Hello all - I've had a lovely BTA in my tank approximately 8 months and up until a couple of weeks ago he was growing well and flourishing greatly. He had been in his current "spot" since January and seemed content because he was, as my husband liked to say, loud and proud all sprawled out on his rock all day. I had to move nearby corals a few times because the nem kept manspreading. Suddenly about ten days ago I noticed he looked smaller than usual. He still accepted food (raw table shrimp, krill) and his 2 little sexy shrimp were still stuck to him like a kardashian to an nba player. I have a pair of clowns but they have never shown any real interest in the nem.
Five days ago the nem started walking all over the live rock and trying out new spots but never settled permanently. He just seemed discontent for some reason. Two days ago he detached and went for a swim. I found him stuck facedown between the live rock and my lobo coral, with some of his tentacles laying on the lobo - I thought he was a goner because that lobo can eat stuff 3 times bigger than him! I gently fished him out and put him right side up against the back wall of my tank in an area of gentle flow to see if he was going to recover. After several hours he did attach his foot to the back wall of the tank and moved over a bit but he's been in the same spot since yesterday and while he's still attached he looks like wilted lettuce [emoji30]. He does inflate his tentacles somewhat but then goes back to just laying like a wet mop. One sexy shrimp is in it for the long haul, the other one has abandoned ship and hooked up with the frogspawn, which the FS appears to have mixed feelings about [emoji136]. My tank stats are below - I should mention that I've purchased a 60 gallon tank because I quickly saw the 13.5 gallon Fluval Evo was not going to be suitable for him long term. I am moving in a couple months and am waiting to set up the new tank in my new place. This tank was my first reef tank and I've since learned A LOT. I actually brought this nem and my clownfish home when this tank was 3 weeks old - I now know that was asking for failure but at the time was going on what my lfs told me (I know, I know). I've literally carried this nem around on a silk pillow since I've had him because I was determined to meet his needs once I had him home. I'm going to be heartbroken if he kicks up his tentacles [emoji24].
My nitrates are high BUT they were off the charts, I've been dosing nopox for approx a month-ish and they've steadily declined. I overfeed [emoji21] .
Thanks for your time and sorry for the long post.
Salinity 1.023
Calc 458
Alk 10.7
Ph 7.6 (low but stable)
Phos 0
Nitrates 10-20
Magn Don't test magnesium
76 degrees
2 clownfish
1 purple striped dottyback
1 strawberry crab
2 nass
5 cerith
1 sand conch
Pair of sexiest
1 pep shrimp
LPS and softies + 1 green birdsnest
Five days ago the nem started walking all over the live rock and trying out new spots but never settled permanently. He just seemed discontent for some reason. Two days ago he detached and went for a swim. I found him stuck facedown between the live rock and my lobo coral, with some of his tentacles laying on the lobo - I thought he was a goner because that lobo can eat stuff 3 times bigger than him! I gently fished him out and put him right side up against the back wall of my tank in an area of gentle flow to see if he was going to recover. After several hours he did attach his foot to the back wall of the tank and moved over a bit but he's been in the same spot since yesterday and while he's still attached he looks like wilted lettuce [emoji30]. He does inflate his tentacles somewhat but then goes back to just laying like a wet mop. One sexy shrimp is in it for the long haul, the other one has abandoned ship and hooked up with the frogspawn, which the FS appears to have mixed feelings about [emoji136]. My tank stats are below - I should mention that I've purchased a 60 gallon tank because I quickly saw the 13.5 gallon Fluval Evo was not going to be suitable for him long term. I am moving in a couple months and am waiting to set up the new tank in my new place. This tank was my first reef tank and I've since learned A LOT. I actually brought this nem and my clownfish home when this tank was 3 weeks old - I now know that was asking for failure but at the time was going on what my lfs told me (I know, I know). I've literally carried this nem around on a silk pillow since I've had him because I was determined to meet his needs once I had him home. I'm going to be heartbroken if he kicks up his tentacles [emoji24].
My nitrates are high BUT they were off the charts, I've been dosing nopox for approx a month-ish and they've steadily declined. I overfeed [emoji21] .
Thanks for your time and sorry for the long post.
Salinity 1.023
Calc 458
Alk 10.7
Ph 7.6 (low but stable)
Phos 0
Nitrates 10-20
Magn Don't test magnesium
76 degrees
2 clownfish
1 purple striped dottyback
1 strawberry crab
2 nass
5 cerith
1 sand conch
Pair of sexiest
1 pep shrimp
LPS and softies + 1 green birdsnest
