Silversides for a BTA

[MarlinHooker]

I won a green BTA at a reef conference 2 weeks ago & bought a pkg of silversides to feed him a small piece every 3-4 days. He has been taking it with no issue but someone recently told me that silversides are not a good idea to feed them because of all the bones which do not get digested.

This is my first BTA so is this true? If so, what meaty foods should I be feeding him? thx

 

[dirtyBit]

I'd like to know as well. I've been feeding my gbta and ritteri silversides for over a year.

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[sjwitt]

I don't think it has anything to do with bones. They will purge anything they can't/don't digest. There were reports of decline and loosing anems of various types after feeding them silversides. Speculation is/was that there was something wrong with the fish. No one has ever pinpointed the actual reason ... could have been just coincidence.

 

[LAKEM0NSTER]

I feed my RBTAs mysis and krill and they seem to be pretty happy.

 

[sjwitt]

Yeah, I feed mine everything... they catch flakes and pellets from the water column, I shoot some of that Instant Ocean gel stuff in their direction, I give them reconstituted dried krill, and for a treat they get scallops. They eat just about everything they can get their tentacles on. I don't feed silversides though, no sense tempting fate.

 

[killerbubbles]

i feed my rbtas mysis and krill and they seem to be pretty happy.

+1

 

[nipit8]

i feed mine--small pieces of fresh shrimp(peeled of course)---it inhales it!

 

[ReachTheSky]

I feed my RBTA Silversides once in a while. For the most part, it will catch whatever else I feed my fish. No illness so far and it's been growing like a weed for nearly a year.

 

[OKCchief]

i don't think it has anything to do with bones. They will purge anything they can't/don't digest. There were reports of decline and loosing anems of various types after feeding them silversides. Speculation is/was that there was something wrong with the fish. No one has ever pinpointed the actual reason ... Could have been just coincidence.

+1

 

[Rapide]

i feed mine--small pieces of fresh shrimp(peeled of course)---it inhales it!

Shrimp actually is not that good of a choice...
If by shrimp you mean that shrimp from the freezer or a grocery market? Peeled shrimp is just the tail and it has quite poor nutrition value. It takes the anemone more energy to digest it than the energy it will get from the shrimp. So it actually doesn't serve the nem...

A whole shrimp is a different story. There is a lot of energy and nutrition in the "carapace part" (the actual body, excluding the tail).

 

[ssgtgonzo]

Have never had a problem with silversides, just continue to cut them up so they are appropriately sized.

The "problem" with silversides is that they rot quickly when thawed...therefore if they thaw at the lfs, you could be buying bad silversides. If you feed too big a silverside, then it could rot inside the nem before it is digested. It's the same issue as feeding silversides to predators like frog fish. Good luck!

 

[Mavrk]

Some people have suspected a bad batch of silversides when their BTA died. It is possible that this is true, so many people avoid them. Read the different posts and make up your mind what to do.

Personally, I feed silversides along with other things without issue. Don't feed too much at once though. My thought is that it may have been bad batches of silversides in some of the cases, but I suspect there are bad batches of other seafood out there as well. So I chose not to worry about it. I am not saying you or others should not worry, just saying my personal decision.

 

[killerbubbles]

I've never heard of a bad batch of krill or mysis killing A bubble. I don't feed silversides because of the risk, whatever it may be. Some of my bubbles are worth hundreds of dollars and i'm going to stick with what works and what has little to no risk.