BTA throwing up???

[johnpeezy]

so I have a BTA in a 29 gallon aquarium, he has seemed fine (as in getting better) till tonight after I fed him.

I think he was kinds of bleached out at the LFS, I took home home started feeding etc...

Anyway, about 3 weeks have passed since I brought him home. He's getting a really bright neon green to his tenticals, and hes a host to a brac and a false black clownfish (can't remember the scientific name). so basiclly if anything goes near the BTA, its getting attacked.

I went to feed the BTA today and all was well. Got myself bit by the clown...twice and proceeded to drop the piece of Krill on the BTA.

about 10 or 15 minutes go by and it vanishes, so I was thinking he was done with it. Then the time comes for me to turn off the lights for the tank and I notice the BTA's mouth gaping open with this orange thing coming out of it.

Upon further inspection I realized it was the piece of krill I had given him earlier. Is this a normal thing for a BTA to consume food totally then reject it and spit it back out later?? Should I be worried about it, this is the first time I have ever seen him do something like that.

also I'm not exactly sure how many times per week I should feed him either. Recently (this week only) I have stepped his feeding up to once every other day because I think he severly bleached out. I have noticed alot of improvement but hes still very white.

prior to that I was feeding once a week. He was running all around the tank, looked stark white and had a very light pink base. After I started feeding more he seemed happy. Am I feeding it too much?

 

[Ace25]

Welcome to the wonderful world of anemones. I don't know anyone that didn't freak out the first time their anemone digested, including myself. Anemones eat and gets rid of waste out of the same opening and when I had mine it would usually go through its difestion phase once every 3-4 weeks. It looks great and then all of the sudden deflates and a stream of nasty slime stuff comes out its mouth. A lot of times the anemone will move behind a rock or in a crevace when they do this making you freak out more because you can't find the huge anemone that used to be front and center in your tank.

I used to feed my anemone once a day for many years, but that was probably a little excessive. It didn't seem to hurt it though and grew pretty large, so large that I had to give it away because it outgrew the 29G tank it was in

 

[pipebash]

i think you may be feeding too often and maybe too large. From what ive read on bleached anemones you need to feed 2-3 times a week and very small food like mysis or maybe half a krill, keep it about pea sized. mine has done that before but it was when my temp got too high after i added halides and it puked up a shriveled piece of krill. good luck with the nem sounds like youve been doin fairly well so far just keep params, temp and lighting as level as possible and you should be fine

 

[johnpeezy]

Here are a few pics

I think its looks pretty bleached out, what do you all think and the crappy pics are with my cell phone btw.

 

[pipebash]

ya very bleached but not gone. just do what youve been doing and it should make a full recovery! looks like its getting color back already

 

[johnpeezy]

Man you should have seen him a week ago even, almost totally white except for the bubbles.

now his tenticals are all a greenish/yellow tinge all the way to his base.

 

[Blossom112]

I agree ......keep doing what your doing and feed it every day untill it recovers .
When i got my anemone's they looked great and then in my tank looked awefull .
Feeding and time it will bounce back took mine about 2 to 3 months .
follow your instincts,and feed different foods ... silverslides are probably a better choice.
I cut mine then dip it in golden pearls for the extra kick .
Good job!!!!
After it looks better it can go 2 to 3 days between feedings .I do it 1x a week as the clown is feeding it too!

 

[Blown 346]

I would feed a few times a week say 2 or 3. A anemone can end up rejecting food if stressed. Like said above they will excrete wast out of theit mouth. For the bleaching part. Feeding wont have an affect on its color coming back. As long as proper lighting and water parameters are established it wil bounce back but will take weeks.
Freeze dried krill is a favorite or like suggested, silversides, mysis. Make sure there is good water flow in the tank as well. How old is the tank? Anemones prefer and do best in a mature system.

 

[johnpeezy]

I would feed a few times a week say 2 or 3. A anemone can end up rejecting food if stressed. Like said above they will excrete wast out of theit mouth. For the bleaching part. Feeding wont have an affect on its color coming back. As long as proper lighting and water parameters are established it wil bounce back but will take weeks.
Freeze dried krill is a favorite or like suggested, silversides, mysis. Make sure there is good water flow in the tank as well. How old is the tank? Anemones prefer and do best in a mature system.

I'm not too sure how old the aquarium is honestly. I'm babysitting it for a friend of mine, I'm sure its more then two years old. I have cut back on his feeding a little bit mainly the size of food portions I give and it snatches them up fast. the whole piece dissapears within minutes he's doing better

 

[Amphiprion]

i think you may be feeding too often and maybe too large. From what ive read on bleached anemones you need to feed 2-3 times a week and very small food like mysis or maybe half a krill, keep it about pea sized. mine has done that before but it was when my temp got too high after i added halides and it puked up a shriveled piece of krill. good luck with the nem sounds like youve been doin fairly well so far just keep params, temp and lighting as level as possible and you should be fine

This is likely the answer. I would also consider the type of food offered. Some individuals prefer fish-based (or other) meats. If doing the above doesn't offer better results, then try a different type of food. Relatively small pieces are ideal and a maximum feeding frequency of every other day.