Cleaner Shrimp harassing my BTA?

2clowns1tank · Mar 16, 2016

Now I know there are threads out there and I have read almost all of them and yes I know Cleaners are opportunistic feeders and will steal food or "clean" BTA's.

However my tank is about 2 months old now (Cleaner added as soon as cycle finished), and my BTA has only been in the tank for about 1.5 weeks. My BTA looks like he has picked his permanent (for the time) spot and it seems the cleaner is harassing him to the point he is deflating and closing up multiple times throughout the day. I know its bound to happen sometimes (feeding/waste expulsion) but he is living near the BTA and poking at it, not even with his claws but his front legs "testing" it.

Is this normal and because the lack of tank inhabitants (2 clowns, diamond goby and peppermint shrimp) he is bothering the BTA? I am getting 2 tangs later on this week and hope his focus goes to them.

Any advice or experience with this?

CodyRVA · Mar 16, 2016

I'm inclined to think the BTA is having issues because of the maturity of your tank, and the shrimp might be coincidence. General rule of thumb is 6 months on any Nem. I made the mistake of buying one way too early and it did the exact same thing, constantly deflating and inflating until it eventually died. A shrimp would REALLY have to try to stress your BTA out; i'd imagine a pair of hosting clowns would harass a BTA more on a daily basis than a cleaner shrimp ever could. I would transfer the BTA to a more established aquarium until your system is stable.

ngvu1 · Mar 16, 2016

When the nems are weak they get picked on by the shrimps more and often fatal. Normally Clown fish fight off the shrimps...when they dare come close to the nems. Also new tanks are generally not good for nems unless you have a lot of live rocks to help the water stable...

2clowns1tank · Mar 16, 2016

I used zeovit in my system. I have less than 10ppm of nitrate at any given time and no p04. I do weekly water changes and maint. The maturity of the tank isnt an issue as my levels are rock solid.

CodyRVA · Mar 16, 2016

Nitrate and Phosphate are definitely important, but IMO not nearly as detrimental to a BTA's livelihood as alk/mg/ph.

2clowns1tank · Mar 16, 2016

Levels of Alk/mg/ca are 9.5/1350 (will be raising due to a Bryopsis outbreak of unknown origin) and 450. PH is 8.3~ because i need a more accurate test that doesn't have colors like green and slightly darker green for 8-8.5

dacianb · Mar 17, 2016

My shrimp had same behaviour. Even sitting hours with front legs IN mouth of BTA.
Then I noticed that not only the nem "poo", but some kind of mucus in tiny quantities coming out continuously from it. This was actually bleaching as I learned after. Nem expelled zooxanthellae due to high light levels.
I stopped feeding completely, lowered the light level a bit and since then shrimp ignore completely the nem. Ah, the clowns as well, but this is another story

A new added nem may be stressed and start bleaching from chemical shock reasons or light level reasons.
Hope it helps you.

2clowns1tank · Mar 18, 2016

dacianb said:
My shrimp had same behaviour. Even sitting hours with front legs IN mouth of BTA.
Then I noticed that not only the nem "poo", but some kind of mucus in tiny quantities coming out continuously from it. This was actually bleaching as I learned after. Nem expelled zooxanthellae due to high light levels.
I stopped feeding completely, lowered the light level a bit and since then shrimp ignore completely the nem. Ah, the clowns as well, but this is another story
A new added nem may be stressed and start bleaching from chemical shock reasons or light level reasons.
Hope it helps you.

His color looks great (well under Actinic light). He has red/orange, green and apparently his natural flakes of white (its been at the LFS for like 3 months and its been that way its not bleaching).
With no tank lights and room lights on he basically tr (no white minus his flakes). He takes food fine, moves around a bit but always stays in the same place. Very fluid and bubble like.