How do I keep a bubble tip

[Dragonboas]

From what I've heard repeatedly bubble tips are the easiest anemone but that has not been my experience. First though ill start with parameters.

165 gallon tank
Ph 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate less than 5
Alk 6.7
Calc 440
Mag 1400

Lights currently 2 viparspectra 300w. About 10-12 inches above water. Tank height is 36 inches.

I'll start at the beginning but this will be long. I got a rainbow bubble tip about 4-5 months ago. He was partly opened but never fully and after a couple weeks completely shrunk up and kept moving in the same circle every day. That went on for 2 months. Never opening and refusing food. I got a carpet nem a couple weeks prior to the bubble tip and to this day he is doing awesome. A month and a half ago I moved and in the process of breaking down the tank I grabbed the rock the bta was on and half his foot was on the rock next to it, split him perfectly in half. Both sides are still alive and about the size of my pinky nail considering they are totally shrunk. The tiny tips of tentacles sticking out have perfect color, the foots are great and they have no problem attaching, Just will not under any circumstances open up.

Thinking that guy just has whatever going on ill try another so I ended up getting two more btas. For 48 hours both looked awesome. Now they are both shrinking. Tentacles are still out but not fully but I feel like they are just going the same direction as the other one. All 3 are in separate baskets at the top, not near each other. Bottom of the basket roughly 8-10 inches below the surface.

So what on earth can I try now? If I've missed a crucial parameter for these let me know and I'll get it.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

my guess could maybeee be too much light? Not really sure. what else is in the tank besides the carpet nem?

 

[Dragonboas]

my guess could maybeee be too much light? Not really sure. what else is in the tank besides the carpet nem?

105 different corals, completely mixed. Large acros, torches, chalices etc etc. 2 clowns that have never gone near an anemone, cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, lawnmower blenny, diamond goby, yellow headed goby, 3 stripe damsel, 9 chromis, pajama cardinal, dusky wrasse, flame tang, sailfin tang.

With that said I just was messing with the wavemakers and put them in something along the lines of "ape****" mode. Creating waves back and forth on the surface and unless its my imagination I think the tentacles on the original bta might be out more than I've seen in two months. I'm eyeballing millimeters here so could just be me.

 

[laverda]

my guess could maybeee be too much light? Not really sure. what else is in the tank besides the carpet nem?

That is almost impossible to do. Anemones love light and require a lot of it.

 

[Dragonboas]

That is almost impossible to do. Anemones love light and require a lot of it.

The only thing I can think of is maybe the alk? Would lower alk cause issues? I can't find much info about alk and anemones so I'm not sure, just kind of at a loss. I am dosing it back up though since apparently I'm losing to much regardless so it needs fixed.

 

[laverda]

BTAs use nitrate as a food source. If you I doing anything to reduce them I would stop and let them increase to about 10. What are your phosphates at? The also require phosphates. I don't think your low alk specificly is a problem for your anemone. Raise it slowly as the do not like big or fast changes.
Anemones also like a lot of flow around them, but not constantly blasting them.

 

[Dragonboas]

My 2 new ones, black widow and rose, both have bubbles in the tentacles but they just aren't coming out very far off the body. But it's better than it was. I'm not sure where my phosphate tester is at the moment, we just moved last month, but last i checked it was around 2.0. I've been running gfo to get that down. Nitrates I can't get super accurate because i'm using the api master kit and the color chart sucks. I've also never had them higher than 5 even with heavy feeding.

 

[Pistondog]

My 2 new ones, black widow and rose, both have bubbles in the tentacles but they just aren't coming out very far off the body. But it's better than it was. I'm not sure where my phosphate tester is at the moment, we just moved last month, but last i checked it was around 2.0. I've been running gfo to get that down. Nitrates I can't get super accurate because i'm using the api master kit and the color chart sucks. I've also never had them higher than 5 even with heavy feeding.

Phosphate binds to rocks and sand. 2.0 ppm is a lot, maybe consider lanthanum chloride.

 

[UnderseaOddities]

@Dragonboas you got this homie,they like a stable environmentph 8.1 to 8.4 is best,no alk swings,high po4s are a nono...medium nitrite low ammonia and a highersalinity to uptake micro nutes better, medium flow to much flow will make it throw elongated tentacles same with too ittle light you want intense light start day off with blues kick it on to white or full blast then dim it again toward lights out...ime a strainer witg clamp always keeps bta more bubbley and swanky in aperance tgeres nothing worse thsn paying for a designer piece and see it fizzlee out and get lanky, a small plastic basket works too if you have room,if not maket it ghetto with tupperware and rubble

 

[UnderseaOddities]

A good way to see if tank is mature enough for a cnidarean is to see if a starfish can live stress free a good rule of thumb is to wait a year for microbiolgy to mature in tank before adding something like nems,cucs or star and have a stable tank and been through your first few nitrogen cycles and alk swings that the chemistry of a young reef tank produce

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Also make sure to replenish those macros by doing a monthly water change of 25%

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Feeding mysis shrimp regularly aswell as dose with reefroids and a few pellet never hurt either nems are alway hungry

 

[UnderseaOddities]

@Dragonboas i would suggest buying and dosing no3po4x online and dose and test and raise salinty a tad,maybe put in strainer to limit amount of flow put and add some more snails and maybe some macro like dragons breath or blue hyphnea

 

[Dragonboas]

@Dragonboas i would suggest buying and dosing no3po4x online and dose and test and raise salinty a tad,maybe put in strainer to limit amount of flow put and add some more snails and maybe some macro like dragons breath or blue hyphnea

I have no clue of course about die off but I had 10 turbo snails, I know a couple of the bigger ones have since died but I still see a few around, probably 50 nassarius snails, 150+ cerith, 150 hermits, 2 sand sifting starfish, 2 conches, 3 stomatellas, and that might be it for clean up unless I'm missing something. I do have the bubble tips up at the top in baskets already. They do seem to look a little better. I have chaeto but it's out right now because I've been dosing vibrant, gfo reactor has been running for a while but honestly I didn't see that much of a difference in the phosphates. My alk is now up to 7.1, haven't dosed today yet so it'll be 7.4 later. I was planning to get up to 9 and then holding steady. I typically do a 25ish gallon water change every week, sometimes every other week. How do I get the ph up though, I got a c02 reactor but it didn't change it whatsoever. Just always right at 8.0