Safely adding a BTA to a mixed reef tank

Webslinger · May 17, 2017

Because I hate moving corals around and I hate having to remove them to give them away (when they split).

Daniel@R2R · May 18, 2017

@fishnreef sells a product called an "anemone cradle" I'm looking to pick one up for when I add a nem to my reef. I know it isn't a totally bulletproof plan, but IME if a nem gets it's foot planted somewhere deep (like one of these cradles), they usually stay put.

Logan27 · May 18, 2017

Not a good idea. Mine never stopped moving and stinging corals, 2 of them are still recovering after 2 months. I had to get rid of it. It was really nice though

Pola0502ds · May 18, 2017

I have a Nem that some how moved to the middle of a rock covered in a bunch of zoas, the nem is always out touching the zoas but they never close and have never been killed by them.

rvamarcel · May 18, 2017

mdbannister said:
@fishnreef sells a product called an "anemone cradle" I'm looking to pick one up for when I add a nem to my reef. I know it isn't a totally bulletproof plan, but IME if a nem gets it's foot planted somewhere deep (like one of these cradles), they usually stay put.

Great idea! I wish they were on amazon prime next day delivery haha everything in this hobby requires so much patience!!!

Nathan33 · May 18, 2017

happyhourhero said:
Mine does this too. I never see this talked about but they absolutely avoid touching SPS.

This is only anecdotal. They do not make an effort to avoid SPS or other corals. Each animal is using resources light, flow etc. and they each compete for the same resources no matter what. Typically the animal with the strongest nematocysts win competition for space. I've seen BTAs right up in the middle of several different species of acro, and stylo. Occasional stings wont kill another coral but constant or regular stings will. Your BTA is very similar to a coral just without the structure. Corals compete for resources and their interactions depend on the specific species they are encountering. Not many corals can withstand the sting of a nem for long periods but those that can also recovery pretty quickly.

Jeff Evrard · May 18, 2017

I had 2 in a mixed reef and 2 turned to 8 in a year. I had to tear apart the tank and break up the rock to get them out. They were stinging all of my nice SPS and causing a lot of damage. They were like giant aiptasia. I don't recommend it unless your tank is all soft and stinging aggressive stuff.

Scott.h · May 18, 2017

Mine stays put. I have a lot of light and flow up top so it stays low away from all of that. (Where my sps are). And my clowns host it too, which I think helps. If you do, which Im all for, put clowns with it, give it time to find a spot, and don't change anything after. Always a chance, but if you pay attention, it's a risk worth talking.

ReeferSurf · May 19, 2017

I always wanted one.

One of you said put them on their own island rock and someone posted a rock with a hole in it.

Might try them ideas. How fasy do they move tho??

Webslinger · May 19, 2017

They are slow movers but I had one on a separate rock in the corner it split then one of the clones disappeared for a day and the next day it was on the other side of the tank kill my frogspawn.

happyhourhero · May 19, 2017

Nathan33 said:
This is only anecdotal. They do not make an effort to avoid SPS or other corals. Each animal is using resources light, flow etc. and they each compete for the same resources no matter what. Typically the animal with the strongest nematocysts win competition for space. I've seen BTAs right up in the middle of several different species of acro, and stylo. Occasional stings wont kill another coral but constant or regular stings will. Your BTA is very similar to a coral just without the structure. Corals compete for resources and their interactions depend on the specific species they are encountering. Not many corals can withstand the sting of a nem for long periods but those that can also recovery pretty quickly.

Anecdotal or not, my anemone altered its shape to avoid touching a stag for months. I had to pull all my acros and the day I pulled them, the anemone expanded its disc fully and completely covered the spot where the stag was.

HeulittSalmi · May 19, 2017

Pola0502ds said:
I have a Nem that some how moved to the middle of a rock covered in a bunch of zoas, the nem is always out touching the zoas but they never close and have never been killed by them.

This sounds awesome any photos?

Michael Llabona · May 19, 2017

I say go for it. I love my rbta and clowns. It does not appear that your tank is way overcrowded with Coral. I can see where if it were crowded, it can be a problem.

rvamarcel · May 20, 2017

So... I got my first nem last night. I cleared some space in a rock that had a perfect crevice for it to put it's foot in. 24 hours later it hasn't moved and looks happy... I'll keep my fingers crossed and you posted

Please excuse the terrible pictures...

Scott.h · May 20, 2017

If you cleared the perfect spot, it's bound to move! I had one where every time it's foot wasn't attached, I'd move it across the tank. Probably 5 times. It always moved back to the same spot within hours like it had eyes. Unfortunately that spot was in the back of the tank where you couldn't see it!

stevieduk · May 21, 2017

rvamarcel said:
How risky is it to add a BTA to an established tank? It would be awesome to add one, but I don't want to kill everything in my tank by doing so.

How can the risk be mitigated? What's the best and safest way to add it?

I added a pic of the tank. It's a custom 40g AIO with 3 AI Prime (1 HD, 2 regular)

why does everyone abbreviate, what the heck is a BTA, please call it what it is

Stolireef · May 21, 2017

I love anemonies but I love my SPS more. Every time I've added an anemone, it seems to find the most expensive/prized SPS in my tank and decide that's its favorite location. I'm sure if I had a bunch of green star polyps, it would never go near them. I'm still considering getting one for my new build but...

Stolireef · May 21, 2017

stevieduk said:
why does everyone abbreviate, what the heck is a BTA, please call it what it is

Bubble Tipped Anemone.

Daniel@R2R · May 22, 2017

rvamarcel said:
So... I got my first nem last night. I cleared some space in a rock that had a perfect crevice for it to put it's foot in. 24 hours later it hasn't moved and looks happy... I'll keep my fingers crossed and you posted

Please excuse the terrible pictures...

Best of luck! That's a vey nice BTA!