I have a BTA, not much "B"

[grav]

Green/gray in color with nice pick tips. I've had him just since thursday.
No wandering around the tank at all. Came on a rock, and I put him where I wanted, and he didn't move at all. Fed him a few times, not a big fan of table shrimp, took a chunk once, then spit it back out a day later. Mysis seem to be his thing.

SO, get to the point you say? He doesn't seem to to have the bulb, or bubble, looking tips I was expecting.

Is he just still a little under fed from his trip? Anythoughts?

Thanks all.

 

[jamesw]

Read Charles Delbeek's article from a few month's back in Advanced Aquarist - it explains the possible role of lighting in "bubble" formation.

Sincerely
James Wiseman

 

[Anonymous]

I had a few different BTAs(some clones) and most didn't bubble up. One bubbled up often the rest rarely did.

 

[EmilyB]

They decide.


Mine bubbled just when my 175w halides were on their last legs. I changed the bulbs and no more bubbletips.

 

[Anonymous]

Too much current can cause them to lose bubble tips, as can improper lighting.

Jim

 

[Joey French]

As well as everything else in an aquarium....
Bubbling of the tips of entacmacea quadricolor is no indicator of health, nor cause for alarm. Lack of bubbles is a common phenomenon when placing this anemone in a captive environment.
Joey

 

[fishfanatic2]

I have heard that the addition of a symbiotic partner can help them bubble up.

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard that the addition of a symbiotic partner can help them bubble up.

I am glad this is not The Sump :twisted:

 

[Len]

Unfortunately, I've never had a BTA keep it's bubbles over time. I'm really not sure what it is but different people have attributed it to different things.

Hey, at least you still have the T & A :lol:

 

[grav]

Wow, thanks for the response all.

Just got home, and now, he is kicking out a brown flemmy looking string gook. It sort of looks like a little shedding (I dunno how to explain this stuff), like what I'd expect from a leather, but this sort of looks to be coming from the oral opening.

I've read about problems associated with being out of water dammaging internal organs... leading to them trying to hemoprage the organ out... and eventually death.

This is just a normal growth thing right?

 

[ReefMon]

a brown flemmy looking string gook coming from the oral opening.

That’s normal, it's expelling it's waste. (uses same "mouth" for both) :roll:

Personally I've found you'll get more bulb tips under moderate lighting and lower flow. IMO, having a symbiotic partner has never made a difference.


Happy Reefing!
Glenn R

 

[delbeek]

SO, get to the point you say? He doesn't seem to to have the bulb, or bubble, looking tips I was expecting.

Are you sure this anemone is an Entacmaea and do you know if it had bubbles before you bought it?

I have heard that the addition of a symbiotic partner can help them bubble up.

Nonsense ... no truth to this. Probably a coincidence if it was observed.

Too much current can cause them to lose bubble tips,

Not in my experience, I have BTAs in low current and ones being blasted, some are bubbled, some are not. I think its irrelevant.

 

[Len]

So in other words, Charles, it's a mystery to you too?

Nice frogfish avatar. I've been thinking about getting a froggie for my nano.

 

[Anonymous]

One of mine bubbled up when moved to the refugium versus the main tank. The lighting was much lower in intensity (250W MH vs. 55W PC) as was the flow.

 

[delbeek]

One of mine bubbled up when moved to the refugium versus the main tank. The lighting was much lower in intensity (250W MH vs. 55W PC) as was the flow.

There are a lot of factors to consider when looking at lighting such as reflector design and placement, without really measuring light at the level of the anemone you can not say for sure whether or not it is getting more or less light in the refugium compared to the main tank.

So in other words, Charles, it's a mystery to you too?

Nah ... read my article on Advanced Aquarist. :wink:

Aloha!

 

[klingsa]

I've done quite a bit of research on this topic, and I have read that BTA's are indeed induced to form their bubble tips when hosting a clown.
According to Fautin and Allen (widely accepted as the experts on this topic) in Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones, "Bulb seems to be related to presence of fish, and can disappear." pg. 26.
Delbeek - what is your evidence that this is nonsense? Other than saying it is a coincidence.

Sara

 

[Anonymous]

I can tell you right now that hosting a clown is neither here nor there where the presence of bubble tips is concerned. I've seen many, MANY E. quads hosting clowns that did not have bubble tips.

Jim

 

[John_Brandt]

All of the Entacmaea quadricolor anemones that I saw this year in the Philippines had resident clownfish. Most of the anemones did not have bubble-tips. A few did. Some even had a combination of bubble-tipped and taper-tipped tentacles.

 

[klingsa]

Well, like most other issues with living creatures, I'm sure it's never as simple as one little rule, no matter who says it. :lol: I wonder what benefit or advantage that gives the animal. There must be a reason that they form or dissapear.

Sara

 

[delbeek]

I've done quite a bit of research on this topic, and I have read that BTA's are indeed induced to form their bubble tips when hosting a clown.
According to Fautin and Allen (widely accepted as the experts on this topic) in Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones, "Bulb seems to be related to presence of fish, and can disappear." pg. 26.
Delbeek - what is your evidence that this is nonsense? Other than saying it is a coincidence.

Sara

Sara:

30 years experience in keeping saltwater aquariums
15 years with reef aquariums
8 years of diving in the Indo-Pacific region from Japan to Fiji to Hawaii.

With over 200 logged dives in that time, I have observed these anemones quite often ... yes they usually have fish ... but not always ... but they also have other factors such as bright light, low nutrient waters, water motion, close proximity to other aggressive organisms e.g. corals, predators, etc etc to react to ... there are too many variables to say that the presence of fish is THE one factor that produces bulbs on the tips. With all the research you say you performed, is this one sentence quote from Fautin and Allen the only thing you found on what affects bulb formation?

Read Fautin and Allen literally ... in your quote they say "SEEMS to be related to the presence of fish" ... this is their impression, not a fact. Since neither of those authors have kept these animals in captivity for 15 years as we have ... I am not sure they are any more qualified to make comments on the behaviour of these anemones in captivity than anyone else. Our exhibit has over 30 anemones in it as well as a few dozen clownfish ... they spend most of their time in the S. gigantea and S. mertensii ... they don't spend any time in the E. quadracolor. I have another exhibit with 7 E. quadracolor and one S. gigantea anemones, and 6 A. melanopus and a pair of A. chrysopterus. Some of the E. quadracolor with clownfish have bulb tips and some do not.

Take a look at this photo I took in Indonesia. Note that some of the tentacles have bulbs and some don't .... how can the presence of the fish be only a localized effect?? :?:

Aloha!
JCD