BTA-HELP! (UPDATE)

[~TG~]

I have a large BTA that was doing fine ~ eating silversides ~ stayed in the top back part of the tank since I put it in ~
I woke up this morning to find this!!! :unsure there is a BIG HOLE in the middle of it!!! it moved overnight to that spot and its still attached to the rocks.... This pic is the best i could get. You are looking at it from the foot part..... It looks bad... :( My poor tomato hasn't left it's side and keeps nudgeing it with his little head... :cry

Can someone give me some advice as to what I should do?
Should I take it out?
What's going on?? :cry
:unsure

water parameters within range...
Nothing new added...
No chemicals....
same feeding routine...
last water change was 1 month ago...

[::pete::]

Its hard to tell from the picture, but it might just be splitting!!

[~TG~]

Pete ~ if you make "house calls" your'e welcomed to come by and take a look.. it looks like somethings REALLY going on.... :unsure

[::pete::]

Something is going on!! ;) It looks "clean" thats why I am saying it might be splitting. If it looks worse than I am seeing for example the "guts" coming out than I would say it was dying. Seeing as nothing has changed and the parameters are fine Id suggest keeping a close eye on it. If its splitting it shouldnt be to much longer before its 2 seperate anemones.

[Tim Marvin]

Bummer, that one is toast.

[~TG~]

it is clean and not disintegrating at all no guts. not sure what the white little speckles are though?? the tentacles are partially filled not completly deflated I hope thats whats going on (splitting) cause from this angle it looks like if it's been "shot" >_<

Thanks ;)
Thelma

[Sherri]

It looks like what happened to my RBTA. I ended up with an outer ring of tenacles...mouth, pedestal disintegrated... Clowns hung on till the end. I hope it isn't, but it looks it to me.

Thelma...how long have you had it?

[pilot_bell777]

Looks like what mine did and I was feeding silver sides too.....I spoke to a guy that has like 15 of them and keeps them very sucessfully and it said that silver sides are WAY to big for any BTA and that when you are asleep they will just throw it back up and starve to death. He was pretty sure that is what happened to mine and that looks identical to what mine did before it died.

He said that we should be feeding it Mysis shrimp, etc....little things a little at a time. I figure he knows what he is saying.....is has a very pretty RBTA tank that he says has been up a while and that he has been keeping them for years successfully!

I plan to try one again and go small food! He also said that if you shrimp (Cleaner, Fire, etc....) that they will come pick the food out of it's mouth while you are not looking causing it to strave to death as well.

Just thought I would share what I learned, sounded like he know his stuff on BTAs. :(

I've read that when they split the mouth closes up, then they split, then the mouth grows back on both; or they split right down the mouth so neither side has a mouth then the mouth grows back but they don't loose their color or look like that they just look a little deformed for a while.

Anyways....that is all I know and have read about them! Good Luck. My clown started trying to host in my hammer and then my frogspawn after the RBTA was gone.

[NaCl_H2O]

That doesn't look good to me? I haven't had one split, but pics I have seen of one splitting look more like pulling apart, or a tear and not a "hole".

I feed mine minced up shrimp & scallops from HEB. Nothing biger than a small pea, and I place it into the tentacles with a Turkey Baster.

[::pete::]

When one splits ... it is a tear and from the looks of the picture I see a tear. Its not guts coming out and the split has to start from some where!!

When mine split I thought it was a goner because I have had them die before and in my honest opinion (just that) it looks like mine did when it split.

I feed mine a variety of food including heb shrimp and silverslides. It will eat a silverslide and keep it down. Sometimes 2 and 3 a day!!! I want it to split as there are 6 clowns trying to host in it!!! My rbta ate 3 heb shrimp today!

I hope its a split and it isnt a goner ... heres a shot of mine from today after the 3rd shrimp.

http://www.maast.org/albums/pete/abg.jpg

[~TG~]

Thelma...how long have you had it?

I've had it for about a month or so and up until last night it was fully open and extended (8in) everything was happy... :cry



He said that we should be feeding it Mysis shrimp, etc....little things a little at a time....they split right down the mouth so neither side has a mouth then the mouth grows back but they don't loose their color or look like that they just look a little deformed for a while.

I feed it different things silversides, scallops, or shrimp... not all together, but i hate the smell of silversides so I alternate...
I always make sure I dice it in small small pieces and since it was so big and had lots of folds i had to use the turkey baster to look for the mouth to place the food close to it.

since it is in the far back part of my tank I can't get a real good picture but it is separated right down the mouth. Its kinda hard to explain but the way its positioned ~ thats a picture of the :innocent "rear"... the whole beige part of the pic is the "foot" of the BTA it had a big foot and it was that beige color as for the tips and the tentacles those are facing the back of the tank but none of that has lost its color at all ~ still green and purple~

The pic is about 8 hrs after I first saw it. In the morning it was higher and looked as if it was grabbing on to 2 seperate rocks and "pulling" its self apart ~ all the tentacles were fully extended at the time... another thing is that its still moving further towards the back but still as of now no desintegrating or that tissue dissolving substance ...
I guess I'll just wait and see what happens....




I hope its a split and it isnt a goner ...


Pete... someone shot my BTA in the rear...lol
Didn't I see a pic of you and a weapon not to long ago??? :unsure

8) Thelma

[::pete::]

wasnt me !!! :D

[Sherri]

I had fed my RBTA silversides also...I had it a total of about 3-4 months...and had originally thought I lost it cause I had VHO lighting. It never stayed put in one spot & seemed to always be "reaching" for light. Never really have found out why it died. :(

[~TG~]

wasnt me !!! :D

Thats what they ALL say... :ph34r LOL
Is this payback cause I never posted the pic's of the BEAUTIFUL stands you built for both of my tanks?? :roll
Here's one when I first put them up....
Thanks Again.... :shades

[::pete::]

Payback? I hoping its a split and you end up with 2 !! ;)

They do look good though!! ;)

[Tim Marvin]

When they split they go from the side into the mouth. That one appears to be missing the mouth.

[jaded]

hey pete.. Have you tried starving it into splitting? I read (I thought it was Melev's but I cant find the article) that there has been much success over feeding for a week or 2 and then stopping all feeding and waiting for the spilt. I will look harder for the article I read, but I really dont think there was more to it than that.

of course this was accomplished with a healthy anemone in a well lit tank, etc...

[Tim Marvin]

I feed them 3-4 times per week for a couple weeks and then do a large water change, or move it to another tank. The stress usually causes a split.

[::pete::]

Thelma ... hows everything today?

[jaded]

wouldnt it be great to see a picture of 2 seperate BTA's today!!! I hope they're just splitting

[Instar]

When my 12 inch RBTA split, it was just a huge ring of tentacles. No mouth or body, just a huge, gaping, see through hole with a tentacle ring. Looked like all was gone but the tentacle ring. Then the ring split, first one side, then again. It subsequently split into 3 and all 3 RBTAs are huge now. They formed the mouth to the side of the split and eventually it migrated into the middle and tentacles are growing like crazy now. They just get fish food fall out and what the clowns drag back there. I occassionally blow a lot of krill and brine down their way to feed them.

[Tim Marvin]

OK, looks like I stand corrected.

[jaded]

more pictures ~TG~ ... whats happeneing???

[~TG~]

When I left this am for work it was in the same place as yesterday with the same "hole"...
Just got home from work ~ The hole appears a little bit smaller.... I took some more pictures... I will post them in a few minutes......

Thelma

[~TG~]

ok heres the updated pictures fresh off the press.....

Any thoughts???
Still think its a split??
How long does a BTA take to finish splitting??

I am at a LOSS for words.... :cry

This first one is from last night with a flashlight.....
the rest are from right now.....

[jaded]

I think theres a very realistic chance that its a split!!! The anemones I've lost in the past would have been a wad of goo by now... please keep us informed

[Instar]

Tim, I wouldn't say that, its more conceivable that they split as a combination of side through or hole to one side. Looks like this one is going to split at the side there. Cool to see the underside of it during this magic moment. Is it death or split... someone start a pool. They always look like death to me when they split. Its enough to give you split ends too. I'm going to go out on a limb and say its splitting and hope for the best.

[Sherri]

Mine was mushy by this time...this just may be a split...tenacles are still strong & I don't see any wasting away...hope so!

[::pete::]

Ill make it 3 for a split and keep my fingers crossed!!

[~TG~]

Cool to see the underside of it during this magic moment.....

:unsure at least not from this angle... :unsure
When I saw this yesterday all I could say was "What the %$#@"
It was NOT a pretty sight ~ my Tomato was poking thru the hole and looked as if it was "wearing" it as a skirt... I thought there had been an all out war during the night.... Being new to all this ~ naturally I freaked :o for a minute there i thought my Lunar had ripped it to shreds... he's a little hyper ~ I'm convinced he has A.D.D and needs "meds" :roll
Being a nurse & having worked Labor and delivery at one time this is the last thing I expected to see in my tank.... >_< flashbacks... LMAO


Is it death or split... someone start a pool.

~ so far by my count ~
4-yes.... 1- :unsure (me)


Thanks
Thelma

[jaded]

put me down for a spilt>.. Im an optimist

[~TG~]

~ this am it was still in the same spot...It looks exactly the same... maybe just a bit more of a "wilted" look but it hasn't turned mushy or desintegrated at all....

How long does this process take??? If it is a "split"??
I'm trying to be optimistic as well...
If it was dead/dying would it have turned to mush already??
I just want to know what I should be looking out for...
I would hate to compromise the rest of my tank because of my uncertainty... :(


Thanks
Thelma

[jaded]

thats a great question, Im sure there is someone here with more experience, but I have lost a couple of anemones in the past and I'd say you have a fair shot at this one spiltting. My lose was in a matter of hours not days, and it turned from healthy but wilted looking, to mush very quickly.

since this is not desintigrating I'd say its well worth the risk IMO

[Tim Marvin]

Thank goodness I'm wrong. IME they would have turned to goo and been dead by now. Very interesting, as I have never seen a split from the underside. Let us know how many you end up with.

[~TG~]

This is day 3..... I have more pics but i have reached my max allowed.....

Its still hanging in there ~ literally ~
I always thought they would split in 1-2 days..

This might be a dumb question because i can't imagine how....BUT
Does it need to eat?? I know there is no mouth right now that I can see... But is there something I should be supplementing while this is going on?? :unsure

Thelma

[AlexKilpatrick]

Day 3 Pics

http://www.hcitraining.com/tadpole/Aquarium/BTA1.jpg


http://www.hcitraining.com/tadpole/Aquarium/BTA2.jpg

Interesting, but still kind of disgusting....

[::pete::]

Just sit back and wait! Usually after they split they hide as they heal and come out later.

[~TG~]

Day 5 ~ last night I noticed that it had moved from that spot it was hanging on to ~Now I'm not sure if it has "fallen" or if it moved to the lower part of the rock but its way in the back and its laying on the bottom of the tank...on its side...... :cry I cant get any pictures since its too far back but it looks the same It still has not turned to goo or mushy... should i try to reach back there with something and move it or should I just leave it alone?? :roll

[Reef69]

If its not attached anymore, i'd say shes a goner...I'd take it out..

[jaded]

Im at a lose...

[~TG~]

its still attached...but lying at the bottom...on the sand...

[jaded]

Still attached, then IMO nothing has changed... sit and wait

[~TG~]

Bad News.... TRAGEDY happened this weekend .... :cry
The BTA had moved to the back and was no longer visible for the past few days... Saturday night I noticed the tank a little cloudy and particles were floating in the water it looked like pieces of the BTA... I decided I was going to do a major water change Sunday and move the rocks to look for whatever was left and take it out before it compromised my tank any further. That morning I was feeding and I noticed something was missing :cry ~ "Fatty" my Tomato Clown ~ was no where in sight... For some strange reason overnight he jumped out of the tank and died.... I found him under my stand..I can't understand why or what would have caused him to do this??? How was this possible if the water level was about 2-3 inches lower than the rim.. I did the water change (in between crying breaks :( ) and I didn't find any sign of the BTA either...
I am at a loss :cry He was my favorite.... ~Thelma


R.I.P "Fatty"

[::pete::]

Thats not what we were hoping to hear!! Sorry Thelma.

[NaCl_H2O]

So sorry to hear of the final BTA status and Fatty's fate. They can jump pretty far when they put their minds to it ... probably just changing environment made him pull a "Nemo Maneuver"

Get your tank back in shape and do some retail therapy, for some new fishies.

Sorry ...

[Tim Marvin]

Wow, sorry to hear it. The pollution could have caused him to seek fresh water and ended up on the floor instead.

[JimD]

Was your clown hosting in the anemone?

[Instar]

Sorry it ended this way. I kinda figured it was done when you said it was on the bottom. They get there and get trapped in a place of low circulation, low O2 and usually that spells a bad time for them. Its possible a small BTA without enough actinic light at 03 that the clown hosting in it is just too large a clown. Too large a clown with a RBTA will wear the anemone out. I don't know if this was the case because there is no way to judge the size vs the clown in these pics. It did look like a good match from what I can see though. Tomatoes, being very aggressive, can jump quite well due to changes in the environment. They are subject to do this during extreme changes in pH, water quality or atmospheric pressure changes such as a sudden thunderstorm. Same is true for about any clown. They are fine for long periods and then just all of a sudden, they jump. Anyone with clowns should really have very tall sides and skids on their braces to make them slide back into the water. Nylon screen will close off the back of the hood without trapping heat in there. Really sorry for your loss. Remember though that anemones are very difficult to get here in healthy form. Just because one doesn't make it, doens't mean the next one won't. There are getting to be more and more captive raised ones, so chances are in your favor of getting one that will do well.

[jaded]

sorry to hear that! I was sure hoping it would go the other way.