BTA in new tank

valley · Feb 20, 2024

Hello, I found a really good deal on a bta but my tank has only been setup since early October 2023. My parameters have been pretty stable and in the ideal range this whole time and I’m not completely new to aquariums; I’ve had freshwater tanks before. The thing is that this is a nano tank (Fluval evo 13.5) and I’m not sure if there’ll be parameter swings sometime in the future. I have lps and softies in the tank and they’re doing fine. The nem is pretty small and the tank is in a bedroom so it will be monitored. I have the adequate flow (200gph, no wavemaker yet) and light (full spectrum; I have an ai prime).

Roatan Reef · Feb 21, 2024

I would say no Nems until at least the 1 year mark. Plus in an Evo 13.5, it may be too much.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Feb 21, 2024

really good deals come along fairly often, if you miss this one there will always be more coming along soon.

But you can buy BTA's for $20-$25 all day long every day, check you local online classifieds like kijiji or facebook market, those things multiply like crazy and folks sell them very cheap or even give them away.

The_Paradox · Feb 21, 2024

If you started with live rock and you’re diligent on your testing and maintenance you can get away with it. If it was a dry start I would say no. You’re still early enough that I would still expect some ugly surprises.

WalkerLoves_TheOcean · Feb 21, 2024

The_Paradox said:
If you started with live rock and you’re diligent on your testing and maintenance you can get away with it. If it was a dry start I would say no. You’re still early enough that I would still expect some ugly surprises.

You said you have LPS and softies, so the anemone could very easily wipe out a few, but its a risk you take when getting an anemone in such a small tank.

exnisstech · Feb 21, 2024

Personaly I would not put a nem in a tank that small if you are planning to keep coral which you already are. Just to risky IMO. I keep bubble tips and a haddoni but in larger tanks and I still have issues with the bubble tips moving and stinging coral

The_Paradox · Feb 21, 2024

WalkerLoves_TheOcean said:
You said you have LPS and softies, so the anemone could very easily wipe out a few, but its a risk you take when getting an anemone in such a small tank.

You just have to sit them down first and tell them what you expect. Lay down some ground rules. Anemones respect discipline. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.

valley · Feb 21, 2024

Im not sure if this is a good deal but im getting a wwc anemone, cotton candy torch w/ 2 heads, an a gold torch w/ two heads for $300. Is this a good deal or should I wait? Im mainly interested in the nem because of this deal. This was a tank that I started with all live rock and live sand. Now looking at these comments I’m more concerned about it killing my other coral and taking over the tank than it surviving. Do these nems grow fast? I’m going to be setting up another tank (40gal+ this time) in May so maybe I could move some coral from this tank to that one. Or I could also move a baby nem if it splits. None of my coral have grown on my rock so I could still move all of them if I notice the nem getting close without any problems. Also, would a BTA instantly/quickly kill a coral?

WalkerLoves_TheOcean · Feb 21, 2024

valley said:
Im not sure if this is a good deal but im getting a wwc anemone, cotton candy torch w/ 2 heads, an a gold torch w/ two heads for $300. Is this a good deal or should I wait? Im mainly interested in the nem because of this deal. This was a tank that I started with all live rock and live sand. Now looking at these comments I’m more concerned about it killing my other coral and taking over the tank than it surviving. Do these nems grow fast? I’m going to be setting up another tank (40gal+ this time) in May so maybe I could move some coral from this tank to that one. Or I could also move a baby nem if it splits. None of my coral have grown on my rock so I could still move all of them if I notice the nem getting close without any problems. Also, would a BTA instantly/quickly kill a coral?

BTA definitely have a strong sting, so it really depends on what corals you have. Different corals can handle different stings. I would research if you are going to put a anemone with corals that will do fine with it.

JoJosReef · Feb 21, 2024

The_Paradox said:
You just have to sit them down first and tell them what you expect. Lay down some ground rules. Anemones respect discipline. I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.

what are those purple zoas on the left?

The_Paradox · Feb 21, 2024

JoJosReef said:
what are those purple zoas on the left?

I think those are Mean Green. I honestly never know since everything looks weird in my tank since I blast the bejesus out of everything with light.

JoJosReef · Feb 21, 2024

valley said:
Im not sure if this is a good deal but im getting a wwc anemone, cotton candy torch w/ 2 heads, an a gold torch w/ two heads for $300. Is this a good deal or should I wait? Im mainly interested in the nem because of this deal.

I've seen those torches go for about that by themselves, so not a bad deal. What variant of BTA is it?

valley said:
This was a tank that I started with all live rock and live sand.

Where did you get the live rock/sand? Can you post a full tank shot of your tank and aquascape?

valley said:
Now looking at these comments I’m more concerned about it killing my other coral and taking over the tank than it surviving. Do these nems grow fast?

Depends. I have an RBTA that splits every couple of months and a black widow that splits maybe every 4-5 months.

valley said:
I’m going to be setting up another tank (40gal+ this time) in May so maybe I could move some coral from this tank to that one. Or I could also move a baby nem if it splits. None of my coral have grown on my rock so I could still move all of them if I notice the nem getting close without any problems.

Good idea to have backup plans with nems.

valley said:
Also, would a BTA instantly/quickly kill a coral?

Depends on the coral. Some get irritated and close up for a bit, some can react very poorly and just die. I keep my BTAs away from SPS, but they touch gorgonians and zoas/palys frequently and those don't die, although they do pout.

DrkNMighty · Feb 21, 2024

valley said:
Im not sure if this is a good deal but im getting a wwc anemone, cotton candy torch w/ 2 heads, an a gold torch w/ two heads for $300. Is this a good deal or should I wait? Im mainly interested in the nem because of this deal. This was a tank that I started with all live rock and live sand. Now looking at these comments I’m more concerned about it killing my other coral and taking over the tank than it surviving. Do these nems grow fast? I’m going to be setting up another tank (40gal+ this time) in May so maybe I could move some coral from this tank to that one. Or I could also move a baby nem if it splits. None of my coral have grown on my rock so I could still move all of them if I notice the nem getting close without any problems. Also, would a BTA instantly/quickly kill a coral?

I personally wouldn’t do it in a tank that small. Unless you get lucky and it stays exactly where you place it, it will not take much effort for it to walk that entire tank and sting everything along the way. Also getting splits out of the tank can be difficult if the nem is well attached. I started with one in my 40g and now have well over 10 because I can’t get them off the rock.

JoJosReef · Feb 21, 2024

The_Paradox said:
I think those are Mean Green. I honestly never know since everything looks weird in my tank since I blast the bejesus out of everything with light.

I have something close but never knew what it was. Think it might have been a freebie frag. Closest I've found is Cultivated Reef "Sour Lemons", and I have ordered from them before.

The_Paradox · Feb 21, 2024

JoJosReef said:
I have something close but never knew what it was. Think it might have been a freebie frag. Closest I've found is Cultivated Reef "Sour Lemons", and I have ordered from them before.

I have a couple corals and a fish named Shekels. Named because I only got them to hit the free shipping limit.

valley · Feb 21, 2024

JoJosReef said:
I've seen those torches go for about that by themselves, so not a bad deal. What variant of BTA is it?

It’s a WWC Hawaiian Punch BTA. On the site it says it goes for $240, the cotton candy goes for $160, and the gold torch goes for $300 so I’m basically getting the nem and the other torch for free. I thought they probably inflated the prices to make it seem like a good deal but I went ahead and pulled the trigger because it’s a sponsor on here. If anything I’m okay with this becoming a nem only tank. This tank was more of a way to see if I would be committed to the hobby and I am so I’ll be getting a bigger tank haha.

JoJosReef said:
Where did you get the live rock/sand? Can you post a full tank shot of your tank and aquascape?

I have natures ocean live sand and I got my live rock from my lfs. The only problem with this tank is the gha which I heard doesn’t harm nems but the nutrient problem can. I’m working on it though; manual removals, weekly water changes, and someone on here suggested using waste away and upgrading my clean up crew so I’ll be doing that soon. In the tank I have 13 small coral frags; 6 zoas, 2 mushrooms (Rhodactis and Ricordea Florida), a candy cane, a very small blasto, a toadstool, a micromussa, and a scoly button. All of the lps are on the sand bed and all corals are on coral plugs so I can move em around if I notice the nem is getting close. None of these are too expensive and I even got some for free. However, the only coral that would be big/medium sized will be the torches I just bought. They both have 2 heads but I think that the same plan can apply to them. Once the nem settles in a place I’ll decide on a more permanent spot for those two. I’ll definitely be moving one of these torches and some of the other corals to the other tank.

valley · Feb 22, 2024

Hello, just recieved the nem today. It looks good but much smaller than the video I received of it. It’ll puff up into size again right? Heres a pic of it and the video the vendor sent. I put it near the top but it decided to walk down to this rock. I had to move the Rhodactis out of the way. Its foot was perfectly intact but it was out of the water for a few minutes. I don’t know how the mouth looks when it’s open/closed but it looks fine for just being an hour in. I am noticing that it’s sucking in its tentacles and bringing them out again every now and then; here’s a pic of them sucked in. I have no fish in the tank yet so it won’t be getting much food; when should I start to feed it and how often? I don’t plan on feeding it once I have fish. I’m currently target feeding and broadcast feeding very little reef roids to my coral.