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Bta Feeding

x22hockey

MAJOR REEF HEAD
BRS Member
how often should i feed it silversides, or is this unnecessary when u feed it brine and mysis
 
I feed my RBTA's by squirting in some mysis with a turkey baster. IME if I feed silversides they often spit them out half digested if they take them at all.
 
i have heard alot of people saying feed silver sides
 
I use the turkey baster with fish goo...mysis..whatever is lunch for the tank that day...and every so often break off a piece of silverside and feed it to the BTA....sometimes they do spit it out-but that's just more goodies for the CUC. Not 100% positive but I believe feeding them also helps to encourage them to split?? I may have to agree on that one at times....as my 2 BTA's has now turned into 7!!! and all I want is a big one:(
 
I use the turkey baster with fish goo...mysis..whatever is lunch for the tank that day...and every so often break off a piece of silverside and feed it to the BTA....sometimes they do spit it out-but that's just more goodies for the CUC. Not 100% positive but I believe feeding them also helps to encourage them to split?? I may have to agree on that one at times....as my 2 BTA's has now turned into 7!!! and all I want is a big one:(

ill help you out u can just give me one that would be so nice of u
 
o and did i mention that i love that squirrel i was a pet one
 
I could possibly consider a trade??:D

As for the squirrel...well that is the same look I have on my face everyday I look at the 55 I am "DIY"ing..just knowing that soon it will be fully on-line-and I made the sump/plumbing:eek: Renters' insurance is looking good right now:rolleyes:



ill help you out u can just give me one that would be so nice of u
 
FWIW, IME the conventional wisdom was always to feed silversides, then A. Calfo started pushing the idea that even silversides were too big to be good anemone food (because the anemones would often spit them out half digested or not digested at all).

I don't like to follow advice blindly, but I had to admit that I had seen many a silver side spat out. After calfo gave his lecture at a BRS mtg (the time when he cut one of scavo's bta's in half) I was convinced enough to give the mysis idea a try. After a couple of months or so of skipping the silversides and just turkey basting mysis a couple times a week I beleive (subjectively) that my RBTA's started gaining mass overall, whereas before on the silverside diet they were growing very little if not maybe even losing mass. At this point my RBTA's seem happier than ever and I haven't fed a sliverside since that Calfo talk (was it 2 yrs ago?)

On splitting?
IME feeding seems to lead to growth (at least for me?) and stressors seem to cause most or all of the splitting I've seen. I could go on and on about my exp with mine, but I'm tired now (GO SOX).

I'll just say that I can pretty clearly trace the majority of my splits to specific stressors about 10-14 days prior to the splitting. The stressors I'm referring to have all been BIG water changes or solid temp spikes (at least 5 degrees + beyond normal fluxuation).

In the end it's pretty hard to say re; cause and effect with splitting IMO. I think what I think, but I might just be wrong :)
 
Mine basically just feed off of light and whatever mysis/brine it can catch during feedings (usually not much). Been about a year now since getting my BTA which has split once. They've grown quite a bit, and seem pretty happy except recently I been messing with the tanks flow and PO'd one of them. Now its on the move which results in it killing off some of my corals. grrrrr!!
 
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