BTA Acclimation

I just got a Green BTA yesterday (taking advantage of the new MH). I am wondering about the length of the acclimation process. When I first put him in the tank he looked great and was host to his new friend. When I checked a few hours later, his tentacles were shriveld up and he was hanging upside down underneath a rock (getting very little light). This morning I turned the rock over and when I returned he was almost where I left him, but had moved into a small crevace and looked happy as can be again (plump tentacles with the clown back in again). Now I come home to check about 5 hour later and he is deflated again (although not as bad as last night). Is this a "normal" acclimation for a BTA? Do they go through phases like this. I've never had an anenome before, so any thoughts are appriciated.



Aaron

 

This is something I copied from http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf I hope it helps


How should I expect my anemones to behave in my tank?

Anemones are for the most part sessile invertebrates in that they typically don’t move

unless they have a reason to. Movement is the single best indicator of whether your

anemone is healthy and happy – if located properly in a healthy reef system, most

anemones won’t move for years. If your anemone moves around, there is something

wrong. In most cases, researching an anemone species beforehand will give you a good

indication of where in your system an anemone will be most happy, and you can prepare

a site for the anemone ahead of time. Additionally, anemones will go through cycles of

expansion and contraction, where they will puff up very large, and then shrink down to

almost nothing. This is their way of balancing internal water chemistry and flushing

wastes out of their system. Some anemones will expand and contract as often as once a

day, but anything more than this is a sign that something is annoying the anemone. For

the most part, the anemone should remain fully inflated almost all of the time, and

definitely during the daylight hours when the light is brightest. If an anemone spends too

much time contracted, there is something bothering it.

 

Everything seems to be fine now. I guess he was just trying to get comfortable in his new home. Thanks for the peace of mind.


Aaron

 

No Problem and I am glad to here that everything is fine now 8) good luck and Happy Easter ;D .... John