One More BTA Question

[JD'sReef]

So I have my BTA and he has made it through the first week. Last night he looked read bad though and I though I was going to loose him (all shrivled up and stringy). I turned off the light for a bit and then turned it back on an hour before bed. I fed him and he grabed the shrimp right away, but he plays with it for to long.
The problem is that my Tang (yellow) always grabs his food right out of his tenticles and sometimes out of his mouth. That is why I think he has looked so bad because when I though he was eating the tang was actually stealing the shrimp when I turned around.
I know most of you don't even feed your BTA's, but my tank is only six months old so he needs some extra nutrition. How do you guys keep other fish from steeling their food? He is not that sticky (lost in the shipping) but that should come back with time under the MH. Will the fish stay away once they get stung?
Please help, I can't sit in frount of the tank with a flashlight (like last night) and shine it on the tang whenever he get close to the BTA.
Thanks
J.

 

[shr00m]

if you have enough light you shouldnt have to feed the anemone.

 

[Juck]

My yellow tang and skunk cleaner do the same thing,, that's why I stopped feeding my BTA's,,, mine are doing fine without direct feeding but they get fed some flake now and again by their resident clowns.

Sometimes a BTA will shrivel up to almost nothing then after an hour or so, bounce right back to normal,, I always assumed this was some form of purging water,, it used to freak me out.

I think the BTA sting is pretty weak compared to other anemones,, I doubt it will ever bother a Tang.

 

[Cabreradavid]

JD, Sometimes BTA's will shrivel for a couple of reasons. If yours stays shriveled, then I would worry. I have a BTA that is about 10 inches in diameter (got it when it was about 3.5) and it has shrunk to maybe 3 inches at times. This never lasts longer than a couple hours though.
I would be interested to see how many people feed their BTA's. I feed mine weekly with shrimp from the grocery store. I am a bit suspicious about the idea that these animals would not need any feeding with high light. They have pretty big mouths, most likely for a reason. While food may come irregularly in the wild, it does come. I have personally observed corkscrew anemones eating small fish and crabs that happened to run into them in the Caribbean. So, who feeds or doesn't feed your BTA's (and mention lighting I guess) and how are they doing?
Also, JD..do you have a clownfish? If you did, I can pretty much assure you the tang would be get it's butt kicked if it tried to grab food from the BTA. No one messes with the anemone in my tank at least. I have read references about experiements performed in the wild in which anemones seperated from their clowns were nipped to death by butterflyfish, but I don't know the details.

DMC

 

[JD'sReef]

Wow you guys are great,
Yeah last night I was pacing around the my room like a nervous father, but like you said, after about an hour he went back to normal and then this morning he was bigger then ever.
For light, it is a 46 bow with a Hamilton hood (175 MH and 2 atinic strips, just normal tubes). This morning I moved the MH right over the top of Lois (BTA) and told my dad to watch him. The light doesn’t turn on until 1 and I get home at 6, so I will see how he likes being directly under the light; 55K (a 10k is in the works, but I am not really sure what to get). I told my dad that if he starts moving to move the light away from him to find the perfect ratio. The problem is that the 46 has a stress bar in the middle of it so some of the light gets blocked if the hood is on correctly.
I do not have a clown yet; I want a pair but not sure. I also read that I should let the BTA get adjusted before I put a clown in; this will save some stress.
Lastly, I have been reading about these things for a few years now and nothing had prepared me for the real thing (this is great). Most articles say to feed them, some even stay to stuff them. On the other hand lost of people have had success with not feeding them at all, but I feel this has a lot to do with the tank. Older more established tanks will probably be fine but newer tanks do not give them the same nutrients. Like you Caberadavid, I have been feeding mine shrimp from the store, but I should try uncooked ones I think the cooked ones loose some nutrients. Experience is the only true knowledge though.
Hey, is it true that a pair of Maroons will both go to the BTA or like I have read, the female normally pushes the male out?
Thanks guys, you are helping my dream become a reality.
Sincerely
Jason.

 

[Juck]

My maroons LOVE their BTA's,,,,,one big female sleeps in her's on her side,,like a hammock,, I never get tired of watching them.

The male is usually banished in my experience but normally stays very close by,, often diving in the anemone for a quick wriggle whenever the female is away.

Pairing Maroons can be tricky,,,the females can be very aggressive. The surest way is to buy a wild-caught mated pair. If pairing them yourself then order two very small specimens that are still gender-neutral,,,,let them sort themselves out. If you make the mistake of putting 2 females together it usually doesn't end well for one of them.

Good luck

 

[JD'sReef]

Thanks Juck
Yeah I think I am going to buy a pair online, just a nervious that they won't look that good. However, 58 for a pair is not that bad.

 

[surfdawake]

yea, thats a good price for a pair of maroons. i have 2 btas and i feed one almost everyday. liek 2 or 3 silversides. i know this is alot, but it is in a tank all on its on, just so i can make money on it by the splits. i get him to split about every 2months or so this way. yea, and the tank he is in is a 10g that has 2 75w vho's and about 10pds of small peices of live rock. my ohter is in a 29g with a 175w mh, and 2 28w blue actinics. he gets feed every couple days, he only has split once in the 6months i have had them. so i do recommend feeding if you want him to grow. but if not, i wouldnt feed that often. they will get big fast.....

 

[Anonymous]

My Moroon takes care of feeding both of my BTA's so I do not target feed. Before the clown took on the feed duities I did feer a piece of shrimp every couple of days.

 

[Aff]

Don't put 2 juvenile maroons together. They will be out for blood. Worst fighting I've ever had in a tank was the one time I tried this. Yes I knew the way you're sup'd to pair off maroons but went to an LFS and they had like 6 in a tank. Got the whole story about how they're tank raised and therefore not as aggressive. Yeah... ok... they made it about 1 minute before they were on each other.

The only way this will work is if you find 2 and only 2 in a tank at the LFS and they're not fighting and there's zero fin damage. Basically when they've done paired off.

 

[Juck]

>>The only way this will work is if you find 2
>>and only 2 in a tank at the LFS and they're
>>not fighting and there's zero fin damage.
>> Basically when they've done paired off.

Not so. You got it wrong once, hard luck, it's worked for me and others countless times.

 

[Aff]

Basically I would not say that I was unlucky... just that if you actually got a pair of maroons from putting 2 juvies in a tank then you're just extremely lucky. If pairing maroons in this manner were as common as you seem to suggest then the book 'Clownfishes' by Joyce D Wilkerson wouldn't have a section dedicated to the correct way to pair maroon clowns imho.

 

[shr00m]

i always thought the way you paired clowns was putting juvies together.... if you just happen to find a pair at the LFS paired who knows how they paired, very likely they paired while babys....


usually putting 3 juvies together ensures a pair.... with pretty much any clown.

 

[reefsnreptiles1]

usually putting 3 juvies together ensures a pair.... with pretty much any clown

Sorry, but this is not true with maroons.

Take a look at the following for more info:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... did=215098

 

[Juck]

It can work. I currently have 3 pairs of Premnas, one of which came from a grouping of 5 juveniles,, the other 2 were one-to-one introductions.

I introduce them to each other in a 3 gallon fishbowl with just an airstone,, it's pretty stressful for them both and they usually stick close together and there is little or no agression, even if one is a mature female. I suspect the shared stressful experience speeds up the bonding.

I keep them like this for 2 or 3 days, then put them in the display tank (or bare quarrantine tank) together,,,, rarely do I see any agression after pairing like this.

 

[npaden]

While pairing as juvi's works for many species of clownfish but not with Maroons. These are by far the most difficult to pair up with unsuccessful pairing often leading to the death of the weaker fish.

Please research the proper way to pair Maroon clownfish if you want a pair.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[Juck]

>>pairing as juvi's works for many species of clownfish but not with Maroons


Why do people make these sweeping statements? The world isn't as black-and-white as that.

With some precautions, pairing Maroon juveniles is perfectly doable. Period.

 

[npaden]

Juck,

You blew your credibility on the subject with this line in your initial post:

If pairing them yourself then order two very small specimens that are still gender-neutral,,,,let them sort themselves out.

This is exactly what the most renowned clownfish authors recommend against.

Putting clownfish in a 3 gallon fishbowl with for several days is not exactly recommended by most experts on the subject either.

Until you get a few books published on the subject I'll advise people to stick with the methods currently recommended.

FWIW, Nathan

 

[keefsama]

Paring Premnas species clownfish (maroon clownfish):
Pairing maroon clowns is much more problematic than pairing Amphiprion species clownfish. Maroons are notorious for being very aggressive towards other clownfish. They are pretty much fearless and will only back down from an all out fight when presented with the overwhelming threat of death.

Separation Technique:
The only technique I am aware of that works the vast majority of the time with the least amount of damage as possible to use a separation and slow acclimation process to introduce a poetical mate to a maroon clownfish.

First you need to have a large female already established in your tank before trying a pairing. The clownfish should be at least 3” from nose to start of the cardinal fin. Next you will need to do a little preparation before buying a potential mate for your maroon. You need something to securely separate the two fish in the same tank while still allowing the fish to see each other and the new fish to get water flow. You can use a clear plastic specimen container with holes drilled in it for example.

Now go to the LFS and find the smallest juvenile maroon from a community tank that you can find. It should be no larger than 1” nose to start of cardinal fin. Acclimate the new maroon just as you would any other fish. Once the new maroon is acclimated to your tanks water, place the new maroon in the specimen container. Let the two fish see each other, place the specimen container near the females territory. Carefully watch the female’s behavior. If she is trying to attack the new fish thru the container, it is not safe to release the new maroon. Give her time to cool off from the disruption to her tank and addition of a foreign clownfish in her tank.

Now that the female has cooled her temper it is time to try an introduction. Get your favorite fish net ready and release the new maroon to the tank. If the fighting gets too bad you will need to rescue the new maroon and place it back in the container and try the next day. If after three failed attempts you can write off the new maroon as incompatible and you will need a new juvenile to try with.

 

[keefsama]

Juck i think you should read more before you just go trying things your method is really unethical in putting 2 fish in such a small bowl and forcing them upon eachother.