Help with BTA Anemone

[sam2216]

I’m deeply thankful for the all the help! The anemone is shrinking and most likely dying and will remove it from my aquarium before the ammonia and add more rock add better lights, the coral seems to be doing fine tho. Will make a major water with RODI. Anything else?

 

[TX_REEF]

That’s a step in the right direction! If you need advice on what kind of lights to get, let us know what corals you’re planning to keep and we’ll be happy to offer advice.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

You might be able to find a local mentor... https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/mississippi.543/

 

[londre5000]

Your biggest mistake it seems was to use tap water. It's more expensive until you get a reverse osmosis device but you can get RO/DI water from your local fish store.

 

[sam2216]

Hey guys, one thing that I don't get is the lights. So I have a closed aquarium, how would the lights work? Take off the lid completely or buy some type of strip lights?

 

[Tired]

You would probably have to replace the lid with something else. Replace- not remove. As you may already know, just about all fish can jump when startled, so a tight-fitted lid is as important here as it is in freshwater.

 

[TX_REEF]

Hey guys, one thing that I don't get is the lights. So I have a closed aquarium, how would the lights work? Take off the lid completely or buy some type of strip lights?

You would want to use a screen top so the new lights can be mounted.

 

[sam2216]

Hey guys, here is an update if you guys want to know: So I put a full spectrum light bulb directly on the anemone and coral, and the anemone looks better as it is taller. But it is still not looking like a normal BTA. So I don't know if it is dying. Would you guys help me figure out if I should still keep it or throw it away? Anyway, here is the picture:



(ps: the dust is just water bubbles)

 

[blecki]

Definitely don't throw it away, though you might still consider taking it back to the store. Long and stringy is normal for BTAs. Perfectly healthy ones can look like that; dying ones can have amazing bubbles. Though I would not have high hopes for one in any tank this new. It does look like you did one good thing here - you still need more rock, but that rock looks like quality live rock. Did it come out of a running system?

 

[sam2216]

Not really. The Petco had the anemone and it stuck its foot into the rock so it gave the whole rock itself. Also, I do live a little far from where the shop is. The shop is in Memphis, TN and I live an hour away so that is another issue I have to face. Hopefully, it can stay alive for some time. I'm getting better items which could also help it.

 

[blecki]

Well, if petco is all you got... even rock that's been sitting in a petco tank for a while is more alive than dry rock. Anyway the point of waiting is to build up that life on the rock. It will help the tank stabalize. BTAs can thrive in all sorts of conditions as long as they are stable, but the first year of a reef tank is anything but.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys, here is an update if you guys want to know: So I put a full spectrum light bulb directly on the anemone and coral, and the anemone looks better as it is taller. But it is still not looking like a normal BTA. So I don't know if it is dying. Would you guys help me figure out if I should still keep it or throw it away? Anyway, here is the picture:



(ps: the dust is just water bubbles)

Looks fairly good. BTA care is not hard but has specifics. Too little light and they climb or shrivel. Too much light and they hide and even bleach as they will expel their inner algae known as zooxanthellae. Too little flow and they head for the powerhead and too much flow, they move and also hide.
Not all BTA will inflate and some factors that make them unhappy are:
Flow issues
Insufficient lighting
Elevated Phosphate
Insufficient feeding (feed mysis shrimp or chopped krill)
Tank too new and experiencing chemistry swings

Here is one of a few of mine:

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Anemone will probably not make it in a tank that new, sorry for the honesty. The clowns could survive, but like the posters above I doubt that the corals will survive either.

if you don't have access to RODI water from the fish store, you can always pick up a couple of 5 gallon jugs of RODI or RO from a water supply company (the ones that deliver water to offices and work places).

Also, You should do the water mixing in a bucket and add it to the tank that way.

What type of tester are you using for salinity? I would try to bring the salinity up to 1.026 , which might bring up the PH also.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Also, a good, and fairly affordable light would be a Hipargero 100 watt. It is on Amazon for about $150.. that will go a long way .

or a noopsyche 140 watt would be a good light to plan on getting

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Also, welcome to R2R

 

[sam2216]

Thanks guys. Also one more question (really sorry for all of these questions) I see this worm and I'm kinda curious if it will kill my fish too. But here it is:

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thanks guys. Also one more question (really sorry for all of these questions) I see this worm and I'm kinda curious if it will kill my fish too. But here it is:

Common bristleworm. Not a problem.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks guys. Also one more question (really sorry for all of these questions) I see this worm and I'm kinda curious if it will kill my fish too. But here it is:

Its a bristleworm and harmless to aquatic life. While not welcomed in my tanks, Many desire them and regard them as cleaner crew as they eat uneaten food and detritus

 

[sam2216]

Hey guys, here is another update. So the anemone died because it got stuck in the water flow. So I removed the anemone and the coral (it was dead too. I think). We bought another easy-keeping coral, and so far, it is beautiful and alive. We bought another clownfish too. The fish are doing well. We changed the lights and the coral loves it. I wanted to keep these but I don't know if could keep 2 clownfish, 1 six-line wrasse, 1 sand-shifting starfish, and 20 coral. Is this too much?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Hey guys, here is another update. So the anemone died because it got stuck in the water flow. So I removed the anemone and the coral (it was dead too. I think). We bought another easy-keeping coral, and so far, it is beautiful and alive. We bought another clownfish too. The fish are doing well. We changed the lights and the coral loves it. I wanted to keep these but I don't know if could keep 2 clownfish, 1 six-line wrasse, 1 sand-shifting starfish, and 20 coral. Is this too much?

A sand sifting starfish needs a VERY well established sand bed or it will starve. I wouldn't consider one for this tank for at least 6 months, maybe a year... And even then, it will clean a 29 gallon relatively quickly and may starve after that.

2 clownfish should be fine. Why specifically do you want the six-line? They can be jerks sometimes so if upgrading is in the foreseeable future, it may not get along with more than the clowns and other somewhat aggressive fish. Otherwise, those 3 fish should do fine I'm a tank your size.

As for the number of coral, that's dependent on what type and what size frag. For example 20 frags of zoas containing 3-4 polyps each is a lot different than 20 large colonies of LPS. If you plan to have 20 different corals, I'd try to stick to only 2 or 3 species (and try to keep the species together) so that as they grow, they won't sting each other... Zoas can touch other zoas, most mushrooms can touch other mushrooms (if they are a similar type), etc. When it comes to coral with sweeper tentacles, you'll need a lot more space per coral.