BTA's

[Frogs62]

I have a 1000G tank and I am in the process of BTA proofing it and then begin adding some high end BTA's . I am trying to educate myself and avoid making big $ mistakes so here are my questions

1) I am a little confused about mixing BTA's...... many say don't mix at all and others say its ok mix but don't mix Aqua cultured and Wild?

2) Would tank size effect the ability to mix?

3) Are there any BTA's that are a consensus DO NOT mix.. please name them

4) How can you tell the difference between Wild and Aqua Cultured BTA's?

5) Who are the BTA's experts here on R2R and are there any articles on BTA's that anyone would recommend?

6) Is there any thing else I forgot or failed/should consider?

Thank you in advance for your time and advise

 

[secret_reefer337]

I have both greens, rose, rainbow and black widows in 29 biocube with no problem. I have heard that the high end colorado, lemon drop etc don’t do well when mixed with other colors or the anemones from the wild. Honestly, I will not gamble on high ends ($1,000 ++) dying because of the rose and the greens.

 

[D-Nak]

I'll try to quickly answer your questions:

1) I am a little confused about mixing BTA's...... many say don't mix at all and others say its ok mix but don't mix Aqua cultured and Wild?

It depends on how you define aquacultured versus wild, and if you believe in allelopathy or not. The jury is still out. It could be some other chemical defense mechanism. More on the "aquacultured" versus "wild" debate down below...

2) Would tank size effect the ability to mix?

See #1. If you believe in that theory, then tank size probably doesn't matter. Would you jump into the ocean knowing that you have a cut on your leg and there's a shark in the water, and that shark can smell blood at one part per million? Some people recommend running carbon to combat allelopathy, but no one knows how effective that is.

3) Are there any BTA's that are a consensus DO NOT mix.. please name them.

No. But as Rogie mentions, it really just comes down to your investment. If you only have RBTAs and other BTAs that aren't high-end, then mix them as you please. You just need to think twice when adding a $1,000+ CSB when others have told you that a RBTA is capable of killing it (even if it's not). The most common report is that a RBTA or Black Widow takes out a CSB or supernova or other high-end BTA.

4) How can you tell the difference between Wild and Aqua Cultured BTA's?

You can't. "Wild" means that an anemone was freshly imported. But it's not like a stamp magically appears when that anemone has been in captivity for X number of years or has split X number of times. Most people don't even track how many times their anemone has split. Also, it's not like anemones have babies and these grow up and have their own babies, where we can count generations, or we're not collecting anemone eggs from the wild and growing them (aka tank- or captive-raised).

I think a better term would be "established" because it implies that the anemone has been in captivity for a recorded amount of time, and in that period has acted a certain way.

5) Who are the BTA's experts here on R2R and are there any articles on BTA's that anyone would recommend?

There are quite a few members here who know a lot about BTAs. I don't know of any articles.

6) Is there any thing else I forgot or failed/should consider?

In terms of anemone-proofing your tank, there really isn't a way 100% foolproof way to do that. Powerheads in the tank always pose the risk of chewing up your anemones. The safest way to circulate water in an anemone tank is with a closed loop system, but you need to make sure that the intake of the closed loop is gentle enough and is properly protected.