Related Articles: Bubble Tip, Rose Anemones, Entacmaea quadricolor, Use in Marine Systems by Bob Fenner, Bubble Tip Anemones by Jim Black,  Recent Experiences with BTA's by Marc Quattromani, Anemones, Cnidarians, Colored/Dyed Anemones, 

Related FAQs: BTA Disease 1, BTA Disease 2, BTA Disease 3, BTA Disease 4, BTA Health 5, BTA Health 6, BTA Health 7, BTA Health 8, BTA Health 9, & E. quad. FAQ 1, E. quad FAQ 2, E. quad. FAQ 3, E. quad FAQ 4,  E. quad FAQ 5, BTA ID, BTA Compatibility, BTA Selection, BTA Behavior, BTA Systems, BTA Feeding, BTA Reproduction/Propagation, Anemones, Anemones 2,  Caribbean Anemones, Condylactis, Aiptasia Anemones, Anemones and Clownfishes, Anemone Reproduction, Anemone Lighting, Anemone Identification, Anemone Selection, Anemone Behavior, Anemone Health, Anemone Placement, Anemone Feeding, Heteractis malu, 

Algae on Anemone: Bleached Anemone Making a Comeback. Anemone Health\Reading 6/28/2009
Hello,
<Hi Brian.>
I have a Bubble Tip Anemone, it is white and has purple tips.
<Bubble Tips should never be white. White indicates it has lost most of its symbiotic zooxanthellae.>
I have had it in my tank for about 7 months. It appears to be opening normally when the lights are on. I don't feed the BTA specifically but I feed my tank daily with Superveggie flakes.
<Some target feeding will definitely help a bleached anemone. Do read about their care here, and on the linked pages on top of this page.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm >
I have a 120 gallon mixed reef tank. I recently had a problem with Cyano algae but I think that the media in my Phosphate remover was getting old and causing some problems. It appears that the Cyano has stopped growing.
My water health appears good and my nitrates are 0ppm.
<OK>
Over the past month my BTA has started growing what looks like algae (brownish/red) on the tentacles. I have attached a pic. It doesn't look good, can you give me you thoughts on what is going on?
<Based upon the pictures, it is regenerating its zooxanthellae. This is a good sign.>
Please read the linked article above and give this article a read as well:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm >
Thank You,
<My pleasure.>
Brian
<MikeV>

GBTA Tumor 5/13/09
Hey guys (and gals),
<Hello Brandon>
I have a bit of a problem, hopefully nothing malignant (I am half-way done with my medical schooling; so please excuse the terminology).
<Your knowledge of medical terminology is surely beyond my own.>
I have a GBTA that is probably four years old relative to my care. It has split about 3 times since I bought it giving me a small family of about 6 healthy clones (my clowns have moved from a 1 bedroom to a 2 story nest-egg).
Anyways, one of the clones has what appears to be a benign neoplasm originating from one of its tentacles.
<Great description!>
The mouth is still intact, although the neoplasm is beginning to interfere with its eating, and it is now my smallest anemone. Simply put: can I just pull off the tumor-appearing tentacle and let the anemone carry on its life; or could this lead to some sort of toxic expulsion of its organs causing extensive death and destruction of nearby clones?
<I would not hesitate to remove the tentacle in question. Please do it with a sharp implement to avoid tearing or unnecessary damage. That should resolve the feeding issues as well as the aesthetic one.>
Chemical parameters have been stable for some time, at the following values:
pH: 8.2; Nitrate 0ppm; Nitrite 0ppm; Ammonia 0ppm; Calcium 0ppm; Phosphate 0.5ppm; Salinity 1.024-1.025; Temperature 81-82
(a little high, but I'm working on it)
<Other than the high temperature, and the lack of Calcium (I am assuming that is a typo) those look fine. The fact that you have six healthy anemone’s makes me think everything else may be fine.>
All of the other BTA clones are doing fine; this makes me think that water quality is likely not the culprit.
<Agreed.>
I just figure anemones have occasional loss of cell-cycle control like other organisms.
The anemone I'm asking about is on the far right of the picture sent.
It is adjacent to three of its clone brothers. Thank you very much for your time and advice. Best of luck in your endeavors.
-Brandon
<Good Luck, and send us a post operation photo
Josh Solomon>

Bleached, torn BTA... reading    5/11/09
Howdy Crew!
Well as I ought to be studying for my biology and chemistry finals, I get a picture sent to me from my mom (who is watching my tank while I finish of my last week of my freshmen year) it turns out that my BTA
that I put into my tank a little over a month ago after moving my tank home has moved.
<Happens>
The tank has been up and running for a little over 2 years now and has been well established. It is a BioCube 29
<Really too small...>
in which I had a little bit too much fun to say the least in modifying the tank.
I redid the filtration system and in the first chamber have a diy protein skimmer with a heater. In chamber 2 I have a layer of sponge that is made for the Aquaclear 110, which happens to fit perfectly, followed by poly fiber and a bag of zeolite of the bottom. I have the standard lighting still (2x32w pc I believe) I replaced the bulbs about two months ago. On top of the standard lighting I also have two of Current’s 50/50 PowerBrite HO LED systems that I put into the hood and give me a nice shimmer effect along with higher lighting in the rear of my tank. The water was tested yesterday and the results are as follows: ammonia – 0, nitrite – 0, nitrate – 0, phosphate – 0, PH – 8.2, and the temperature runs about 79-81⁰F. Since I have been at school the tank hasn’t had a partial water change for a month,=20 but feeding is limited to once a day a small portion of new life spectrum pellets.
<Interesting. I would offer something more substantial a couple times a week... see WWM re...>
Even so there has been a growth of green hair algae, which I currently am looking for a scavenger to eat and after reading the articles here (instead of studying) I have rethought a fish because my tank would be too small for a lawnmower blenny
<Is>
or any other algae eating fish. For flow I have the standard return pump and on the left wall a Koralia 1 angled to the front right corner of the tank (I am currently thinking about placing a Hydor Flo on the return and either a Koralia 1 or nano on the right wall slightly lower than as well as opposing the flow of the other Koralia.) The livestock is a pair of Tomato clowns, a diamond goby that I rarely if ever see, a cleaner
shrimp, and 1 or 2 red leg hermit crabs. I have a cluster about the size of a silver dollar worth of polyps, 2 small colonies of pulsing xenias, and a candy cane coral all placed a decent distance away from the BTA. For the past month since I have had the BTA he has been in the dead center of my tank under one of the PowerBrite strips
<Mmm, likely insufficient intensity, quality-wise>
with his base under a rock and bringing his body out so that his oral surface was in direct lighting. I feed him once a week a cube of defrosted formula one.
<Not suitable>
Then this morning it seems that my BTA had moved in the middle of the night from the spot he has been for the past month to the very top left front corner of the tank, right where the flow from the return pump hits. His coloration, and body shape appear to be as normal as ever (I am attaching pictures.) I am just concerned due to this rapid movement because I know that a mobile anemone is an unhappy one, and over the past month all that he has moved is maybe a half inch or so this way or that but always on the same rock and never far, it seems he always ends up where he started. I wanted to know if you knew for any possible reason for this behavior as well as what should I do when I do a partial because he is at the very top of the tank and any decrease in water level would expose him to air? Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.
Very Respectfully
Steven Vaughan
<I salute your efforts at DIY... and thank you for providing sufficient information and images. This specimen is badly bleached, and the basal disc evidently torn... When you have time, real interest, please read the sum total of what is archived on WWM re Entacmaea. Bob Fenner>

BTA Health\System Overstocked with inappropriate species\Allelopathy . No surprises unfortunately. 5/4/2009
Hi everyone,
<Hi Sarah>
First off I have to say your website has been an invaluable resource to me for my all things Salt and Fresh water related.
<Thank you for the kind words.>
I am writing to you today because I have an issue with a newly purchased BTA.
<OK>
I acclimated it over a couple of hours and added it to my tank. I had to go away for a couple of days so I had another friend who has salt water (whom I thought knew what they were doing) look after my tank for top ups.
Normally I keep some salt water premixed with a higher alkalinity to use over the month.
<?? Higher alkalinity?>
Since my place is cold in the winter, I find keeping the water at the higher alkalinity and then adding hot water to above temp and to the correct parameters helps as I can let it sit for a few hours to allow the
salt and water to mix
<I think you are talking about salinity.... very different than alkalinity.>
Unfortunately, my friend did not read the instructions on my bucket and decided to add a gallon the mix directly to my tank. After a couple of days when I came home to find my tank was over 1.032. Yeah.. I wasn't impressed.
<Yikes!>
The BTA was still shriveled up, my branching hammer I had, developed brown jelly disease ( I have since quarantined it and took a soft artists paint brush to it to remove as much of the jelly as possible and then freshwater dipped it and am changing the water daily to meet the tank specs). The fish were not affected. nor the other corals.
<From the stocking list, it could have had several causes, stinging, allelopathy, or attacked. see below.>
Other tank inhabitants in 25g set up for 6 months, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 2, alkalinity now 1.026,
<You mean salinity, not alkalinity. Read here for information on alkalinity. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/alkalinity.htm and salinity
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/spg_salinity.htm >
calcium 420, ph 8.2, temp 78 degrees.
130w 24" pc lighting:
AquaClear 70 for fuge
Koralia 1
25lbs live rock
Chemi-pure
- True Perc
- Damsel
- 2 Scissortail Goby
- 1 cleaner shrimp
- 1 peppermint shrimp <Peppermint shrimp are NOT reef safe.>
- GSP <Green Spotted Puffer? Inappropriate for this tank. Certainly NOT reef safe. read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i6/lonely_puffer/lonely_puffer.htm and here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/gspsysfaqs.htm >
- Suncoral (seemed starved from buyer. I've been segregating in floating container and target feeding crushed wet pellet food, brine shrimp, krill and mysis. polyps now starting to expand) Only a couple of days old.
- Xenia on a shell
- Mushrooms 4 quarter size or less
- Zoas 4x10polyps frags
- Duncans 4 big heads and 11 babies
- Blasto Wellsi
- Acro frag
- Candycanes 6 heads.
- Toadstool very small
- Halimeda
- Feather Caulerpa
- Branching hammer (in recovery)
- Frogspawn (which has a feathery thing that pumps in and out of what looks like a mouth. never seen that before.)
<Lots of noxious corals here. Very high potential for 'chemical warfare' with each other. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/envdisphysiof.htm
>
(Note: Will be upgrading to 55g with 6x39w Tek T5 lights in a month)
<Still too small for the fish you have listed.>
So over the last 48hours I have been doing water changes to reduce the alkalinity. I am now at 1.026. I am checking it every couple of hours now, watching fish health and watching the other corals. They all appear to be acting normally.
<1.026 is fine, particularly for invertebrates.>
The BTA has now moved today, from the rock on the back of the tank to a position towards the front of the tank. The pick I have included it showing where it is now. The top is still attached to the rock. It appears to open and close it's mouth.
<Not a good sign.>
There also appears to be some tissue degradation. It also looks like it was chewed a bit,
<Given a peppermint shrimp, chewed is likely.>
though the area that is attached to the rock look fine. It is mostly in the middle that it looks a little nasty. There is only a small little area that appears to look like the same kind of melt you would see on a hammer, but it isn't brown but white.
<Dead tissue.>
It is only on 10% of the anemone.
<For now...>
Is there a chance this nem will make it, or should I make my friend buy me a new one?
<It doesn't look good, but I would not be so quick to blame your friend.
This system is completely inappropriate for an anemone.>
I have read BTA have made come backs after being chewed up in a filter etc, so I am hoping I can get this to survive, even if it is only going to be half or a quarter of the size it was originally. What can I do to try to save it?
<Get it out of that system to start. Lose the peppermint shrimp, and a fair number of your corals.>
(ie, cut off the white area? dip in meds?) I am thinking this guy is super stressed so I am hoping after a week or so it will improve.
<Pages have been written on this Start here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/btadisfaqs.htm >
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
<Please read the above linked articles.>
Thank you.
<My pleasure>
Sarah
<MikeV>

Re: BTA Health\System Update 5/5/2009
Update:
<Hi Sarah>
Sorry, I always get the names for alkalinity and salinity mixed up.. you are correct I am referring to salinity. the alkalinity in the tank has been between 4 and 4.5 mEq/litre. duh.. we all have our moments.
<Yes we do. I spent two minutes yesterday morning trying to start my car with the wrong key.>
GSP - Green star polyps. ( no puffers in this tank or future tanks. don't like them)
<Ahh OK.GSP normally means Green Spotted Puffer Do keep in mind that Green Star Polyps do spread, and will sting other invertebrates>
I must also note these corals are small even for colonies. No larger than 3 inches by 3 inches squared. The others are frags and yes I know they will grow, but that is why I have purchased the corals as frags or small
colonies. The toadstool is half the size of an average persons thumb.
<Understood, but still realize that some of these corals secrete very toxic substances, even when small. This can and will have an effect on other livestock, especially in a small volume.>
I removed and quarantined the BTA in a hospital tank. I will be observing over the next 24hrs, but prognosis definitely not good.
<It usually isn't at this point.>
I will need to purchase iodine for any future issues.
All the fish are just fine and other corals are doing very well. Frogspawn has not developed any issues. I was concerned it might start to show sign of the brown goopy slime from the hammer, but I guess I got it out of there in time as soon as I noticed it, and no issues from the degrading BTA.
Suncoral eating good and more flesh showing from polyps. Fish eating nicely.
<Very good>
I will ask for your advice now then, when setting up the 55G (36x18x22) how many fish would you suggest max to put in it?
<See Below.>
I have to say I am rather confused on this subject as I have come across on information on several sites stating you can have up to 4-5 fish 3.5" max size fish in a 25g with corals, and others who say it is too much.
<Too much. Conservatively, 1 fish per square foot of tank surface area.>
In addition to my current stock, I would like to be able to add 2 Firefish goby and 1 other onyx clownfish.
The damsel may be removed as it gets older if it's territorial behavior becomes a real issue and causes stress to the other fish.
<Given your current and future tank size, I would lose the damsel, lost the peppermint shrimp, and add the Firefish. You should not add another clown.>
I will also be adding the following
- 25lbs live rock (in addition to what I have)
- 40lbs aragonite sand wet
- skimmer (eventually)
<Skimmer sooner rather than later, especially with corals.>
- additional Aquaclear filter to use for Just polyfill and weekly carbon filter changes, in addition to the AC70 currently in use as a fuge with live
rock and Chemi-pure. Purigen will also be added.
- Maxi-jet 1200 for flow from the opposite side of the tank with one of those wavemaker things on it.
<OK>
I hope to create a scape where I can create a border in the middle by about 6-8 inches to break up linear water flow. I also hope to separate different types of corals to either side. such as Zoas, GSP, xenia and leather on one side, and Hammer and frogspawn on the other side, with a couple Acro frags (maybe 4 favorites max) secure on the top of the stacked rock.
<Not enough light for Acropora, not really enough light for anemones either.>
The BTA will move where it wants,
<Stinging all of your other corals in the process. Anemones really should not be kept with corals.>
but I hope I can create a foothold somewhere it will live.
<Better to skip the anemone altogether.>
I have added a couple of pics to give you an idea of my current tank size.... note the water is filled past the black line now.
<No pictures attached.>
That was just a quick shot. I have tried to keep the corals separated so they are not touching. In the 55g. they will be given a lot of space to grow out.
Your advice is much appreciated. I want to ensure I give the best home to my fish and corals that I can provide (on my limited budget).
-- Sarah
<Mike>