i've had my small RBTA for about three months. i feed a small piece of shrimp weekly. it stays in the center of the tank and never has moved, so i think it's pretty happy. but it's pink, instead of dark red. and it's tentatcles are looking skinny, and not bubble tipped. It's under LED lighting. I don't know all the parameters of my tank, but I do a weekly water change. Any ideas on why it's not dark and bubbly?
what's wrong with my RBTA?
- Thread starter timdam
- Start date
i see. it does seem happier when i feed it. it bubbles up a little bit more. i can try feeding it more. right now, i feed it a small piece of shrimp. not the whole shrimp, but about a 1/4 of a shrimp.
I have leds. tanks been up and running for about 5 months. never had any major problems with it.
so by feeding it more, is there a chance for it to darken and become more bubbly?
I have leds. tanks been up and running for about 5 months. never had any major problems with it.
so by feeding it more, is there a chance for it to darken and become more bubbly?
RcToners
New member
My last bta I purchased about 5 months ago, it was a severly bleached green bta that was at my LFS. I couldnt just sit by and watch it die so I figured I would save it. I brought it home and over night it split, due to the way it was in the rock when I purchsed it I could not tell it was splitting. Well in the morning not only did I have one bleached bta now I had two. One of the btas recovered a bit quicker then the other, IMO it was due to the fact it was happy with its location, the other bta moved for about a month until it found a perfect hole to place its foot in.
I fed both bta's every day for over two months, they both got color back but did not start to bubble until about 9 weeks. I gave one of them to a friend and still have the other one. IMO bta's are perfect for just baout any one that wants a nem, they are very easy to nurse back to health IMO. I would just feed it daily and it should be fine as long as the rest of your params are good.
On another note there are alot of people on this forum that will say a NEM can survive with no feeding depending on lights, while yes this is true I think its terrible advice and I cring when I see people post about how they dont feed there nems. Nems eat in the wild as often as they can and they should in our tanks as well.
SNAKEMANVET
PREMIUM MEMBER
I only feed my rbtas small foods like mysis shrimp.I've heard that small food digest better than one large piece.
bradleym
Premium Member
Timdam - you still haven't said anything about how much light its getting. What kind of LEDs? How many of them? Over what size tank?
And you haven't posted any of the parameters. You said you don't have them all. What do you have?
You also mentioned that the BTA is 3 months old and the tank is 5 months old. Anemones are very sensitive and can often be stressed out by things you can't test for in new setups. It is usually recommended to wait at least 6 months so those undetectable levels will balance out before you add an anemone.
Everything/anything I mentioned above could be causing the loss of color and bubbles.
And you haven't posted any of the parameters. You said you don't have them all. What do you have?
You also mentioned that the BTA is 3 months old and the tank is 5 months old. Anemones are very sensitive and can often be stressed out by things you can't test for in new setups. It is usually recommended to wait at least 6 months so those undetectable levels will balance out before you add an anemone.
Everything/anything I mentioned above could be causing the loss of color and bubbles.
bradleym
Premium Member
And all that is just for health and good color. If you want the full story on bubbly I'd suggest you read this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1737144
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1737144
Same here. They are planktonic feeders by nature.
bradleym
Premium Member
Sounds like a decent tank and light. If all your levels test ok it may just be the feeding. I had one that almost wasted away because I didn't feed it for a month. I got it from a guy with better lights and probably live planktonic life in his water. He never fed his but I have to with my setup or it will die.
thanks for the advice guys.
honestly, i figured that 1/4 shrimp, sometimes 1/2 a week was adequate for him. but i guess i was wrong.
like i said, he's never moved from his spot to look for food so i also figured that he was comfortable. man, i hope i can turn him deep red. that's what i always wanted!
honestly, i figured that 1/4 shrimp, sometimes 1/2 a week was adequate for him. but i guess i was wrong.
like i said, he's never moved from his spot to look for food so i also figured that he was comfortable. man, i hope i can turn him deep red. that's what i always wanted!
RcToners
New member
I fed mine eraser sized pieces of shrimp daily for roughly 2 months then cut back to 3 times a week. I would soak the food in selcon as well. Sometimes the bta will only eat everyother day, this worked for me so its my personal experience and I used the same technique for roughly 5 other bta's ive had that I recieved issues with. Ive moved on from bta's to gigantea's and ive used the same technique for these as well although larger food.
