Bta (?) Needs Your Help!

Hello! I've gone as far as I feel comfortable without trying to get some more help with this anemone.

Long story short, I received an anemone that I wasn't expecting yesterday. I'll link you to the thread I made somewhere down below.

I think it's a BTA, but I'm not sure on that. Here's a pic of it attached to the rock that it shipped with:




Well, shortly after that picture, it began expelling zooxanthellae, and then deflated. Whatever - I expected it to do that. I didn't expect it to completely detach from the rock and start floating around, though.

I turned off all flow in the tank, and tried to get it to attach in three different spots over a four hour period. No luck. It'd inflate, start moving around, and then just sit there. I finally got worried about the lack of flow in the tank, and started the pumps back, and put the nem into a container with some rubble, hoping that it'd attach overnight.




A few minutes before lights-out, it had inflated and was moving around quite a bit - I was hopeful. This morning, it's managed to flip itself upside-down onto the rocks. Tentacles-down. Which is interesting, because it seemed like it'd always flip itself onto it's side yesterday. Am I going about this wrong?

I'm just going to leave it be for now. But here's the thread, detailing what happened: Ever Receive An Order Of Fish That You... Didn't Order?

 

I hope it pulls through for you! I definitely want to follow and see what happens. Between stella1979 Culprit Nart Jesterrace one of them should be able to help

 

Little update:

Sometime between when I made that post and now, the nem crawled up the side of the container and dropped down onto the sandbed. I'm just gonna let it do it's thing - it may know more than I do. It's inflating and deflating, and moving around a bit - he's trying to do something. Plus, he was able to crawl out of the container, so we know he has the ability to attach to something. We'll see what he does.

I'm still not certain on the ID, but I think I've 100% ruled out an LTA, based on the lack of verrucae on his foot.

 

Hard to say Blue... but I think your approach is just right and exactly what I'd do.

 

Hi,
Sounds like very common 'issues' with a new nem, given it a chance to settle, and find a place it likes.
I would say it's a BTA. Generally a BTA, as long as its foot is secure, it's ok.

However, if it does become a 'free floater' and doesn't settle, I would setup a QT and see if it comes good. A dead/dieing anemone can wipe out your entire system when it releases its toxin.

 

Pretty sure it's a BTA, due to the white stripes around it's mouth. Time will definitely tell, though, and it's definitely slowly acclimating and improving!

He did attach to some rocks, but it seems as if he's on the move again. I'm just letting him do what he wants to, with the flow turned down a bit and with most of the frags out of the way. It's been a fun experience - I've spent the majority of the day watching an anemone wander around my tank. I really, really hope this guy makes it!

 

When BTAs first go into my system I just turn off any powerheads so they don't get blended, leave return pump on, and just let it do its thing. They'll let go, float around, move around, all over for the first few days. He should be fine

 

He's definitely looking progressively better - I just worry that he's lost the ability to attach to anything. We'll see how he progresses!

 

So, it's been nearly a full week, and while it's getting better, he still isn't really attaching. Are my water parameters okay?

Ammonia/Nitrite: 0 PPM (duh)
Nitrate: 5 PPM currently, but it never gets above 15 PPM before a WC
Phosphate: 0.05 PPM currently, but it usually hovers around 0.1 PPM, in line with my nitrate levels
PH: 7.9-8.1
SG: 1.025-1.026
Temp: 81F

So, nothing here seems too out of whack to me. I'm not of the mindset that reefs need to be ridiculously clean (low nitrate and phosphate), but I do know that there's a certain cut-off. I can bump up water changes, if need be, but I'm not sure nitrate is the issue. SG could use some stabilization, as it does wobble back and forth by 0.001 every 3-4 days as I top off. Could that be the issue?

For lighting, I'm currently using an ABI 23W PAR 38, as found here:

It's currently damaged, and is missing its' optics. I'll be receiving a new bulb tomorrow, and that should bump up intensity of light.

Just getting a bit worried, and wanted to see if anyone could help.

 

Hi,
What salt mix are you using? pH of 8.1 at SG of 1.026 seems a little low to me, but it shouldn't be causing issues.
Do you have macro element readings (Alk, Ca, Mg)?
Nitrates at 5PPM, is, IMO, too high. I'd be aiming to keep nitrates below 2PPM; I found 2PPM to be the "cut-off" in my tank, any higher and corals and BTA started to "complain".

 

I'm using IO Reef Crystals. Those parameters were taken around 3 AM this morning, so the PH was probably at it's lowest.

Alk is around 3.5, Ca is around 430 PPM, and my Mg test is expired. Doesn't give any reading at all.

I'm working on lowering nitrate and phosphate a bit, but I find it difficult to believe that they'd be the root of the problem in this situation. I've heard of anemones losing a bit of color, or browning out at around 15-20 PPM, but never behaving this way without another issue. But, again, I am working to keep things low - if for nothing else than to cross it off the list of possible issues.

 

I'm using IO Reef Crystals. Those parameters were taken around 3 AM this morning, so the PH was probably at it's lowest.

Alk is around 3.5, Ca is around 430 PPM, and my Mg test is expired. Doesn't give any reading at all.

I'm working on lowering nitrate and phosphate a bit, but I find it difficult to believe that they'd be the root of the problem in this situation. I've heard of anemones losing a bit of color, or browning out at around 15-20 PPM, but never behaving this way without another issue. But, again, I am working to keep things low - if for nothing else than to cross it off the list of possible issues.

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Did you say alk is 3.5 dKH!??

That's your problem right there. Your alk should be at minimum 7.0 dKH. I keep mine at 8.5 dKH. If mine drops to 6 everything starts crashing. 3.5 is insannnneeellly low. Start raising it very slowlly by 1 dKH per day. 0.5 in the morning, and 0.5 in the evening. You can use something like seachem reef builder, or even pickling lime. Do some research on it to find what stuff will work for you. For a long time I used seachem reef builder in my ATO, just recently started dosing 2-part.

 

IORC should be fine. I used to use, and it was great.

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Did you say alk is 3.5 dKH!??

Alk at 3.5, I assume is meq/L (which is about 10dKH). So, that should be fine.

I'm a little stumped as to what else might be happening

 

Yeah, I'm talking meq/L not sure if things would still be alive if things were around 3.5 dKH.

I'm pretty confused, too. It doesn't even really seem interested in attaching to anything - I can turn off the pumps and sit it on a rock, and it'll open up and eventually fall off. Makes me wonder if there's damage to the foot that I can't see or something. When I brush my hand against the foot, I'm noticing that part of the edge of the foot is relatively rigid - it has a bit of a rubbery feel. Then, some other parts seem to be soft and fluid, like the rest of the nem. Don't know if that's damage, or if it's just the nem doing nem things - but thought I'd mention it.

 

So, the anemone seems to have settled into a spot. Not sure if it'll stay there, but it's foot seems to be gripped pretty strong onto something. The foot section isn't moving at all in the current.

I did a 50% WC today, replaced my ClearMax media, and installed the new light. Colors are completely off, but this is where it settled.