RBTA will not bubble anymore.

GigaFish

New member
It been a long time since I have seen my RBTA bubble. It always has its tentacles completely extended like a condylactis. Am I not feeding enough? It is under a 250w MH and my water quality is pristene. Any suggestions?
 
i noticed i get bubble tips when i feed 3-4 times a week with VHP (very high protein) frozen cubes...
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No one really knows why they do or don't bubble up. A year or so ago, when I had btas. Mine bubbled up after I fed them or when my MH lamp was raised up higher. When the lamp was closer to the water wouldn't bubble up nearly as much.
 
I don't think there is any verified rhyme or reason why they get bubbles. Some say they bubble when they are not looking for food and loose the bubbles when the tentacles extend looking for food.
 
But if they bubble up, wouldn't that increase their surface area, causing them to catch more than they would if they were not bubbled up.
 
When I got my RBTA, it had elongated tentacles and fed it every 3 days. I've actually stopped feeding it for 3 weeks now and have noticed that it has regained its bubbles. I do noticed that the bubbles shrink a bit or even go back to thin strands once the MH turns on but bubble up when the actinics are on. Can't really explain it, but it's working for me. Next goal is go get my clowns to host.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12734875#post12734875 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Titus77
But if they bubble up, wouldn't that increase their surface area, causing them to catch more than they would if they were not bubbled up.

Depends...I would think that the bubbles would provide better surface area to expose more zooxanthellae to the light, which would indeed increase their food supply.

However, if the anemone was attempting to catch something a little meatier, I would think it might be a bit easier with longer tentacles to reach around with.

This may be a completely worthless analogy, but think of yourself sitting at the dinner table. If you keep your arms right by your mouth, you probably won't have any trouble grabbing and eating the foot on your plate...but what happens when you want, say, the mashed potatoes, all the way down on the other end of the table?

All that said, it's still depressingly uncertain why these creatures do what they do...for something relatively common in the trade, we really don't know much about them.
 
mine were recently injured (chemically or biologically) with a tank crash. they used to be very wide with long straight tentacles. now they are very short, compacted, and the tentacles are very very short and bubbled.

they are probably 1/5 their previous size (or less), but are completely bubbled.

fwiw :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12733665#post12733665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bebo77
i noticed i get bubble tips when i feed 3-4 times a week with VHP (very high protein) frozen cubes...
ON6175_99.jpg

Good call on the vhp, I have been feeding shrimp, scallops and fw minnows, to the BTs. They are doing good with this but I figured I'd try the vhp as I had some left over from a pair of moray eels that liked the vhp. the BTs pulled the vhp into their mouths about twice as fast as they have been the other foods. There must be something in there they are not getting. Thanks for the observation. I am going to mix in some of the comercial frozen foods, the stuff i am using now is so much more inexpensive than comericial though... Well Maybe the vhp once a week, some other comercial frozen once a week and a piece of shrimp or a minow once a week. Always good to mix things up a bit to see what happens. - Mark
 
From my experience with anemones is that when they are big and swollen tentacles then they are healthy, if they are skinny then there is a chance something is wrong or they are just not happy.

My first anemone looked great in the beginning, full round tentacles, after a month he would deflate, tentacles was long and skinny and a month later he was dead.

I now have 3 anemones in my tank .... I feed them once a week a piece of frozen shrimp each and they are always full and round, they deflate during the night and every once in a wile for an hour or so during the day.


Healthy and happy anemone.
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