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BTA Behavior
- Thread starter SirFragalot
- Start date
Rbu1 said:
SirFragalot said:
If Mator is hosting the nem....he is getting fed...along with the floating food...and the zooanthellae. How much food do you think these things need. The reason I was suggesting to do nothing, was because Mator is part of the feeding equation.
Even if Mator was not there, everything I have read suggests limited additional feeding e.g. 1-2 X weekly in addition to the floating food they should get. This also assumes you have the food moving around the tank e.g. filter off, powerhead on during feeding.
Finally, just like everything else, I am sure there are many people who have different methods to successfully raising these interesting creatures.
If people are going to cut and paste from other websites you should give them proper credit IMO.
http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/ch34.html
http://www.nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/ch34.html
Jcurry thanks for that i didn't even realize that i forgot to list that link.
I'm not arguing with anyone but I'm just telling you that it is not necessary to feed your anemone chunks of food. Whatever it catches from your feedings is sufficient.
Ive learned from keeping so many anemones that the act of eating and digestion takes so much energy that it sometimes does more good then bad.
When i first got my magnifica it didn't eat for at least 2 months i stopped after the first two days of trying. Anemones are not like fish or humans they use the saltwater inside there cavity to digest the food. They dont have stomach acid or the ability to chew. They basically squeeze the nutrients out of their food. If the food has bones like a silverside it can puncture the body of anemone or get stuck.
I'm not arguing with anyone but I'm just telling you that it is not necessary to feed your anemone chunks of food. Whatever it catches from your feedings is sufficient.
Ive learned from keeping so many anemones that the act of eating and digestion takes so much energy that it sometimes does more good then bad.
When i first got my magnifica it didn't eat for at least 2 months i stopped after the first two days of trying. Anemones are not like fish or humans they use the saltwater inside there cavity to digest the food. They dont have stomach acid or the ability to chew. They basically squeeze the nutrients out of their food. If the food has bones like a silverside it can puncture the body of anemone or get stuck.
Here's another one from National Geographic.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/sea-anemone.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/sea-anemone.html
See what I started? 
I agree with the idea of not feeding large pieces of food like whole shrimp and whole silver sides. I lost my first BTA and I'm pretty sure it was because I was feeding it whole cocktail shrimp. I saw a few threads similar to Reefnets has posted and switched to feeding my fish PE Mysis and Spectrum Thera pellets over where the anemones were sited so they could get whatever the fish missed. The BTA had better expansion and color and fewer splits, so that's what I now recommend based on my personal experience.
No offense to National Geographic, but that definition is on par with the one in the Webster's dictionary for children.
It's good enough for your neighbor's kid, who has snot running down his nose, is smearing his greasy fingers on your tank, and is screaming "What's Dat" at your sea anenome, but not good for much else.
And definitely not good enough for anyone who wants to keep an anenome alive for more then a couple of weeks.
It's good enough for your neighbor's kid, who has snot running down his nose, is smearing his greasy fingers on your tank, and is screaming "What's Dat" at your sea anenome, but not good for much else.
And definitely not good enough for anyone who wants to keep an anenome alive for more then a couple of weeks.
i meant more bad then good...
Sirfrag, you started a good post about feeding your anemone!!!!! its informative and gives people a chance to see different views and husbandry practices.
Sirfrag, you started a good post about feeding your anemone!!!!! its informative and gives people a chance to see different views and husbandry practices.
ReeferNets said:
I know. I see both points of view.
Well all I can speak from is past experience and from the site I posted earlier. I have been keeping anemones for about 4 years. I feed them on average every 2 weeks. I usually use an extra piece of shrimp that the eels did not consume. Then every couple months or so I give them some silversides.
Dave,
Were you actually reading the debate? I added this post to prove a point; anemones do catch and eat fish. I would hope people actually read about the livestock they keep and not getting educated by the simplest of definitions.
Yes I was reading the debate. My point was that a generic statement from national geographic saying anenome's eat fish, does not tell you much more then some anenome's eat fish.
I don't believe anyone was debating that some eat fish.
And of course we all hope people actually read about the livestock they keep.
Were you actually reading the debate? I added this post to prove a point; anemones do catch and eat fish. I would hope people actually read about the livestock they keep and not getting educated by the simplest of definitions.
Yes I was reading the debate. My point was that a generic statement from national geographic saying anenome's eat fish, does not tell you much more then some anenome's eat fish.
I don't believe anyone was debating that some eat fish.
And of course we all hope people actually read about the livestock they keep.
I'll qualify my observations by stating that all of my experience is with LTA's.
This debate is somewhat like the old Miller Lite debate about tastes great or less filling! ;D
Both sides have great points.
Nem's can sustain themselves for long periods of time without being fed. But they thrive when they are fed.
My LTA has been in my care for over ten years. It has gone more then a year without eating. During that time it frequently hyper extended to gather more light, lost it's 'stickiness' and lost color.
When it started to eat again, it experienced actual growth, became very sticky and much more colorful.
I also agree that they will stress due to overfeeding. I feed mine irregularly. Sometimes as much as 2 whole silversides 2 or 3 times in a week. Sometimes I neglect target feeding for a month. In it's current location it gets some of the clownfish's food everyday.
This debate is somewhat like the old Miller Lite debate about tastes great or less filling! ;D
Both sides have great points.
Nem's can sustain themselves for long periods of time without being fed. But they thrive when they are fed.
My LTA has been in my care for over ten years. It has gone more then a year without eating. During that time it frequently hyper extended to gather more light, lost it's 'stickiness' and lost color.
When it started to eat again, it experienced actual growth, became very sticky and much more colorful.
I also agree that they will stress due to overfeeding. I feed mine irregularly. Sometimes as much as 2 whole silversides 2 or 3 times in a week. Sometimes I neglect target feeding for a month. In it's current location it gets some of the clownfish's food everyday.
