RBTA Tentacle Problem

[justmedanny]

Hello,

I purchased a RBTA a while back. The anemone seems to grow tentacles and then near the base of the tentacle it beings to twist and then eventually it comes off. Also around the mouth area there seems to be marbleized flesh with white vein like markings. Also, it used to be a nice red/rose color and now it seems to be turning green in the tentacles.

Some Tank Info: I have a mixed reef system with LPS and SPS, ALL of which are growing great. When I test the chemistry nothing seems out of the ordinary. Minus the anemone everything is doing exceptionally well. Plus, the anemone eats well (2 times/week) and never has a gaping mouth. Interesting enough the tentacles that are there are sticky and aggressive when I give the anemone food.

I've included a picture to show how the tentacles pinch toward the base. The anemone hosts a maroon clown as you can see in the pic. I know the rock is white as it is a freshly made rock that doesn't have any coralline on it yet, but the aquarium is over a year old.

Has anyone had a dimilar experience? If so, any solutions?

 

[ocellaris123]

How large is your maroon clown and how large is your anemone? maroons are very hard on their host anemones, and a smaller anemone will take a beating.

 

[justmedanny]

I would say the maroon is about 66% the size of the anemone. Has anyone else experienced this affect on s rbta from a moroon?

 

[madweazl]

Is the current really strong around the anemone and perhaps twisting the tentacles?

 

[justmedanny]

Not really. The anemone is in a wedge.

 

[Speeddemon7]

My BTA have done the same thing. I would love to know if someone knows why or has any ideas. With mine after the tentacles came off and new tentacles grew back, but the new tentacles had deformities. I have tried everything to fix this the only thing I have noticed that helps is less feeding. I was feeding 3 times a week now I feed once and very small amount. All of the anemones have moved towards the light and the twisting has stopped. They have also gone back to being BTA again instead of having the long tentacles. BTW In my experience it was regardless of flow that this has happened. Im not at all sure if this is right nor if my feeding was the cause, but it has helped.

I did find one form that mentioned improper table shrimp or diet can cause this. No idea if there is any truth behind it.

 

[madweazl]

My RBTA seemed to get longer tentacles when fed regularly. Cant tell you for certain there is a correlation or not. I only fed krill after a silverside prompted a split.

 

[ocellaris123]

I would separate the maroon from the anemone and see if that helps.

 

[radiata]

I've had a Maroon Clown literally rip a tentacle off of an RBTA on more than one occasion. Once, it proceeded to actually consume the tentacle. Go figure...

 

[Big Dave PDX]

I would bet the Maroon is the problem as well. As far as the color - looks like you got a bi-color BTA! Some times the green on those colors up nice and bright and will look amazing!

 

[ClownNut]

how old is your tank?