Introduction and a BTA vs Torch Question

Tamberav · Jun 11, 2021

REM2021 said:
Good evening all! Relatively new reefer--I kept a seahorse FOWLR and then a nano reef for a few years, took a several year break (waiting for the kiddo to get old enough I had some time\energy\money for reefing again!) and set up a new nano tank about seven months ago. I'm running a 20 gallon hex with two ocellaris clowns, plenty of snails (my last reef made me a forever crab-free reefer, thanks to a particularly murderous emerald crab), a torch, a frogspawn, one watermelon BTA, one RFA, and a derasa clam. Everything is looking great and was very happy until I had the audacity to add the RFA in yesterday and turned the lights down to an acclimation schedule. That was apparently enough for my watermelon BTA, who has previously been a model citizen, to pack up and go walking. Straight up the rock towards my torch. My torch is the king of the tank, perched at the very top of the rock work with two massive heads and great extension, and is definitely my favorite tank resident.

Anyway, long background for an easy question: anyone else experience the dread of watching a BTA head for a prized coral, agonize over whether/how to try to redirect it, watch it make contact, lose terribly to the coral, and beat an almost hilariously fast retreat? It had never occurred to me that in a BTA vs torch fight, the torch could decisively win. My watermelon is now rapidly heading back for his original spot, and I'm planning to rush my light acclimation for the RFA to try to convince him not to try a new spot tomorrow.

Am I misreading this and just got lucky, or for folks who have also kept both, does it check out that a torch could trounce a BTA?

Fun side note: my clowns don't care about either of them. Or the frogspawn. They are hosted by the ugly seaweed clip at the top of the tank that I put in to supplement my snails when I stocked ahead of my algae growth, and have reluctantly left in solely for the clowns' benefit. I've been debating taking it out to see if that will prompt them to investigate the WBTA, who is still pretty new to the tank (added right when I hit six months).

I have two BTAs living next to a large indo torch and they seem to know the other is a hot potato. The tentacles on both are ever slightly short and shriveled enough to leave a little space in between. It seems neither wins and instead they are just trying to avoid one another.