BTA lighting requirements

[kfp]

Can a BTA do well with four 75W VHOs in a 90 gal tank?
Thanks!

 

[Maxx]

I wouldnt say it would do well, but it should be okay if:

1...the anemone is healthy when you get it.
2...its placed higher up in the rock work, (closer to the lights).
3...you keep your tank parameters stable
4...your water quality is good.
5...you are diligent about changing out your bulbs on a regular basis
6...you are using no less than 3 10k or daylight spectrum bulbs, out of the 4 bulbs available, (dont use 2 daylights and 2 actinic bulbs)


I'm at work right now, but when I get home I'll post up some links to articles on anemones for you...unless Gabriella posts up some before I get to it....

You could also hit the hyperlink in my signature and search through the Resource library and read some of the articles there....

Nick

 

[Electrokate]

I know I am going to get flamed like crazy here....

I have an RBTA under 2 65 watt pc bulbs. It's been there for months and has cloned.

There, I said it. Blasphemy!

Ok, it's domestic "bred" and has been for generations, in a very shallow tank (a 20 long) with no glass lid, and eats when I feed the fish every day-I give it the big chunks. It is a "temporary" setup, the RBTA was in my big tank under the halides where it split every 2 months like clockwork, but then it started wandering. So I decided to set up a 50 gallon anemone-safe tank and it's turned out to be a rather longer project than I anticipated. The anemone seems ok though. 2 weeks after splitting the clones are already big and eating again.

I have a friend with VHO's whose RBTA bleached and has declined, it's now clear with pink tips. Maybe there are multiple strains of RBTA with some needing more light than others... I have seen this theory in print somewhere. I think getting a captive reared one is a good start, and put it up high. Keeping bulbs and any cover glass meticulously clean will help-halides don't do you any good either covered with salt. I have seen many RBTA's hide from strong halides, especially 400's, so I think they need a little less light than some people think, but probably a lot more than 2 65 watt pc bulbs .

Kate

 

[crazzyreefer]

I have had them under pc lights ...alot of pc lights....and t5 lighting... did better...but I added 500w to the 300w of t5 bulbs and they do not like that much light, all of them hide in the rocks... so while they love light, they dont like that much,,,

 

[Electrokate]

Yeah, I think they like T5 HO best, or the lower wattage halides. 175's were fine, and a guy in Portland put a friend's RBTA under his HO T5's a little over a year ago. Now I think he has about 15 anemones, maybe more, it's hard to tell at this point since they are all right next to eachother in a sheet of tentacles. Definitely healthy in that setup!
If at all possible I think it's best to buy from someone who has an anemone split. This way you know you have the strain that splits and can take captivity, and it hasn't been shipped halfway around the world.
Hoping to find a few more colors of BTA when I get the dedicated anemone tank up. That one will have 250 watts of halide on it but will also be pretty deep. If the anemones don't like it I will move the coral to it and put the anemones back in the tank with the 175's. Either way works for me!
I do feed mine, if you underlight that you should do that. They get a chunk of frozen food weekly (thawed in saltwater since they eat it so fast and can't take salinity changes). They also snag a lot of the stuff the fish miss-mysis and baby brine shrimp.
Kate

 

[crazzyreefer]

actually there is two types out there right now, the ones that get large are form the old strain, that dont split that often but get huge, the newer ones collected out of china multiply like crazy...

 

[Electrokate]

That is what I heard, mine's an aberration though. It gets huge and splits! Doesn't want to form bubble tips much either, so kind of looks like an orange LTA a lot of the time, but when I got it definitely was small and had bubble tips so that might be more about my tanks. It's split 4 or 5 times now and a couple weeks after dividing the clones get the size of dinner plates which is why it doesn't fit real well in my garden reef main display tank
What I want to find are the green and magenta ones, got a shipment of those once at Extreme Marine. They were cheap, and actually did well too. Neon green would be nice too.
Kate

 

[Maxx]

I know I am going to get flamed like crazy here....
I have an RBTA under 2 65 watt pc bulbs. It's been there for months and has cloned.

Actually, its intensity of the lighting thats the most important aspect as opposed to the whole watts per gallon hype heard most often.
Dual 65 watt PC's (130 watts total) isnt too bad in a shallow tank, (12 inches or less IMO) and you could easily keep the anemone in a tank that deep no matter the size of the tank....10 gallons or 600, as long as the anemone is directly under those 130 watts of PC's and in less than 12 inches of water....

T-5's have more intensity than PC's or VHO's, but less than MH's.....
As long as you follow what I posted earlier, you should be fine...

Here are the links I promised earlier....

clownfish and their host anemone

HOST ANEMONES

Bubble Tip (BTA), Rose Anemones in Captive Systems

Keeping Anemones

2003 Anemone Survey

Sea Anemones

The Anemone FAQ This is a PDF file, while require adobe acrobat to open and while take a awhile to load, be patient, good info.

Nick

 

[Electrokate]

Gee, I thought I would get flamed by the anemone police! They must be on vacation Maybe with the tang patrol!
Kate

 

[Elmo18]

Before i make my reply....just need to ask how long your tank has been setup..

- Ilham