BTA white swirls that look like worms

[Thereefdoc]

I’ve had this BTA since friday and have it isolated in a container for now. It was doing great this morning, fully inflated and attached to the rock. I was checking on it and saw it partially deflated with these weird worm looking things coming out of the mouth. Please help id what might be going on. I have another wild BTA and a rbta that I’ve had for a while and both look great.

 

[Thereefdoc]

It’s fully inflated now. Are there anemone worm parasites?

 

[Cell]

Internal organs.

 

[Tired]

Yeah, looks like it's spitting out its intestines.

What are your water parameters (exactly, not just "good"), and how old is the tank?

Did its foot look damaged when you put it in?

 

[Thereefdoc]

Internal organs.

Could it be injured or sick? There was no trauma to the foot at all. I bought it with the rock it was attached to.

 

[Thereefdoc]

Yeah, looks like it's spitting out its intestines.

What are your water parameters (exactly, not just "good"), and how old is the tank?

Did its foot look damaged when you put it in?

Tank is about 10-11 months
Nitrates are 5-10ppm
Po4 is 0.03
Ph 8.2
Alk is 11
Calc is 420
MG 1300 - haven’t tested in a couple of weeks
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0

I inspected it really well and didn’t see any damage. I opted to put it in a basket in the tank to observe. It’s been inflated since I bought it and it moved around on the rock until it found a comfortable spot.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Kinda just looks like nem poop. That BTA Looks happy to me.

 

[Thereefdoc]

Kinda just looks like nem poop. That BTA Looks happy to me.

I’ve never seen nem poop that looks like that but it certainly could be.

Yeah it looked and acted pretty healthy, I just saw that and got a bit worried. I don’t want to put it in my tank and have the clownfish pick at its inside or have a parasite i fest the other nems.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Hit it with some flow or a turkey baster and see if it blows off. If it just blows off, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[LeftyReefer]

That's a very cool BTA by the way. I've never seen one that color before.
What was it sold as?

 

[Thereefdoc]

That's a very cool BTA by the way. I've never seen one that color before.
What was it sold as?

Will do, thanks. It was just sold as a bta no name or anything. I’ve bought a bta from this shop before and it’s also very unique. He said the other one was a wild bta, it has white tips and is pinkish throughout. He just called this one a green bta.

 

[chizerbunoi]

That worm as you identify is the purging of zooxanthellae. I agree that you have a lack of water flow in that container and need to up the flow. Or use a turkey blaster to clear it off and remove.

The anemone looks bleached but should color up within the next 4 months. If it’s not deflating then it’s in good shape. Nice specimen.

 

[Thereefdoc]

That worm as you identify is the purging of zooxanthellae. I agree that you have a lack of water flow in that container and need to up the flow. Or use a turkey blaster to clear it off and remove.

The anemone looks bleached but should color up within the next 4 months. If it’s not deflating then it’s in good shape. Nice specimen.

Thanks! I plan on moving it into the display tank today. It does seem a little bleached but otherwise looks and acts normal.