Wandering bubbletip

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Oleta

[Out of curiosity, for those of you that have kept bubbletips (e. quadricolor), how long would you let one wander around the tank before you became concerned for it's well being?? I've just recently bought one, only two days in the tank, and I was only wondering as to what other aquarists have experienced with these anemones..

Currently, or at least it was still there when I left for work at 8pm tonight, mine had tucked itself into a rather odd spot (at least IMO).. It's actually wedged into the bottom of my rockwork under a clump of xenia elongata and completely out of any direct lighting.. It's been there since around 3am last night.. I have 2 - 250watt MH 10k bulbs and was told that it would be fine, but from the way this anemone is hiding in the dark I've got some mild concern.. I'm hoping that it's just doing it's normal thing after being transplanted from a store tank, but wanted to ask and make sure..

Also, my maroon clown didn't hesitate an instant once she caught sight of the anemone in the tank and has been following it around all over.. Do you think that it might be trying to get away from her?? I only decided to give the bubbletip a try because she kept bothering my brain coral and zoanthids by attempting to nest in them, so boy does she love her new bubbletip..

Aside from the current location, everything else looks good.. It's displaying a really lovely green, with big fat bubbles on it's tips.. Well, at least there were bubbles when it was in the light.. Now it's looking stringy, but I read that was normal, and I'd assume that if it hated where it was it would move.. It also spread from the original barely 2" diameter to a nice, healthy looking 4" or so almost immediately upon being introduced into my tank..

Anyway, opinions ~ observations ~ crazy stories.. Whatever ya got, I'd like your input..]
 
[it is very normal for themm to wander for a little while until they find a spot they like.

Many times they will "hide" for a coule days away from brigt light and it may be due to the fact that LFS lighting is so low in intensity that they need time to adjust to our correctly lit tanks.

Clowns will harrass the anemone to the point of death on rare occasion. How big is the clown compared to the anemone? General rule is that anemone should be at least 2x in diameter the length of the clown so a 2" clownfish would need a 4" anemone. If your clown is ig compared to the anemone you might want to partition him off for a little while. See Marc's page on his RBTA for more info.

Can you feed it? If it is still taking food that is a good sign. I would just wait for a couple days before becoming to concerned. Report back and let us know!]
 
[If you'll scroll down to Bubble Tip Anemones, you'll find several pages of information you can review. Be sure to read Care & Understanding for BTAs, as that is the article that helped me the most.

http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html]
 
[I have 1 big BTA that loves it's home and a smaller one that likes to wander. The smaller one is a pain the the backside though, it likes to pop up in places it isn't wanted. Yesterday, it caused some serious shrinkage of my devil's hand at the front of the tank. This morning, it was against the back glass. Fickle little thing! :D]
 
[Thanks for the help, folks..

Keith, the maroon clown is actually just about the right size if you go by the ratio of having an anemone that's approximately double the size of the clown.. She's only about 2.5 inches in length if you don't count her tail.. Young enough that her gold is only just beginning to come into her stripes (something of an annoyance due to the fact that she was sold to me as a tank bred white stripe).. When the bubbletip is fully extended it's large enough to completely surround the maroon with plenty extra to spare.. However, if I notice that the anemone is looking worse for wear from her attentions, I'll try and partition her away..

I did attempt to feed the anemone a bit of chopped fish and I do believe that it managed to get it into it's mouth.. The tentacles on the bubbletip wrapped itself up around the portion of fish and when it opened itself back up, it was gone.. I figured I'd give it a couple of days and then try and feed it again.. Probably tomorrow afternoon when I wake up..

Marc, thanks for the link to your website.. I'd actually read the article from WWM before I went to get my own bubbletip and it was incredibly helpful when it came to making the decision to buy.. I also ran into one of your questions on WWM in a BTA FAQ.. Also, the article (and pictures) about your progress with bubbletips helped me alot, as it showed me that you ran into the same situation as I have.. I can only hope that my BTA does as well as yours..

Kevin, I'm happy that your BTA decided to split for you.. It's also kinda comforting to know that you've got one with a touch of wanderlust.. That first night mine was all over the place.. I didn't realize how fast something that appears so sluggish could move.. Right now, mine is still tucked up under the elongata but I've got high hopes that it will eventually work itself up through the crevice and into open light.. I was needing to prune back that xenia anyway, so at least now I've got a good excuse, lol..

Maybe you could try building a little "bommie" as is mentioned in the article at WWM.. I was thinking it might be something that I'd like to try in my own tank if/when my BTA had trouble settling down..

Again, thanks for all the help.. I appreciate it!!]
 
[I wonder what is quoted on WWM, because I've never posted a question there before. Can you link me to it?]
 
[Wow, that is from me! That must have been an email I sent the original author, and it later became part of the FAQ page. Thanks for showing me that.

Talk about a blast from the past...! :wwww:]
 
[Oleta, mine didn't split, one is green and the other is rose. :D I tried the bommie idea, which is how I managed to get the rose to stay put, the the green just wants to roam.]
 
[lol, oops.. Umm, I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting them to split in the future then :lookaround:

Don't suppose you have any pictures of your bommie??]
 
[Unfortunately, no. Once the rose decided it was going to stay attached to it's rock and the green obviously didn't want to call anyplace home, I broke both of them down. The rose attached itself into a nice bowl shaped rock which made it easy to move.

Best of luck getting yours to settle down!]
 
[Well, it's been several days since I placed my bubbletip in the tank and so far it's stayed right were it got to that first night.. I went ahead and pruned back a little bit of the elongata so that the anemone would receive a touch more light, but not so much that it was completely unshaded.. I figure I'll give it a few more days and then prune a little more of the xenia back if the BTA remains where it is..

I fed the BTA again this morning and this time I know it must have eaten everything.. Gave it several pieces of chopped fish and then a direct squirt of small mysis shrimp.. I sat and watched after each piece to make sure nothing fell out or got stolen.. All of it disappeared amazingly fast so I guess it was time to get it's grub on..

Got this picture of it this afternoon, right after the lights snapped on and thought I'd share:]
 
[Very nice. If you see blobs of food on the substrate under the anemone, you are overfeeding it in my experience. I never see any waste coming from my BTAs, only feeding enough to help it thrive (grow larger) but not so much that it expels slimey blobs.]
 
[Mine poops all the time but it should be brown, stringy, nasty stuff! As Marc states if it is light color or white you are overfeeding! Feeding them is largely personal preference. They will grow fast and get big if you feed them often but can survive fine feeding them once a week. I feed mine a small amount everyday but I have a tank for just it and the clowns so I want him to get big! It's already almost 10" across!

BTW I love your Avatar! The anti-tinkerer :D That is great!]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1107532045
 
[Well, I think I'll resurrect this thread one last time (I promise!).. It's going on about two weeks now, so I thought I'd share one last photo..

So far, no white fish blobs coming out of the BTA.. No brown poo blobs that I've seen either.. Maybe it's just shy and prefers to do it's "business" in private.. Do you think I should be concerned that I haven't seen that??

I've been feeding it about every third day with mysis shrimp and chopped fish.. I meant to pick up some other goodies when I was at the oriental market, but forgot.. I had my mind on bubble tea.. Spot (the maroon) has been doing her share as well.. I've watched her snatch bits of food and bring it to her anemone multiple times, so she's been a good mother..

It's remained in the same location, but has been scootching up into the light more.. I went ahead and took out a bit more of the elongata and it seems happy enough.. It's definately spread alot and the tentacles have elongated.. I still see the bubbles at the tips when it extends itself out into the light fully, but normally it's only half exposed.. Kinda weird looking to have bubbles on one half and the skinny tentacles on the other, but hey, she can wear her hair however she wants..

BTW I love your Avatar! The anti-tinkerer That is great! said:
lol, thanks.. I'm not mechanically inclined in the least.. I try, but it's just not in me.. I love that avatar too.. I've used it at just about every site I'm a member of..]
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[Ive had My BTA since April of last year and he moves occasionaly.Always withen a 6" radius of his original Starting spot.He LOVES to get directly in front of a maxijet 900 thats blowing behind my LR. He will move to get to the back of the LR and will remain there for a day or 2 and then come back to the front of the rocks.he does this I'd say probaly 2 times a month. I dont know why he wants to get blasted by the PH but he certainly enjoys it.]
 
[lol, that's cute.. Maybe he's like me with the windows down on my car.. Sometimes it's just nice to let the wind blow in your hair, lol..]
 
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