RBTA in trouble? (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

I added a RBTA to my tank yesterday, ~3 - 3.5" in diameter. I initially set him in the corner where my pair of ocellaris sleep, but the current pushed him out of the corner, rolling along the front of the tank floor like a tumbleweed. I uprighted him and put him in a spot where the current was not so strong, along the side next to a lot of rock. He opened up shortly thereafter and really looked good, although the two clowns never paid it any attention. Anyway, I looked into the tank early this morning before I left for work and noticed that he had moved up the side of the rock a couple inches. Now, tonight, he's underneath that rock ledge upside down, mostly closed up with a long barbed tentacle hanging out several inches. This is my first anemone and I know nothing about their behavior other than what I've read here. Is he in trouble? Do I need to give him time to find his spot or should I get him out of the tank ASAP? Everthing else in the tank is thriving. The water test results are 1.0255 SG, 0 ammonia, nitrites, & nitrates, 8.2 pH, and ~350 CA. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bobby

 

[HolyBanana]

one of my RBTA is stubborn. It wont come out from the back. I figure give it time. It shall be ok.

 

[Guest]

Well, I figured that it might take it a while to get situated and happy, but it worried me when I saw that long tentacle looking thing hanging out.

Bobby

 

[AggieBrandon]

What kind of lighting are you using? I would recommend giving it a few days and see what it does. If it starts fading in color then I would worry. It will take it a while to get situated. It will go through a short series of inflating then deflating etc. If you can get it to feed then I bet it will be fine. Next time it is open try to give it a chunck of mysis or brine or cyclopeeze.

Brandon

 

[Guest]

Well, I had two 50/50 96 watt PC's, but I managed to break one of the bulbs last night removing the canopy so I could rescue Nemo after he was found in the overflow. The new bulb will be here Thursday.

He's already moved from where he was out. I can't tell now if that bristled tentacle is still hanging out are not. Is that what they use to catch food or is that something else?

Bobby

 

[AggieBrandon]

What do you mean by bristled? could it have been a bristle worm in the anemone that you saw? How large is the tank? If the anemone is close to the lights then it should be fine.

Brandon

 

[Guest]

I didn't think of that. I did have a large bristle worm that came with the rock that I got from Keith. If it caught and ate a bristle worm, I guess it's doin' fine! BTW, thae tank is a 75.

 

[sultros]

Do you have peppermint shrimp?

 

[Guest]

Update: not good...

This morning the RBTA looked good and was opened up nicely. Apparantly, the bristled tentacle looking thing hanging from it was a large bristle worm that it had caught. I had to go to a meeting at 8:00 and was looking forward to getting home at noon to see his progress. I walked in to a cloudy tank and no RBTA. Part of his remains were still stuck to the suction screen on the powerhead, the other litle chunks were distributed throughout the aquarium. I'm getting water mixed up right now for a partial water change and I'll try to siphon up all the pieces that I can find before they start to decay. The fish are acting normal but my green star polyp was closed (he's starting to open back up now). Any suggestions of what else I need to do?

Thanks,
Bobby

 

[AggieBrandon]

doing a nice water change and running carbon will help

I am still curious to know if the bristle worm wasn't taking advantage of a "sick" rbta and started the downhill process by having a "snack"

 

[pernelf]

Massive water changes, a protien skimmer and try to get out all parts of the BTA

 

[Guest]

Did a water change today and the tank was clearing up nicely before I left for work. My skimmer was chock full of RBTA so I cleaned it out too. I ran a full battery of tests and everything was good. I'll keep checking for ammonia and do more water changes if needed. I was just bragging to a buddy about how good the tank is doing... :-x. Shoulda known better...

 

[Guest]

Update: Water looks and tests fine, everything looks normal, a little more skimmer affluent than normal, but much less than yesterday. The only problem is my green star polyp that I had added Sunday. Kenny told me that it might take a couple days for it to come out after I put it in the tank, but it was out in full force Monday. However, it was in the path of the powerhead flow when the RBTA went through it. Yesterday, after the water change, about 1/3 of the polyps opened back up, but today only a few were slightly open. I guess all that I can do is watch it and see what happens.

Bobby