Stringy BTA

[dmweise]

I recently got a Rose BTA. It wasn't bubbly when I got it and it hasn't been getting too bubbly since I put it in my tank. I've only had it since Friday, so I'm not too worried.

Its about 2 feet under a 150 watt (10,000k) metal halide, two 55 watt compact florescent actinic bulbs. Should that be enough? I have the lights on for about nine hours a day.

I do weekly water changes of 30% of my tank's water, 45 gallon (55 gallon system). The pH is 8.4, nitrite is 0 ppm, ammonia is 0 ppm, and nitrate is 40 ppm.

My clown fish are not pummeling it as of yet.

[ErikH]

What size is the nem? Has it shrunk? How big are the clowns in comparison? You may want to remove the clowns until the rose is large enough to handle the beating. Mine is about a foot under my 250w HQI.

[dmweise]

The anemone looks like it is a recent clown. The mouth/anus isn't in the center of the disk and one of the sides isn't completely round. The anemone is fairly large. The clowns are at least five times smaller than it.

[dmweise]

It hasn't shrunk completely. It shrank with the long tentacles sticking out. It looked like a pony tail with a scrunchy.

[aggman]

have you fed it? i thought bta's extended their tentacles when they were hungry. mine sometimes get like this, but then i give it a nice glass shrimp or tetra and all is well. i wouldn't suggest depending on your clowns to do it, as they may take some time to 'figure it out'.

~alex

[OrionN]

Most BTA will loose the bubble tip in captivity. We are not sure why other than the condition and feeding in the aquarium is not at all the same as it is in the wild reef.

[jroescher]

A similar thread, maybe worth reading:
http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47931

[Bill S]

This one's easy. As noted above, it's hungry. I rarely feed mine, because of the polution they dump when they take a dump. Since he's new, I'd feed it a bit of krill. Just remember, most everything you feed it will be dumped back into your tank. Feeding it a silversides is like having a dead fish in your tank.

[dmweise]

I'll give it a few mysid when I get home this evening and see if he perks up.