Red Bubble Tip Anem

[milkton]

I just picked up an RBTA from a local who had his original rbta split. My tank has been running for about 2 months which I now i know is wrong to keep a bubble tip in, as i have heard from others that nems should only be kept in tanks that has been running for over 6 months. Nevertheless, now i have the buble tip, and it wont stop moving. My water params are at: Nitrate: 5 Phosphate: .5 SG: 1.025 Calcium: 420-440. Let me know if there are other params im missing (ammonia + nitrite at 0). Right now im suspecting its the phosphate thats making it unhappy?

Im just focusing on doing daily water changes till my phosphates are at 0. The tank is a 150 gallon with (3) 250W MH'S. I've tried many times peeling it off and sticking it into a hole in the rock but noticing its doing more harm than good as it moves out anyways. The flow is good im assuming because all my other corals are fine (alot of surface agitation).

Thanks, please let me know whats the best thing i can do right now.

PS. For some odd reason, my GBTA is really happy in the tank right now, just that this RBTA is constantly moving. They are both bubble tip anems and require the same amount of care.. right?

 

[Morri]

I would advise against moving the nem yourself as it will stress it, just let it move to a postion once it is happy it will stay there.

I would be very worried if Phosphates are at 0.5 on a Salifert test kit as this will be Toxic to coral

 

[ben1987]

yeah phosphates need to come right donw,

it will move til it finds a spot it likes. if theres too much flow in there, not enough etc it will move til it eventually dies

 

[milkton]

hey guys, sorry i made a mistake, my phosphates are at 0.25 not 0.5 lol. I just checked recently and it now looks like its in between 0-0.25. Are there any faster ways of getting rid of phosphates instead of water changes and macro, or is that the only way? The guy i got the nem from has alot of the same water params as me, though he said that nems like the alkalinity at 8, is that correct?

hey guys, sorry i made a mistake, my phosphates are at 0.25 not 0.5 lol. I just checked recently and it now looks like its in between 0-0.25. Are there any faster ways of getting rid of phosphates instead of water changes and macro, or is that the only way? The guy i got the nem from has alot of the same water params as me, though he said that nems like the alkalinity at 8, is that correct?

On second thought, im going to get to my LFS asap and pick up some rowaphos or phosban. I might need to change test kits too, now i realize. Is sailfert good? Im using API right now and i think its giving me BS results.

 

[-Nemo-]

API phosphate test is very very difficult to decipher. 0, 0.25 and 0.50 all look the same IMO. I'd switch to sailfert.

 

[Morri]

Phosphate reactor is the best way to get phosphates down mine stay around 0.003 using the D&D high senstivity test. The D&D test is one of the best but it is very very expensive the Salifert is a good one to get a rough idea if good or bad.

 

[milkton]

Thanks for the info guys, just picked up a sailfert and if accurate, my phosphates are at 0. I think the time i read .25 on the API was probably inaccurate measuring.

Any tips on encouraging the BTA to pick a spot it likes? The tank is a 6 footer 135G with sump, and in the display, i have approx 1200 GPH pumping from each end towards the surface of the water. This is a good amount of flow, correct? My readings now show nitrates: 0-5 according to API, phosphates: 0 (sailfert), Calcium around 420-440 (API), PH: 8.3-8.4. Any other important water params im missing?

The BTA came out in the open at a point of time while wandering around so i tried giving it a piece of krill. However its tenticals were NOT sticky, so it couldnt grab the krill. How far down the drain has the BTA gone? Is it a lost cause or will it survive? Need help!

Much appreciated guys

 

[seffieuk]

The Rose is looking for a suitable home and isn't finding one (hope your powerheads are covered?)

Try rearranging the rock so that you have a cave, but not on the sand, in amoungst the rock, they have to be able to put their foot in very deep and it be protected and then the tentacles and mouth need a hole to stick out of. The tentacles are not sticky, they grab the food with their tentacles and slowely move it towards their mouth.

when you have built your cave, enusre there is only a small amount of flow, just enough to allow the tentacles to wave in the flow - they hate hate high flow and will retreat from it. They will want to be about half way up the rock, so build your cave there, they also like to be on the edge of Bommies.

If possible build two or three caves, my nems like to be close to each other on the same bommie but about six inches apart.

If the Rose starts to float, carefully guide him into a collander - then put the collander over the cave and leave it for the nem to come out and find the cave

good luck

seffie x

ps don't expect the nem to feed until he is settled and has been for a few days, probably a week

 

[milkton]

The Rose is looking for a suitable home and isn't finding one (hope your powerheads are covered?)

Try rearranging the rock so that you have a cave, but not on the sand, in amoungst the rock, they have to be able to put their foot in very deep and it be protected and then the tentacles and mouth need a hole to stick out of. The tentacles are not sticky, they grab the food with their tentacles and slowely move it towards their mouth.

when you have built your cave, enusre there is only a small amount of flow, just enough to allow the tentacles to wave in the flow - they hate hate high flow and will retreat from it. They will want to be about half way up the rock, so build your cave there, they also like to be on the edge of Bommies.

If possible build two or three caves, my nems like to be close to each other on the same bommie but about six inches apart.

If the Rose starts to float, carefully guide him into a collander - then put the collander over the cave and leave it for the nem to come out and find the cave

good luck

seffie x

ps don't expect the nem to feed until he is settled and has been for a few days, probably a week

Thanks seffie, but the thing is that there is alot of room in my tank and ALOT of holes for the nem to stick their foot in, but when i put the nem in the whole, it looks like it appreciates it for a few minutes and crawls out... I think it doesnt like my water quality? But i'll still give your idea try as anything is fine as long as the nem stops moving!!! Also, what do you mean by "Bommies"??

one more thing, Ill try to get a pic up soon but it looks like its splitting again? One side of the anem looks like its splitting through the centre of the mouth. The mouth is tightly closed so i know its not dieing. I think the local guy sold me the original larger one instead of the cloned by accident lol.

 

[seffieuk]

There is much debate about why BTA spilt - mine only split when he got the size of a dinner plate. Stress can cause them to split, survival instincts etc.

A bommie is like a mountain in the sea - I have two in my tank, the nems stay on one bommie and the corals are on the other bommie

Can we see a photo of your rock structure please

Seffie x

 

[milkton]

My BTA:

My rockwork (main tank) plz excuse some algae on the side as i didnt really prep my tank up for a picture AND the REALLY blurry image!

The local guy told me to keep my alkalinity at 8, so i tried adding a teaspoon of the seachem ph buffer into my tank and the anem comes out more often now, it could possibly be a coincidence as its wandering around though. I have a 10k on the left of the tank , a 14k in the middle and another 14k on the right. Im just experiementing with the lighting right now, let me know what you guys think! ALSO!! what fish should i add once i finish tackling the problem?

Thanks

 

[seffieuk]

Ah right, you have got a wall of rock - the trouble with a wall is it often doesn't have the depth required for a nem to put his foot down inside the structure. Is there any chance you could make the structure less like a wall and more like two seperate stuctures with space maybe in the middle. Or maybe a wall with a bommie on the end?

Seffie x

 

[ben1987]

id get your phosphate test seconded aswel if you can mate.

 

[milkton]

Hey guys, thanks for your help! I guess I was a little bit too impatient there as i recently got it. For the past day, it hasn't moved since and im guessing it likes where it is now (which is in the left side in pic 2) (pic 1 is when it was in a different spot). Ill try to pick up a better phosphate kit when I go back to the LFS next time, but my friend came over and helped me test my phosphate and everything and it was all good.

Thanks for the help again

oh yeah 1 more question, when should i start feeding it? I feed my corals and nems krill but im scared this will scare the nem cause its still settling into his new spot.

 

[seffieuk]

Wait seven days and then offer a prawn or silverside, just drop it in the tentacles

Seffie x