RBTA!!

[snwmn520]

Hey everybody i just got my first rbta today! Pretty excited, just had a few questions about keepin the lil guy healthy! So the first thing he did when i put him in is move to the underside of one of my live rocks, i take it he's just scared and will come out when he needs some light, correct? Next, to feed em (once a week from what i understand) should i just reach in and hold the food there until it grabs it (like silversides or something)(if at all)? or would it be wise to just feed it brine shrimp through a turkey baster? Also if im trying to get my clown to pair up with it should i do anything specific? I was told i can isolate the two if it doesn't happen on its own but should i wait a couple of days before doing so? And any other tips u guys have for keepin him healthy would be much appreciated, cause like i said he's my first and he wasn't too cheap especially on my college kid budget!

[redeclipse6049]

Congrats on your new anemone!
Going to the underside of a rock is nothing to worry about. I wouldn't say its "scared" becuase they don't have a brain, Lol, but yeah, its just something they randomly do when they're stressed, or sometimes just for no reason at all.

Feeding is kind of a mixed one. Some people say once a week, some say you don't EVER need to feed if you have enough light (if you do have enough light, feeding will make it grow faster) You can feed it however you like, Depending on the size, they usually can eat things like mysis, cut up (or whole) krill, cut up silversides, meaty stuff...

pairing clowns with btas- Just let it happen. It might take a couple weeks (sometimes more , sometimes much less) but they should eventually find it, although in my experience, the female takes it and forces the male out ...
if they don't eventually find the nem, you can try some of the methods you find online, just try not to be mean to the fish by forcing them into it or something.

lets see some pictures!:beerchug:

[snwmn520]

Cool thanks for the help! Ya so he's maybe a little bigger than my fist (medium size according to SWE) so maybe ill just feed him a few mysis whenever i need some entertainment!

Hopefully my clown finds it sooner rather than later but i guess im in for some more waitin-- all too familiar with this hobby!

And right you are; he's on his way out from under the rock so as soon as he's out all the way ill take a couple! :biggthumpup:

[snwmn520]

almost out... http://www.tcmas.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=596&pictureid=6976

[Koletang]

Here are some anemone guides - bottom one says feed the anemone for a few weeks to condition, then choose to keep feeding or stop (if you stop make sure your lighting is powerful enough) ;)

http://www.w3page.com/fishline/anem.html

http://www.reeftime.com/reef-articles/anemone-articles/begginers-guide-keeping-anemones/11.htm

Hope this helps! :greenguy:

[snwmn520]

Here are some anemone guides - bottom one says feed the anemone for a few weeks to condition, then choose to keep feeding or stop (if you stop make sure your lighting is powerful enough) ;)

http://www.w3page.com/fishline/anem.html

http://www.reeftime.com/reef-articles/anemone-articles/begginers-guide-keeping-anemones/11.htm

Hope this helps! :greenguy:

ya perfect! thanks a lot those actually answered a couple other q.'s i had as well--bookmarked!

[Koletang]

Any more pics on the anemone?

How is he doing?

[sleeri]

Congrats on the RBTA! I've got an RBTA & GBTA. They hide from the light sometimes. Just give it some time. As for feeding, when I had T5s I fed mine a couple times a week. Seemed to be necessary to keep them healthy / happy. I switched to MH several months ago and now only feed once a week or once everyother week. The RBTA in particular seems healthier and fuller than ever under the MH, so frequent feeding doesn't seem to be as critical.

This is my personal opinion, but I'm always a little weary of claims that feeding isn't necessary for certain types of reef inhabitants. No hard facts to back this up, but my fish, shrimp, corals and BTAs always seem better off with consistent feeding.

[curlyq]

I'll have to disagree somewhat with the statement that BTA's need to be fed. They are primarily a photosynthetic animals, and while they are able to catch and eat meaty foods with their tentacles, this is not their primary food source in the wild. Here's a write-up I did awhile back that shows what I think.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1835320

[Blownsvt]

I have never fed my RBTA since getting it outside of what it might grab during fish feedings. In about 7 months it went from 1 to now 4 RBTA. Guessing its doing fine not getting fed.