Suggestions a small BTA farm???

[DeathWish302]

....You don't hear many success stories from people running BTA farms, but I wish you the best. Keep us updated on your progress though.

Sure you do, but it depends on your personal measure of 'success' (i.e. qty). Low expectations = higher than expected results:thumbsup:
I wouldn't quit my day job for the 1-3 anemones I have cloned in the last 8 months. Especially since GBTA with tan foot is not all the rage.

So Walt, is this a hobbyist level farm your planning? Or just a ' I told you so' type experiment? I prefer the latter in by case...

Just wondered.

 

[WDLV]

Just for gits and shiggles.

 

[MM WI]

On the small food suggestion i see in here often, i think the suggestion of salmon bits is better. I feed small chunks of fish to my BTAs for growth and natural splits, and large chunks to my gigantia to keep them happy. Seems to work by my own antedotal observations.

- mark

 

[WDLV]

So that which would be true with fish would not be true of fish would not be true of anemones; in that the oilier fish like mackerel are better? I know fish like salmon and tuna seen like they would have a good amount of antathaxathin (spelling?)

 

[WDLV]

Sadly I have lost all my GBTAs as a result of this transition. I expect to lose one of my RBTAs. This will leave me with three to work with.

 

[WDLV]

So I have a 6" flower pot in there and two 3" flower pots. They prefer the 3" flower pot. WTH??? I hope I don't lose any more anemones. If I do, I'll probably go for the sterile-style breeder setup for a while. I have some old, dried out LR that I may bleach and use in the sump. I was thinking of adding it to a milk crate so the whole lot of it could be removed and the sump could be scrubbed and syphoned regularly.
I have resigned to the realization that I probably need to get a RODI unit. I do have old galvanized pipe in my house and I think it's causing the diatom blooms I've been having. I always seem to get a bloom right after a water change. I typically do 50 gallons at a time on what is probably a 115 gallon system after LR and unused vessel volume are factored in. Not including my skimmer which holds probably 25 gallons.

 

[traveller7]

Hi Walt. Hope you have been well.

I'd raise the light fixtures quite a bit until they really settle in happily. I'd also keep an eye out for a low pH/crash right after the water change. Have that happen on this side of the river quite a bit. Dripping any Kalk, etc.?

fwiw: I'd expect them to stay in 3" or even smaller flower pots until they grow out quite a bit. Personally, I'd shoot for taller 2" size pots if I could find them.

All the best

 

[WDLV]

Thanks Scott. Epic fail on this one. I've lost 10 of the 12 BTAs and the other two will be dead within the week. I'm setting up a sterile style breeding setup. I have paired the lone thiellei with a small sandaracinos... Which did work out. Ill set up another reef in time. I've never had this level of trouble with BTAs.

 

[traveller7]

Sorry to hear that, I feel the pain. I have wacked a few BTA strains that I thought were bullet proof. Some in new projects and some in well established tanks/systems. I have one batch a Mod sent me a few years back, I am going to keep the existing tank running until I get two more tanks well established with clones. I be so bummed to kill the line off in an upcoming tank move

Good luck with the pairing

 

[WDLV]

Thanks.

 

[hypnoj]

I recommend anyone even thinking about starting a bta farm or small scale to go to marinedepot's forum and search for anthony calfo's threads on bta propagation. He and many other's have been doing this for several years now and have kept running posts on do's and don'ts. I imagine there is well over 100 hours of reading to do before I'd even attempt to begin this. You might not agree with everything they preach, but it will give you some enormous insights.

 

[WDLV]

This wasn't something I really wanted to do but because of Aptasia and other problems stemming from a failing system, I decided to try this.
Over the weekend I got a couple gallons of HCl and cleaned my pumps, sump and skimmer. I had needed to choke the gate valve to my skimmer input pump almost completely while opening the gate valve on the output almost completely. When I broke everything down I discovered that the 1.5" output was almost completely choked with feather duster worms, and old flaked off corraline. After the acid rinse, my newly cleaned input pump is blowing into the skimmer with the gate valve wide open and I''m having to restrict the flow just a little on the output gate valve. It's made a huge difference. I think I will tie some of my LR into the system but it will be in an old 40 breeder with no fish just to add to the biofiltration. It may or may not house corals.

Truth be told, I hate sterile type systems and think that in the long run a reef is always the best possible setup for fish or cnidarians but for breeder setups, you can save a lot of headaches going the sterile route and for someone maintaining a large number of systems they are optimal. That said, I'm gonna try the thiellei pairs in sterile setups just to see if I can get them to spawn. They're in quarrantine now. More for convenience than anything else. I have one BTA left. If he survives, I'll put him in a invert-only nano.
Here's the A. thiellei pair and the A. thiellei/A. sandaracinos pair that are my current focus.

 

[FragFarm]

Sad about the Btas. I have been trying on and off for 18 months now and its tough going. Very tough. Allot of the "sums" we see that say take 1 in Jan and have 2000 in December are not true at all....for me anyways. I have tried it all. I have 30-35 RBTA's and 10 GBTA's. It took me a very long time to find brood stock to begin with. I would get one. Feed for 3 months and if happy split. Just getting to the 3 months was an issue. Most bigish btas landed on deaths door.

After a long time and many changes (not to mention money) I have what I call decent brood stock. My feeding regime is ocean nutrition lance fish chopped up in a blender very small. Then target fed to each one. I feed for 2 days then skip the next. Then feed for 2 days and so on.

I have some in mixed systems, some in dedicated systems and sum under 250w MH, 54w T5’s and some in the sun. Sun seems to be the best bet for me so far.

I have some on BB tanks, ceramic rock, egg crate and baskets – I prefer the baskets as it’s easier to keep count. Still leave some small rubble in there as they seem happier with some natural substance to anchor onto.

I can’t call on the cutting cycle but I plan on sticking to a split every 3 months. A few are ready sooner but I still wait it out. I am over the “make lots of money fast” mentality and I’m more in it to show all the friends and family that I am not crazy it will work eventually.

I too am yet to find someone doing this and getting it right. For me right is 500 in stock and being able to sell/trade 100 a month. Anyone have links or numbers I would give my left nut to speak to them and trade stories, advice ECT.

 

[traveller7]

That said, I'm gonna try the thiellei pairs in sterile setups just to see if I can get them to spawn.

IME, the trick has always been more food than they can eat and provide them greater safety than they can imagine. Breeding space appears to be a limit in the system as depicted, not a problem for established breeders, but in my humble experience a leap for first time breeders. Give them much more space.

GL.

 

[traveller7]

I too am yet to find someone doing this and getting it right. For me right is 500 in stock and being able to sell/trade 100 a month. Anyone have links or numbers I would give my left nut to speak to them and trade stories, advice ECT.

I am not quite sure your post captures the raw questions in the thread. Are you describing your farm with baskets, minus substrate, manually divided, high output lighting, and heavilty fed as successful?

 

[FragFarm]

I am not quite sure your post captures the raw questions in the thread. Are you describing your farm with baskets, minus substrate, manually divided, high output lighting, and heavilty fed as successful?

NO not at all. I feel I am getting nowhere!

 

[WDLV]

Sad about the Btas. I have been trying on and off for 18 months now and its tough going. Very tough. Allot of the "sums" we see that say take 1 in Jan and have 2000 in December are not true at all....for me anyways. I have tried it all. I have 30-35 RBTA's and 10 GBTA's. It took me a very long time to find brood stock to begin with. I would get one. Feed for 3 months and if happy split. Just getting to the 3 months was an issue. Most bigish btas landed on deaths door.

After a long time and many changes (not to mention money) I have what I call decent brood stock. My feeding regime is ocean nutrition lance fish chopped up in a blender very small. Then target fed to each one. I feed for 2 days then skip the next. Then feed for 2 days and so on.

I have some in mixed systems, some in dedicated systems and sum under 250w MH, 54w T5's and some in the sun. Sun seems to be the best bet for me so far.

I have some on BB tanks, ceramic rock, egg crate and baskets "“ I prefer the baskets as it's easier to keep count. Still leave some small rubble in there as they seem happier with some natural substance to anchor onto.

I can't call on the cutting cycle but I plan on sticking to a split every 3 months. A few are ready sooner but I still wait it out. I am over the "œmake lots of money fast" mentality and I'm more in it to show all the friends and family that I am not crazy it will work eventually.

I too am yet to find someone doing this and getting it right. For me right is 500 in stock and being able to sell/trade 100 a month. Anyone have links or numbers I would give my left nut to speak to them and trade stories, advice ECT.

I have one tiny RBTA left and it seems to be improving.

IME, the trick has always been more food than they can eat and provide them greater safety than they can imagine. Breeding space appears to be a limit in the system as depicted, not a problem for established breeders, but in my humble experience a leap for first time breeders. Give them much more space.

GL.

Not sure I follow you.... My plan is to use 30 breeders with just a tile or a 6" flower pot and three sides plus the bottom painted. Are you saying that you think they need more swimming space or more surface area?

 

[DeathWish302]

Nevermind...caught in the moment on the wrong thread walt.

 

[WDLV]

I thought it was a legit post.


---Quote (Originally by traveller7)---

Breeding space appears to be a limit in the system as depicted, not a problem for established breeders, but in my humble experience a leap for first time breeders. Give them much more space.

GL.

---End Quote---

First off, just picking your brain and not disputing your experience...

What do you mean when you say 'more space'? I've only kept clowns (except for the occassional yellow tail damsel) for the past 11 yrs and have species dedicated tanks. Currently I house one my main two breeding pairs in a 58gal and the other in a 50gal Rubbermaid stock tank.

Is that the kind of space your talking about? I'm a little reluctant on offer much advice to Walt on the skunk complex, as I sold off my Pinky's after waiting out a spawn for what seemed eternity.

I'm really asking b/c the guy I bought my GSM pair from had documented his breeding experience while the pair was in a 29gal. That would be considered absurd for most when considering that large of species, but he pulled it off. I prefer the natural tank style (=MUCH larger than the normal breeder) and just can't get into the 'puppy mill' type BB w/ clay pot breeder setup.

I don't like those setups either but it seems to be what my situation has boiled down to.

 

[DeathWish302]

I thought it was a legit post.

Ok, all is good.

I have been lately trying to stick to the OP's original content and not trailing off with other's. By the time I wrote that and noticed it was on your BTA thread, I decided to purge.:headwally:

:beer: