimp for a couple weeks but nothing changed so I didn't want to stress it out more by forcing it to eat. Should I try feeding it something else?


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[onetootreefor]

The pictures taken are from when my blues come on at night.

My peak period is 5 hours with much more light. Also, the phone makes it look bluer than it is.

I use the radion ab+ schedule.

My lighting hasn't changed from when it was healthy until now so not sure if it's that affecting it. It was healthy for a while before it started acting like this.


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Meant to say much more white light not much more light***


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[Orsamax]

I've heard that when an RBTA struggles, it can take months for it to recover. It's possible that it was struggling before you got it. I've also heard that clowns can love a young anemone to death. Not exactly sure HOW, but I would imagine that if they are causing it to close/retract, it isn't absorbing the light that it needs, and the little nips could really irritate it. It doesn't look like it has bleached, at least not in the pictures you posted. That's good. However, it is certainly stressed, and I'd think that your clowns could be "smothering" it. Now, how to handle that is more up to you...

 

[Navig8tr]

I did try feeding it 2x a week just mysis shrimp for a couple weeks but nothing changed so I didn't want to stress it out more by forcing it to eat. Should I try feeding it something else?


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A feeding response should be pretty obvious if it is willing to eat. I feed my BTAs small pieces of regular shrimp. I can't imagine mysis differing that much.