what's going on with my BTA?

[Nimitz87]

I have two BTA's one is wide open and really dug into a crevice, the other one seems to move a ton. the nems have been in the tank about a month.



both eat regularly here are my water params. I use salifert kits or hanna checkers.

temp 80
ph 8.1
sg 1.025
alk 8.6 (hanna checker)
cal 420
mag 1330
nitrate 5ppm
p04 undetected (salifert) I do have a hanna ULR checker on the way.

is this normal? should I be worried?

it's a 90-gallon reef lit with 3 Chinese black boxes 8-9" off the water. blues come on @ 9am off @ 1am whites come on @ 3pm off @ 11pm. I have the blues set to just below the fans kicking on, and the whites around 15" (lowest they'll go)

 

[DMG Reef]

I don't see anything to worry about at this point. It looks like your nem has inflated his foot and is slowly letting go of the rock in order to go hiking. He's either not happy with the flow, the light, or the food availability in his current location. But he looks healthy. Just watch to make sure he doesn't find his way into a power head. My bubble tips will decide to move from time to time and suddenly pop up on the other side of the tank for no obvious reason. Good luck.

 

[Nimitz87]

I don't see anything to worry about at this point. It looks like your nem has inflated his foot and is slowly letting go of the rock in order to go hiking. He's either not happy with the flow, the light, or the food availability in his current location. But he looks healthy. Just watch to make sure he doesn't find his way into a power head. My bubble tips will decide to move from time to time and suddenly pop up on the other side of the tank for no obvious reason. Good luck.

thanks for the quick reply, so basically they do whatever they want.

 

[Travis Stewart]

thanks for the quick reply, so basically they do whatever they want.

Yes they do

 

[Nimitz87]

Yes they do

I knew they moved but never this much...my fault for not researching more properly.

at least my clown fish likes them, this is the same nem few mins ago, so guess it's fine.

 

[Travis Stewart]

I knew they moved but never this much...my fault for not researching more properly.

at least my clown fish likes them, this is the same nem few mins ago, so guess it's fine.

Honestly, mine never really moved around a ton but def will stay in a spot it likes. I noticed when I didn’t have strong enough lights, it liked to move around a lot. What type of lighting are you using?

 

[Nimitz87]

Honestly, mine never really moved around a ton but def will stay in a spot it likes. I noticed when I didn’t have strong enough lights, it liked to move around a lot. What type of lighting are you using?

it's a 90-gallon reef lit with 3 Chinese black boxes 8-9" off the water. blues come on @ 9am off @ 1am whites come on @ 3pm off @ 11pm. I have the blues set to just below the fans kicking on, and the whites around 15" (lowest they'll go)

should I turn my lights up a bit?

 

[DMG Reef]

thanks for the quick reply, so basically they do whatever they want.

They usually relocate until they find that sweet spot that meets all of their needs. My original bta has been in the same spot for over 4 yrs. She has split 3 times and 2 of the clones have stayed right beside her. The other 2 have wanderlust and will move to different areas of the tank. Nothing to worry about as long as they are healthy.

 

[DMG Reef]

should I turn my lights up a bit?

I wouldn't make any changes at all. The nem will find the light intensity he likes by moving around. Changes are rarely productive.

 

[Nimitz87]

They usually relocate until they find that sweet spot that meets all of their needs. My original bta has been in the same spot for over 4 yrs. She has split 3 times and 2 of the clones have stayed right beside her. The other 2 have wanderlust and will move to different areas of the tank. Nothing to worry about as long as they are healthy.

well it's been circling this same rock structure for a while now, goes up down and all around

will they crawl across a sand bed? the rock tower isn't connected to any other rock so maybe it's trying to relocate but can't?

 

[DMG Reef]

well it's been circling this same rock structure for a while now, goes up down and all around

will they crawl across a sand bed? the rock tower isn't connected to any other rock so maybe it's trying to relocate but can't?

He's probably not putting that much thought into it. Lol. But, yes, they can make their way across a sand bed. Just observe him. Your parameters are great.

 

[Nimitz87]

He's probably not putting that much thought into it. Lol. But, yes, they can make their way across a sand bed. Just observe him. Your parameters are great.

lol thanks, I tend to overthink everything.

 

[DMG Reef]

lol thanks, I tend to overthink everything.

Reefing has done that to all of us!!

 

[pecan2phat]

Do you think he might need a little more white to increase the PAR value?
Thought anemones actually needed intense lighting?

 

[terri_ann]

Blues come on at 9am...off at 1am (16hrs)?! Please check your complete lighting schedule. Hope it is just typo's

 

[Nimitz87]

Blues come on at 9am...off at 1am (16hrs)?! Please check your complete lighting schedule. Hope it is just typo's

not a typo, didn't think it was an issue for the blue lights to be on? my white lights are only on 8 hours. the tank gets 8 hours of total darkness.

I was thinking about having them turn off at midnight instead.

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/5/aafeature I just got done reading this...definitely seems im running too much blues, should I reduce it by 20-30 mins each day ?

 

[terri_ann]

not a typo, didn't think it was an issue for the blue lights to be on? my white lights are only on 8 hours. the tank gets 8 hours of total darkness.

I was thinking about having them turn off at midnight instead.

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/5/aafeature I just got done reading this...definitely seems im running too much blues, should I reduce it by 20-30 mins each day ?

I definitely would reduce them and more than 30 minutes. You could be killing it from that. I would reduce Par on it to try to get it to recover asap. Good luck

 

[Nimitz87]

I definitely would reduce them and more than 30 minutes. You could be killing it from that. I would reduce Par on it to try to get it to recover asap. Good luck

how bad do they look?

I meant 30 mins at a time. instead of reducing it 4 hours overnight.

killing it from blue light you sure about that?

I agree I'm running a long period of blue light, but I didn't think it'd cause harm.

 

[terri_ann]

how bad do they look?

I meant 30 mins at a time. instead of reducing it 4 hours overnight.

killing it from blue light you sure about that?

I agree I'm running a long period of blue light, but I didn't think it'd cause harm.

They dont look 'that' bad from what I can tell. By killing, I meant a slow death... They will probably recover with a reduced photoperiod[emoji6] One does not have to slowly decrease the photoperiod like slowly increasing the photoperiod. Just watch the nems and how they respond to the changes...that's the best one can do. They and you should be fine![emoji6]

 

[Nimitz87]

They dont look 'that' bad from what I can tell. By killing, I meant a slow death... They will probably recover with a reduced photoperiod[emoji6] One does not have to slowly decrease the photoperiod like slowly increasing the photoperiod. Just watch the nems and how they respond to the changes...that's the best one can do. They and you should be fine![emoji6]

ok cool, thanks.

I went with

blue on 930am
white on 1pm
white off 9pm
blue off 930pm

should I reduce it even more? or keep it here and see how they do?