BTA Help

I have had my BTA for approximately 8 months and it has never seemed "happy". its tentacles are neither bulbed nor long but sort of curled under (i will post a picture tonight). it hosts two o clowns and my params are as follows:

PH - 8.0 - 8.3
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - 0 (although it has reached 5ppm at times)
salinity - 1.026
KH - 10
calcium - 400
Magnesium - 1350
temp - 77 - 78

The only thing i dose is BRS 2 part and the salt i use is aquavitro salinity. I feed it either table shrimp or scallops once a week. My lighting is a 6 bulb t-5 (well, 12 since it is six feet long).

My question is for those out there that have successfully kept one of these guys healthy for a year or more. Do you see anything that i wrote above that looks wrong for keeping these guys? Do you dose anything that you think a BTA needs that wouldn't be provided with water changes (i change out 12% per week)? Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. i do use RODI water

 

It all looks very good to me. How is the flow in the tank?

I see the type of appearance you describe often in forums. You have probably seen this link but you may be able to find some hint of what is going on.

INTRODUCTION - karensroseanemones.net

 

everything looks good but i dont feed my nem every week..maybe every other month a piece of shrimp or oyester.. but everyday i feed zooplankton, cyclopleeze, chromaplex, oytser feast..these all feed nems as well just alot smaller food for it to digest.. ive also heard its not good to feed them that often, since it takes longer than a week for a nem to digest that shrimp, also ive heard that in the wild they really only eat every couple weeks or so..besides what small food particles they catch through the water column.

without a pic its hard to say, but as long as it has a bright color then u should be ok.. btas can have all kinds of different shaped tentacle, some are bubbles and some are long and stringy and some are half bubbled and half stringy...the shape of tentacles usually vary because of stress sometime of its life, but its not a guarantee of that yet..

as long as its not constantly walking around the tank, then i would say its happy.. nems really arent hard to care for..i dont do anything special for mine nor do i worry about it nuking my tank..just give them strong lights, a little flow, and good stable water, they will live for years and years and years, literally.. they live for a long time in captivity..i know an old man that has had one for like 16 years i think..its huge

 

The flow is high in most parts of the tank but slower where the anemone is. however, i would expect it to move if it didn't like the flow. it has not moved since it found its spot 8 months ago.

i have seen this site but forgot about it, so thanks. she actually has pictures of anemones with tentacles that look like mine. she calls them normal but they just don't look good to me. especially since it looked different when i first added it. maybe it is a reaction to the flow.

 

i might be over feeding. i will try cutting back and see how that works. yes, i forgot to mention that the color doesn't seem as vibrant and that worries me too.

 

it could be dif flow, lighting, water quality, salt..all kinds of things can come into factor..as long as its not moving and is hosting clowns then i say healthy..plus if karen says a nem is healthy, ill put my money on it it is..

 

how old is your tank? what livestock do you have it could be hermit crabs or bristle worms bothering it. where is it really located in the tank

 

check out my signature in the original post for age and livestock. it is located at around the middle of the tank.

 

could be the clowns are just too agressive on it.

 

here is a picture of the anemone if it helps.