Do we understand BTA behavior?

[Benga]

I just never understand why my BTA acts the way it does sometimes.

It has never eaten mysis or any other food I feed it.
Sometimes I see it nice and open then I walk away and come back and it's closed up and small.
Sometimes it prolapses its mouth for a little.
Sometimes it puts its feet deep in crevices and sometimes it sits on the sand.

My BTA and my clown are the two things I'll never understand.

 

[davocean]

BTA's are definitely the oddball IMO, and unfortunately the most common, most popular, and people don't realize that while they are touted as most forgiving for those new tank or new to reefing, they can be quite the pain in other ways.

They wander the most, they are not my choice for mixed reefs due to that, and most important is they cause headaches due to not really being a natural host match for most clowns, and this is why there is so much confusion as to why people's clowns often do not discover them quickly.

 

[reef lover]

Nems are weird.

 

[Wildblue4]

BTA's are definitely the oddball IMO, and unfortunately the most common, most popular, and people don't realize that while they are touted as most forgiving for those new tank or new to reefing, they can be quite the pain in other ways.

They wander the most, they are not my choice for mixed reefs due to that, and most important is they cause headaches due to not really being a natural host match for most clowns, and this is why there is so much confusion as to why people's clowns often do not discover them quickly.

What type of Anemone would you suggest for Clowns and mixed tank?

 

[davocean]

What type of Anemone would you suggest for Clowns and mixed tank?

That depends, what type of clowns, and do you prefer rock or sand dwellar, do you have a sand bed to provide for a sand dwellar?

Each type of clown has different species of anemone host depending on region they are from, and for best results I suggest giving that species they would normally be found in in the wild.

 

[Wildblue4]

That depends, what type of clowns, and do you prefer rock or sand dwellar, do you have a sand bed to provide for a sand dwellar?

Each type of clown has different species of anemone host depending on region they are from, and for best results I suggest giving that species they would normally be found in in the wild.

I have a Black Ocellaris and Snowflake Ocellaris that I would like to host. I have Arag-Alive reef sand for my bottom with lots of rock. I’ll send a picture.

 

[macon77]

I just never understand why my BTA acts the way it does sometimes.

It has never eaten mysis or any other food I feed it.
Sometimes I see it nice and open then I walk away and come back and it's closed up and small.
Sometimes it prolapses its mouth for a little.
Sometimes it puts its feet deep in crevices and sometimes it sits on the sand.

My BTA and my clown are the two things I'll never understand.

I don't consider myself an expert, so take this with a grain of salt.

I have two theories about what you are observing. Unfortunately, neither is necessarily good.

1) Your anemone is adjusting to a change made in your tank.
2) Your anemone has an infection. Given your first and last observations, this is my suspicion.

 

[davocean]

So natural host matches for ocellaris would be either magnifica, gigantea, or mertensi, all rock dwellars, and I'd say out of those 3, magnifica might be a good option for you.
That would be my personal choice, and based on your tank, and I would place one on highest rock that is also far from glass, they like light, usually that keeps them in one place, as they will reach for it from high perch.

Take some time to look at the cipro treatment post stickied above, this is needed most of the time on a newly shipped mag, but once you get past that part(if needed, not always) the rest is not really that difficult providing you have stable params in an established tank, and good lighting.

You are not limited to those, but those are natural choices which usually results in immediate, or near that hosting.
I have had LTA and malu as alternatives, those are sand dwellars, though no one can say how soon they would discover those, and you could always have those in addition if you chose to do so.
I find those two easy to control, as they stay at sand bed

 

[Benga]

I don't consider myself an expert, so take this with a grain of salt.

I have two theories about what you are observing. Unfortunately, neither is necessarily good.

1) Your anemone is adjusting to a change made in your tank.
2) Your anemone has an infection. Given your first and last observations, this is my suspicion.

I've never thought he was ill or anything but an infection sounds interesting. Are there any other symptoms? or specific type of infection?

 

[macon77]

I've never thought he was ill or anything but an infection sounds interesting. Are there any other symptoms? or specific type of infection?

Again, I don't consider myself an expert. But, I have been keeping a number of BTAs for a couple of years. I have kept others in the past, but had never focused on them as I have been recently. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a-newbie-and-his-anemones.391388/
Although I keep a humorous tone through the thread, I do take the anemones' welfare pretty seriously.

I have observed that any time there is a fundamental change in the anemones' environment (e.g., change of light bulbs, lighting schedule, nutrient levels, etcetera), there are adjustments the anemones make. In some instances, the anemones move about. In others, the anemones "purge" a lot. This corresponds to your second and third observations (i.e., closing up frequently, gaping mouth, expulsion of materials). My theory is that the zooxanthellae/internal biomaterials are being upregulated/downregulated as a result of the environmental change. As internal "stuff" is renewed in some way, the older "stuff" must be released.

If you add your first and fourth observations, the situation seems a bit more serious. These animals do like to eat. If they refuse to eat, there is something wrong. Similarly, when these animals are happy, they don't usually move around a lot. If yours is "sometimes" on the rock, and "sometimes" on the sand, there is an indication that it is unhappy. Further, these animals like to bury their feet in crevices. If they are sitting on the sand, there is something wrong. This is a bit more serious than the reaction I described above, which corresponds to your second and third observations. However, anemones displaying these two observations will also display your second and third observations. Thus, they are unhappy, and are needing to expel something.

Now, take vast experience from folks who observe gigantea/magnifica anemones that demonstrate the exact same behaviors. They are treated with antibiotics...and recover.

You can do the math from there.

 

[macon77]

I've never thought he was ill or anything but an infection sounds interesting. Are there any other symptoms? or specific type of infection?

Sorry, I failed to address your two questions.

The only other symptoms/signs I have observed are 1) stressed BTAs will split more frequently than non-stressed BTAs, 2) stressed BTAs may hide under rocks, and 3) death. I acquired a "wild" green BTA, which exhibited the signs you observed in your anemone. It survived a couple of months, but deteriorated until it died. I also acquired an aquacultured anemone that did exactly the same thing. With both of these anemones, I had a number of others in the tank that did not exhibit any of the same signs. On the other hand, I have had a few anemones exhibit the same signs, but spontaneously recovered, even after exhibiting the signs for a month or more.

As you can tell from the terms I use, I have very little knowledge of marine biology. I have no way to know if there may be a "specific type of infection."

 

[Benga]

Sorry, I failed to address your two questions.

The only other symptoms/signs I have observed are 1) stressed BTAs will split more frequently than non-stressed BTAs, 2) stressed BTAs may hide under rocks, and 3) death. I acquired a "wild" green BTA, which exhibited the signs you observed in your anemone. It survived a couple of months, but deteriorated until it died. I also acquired an aquacultured anemone that did exactly the same thing. With both of these anemones, I had a number of others in the tank that did not exhibit any of the same signs. On the other hand, I have had a few anemones exhibit the same signs, but spontaneously recovered, even after exhibiting the signs for a month or more.

As you can tell from the terms I use, I have very little knowledge of marine biology. I have no way to know if there may be a "specific type of infection."

Wow those are some beautiful anemones in your thread!
I think mine looks fine, but I think it could look better and did slightly look better when I first got it back in March this year. I'll have to look at possible illnesses and treatments. I am dosing fluconazole for Bryopsis so maybe it's possible the medicine agitated it somehow.

Thanks for all the info, you have knowledge and sharing it is healthy for me and future onlookers!


Pictures are from nighttime I just turned on a light in the room for the pics, not the tank lights.

 

[Technewb]

Your anemone is suffering. Mine was like that after I dosed prazipro on my tank and it took almost a month for it to recover. Use carbon to get out any meds you are using. Mine is now healthy and green. Its feet doesnt even look like its attached to anything. =/

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

Most nems require a mature take 6 months + usually when a bta is shrunk or small it is due to feeding, digesting, or tank changes. If it is not planting it's foot in a rock it could be damaged which will kill it. Over feeding a new can cause a bacerial infection.

My nems shrink at night and during feeding.

 

[macon77]

Wow those are some beautiful anemones in your thread!
I think mine looks fine, but I think it could look better and did slightly look better when I first got it back in March this year. I'll have to look at possible illnesses and treatments. I am dosing fluconazole for Bryopsis so maybe it's possible the medicine agitated it somehow.

Thanks for all the info, you have knowledge and sharing it is healthy for me and future onlookers!


Pictures are from nighttime I just turned on a light in the room for the pics, not the tank lights.

The last thing I would want to do is to come across as sounding confrontational. But, I have to disagree with you, here. You say that yours looks fine. The fact that it is not attached to anything is telling us something very important. Unfortunately, I suspect it is telling us that it is suffering.

Why it might be suffering is not something I could even make a reasonable guess about, without a lot more information.

As I mentioned, I witnessed a couple of my anemones eventually die from what may have been infections. When I researched the possibility of treating them with antibiotics, I did not find any reports of the successful treatment of BTAs with the medications. I did find at least one report of a failed attempt. I have not researched that topic in quite a while. Perhaps there have been developments that I am not aware of. I do hope so.

 

[macon77]

Your anemone is suffering. Mine was like that after I dosed prazipro on my tank and it took almost a month for it to recover. Use carbon to get out any meds you are using. Mine is now healthy and green. Its feet doesnt even look like its attached to anything. =/

I completely agree with your observations. I don't have experience with Prazipro, so I can't speak to that.

 

[macon77]

Most nems require a mature take 6 months + usually when a bta is shrunk or small it is due to feeding, digesting, or tank changes. If it is not planting it's foot in a rock it could be damaged which will kill it. Over feeding a new can cause a bacerial infection.

My nems shrink at night and during feeding.

I think there are some CRITICAL points made, here. I don't think the importance of tank maturity and stability can be overstated, as far as success in keeping BTAs is concerned.

In my thread, I describe a tank I used to have which I would classify as having been "mature." My current tank is almost 2.5 years old. I don't think it is "mature," yet. So, I can't say that "6 months," or even "a year" is adequate to qualify a tank as mature. There are a great number of things to consider, when talking about tank "maturity."

I also agree that overfeeding an anemone could possibly lead to infection. I have heard folks with far greater expertise than I state that they have fed their anemones daily, without issue. I can't argue with that. I have also heard folks argue that feeding daily led to problems. I have personally witnessed anemones experience problems following "overfeeding." This topic may be complicated by factors which I don't understand.

 

[macon77]

Most nems require a mature take 6 months + usually when a bta is shrunk or small it is due to feeding, digesting, or tank changes. If it is not planting it's foot in a rock it could be damaged which will kill it. Over feeding a new can cause a bacerial infection.

My nems shrink at night and during feeding.

Stunning anemones, by the way. I need them.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

To bad your not close I would have sold it cheap

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

I think there are some CRITICAL points made, here. I don't think the importance of tank maturity and stability can be overstated, as far as success in keeping BTAs is concerned.

In my thread, I describe a tank I used to have which I would classify as having been "mature." My current tank is almost 2.5 years old. I don't think it is "mature," yet. So, I can't say that "6 months," or even "a year" is adequate to qualify a tank as mature. There are a great number of things to consider, when talking about tank "maturity."

I also agree that overfeeding an anemone could possibly lead to infection. I have heard folks with far greater expertise than I state that they have fed their anemones daily, without issue. I can't argue with that. I have also heard folks argue that feeding daily led to problems. I have personally witnessed anemones experience problems following "overfeeding." This topic may be complicated by factors which I don't understand.

Well maturity is handle a few different ways my first tank took 4 months to mature fully with stable parameters. I did start with all live ocean rock which helped a lot. My business partners tank was running for a year and a half and everything was out of whack. After 2 months of working on it coraline algae is growing like crazy. Tons of micro fuana and now sponges are growing everywhere. That is a sign of a mature tank IMO. Picture of my 2 month old mix reef. I did kill a few bubble tips by placing them in my old tank before it was ready.