Feeding BTA

Diana · #1 10-05-2005, 07:49 PM

Hey all

I just got a beautiful purple/green BTA that is about 3-4" in diameter. How often should I be feeding it, and how much? I've had it 3 days now and fed it twice, both times about a half chunk of krill. It looks like its found its spot just under an overhang on my rockwork.

My saddleback clown is eyeing it but hasnt made a move yet....

-Diana

Delphinus · #2 10-05-2005, 08:00 PM

Once a week is probably fine. Not that it's bad to feed it more often than that, but overall they're pretty undemanding as long as other things are good.

reeferaddict · #3 10-05-2005, 08:19 PM

Light light light! Keep the supplemental feedings to a minimum... really. When your clown starts hosting HE will feed the anemone. Once in a blue moon I will put in a whole silverside which the clown will retrieve and take to the anemone, but the single most important nutritional element in keeping these animals comes from their zooxanthellae, which require intense light. Trust me.... I've done it both ways, feeding and not feeding, and I can say the results from not feeding are working, while I lost a number of anemones that I fed.

Just my 4 bits with inflation...

DanG · #4 10-05-2005, 08:28 PM

I have a green bta, and I feed it once or twice a month at the most. As long as it's getting lots of light, it's going to be happy. If it starts wandering, that means it's not happy for one reason or another.

OCDP · #5 10-05-2005, 08:51 PM

Agreed with everyone.. I have kept many BTA's .. barely ever fed them.. lighting is key!! Enjoy your new anemone.. and pics please!!

Saddlebacks aren't natural hosts, but if he's noticing your anemone, chances are looking up!

Scott

Delphinus · #6 10-05-2005, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeferaddict

Light light light! Keep the supplemental feedings to a minimum... really. When your clown starts hosting HE will feed the anemone.

Ok I'm sorry but I have to butt in again...

In nearly ten years of observing this, I can count on my ONE hand (luckily 4 fingers and one thumb) how many times I've seen a clownfish reliably feed an anemone.

And who's to say you HAVE to put a clownfish in an anemone? I have 4 BTA's and none of them host clownfish. So there!

The energy derived from lighting are high-energy/quick-release carbohydrates. The energy derived from feeding/digestion is low-energy/slow-release things like proteins. Subsisting on lighting alone is equivalent to subsisting on those energy bars athletes might scarf down while working out. It's not a suitable long-term nutritional plan.

Ideally you have to have both lighting and feeding taken into account for keeping these things healthy for the long-term.

Having said that, they don't need as much as you'd think. As long as you're feeding the tank something, odds are pretty good they're catching something out of the water column for themselves, even if you don't necessarily notice it.

It does depend on the species. BTA's are less demanding that other species. Some species you should not even dream of trying to keep without trying to directly target feed. If I relied on my ocellaris to feed my ritteri (H. magnifica), it would have perished years ago. I can literally observe that thing shrink if I go so long as a week without target feeding it. The ocellaris that inhabit it are completely useless in this respect.

In fact, I remember reading one academic who went so far as to suggest that the anemonefish/anemone relationship is not one truly symbiotic, in fact it's more parasitic. I.e., the fish get more out of the relationship than does the anemone. Personally, I think that's a little extreme, but I can sort of see his point. A case could probably be made that says that the anemone benefits more from the anemonefish defending their territory against potential anemone predators. However I would venture to say that too might depend on species. A clarkii might be more boisterous than say an ocellaris. I know my ocellaris couldn't defend their anemone against a fly if one were to fly into the tank..

Diana · #7 10-05-2005, 09:26 PM

Okay thanks guys! I'll feed it next in a couple weeks then... since it must have a full gut right now.

Theres quite a bit of light on the tank... its a 20 gallon with 130 watts coralife PC... two 10,000k bulbs and two actinic. Its not metal halide or anything but hopefully it'll do. The anenome has nice bubble tips with points which it only gets during the day... so im asuming thats because there's enough light? He moves up a little towards the light when its on and then retreats back to the overhang at night. I'll post pictures as soon as i algae the glass

.

Ive read that the clowns dont actually feed the anenome... or theres no proof of that... they only bring extra chunks of food back to thier 'home' when they get an abundant amount, and are kinda saving some for later. The only time this behaviour is witnessed in the wild is when divers feed clownfish, and there is lots of food, so they bring extra peices back home.

Hopefully my saddleback will go for it! Hes certianly looking curious.

-Diana

ed99 · #8 10-05-2005, 09:41 PM

As far as clowns feeding the anemone, I had the opposite occur- my pink skunk clowns would always steal from the anemone when I tried to target feed it. I had to keep the clowns away to give the anemone time to swallow it.

DanG · #9 10-05-2005, 10:05 PM

My maroon will do both, steal and share, depending on what's for dinner. If it's a raw chunk, I have to try and keep him occupied over in one corner while a put a piece of shrimp on a skewer in the anemone's tentacles, if it's algae wafers, he happily steals those from the crabs and shrimp and puts it into the anemone's tentacles. Flake, he will go after on his own, but rarely does he go after flake that gets caught in the tentacles.

golden69_ca · #10 10-05-2005, 10:18 PM

my mated pair of marron clowns are funny the large female feeds it everytime i feed the clowns and some times the male will try to take some foor and the female chases him away and wont let him near the bta .