HELP I guess the BTA died and my tank is not doing well :

arash53 · #1 05-19-2011, 06:52 PM

I bought a green BTA yesterday from J&L, I placed it in the really good location in my tank with medium water flow and good lighting but last nigh she moved to the other side of the rock which has low flow and in a shadow ! what should I do ?

Oxymoron · #2 05-19-2011, 06:55 PM

It will move to a spot that has the combination of lighting and flow that it likes. You might be able to coax it into a general area and hope it stays there.
But it will more then likely move to wherever it wants to go.

shootingstar · #3 05-19-2011, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arash53

I placed it in the really good location in my tank

Our opinion on what is a good location and the BTA's opinion are often very different.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxymoron

It will move to a spot that has the combination of lighting and flow that it likes.

Generally that is on the back of the rock pile facing the back glass where you have no chance of seeing/enjoying it at all

seriously, I'm not tryin to make lite of your concerns. The only luck I have had was to really, really research what that particular nem likes then try to create that location and place the nem there. If they are going to move I find they pretty much always roam at night. But if you try to give it what it needs/wants it is more likely to stay put in a location that you can enjoy it.....rather than thinking it is going to change it's needs to be on display in a location that does not provide what it needs to be healthy just to please your aquascape asthetic.

arash53 · #4 05-19-2011, 07:27 PM

Thanks for replies,

I just wonder why she moved to a dark place I thought BTA likes gook lighting !
And the other problem with that place is flow , basically it is the lowest flow in my tank !

when they stick to the rock it is really hard to detach, it took about 10 min to detach it from rock when I bought it yesterday, I guess it is all her choice and I cant make decision for her right?

shootingstar · #5 05-19-2011, 07:59 PM

I assume you meant good lighting....and therin might be part of the problem.
What is GOOD lighting.....to me it might mean 400wMH, to you it might mean T5, to the nem it will mean something else.
Same with "good flow" (or low flow or high flow).....ask 3 people and you will get 3 different answers.
when I do research I look for specifics......what wattage and distance away from light. For flow....how many inches away from a specific brand/model or GPH powerhead etc.

Your nem is probably not done moving around yet. They often take days up to a week or more to find their "happy place" so I wouldn't worry to much yet. She might have moved to what you call a dark place for several reasons, maybe your lights are brighter than the store lights, maybe it is a tad stressed (from being forced to detach at the store)and just wants to rest a bit. Hopefully it is not because the column was damaged getting it off the rock in the store.

If it moves to a place you could be happy with......feed it!!! .... if food is available on a regular basis it is more inclined to decide that is it's happy place.

arash53 · #6 05-19-2011, 08:03 PM

Thanks , that was a great advice

once she moved a place I like , I'll start feeding her and hope fully she will stay there

fishytime · #7 05-19-2011, 08:27 PM

nems is evil........there now that Ive got that outta my system

.....BTAs seem to put their need for a secure foothold above everything else......they really love to find a hole or tight narrow space to wedge themselves in and expand around .......you can usually encourage the nem to move out from behind to rock if you can manage to get a powerhead pointed at it (or a powerhead/tubing combination) ......they dont like direct flow

patman · #8 05-19-2011, 08:34 PM

Mine moved around for a few days, then sat still for about a week and then moved again. It's now wedged its foot between a rock and my overflow and has been there for over two months. Pretty good light there but not huge flow.

arash53 · #9 05-21-2011, 01:31 AM

Last night she climbed on my based rock and went to a hole, now i cant even see it , it is deep in my base rock in a hole!

Isthis strange or they always move between the rocks?

mike31154 · #10 05-21-2011, 02:28 AM

I was fortunate in that my BTA has not moved that much in the 3 or so years I've had it. It did inexplicably move to the back of the tank under a rock about a year & a half later though. Tried to keep an eye on it but was near impossible. Needed a mirror and it was a drag not seeing my clownfish since they were of course down there hosting as well. After about a month of this I could see it was shrinking & losing colour so I bit the bullet & re arranged the rock work, grrrr, a real pain. I rotated the rock it was on so it was back in the light. Since then it's stayed put, split and even the clones stayed very close. 'fishytime' mentioned the foothold thing and I've found that to be quite true as well, BTAs like their base in a bit of a hollow, so if you can find a rock with that feature, that will be a good location to try. The rock mine are on is about in the center of the tank and the BTAs are slightly lower than halfway down. My lighting is 2x250 Watt MH & 2x54 Watt T5HO overdriven by Workhorse 8 ballasts.

Your BTA has only been in your system for a couple of days. Give it a little more time to acclimate, & then try to find that hollow in a rock that might encourage it to stay put.