Rose Bubble Tip Anemone, not so rosy

[ritter6788]

This is my first RBTA I've owned. I'm more of a sps/lps keeper than anemones but I've always wanted one and the RBTA I've seen strike me as some of the nicest to keep. I order this one from Diver's Den a few weeks ago and I've been disappointed with the coloration on it. It's a small one about 2 inches. It hid on the back of a large toadstool in almost total shade for a couple of weeks but it has worked it's way to the front of the tank under the lighting but at the bottom left of a 150w metal halide. The green on the lower part of the tentacles has turned a brighter green especially under the actinics but the red is more of a drab brown. The picture I ordered it from had nice, bright red, rosy tentacles. I also have not seen it bubble up yet but it's not reaching for light either. It eats well but it doesn't "catch" food like other nems I've had but if I place food on it the anemone eats it quickly.

Do anemones color up the same way some corals do or do they have a permanent coloration? Thanks for any info!

 

[OKCchief]

Has your rbta attached itself to a leather toadstool? I only ask, because when a leather sheds it always has a negative effect on my corals if it's in the close proximity. I could be completely off.

 

[ritter6788]

It was there for a day or so but it moved to a rock in front of the tank. It has it's foot under the rock between the sand.

 

[gamecockfan803]

I was looking into getting one of these for my tank because my pink bubble tip got sucked into my power head hows the aggression rating this does it constantly move around the tank or settle when it finds a place

 

[Gyr]

My rose BTA has changed intensity of redness/hues of redness based on the diet I fed it. When I was feeding silversides regularly it became a duskier brownish red. When I feed it mostly mysis shrimp it is a lighter/brighter red. I prefer the later coloration so I am staying with the mysis. My BTA hasn't moved for ovr 2 years, so I don't know if variations in light intensity would change its coloration. It is now very large (10-12 inches when fully extended), but its coloration was just as striking when It was a 3 inch specimen when I brought it home from my LFS.
Good luck,
Kurt

 

[ritter6788]

Here is the pic of it on DD. It's either a doctored photo or the nem lost serious color during shipping.

 

[mborn]

Yes, they can gain and lose color. IME their color morph is generally permanent, but the intensity/hue of the colors can shift due to light intensity and how well acclimated and/or happy they are with your water conditions. And as Kurt pointed out, food can also be a factor. The one you have appears to have browned out a bit, but it looks like it will be a beauty when it fully acclimates and moves out into brighter light. It can take a few months to fully regain its bright red color once it settles down and finds a spot it likes, so continue occasional feedings and be patient.

 

[NYCBOB]

dd took the pic under 20k and 400w mh. what color temp is your mh? from the pic, i do see a huge difference in color.

 

[Ostara]

The easiest way to tell how much editing has been done to that picture is to look at the sand. It should be white, but it is clearly purple. The rock you can see it attached to is also a really bright fuchsia where it should be a more muted pink/purple. The colors and saturation were definitely altered, as are many pictures on Diver's Den. Their coral pictures are much worse than the others but all of them are going to be tweaked to some extent in the process of uploading, resizing, and watermarking them. Not that this is uncommon; almost all retailers seem to edit coral pictures and there are many threads discussing it. It's really a case of caveat emptor.

If it is under warranty still, I would contact them with pictures and express your dissatisfaction with it. I've seen other cases of people being displeased with the actual color of the specimens from Diver's Den and getting fully or partially refunded. If you're really unhappy with it I would go this route. To me, the color represented in the sale picture is not accurate enough for a specimen that is supposed to be WYSIWYG.

 

[agruetz]

It was there for a day or so but it moved to a rock in front of the tank. It has it's foot under the rock between the sand.

Typical, mine did the same thing it is a GTBA though.

 

[ritter6788]

Yes, they can gain and lose color. IME their color morph is generally permanent, but the intensity/hue of the colors can shift due to light intensity and how well acclimated and/or happy they are with your water conditions. And as Kurt pointed out, food can also be a factor. The one you have appears to have browned out a bit, but it looks like it will be a beauty when it fully acclimates and moves out into brighter light. It can take a few months to fully regain its bright red color once it settles down and finds a spot it likes, so continue occasional feedings and be patient.

Thank you. That's the info I was looking for. I can see the green in the nem getting brighter and more intense recently. I'm hoping the red tips follow soon.

dd took the pic under 20k and 400w mh. what color temp is your mh? from the pic, i do see a huge difference in color.

It's under a 150w 14k Phoenix HQI.

If it is under warranty still, I would contact them with pictures and express your dissatisfaction with it. I've seen other cases of people being displeased with the actual color of the specimens from Diver's Den and getting fully or partially refunded. If you're really unhappy with it I would go this route. To me, the color represented in the sale picture is not accurate enough for a specimen that is supposed to be WYSIWYG.

I buy from DD often and I've had corals come in totally different than the pics they show. The couple of times I've questioned them about the color I always get the stock response about different lighting, shipping stress, Blah, blah, blah. It's not under warranty anymore anyway. I like it and it's healthy but I'm hoping the red tips show up more.

I can get a coral and mostly tell if it's going to color up or not but this is my first RBTA so I didn't know if they gained and lost color like a coral can.

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[BonsaiNut]

yes, they can gain and lose color. Ime their color morph is generally permanent, but the intensity/hue of the colors can shift due to light intensity and how well acclimated and/or happy they are with your water conditions. And as kurt pointed out, food can also be a factor. The one you have appears to have browned out a bit, but it looks like it will be a beauty when it fully acclimates and moves out into brighter light. It can take a few months to fully regain its bright red color once it settles down and finds a spot it likes, so continue occasional feedings and be patient.

+1

 

[ritter6788]

Well this is odd but cool...

I got home night before last and the nem has moved out into the light. I took this pic last night. This pic was taken with my phone and not doctored at all.

Bright, glowing green with pink tips and yellow between the red and green. I think it will even color up more but it's turning into a beauty!

 

[NYCBOB]

Glad it's working out.

 

[2Addicted]

Feed it! It looks like it's starving.

 

[ritter6788]

Feed it! It looks like it's starving.

I have been feeding it 3 times a week since I got it. Mysis, krill and silversides.

What from those pics makes it look like it's starving? The first picture was the day after I got it, the last picture it closed up a bit when I cleaned the glass. I'm not arguing, just curious how you can tell it's starving?

 

[2Addicted]

It's tentacles appear really short compared to the first two pictures. Which is a sign that it could be consuming itself for energy. Does it eat good? Also I would stay away from silversides, a few members here have had problems feeding them to anemones.

 

[ritter6788]

It's tentacles appear really short compared to the first two pictures. Which is a sign that it could be consuming itself for energy. Does it eat good? Also I would stay away from silversides, a few members here have had problems feeding them to anemones.

When I took that last pic I had just cleaned the glass so it closed up a bit. It generally looks more like the second picture I posted. It actually has a few bubbly tips today but not all of them. It eats great. Ive had no problems getting it to eat since I've had it I've only fed it silversides twice since I've had it since I'm too lazy to cut them up and thaw them. What problems occur from Feeding silversides?

 

[BairdimusPrime]

try fresh scallops over silversides.. my bta's hate silversides and just end up spitting out the undigested parts into the water... i nursed a crystal clear rbta back to health with fresh scallops, shrimp and aqua vitro fuel best of luck

 

[AJD84]

RBTA can bite off more than it can .... digest. Silversides take longer to digest. Many problems I have heard from feeding silversides stem from portion control. The anem can't digest the food before it starts to decay. I would stay away from them in general. My RBTA rejected them the 2nd time and lost his appetite for almost a month. Lesson learned.