Bta just dropped a ball from its mouth

[Gabbone]

Hi,

Looks very scary but the anemone looks healthy. The hosting clownfish is biting this “ball”. Its not a tentacle as came out from bta’s mouth.

What is that?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

digested waste?

 

[Gabbone]

 

[Gabbone]

I brake it and looks like some food I gave it yesterday.

 

[D-Nak]

Those are usually partially digested food. I'm not sure why they do this--I suspect that they ingest whatever their tentacles detect, eat their fill, then expel these balls with the remainder of the food that they don't need. Unlike squirrels, they're not have to hold on to any food.

 

[Jekyl]

If food you're feeding way too much. They cant handle large pieces like that. A piece of mysis or 2 is fine. I haven't directly fed my BTA in years and they get what they need from photosynthesis.

 

[exnisstech]

If food you're feeding way too much. They cant handle large pieces like that. A piece of mysis or 2 is fine. I haven't directly fed my BTA in years and they get what they need from photosynthesis.

^this^ Mine get nothing but light and have thrived for years

 

[Gabbone]

Thanks for the insights guys!

 

[D-Nak]

If food you're feeding way too much. They cant handle large pieces like that. A piece of mysis or 2 is fine. I haven't directly fed my BTA in years and they get what they need from photosynthesis.

It's actually not one piece of food. The ball forms from whatever the anemone doesn't fully figest. I feed my anemones mysis, and occasionally I see these balls. If I'm able to remove them from the tank, they end up falling apart and I can see the uneaten mysis.