Thoughts on a rbta in a 28 gallon...
- Thread starter Michaud65
- Start date
dcforester1
Finally enjoying my tank
They are nice,BUT if you are going to put some coral in there, they will sting it. I have a nice Monty that is getting destroyed by my RBTA. I love the look of him, but hate his behavior.
GoodLuck
GoodLuck
RockSalt
Will work for coral
Absolutely! I have no coral in it. I used to have a 75 gal mixed reef (before the ice storm took it) packed full of coral and would never have put an RBTA in it. If they find a nice spot and decide to stay there, great. But often they move and that's when the path of destruction starts. Let it settle first and see if it stays put for a while. I decided when I got back in the hobby after a year off that I would start small and get the RBTA I always wanted but didn't dare to have.
So I went with a 20 gal (that I used to use for a frag tank) with an algae blennie, orange striped bristletooth tang, coral banded shrimp, maxima clam, RBTA, and a bunch of nassarius snails.
So far so good.
So I went with a 20 gal (that I used to use for a frag tank) with an algae blennie, orange striped bristletooth tang, coral banded shrimp, maxima clam, RBTA, and a bunch of nassarius snails.
So far so good.
I have an RBTA (recently split into two) and a single GBTA in my 29 gallon. They are relatively small though. Maybe 4", 3" and 2" respectively.
So, I'd say yes you could keep an RBTA just fine with that size tank. The lighting is probably ok too. I have a 175 halide myself. As others said it will sting your corals. I have to keep an eye on things and shift my other corals around. At the moment a Xenia is getting harassed (I don't care), and a small green slimer (I do care). I typically feed them mysis maybe once a week at most. If I feed them more frequently they tend to grow a VERY fast. Once a week they grow slowly. The BTA's will be just fine and they will get some additional food from the water column as you feed your fish. The key is clean water (skimmer) and stable parameters. Keep those nitrates low. BTA's seem to be less demanding and hardy. I have never had problems with them. My tank has been running for 9 months now.
My skunk cleaner shrimp is fine with the BTA's. It actually knows how to handle the anemones and even occasionally steals food from them. It delicately pokes the tentacles until they retract and moves in for the grab. It doesn't seem to bother the BTA's all that much. But, if the shrimp takes a wrong step I suspect it could easily become a meal.
As with any anemone, careful if you have any power-heads. They can wander around a good bit until they find a spot they like. Stinging whatever crosses their path, and potentially becoming puree in a power-head. Once they settle down, the risk drops greatly, but the risk is always there. I have two Koralia power-heads in my tank and it hasn't been a serious problem. However, when my RBTA split, one of them decided to wander all around the tank and eventually parked itself right on a power-head. I noticed it heading that way and unplugged it, though it managed to get some tentacles chopped off. Eventually it became confused and stuck in that corner of the tank. I removed it by hand and placed it in a part of the tank I thought it would like. I was right. It loves it's new spot and has been there for weeks.
I'd suggest getting an RBTA from a BRS member rather than the LFS. Unless the LFS BTA is colorful and looks healthy. Mine have been super healthy and you get one knowing that it is a split rather than wild harvest. Also gives the potential that it will split for you eventually too!
So, I'd say yes you could keep an RBTA just fine with that size tank. The lighting is probably ok too. I have a 175 halide myself. As others said it will sting your corals. I have to keep an eye on things and shift my other corals around. At the moment a Xenia is getting harassed (I don't care), and a small green slimer (I do care). I typically feed them mysis maybe once a week at most. If I feed them more frequently they tend to grow a VERY fast. Once a week they grow slowly. The BTA's will be just fine and they will get some additional food from the water column as you feed your fish. The key is clean water (skimmer) and stable parameters. Keep those nitrates low. BTA's seem to be less demanding and hardy. I have never had problems with them. My tank has been running for 9 months now.
My skunk cleaner shrimp is fine with the BTA's. It actually knows how to handle the anemones and even occasionally steals food from them. It delicately pokes the tentacles until they retract and moves in for the grab. It doesn't seem to bother the BTA's all that much. But, if the shrimp takes a wrong step I suspect it could easily become a meal.
As with any anemone, careful if you have any power-heads. They can wander around a good bit until they find a spot they like. Stinging whatever crosses their path, and potentially becoming puree in a power-head. Once they settle down, the risk drops greatly, but the risk is always there. I have two Koralia power-heads in my tank and it hasn't been a serious problem. However, when my RBTA split, one of them decided to wander all around the tank and eventually parked itself right on a power-head. I noticed it heading that way and unplugged it, though it managed to get some tentacles chopped off. Eventually it became confused and stuck in that corner of the tank. I removed it by hand and placed it in a part of the tank I thought it would like. I was right. It loves it's new spot and has been there for weeks.
I'd suggest getting an RBTA from a BRS member rather than the LFS. Unless the LFS BTA is colorful and looks healthy. Mine have been super healthy and you get one knowing that it is a split rather than wild harvest. Also gives the potential that it will split for you eventually too!
aiaman
Non-member
one of the past posts reminded me that you might want to think about feeding it
I used to feed 1 rehydrated krill maybe 1 or 2 times a week
I would place the krill in a pair of tweezers and gently hold the food against the arms
the anemone would grab the krill & then I let it go
I don't have to do this anymore since my blackfooted clownfish feeds it anything larger than she'll eat
I have mine since I started my tank (18 months) and she remains in the flow
I used to feed 1 rehydrated krill maybe 1 or 2 times a week
I would place the krill in a pair of tweezers and gently hold the food against the arms
the anemone would grab the krill & then I let it go
I don't have to do this anymore since my blackfooted clownfish feeds it anything larger than she'll eat
I have mine since I started my tank (18 months) and she remains in the flow
leemik
Addict
I have an RBTA in a 22G (with 15G sump).. had it in there for 2.5 years now... it was about 3-4" when i first got it.. now it's a good 16"+ or so.. expands to 3/4 the surface area of the tank during "sunlight" hours .. it seems to eat pellet food too because that's what I feed the two peculiar clowns.. and when it snags some dropsies it closes up on them.. I have never fed this anemone any live food in 2.5 years.
in the tank are a bunch of eagle eye zoo's.. maybe 250 heads and a handful of rics and xenia.. tank has been unbelieveably healthy I just leave it alone mostly.. haven't done a water change in 1.5 years and don't even skim it... no clue as to why it's thriving like this, it's found some sort of natural balance and i'm scared to mess with a good thing.
--mike
in the tank are a bunch of eagle eye zoo's.. maybe 250 heads and a handful of rics and xenia.. tank has been unbelieveably healthy I just leave it alone mostly.. haven't done a water change in 1.5 years and don't even skim it... no clue as to why it's thriving like this, it's found some sort of natural balance and i'm scared to mess with a good thing.
--mike
Intheflesh
Non-member
when i saw the title, and that you responded, i swore that kyle had signed up and was posting
